Suppose a living, holy Messiah came from God and nobody noticed.  Or few people noticed … or made up their own meaning.  It’s a 2,000-year-old quandary of Christianity.  See the column below. - Blessings, Bob

--- --- ---

Spirituality Column #883

October 17, 2023

Common Christianity / Uncommon Commentary

Eyewitness Views

By Bob Walters

“Many will seek, but few will enter.” – Luke 13:24, Jesus speaking of God’s Kingdom

Podcaster friend Richard Jacobs, who is Jewish but nonetheless intensely curious about Christian beliefs, sent this question a couple weeks ago.  How would you answer it?

“If Jesus was crucified in 33 A.D., someone who was 15 years old at that time would've been cognizant of what was going on, and that person would've been born in 18 A.D. approx.  By 85 A.D. most, if not all, the direct eyewitnesses to Jesus were passed away. How do you think culture and humanity changed once the original first hand eyewitnesses passed away?

Well, what would you say?  Think about it for a few moments. 

I was a guest on Rich’s “Finding Genius” podcast in June (LINK) and after a brief “we must do it again” email exchange in early July, had not been back in touch.  I love these kinds of “what if” posers” but when the email arrived had time only to return this quick note:

“Great to hear from you Rich. Yes, too long! Can't respond in depth at the moment, but great question. The apostle John was just such a person: he witnessed the crucifixion, was younger than Jesus, and died approximately 100 A.D. Many heresies sprang up almost as soon as Jesus died; many persist today. Will be back in touch. Love this question.”

Slightly edited, here’s what I sent to Rich a few days later (before the Hamas attack):

“Hey Rich, getting back to this. First thing to consider, in my view, is how long after the Resurrection it took for anybody to actually understand what was going on: forgiveness. Many disciples, followers, and other people – according to the Bible – saw the resurrected Christ, but few if any figured out Jesus was the seal of their salvation, eyewitness or not.

“I mean, ‘Jesus back from the dead; neat trick,’ yet it was former Pharisee Paul, with a comprehensive command of Jewish scripture and called as an apostle a few years later, who put the tinsel on the tree and preached Christ the savior. John wrote his Gospel perhaps as late as 90 A.D.  It was still decades/centuries before a full ‘Christology’ was discerned. Eyewitnesses got the ball rolling, but Jesus’ truth had only begun to be grasped.

“And remember, the whole point going forward – ‘the New Covenant’ – was faith not proof.  Jesus had to die, come back, and then ‘go away’ to activate the faith dynamic. Despite all the instruction of Hebrew scripture, i.e., the Old Testament, almost nobody knew what Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection meant – for sure – so folks concocted stories.

“The church at Corinth Paul chided was an apostate mess.  The Gnostics and other heresies sprang up like daisies in various iterations saying Jesus had to be spirit or flesh but not both. The Jews were having none of it, over time doubling down with the Talmud and Mishnah re-explaining and re-emphasizing Jewish law still awaiting a Messiah (of David?) to adjudicate injustices against Israel. Today dispensationalists, end times prophesiers, and messianics are holding their breath – along with the rest of us – watching the war in Gaza. 

“The truth that Jesus was the fulfillment of Israel (Matthew 5:17) and is the only way, truth, and life of humanity’s eternal return to God's Kingdom (John 14:6) remains a point of contention for all outside Christian faith and even some in it. Jesus said ‘few would believe’ and like everything else, Jesus was right.  Most people on Earth, to this day, don't believe.  

“My thought is that this is as it was supposed to happen: faith, no faith, re-packaged expectations for a Messiah who will elevate the Jews over all, and secular nonsense of personal ‘truth’ untethered from a savior and Lord they cannot and or will not see.

“I think we're right where God figured we’d be: mostly fallen; and where Satan hoped we would be: largely confused. Our one opportunity to know God’s truth and salvation was right there on the cross. We either believe or we don't, and the secular circus continues.” 

Maybe we’ll have a chance to discuss it further on another of Richard’s podcasts.

Walters (rlwcom@aol.com) realizes he is one voice in a rather strong whirlwind.