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“Would you look at that! There’s another one! Looks scruffier than last year’s. This so-called messiah! Come to preach and free us from the Romans! Rubbish!” said the farmer, his bald-head snapping from side to side, his sandaled foot stomping the dusty road on the way toward Jerusalem.
In moments, his scorn fire-stormed other weary pilgrims who hurled more abuse upon a simple procession: A strong peasant astride the colt of an ass, his followers cheering and waving branches, hard to come by in this climate.
As the procession passed, strains of Psalm 118 sweetened the air: “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!”—It’s first-century Palestine, bristling with intrigue.
Yes, we’re talking about Jesus of Nazareth, a critical story portrayed in the four Gospels, with slight differences, understandably, because of the differing times and places in which they were written and the differing audiences toward whom the story of Jesus was aimed.
That toot-toot parade, that hot morning, also placed Jesus in a favorable light, in the center of Judaism, and cleaned up his miserable messiah experience—he, too, was crucified. This Jesus of Nazareth was more than another would-be messiah. His mission was unique.
Yet, many still ignore Jesus, scoff at his teachings. Only the humble of heart get it.
Holy Week has left its sweetness while I give thanks for the experience, enriched by prayer and Reza Aslan’s study of the resurrection in Zealot – The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth (2013).His historical focus upon this mystery in first-century Palestine rehabbed my outdated faith.
Critical to this study is the oral tradition in which Jesus and those who knew him lived. From the very beginning, the collection of stories, in Aramaic, began inflaming imaginations and drawing countless followers. Yet, his failed mission did not extinguish his title, messiah: he was different than the others and they would find out why.
So deepened the ferment of those following his ignominious death on 30 C.E., on Golgotha. Initially, grief bleared their perception, but his memory buoyed spirits, and hope in his message lightened steps. Soon, more stories circulated—Jesus was still around.
Not until 50 C.E. did the first scriptural reference to the risen Christ appear. In Paul’s letter to the Greek city in Corinth, (15: 3-8) he alludes to an older liturgical formula drawn up by Jesus’s followers when gathered together.
About the same time, the Q Source, an early collection of Jesus’s sayings appears, followed by Mark’s first gospel, written in rough Greek, ten years later; neither contains accounts of the resurrection, but that would change. More ferment by the first believers eventually produced differing gospel accounts by Luke and Matthew, writing in different cities between 90 and 100 C.E. John’s gospel appears between 100 and 120 C.E., again with differing resurrection accounts—all intended to rebut disbelief and gain followers. It worked for centuries.
Aslan, the author, also reminds us that the gospels are not biography, but serve as manuals of faith to be practiced by believers. That’s the rub: sloth prefers the easier, softer way.
But faith in Jesus’s resurrection adds élan to this practice that prepares spirits for reasonable joy in this life and for an eternity of communion in the one following. It can’t be too much longer …
“Who is that by the side of the road, astride a colt covered with dingy cloaks, his followers chanting and waving palm branches stripped from nearby trees? —Another scruffy messiah coming to preach at the Passover feast in Jerusalem, I bet. We’ve had so many, and all came to naught. Violence still abounds under those Romans. Besides, it’s hot; the crowds, tumultuous; the fleas, merciless.”
Such may have been experienced as strains of “Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord!” faded into the morning’s excitement—It’s first-century Palestine, bristling with intrigue.
Yes, we’re talking about Jesus of Nazareth, a critical story, proclaiming his mission as Messiah, “according to the Scriptures,” and enjoying every minute of it, despite repeated denials of such a title during years of preaching in Galilee and Judea. Such is the picture portrayed in the four Gospels written in Greek, with slight differences, understandably, because of the differing times and places in which they were written and the differing audiences toward whom the story of Jesus was aimed.
That toot-toot parade that hot morning also placed Jesus in a favorable light, in the center of Judaism, and cleaned up his miserable messiah experience—he, too, was crucified. This Jesus of Nazareth was more than another would-be messiah. His mission was unique.
Whether or not the story of Jesus of Nazareth, seated upon a colt’s ass, occurred does not matter. But he did lose his Jewishness when Roman legions destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple in 70 C.E.; then, in my perception, he morphed into a Hellenistic demi-god, estranged from physical creation.
Yet, Jesus of Nazareth is always available in heart-prayer. He still welcomes the humble.
Heart Whisperings 