Jesus and Messiahs

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Jesus said to him,

"I am the way, the truth,

and the life; no one comes

to the Father, but by me.

John 14:6 r s v

 

 

The Case of the Invisible Comma – Or, What is 'Messiah'?

 

In our last posting I may have stepped out of bounds -- if that is

even

possible on the court of nonduality. The statement naming Jesus as

'The premier nondualist' is rather silly. And it makes no more sense

for me to have a Jesus, a Buddha, or a Shankara bumpersticker, than

to

have a Kerry or Bush bumpersticker, even though I do vote, and do

have

preferences among these individuals.

 

To illustrate, when he was called 'good master' by an admirer, Jesus

corrected the man: "Why do you call me good? No one is good except

God

alone" (Mark 10:17 n e b). Much of Christendom has been taught

[indoctrinated?] that Jesus IS God, so it may not seem like a

correction to everyone. And indeed, Jesus is God, qualitatively, but

not uniquely, as a careful look at the Greek reveals when considering

the oft' mentioned verse "I and my Father are one" (John 10:30 k j

v).

The Greeks have two words for 'one:' hen (n.), and heis (m.). In this

verse Jesus uses hen, which means 'one in essence.' If he had meant

'one in person' (implying 'I am the Father') he would have used heis,

but he did not. Saying 'I am my own father' would be a perplexing

thing to say, yet few Bible teachers make the effort to point out

that

he did not claim to be God, ignorantly teaching or fearfully

perpetuating a seriously flawed doctrine, rather than facing the

charge

of heresy and the wrath of the majority by disabusing students of the

nonsense that Jesus is uniquely God. (For a detailed account -- which

is also a 'good read' -- of how this doctrine got started, see WHEN

JESUS BECAME GOD: The Epic Fight over Christ's Divinity in the Last

Days of Rome, Harcourt, Brace, 1999, by Richard Rubenstein.)

 

Ironically, Jesus was viewed as a heretic and a cult member by many

of

the faithful of his day. (Those who might level a charge against me

as

a heretic, flatter me by association. On another site I was actually

called 'the antichrist!') Simply put, Jesus did not elevate himself,

but pointed out: "I am not come to be ministered unto, but to

minister"

(Mark 10:45 k j v). The word here means 'to serve' which I like to

contrast with 'to be worshipped.' He came to serve, but we've turned

him into a brand, and Deified him, chanting his 'magical' name while

seeking an emotional high, or hoping for a 'get-out-of-jail-free

card'

useful for graduating to the next life, which would protect us, like

fire insurance for the soul: "if you don't join our club, you're on

your way to hell." What a sad perversion of such a glorious example!

 

So, what about messiah and the invisible comma? 'Christ' is the

English word for the Hebrew 'messiah,' which means 'anointed one.'

(See

Leviticus 3 for examples.) It points to a ritual used regarding

community initiation of priests and kings. (Unfortunately, in the

church today, we have too few of these, and too many lawyers and

judges, where we should, instead, be able to meet many who minister

to

others by modeling themselves after the 'servant king' – Jesus.)

 

The name 'Jesus' is a Greek version of the Hebrew 'Joshua' which is

derived from Yehoshua, meaning ' YHWH is salvation,' or 'God saves.'

(These four letters signify God, a name too holy to pronounce. Moses,

trained in Egypt, reveals the name as I AM. Significantly then,

Christ

was an Egyptian concept long before being adopted by the Hebrews.

This

is thoroughly documented and enjoyably conveyed by Tom Harpur, a

Rhodes

Scholar and former professor of NT Greek, in his recent book THE

PAGAN

CHRIST: Recovering the Lost Light (Thomas Allen Publishers, Toronto,

2004). I'm told it is available in the US through Amazon, although it

hasn't been picked up by an American publisher yet. Harpur thoroughly

debunks the fairy tales which churchmen have conspired to tell for

far

too long. Every thinking Christian should carefully ponder this

volume. Warning: it may cause a crisis of faith for the faint of

heart. But Harpur's motive is to bless -- and I think he has achieved

this, while also correcting a horrendous imposition on the career of

Jesus.

 

Meanwhile, the term for messiah gets elaborated in the NT by adding

'The': 'ho christos' -- resulting in Jesus, 'The Christ.' No,

friends, his initials are not J.C. as though these were his first and

last names. (More probable would be the initials YB: standing for

Joshua, bar (son of) Joseph.) But the question presents itself: is

there a particular messiah? It's a vexing question. Harpur seems to

think not. My conclusion is that Jesus instructs us on becoming our

own messiah; our own, priest/king. This is a tall order, but we have

an excellent example to follow, by referencing the life of Jesus.

Indeed, a look at Rev 1:5 reveals that Jesus makes us priests and

kinds

unto God.

 

When insufferable Christians smugly cite our lead quote above, and

tell

you that you are on a bus to hell if you don't pray 'the sinners

prayer' and name Jesus as your personal saviour -- because this is

the

ONLY way of salvation -- you can parse the verse for yourself, or

gently share with them -- if you're brave and have time to invest, as

follows: I AM, the way to the Father; I AM, the truth about the

Father; I AM, the very life of the Father. Jesus didn't merely

utter these words; he illustrated them. (A note for the literalists

who might venture upon this column: you should be aware that there is

no punctuation in the original Greek texts of the Bible, making it

one

of the world's longest run-on sentences! Punctuation has been

supplied

by the translators to suit their sense of the text and ease the eyes

and minds of us moderns.)

 

The so-called I AM statements of the Gospel of John are some of the

most significant words Jesus spoke; yet he was talking about BEING,

not about himself!!! Catch the import of what he is saying:

I AM the Bread of Life.

6:35

I AM the Door of the

Sheep 10:7

I AM the Good Shepherd

10:11

I AM the Resurrection and

the Life 11:25

I AM the true and living Way

14:6

I AM the true Vine 15:1

I AM the Light of the

world 8:12

 

And, naturally, it follows: YOU are the Light of the world Matt

5:14

 

Rather than claiming to be God, or pandering to be recognized as God,

Jesus came to awaken each of us to our divine nature, our very being:

I AM. Yes, it is too holy to pronounce. But this does not mean that

we should flee from the realization. Neither Eric nor _________(fill

in your own name here) can pull himself or herself out of the swamp

by

the hairs of the head, but I CAN. Jesus is inviting each of us to get

in touch with our true SELF. Yes, Jesus saves! I AM, THE SAVIOUR.

 

This is all compelling, But be sure to count the cost. The ego must

be crucified. Yes, this path will cost you your life. If this scares

you, you're not awake yet. Have another cup of java, and read the

Gospel of John. Invite the main character in the story to interpret

his words for you. This story is about you. Come, read about the true

you.

 

Any version or translation will do. If you don't have one, or are

looking for fresh language, I suggest THE MESSAGE. (Bono, of U2 likes

it. He gives it a plug on the dust jacket.) Navpress, 2002.

 

 

Chafee