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9 Things You Think You Know About Jesus That Are Probably Wrong
Valerie Tarico, AlterNet
Waking Times
Jesus has been described as the best known figure in history, and also the least known. If you mentioned the name “Jesus” and someone asked Jesus who, you might blink. Or laugh. Even people who don’t think Jesus was God mostly believe they know a fair bit about him. You might be surprised that some of your most basic assumptions about Jesus are probably wrong.
We have no record of anything that was written about Jesus by eyewitnesses or other contemporaries during the time he would have lived, or for decades thereafter. Nonetheless, based on archeological digs and artifacts, ancient texts and art, and even forensic science, we know a good deal about the time and culture in which the New Testament is set. This evidence points to some startling conclusions about who Jesus likely was—and wasn’t.
1. Married, not single.
When an ancient papyrus scrap was found in 2014 referring to the wife of Jesus, some Catholics and Evangelicals were scandalized. But unlike the Catholic Church, Jews have no tradition of celibacy among religious leaders. Jesus and his disciples would have been practicing Jews, and all great rabbis we know of were married. A rabbi being celibate would have been so unusual that some modern writers have argued Jesus must have been gay. But a number of ancient texts, including the canonical New Testament, point to a special relationship between Mary Magdalene and Jesus. The Gospel of Phillip says, “[Jesus] loved her more than all the disciples, and used to kiss her often on her mouth.”
2. Cropped hair, not long.
Jewish men at the time of Christ did not wear their hair long. A Roman triumphal arch of the time period depicts Jewish slaves with short hair. In the Apostle Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians, he addresses male hair length. “Does not nature itself teach you that if a man wears long hair, it is degrading to him?” (1 Corinthians 11:14 NRSV). During the 1960s, conservative Christians quoted this verse to express their disgust against the hippy movement and to label it anti-Christian.
3. Hung on a pole, not necessarily a cross.
For centuries scholars have known that the Greek New Testament word “stauros,” which is translated into English as cross, can refer to a device of several shapes, commonly a single upright pole, “torture stake” or even tree. The Romans did not have a standard way of crucifying prisoners, and Josephus tells us that during the siege of Jerusalem, soldiers nailed or tied their victims in a variety of positions. Early Christians may have centered on the vertical pole with a crossbeam because it echoed the Egyptian ankh, a symbol of life, or the Sumerian symbol for Tammuz, or because it simply was more artistically and symbolically distinctive than the alternatives. Imagine millions of people wearing a golden pole on a chain around their necks.
4. Short, not tall.
The typical Jewish man at the time of the Roman Empire would have been just over five feet tall, which makes this a best guess for the height of Jesus. That he is typically depicted taller derives from the mental challenge people have distinguishing physical stature from other kinds of stature. Great men are called “big men” and “larger than life.” In ancient times they often were assigned divine parentage and miraculous births, and the idea that Jesus was uniquely divine has created a strong pull over time to depict him as taller than is likely. A good illustration of this is the Shroud of Turin, which is just one of many such Jesus-shrouds that circulated during medieval times and which bears the image of a man closer to six feet in height.
5. Born in a house, not a stable.
The miraculous birth story of Jesus is a late, maybe second-century addition to the Bible, and it contains many fascinating mythic elements and peculiarities. But the idea that Jesus was born in a stable was added to the Christmas story even later. In the original narrative, Joseph and Mary probably would have stayed with relatives, and the phrase “no room for them in the inn (gr: kataluma)” is better translated “no room for them in the upper room.” Later storytellers did not understand that people of the time might bring animals into their ground floor, as in Swiss housebarns, and they assumed that the presence of a manger implied a stable.
6. Named Joshua, not Jesus.
The name Joshua (in Hebrew Y’hoshuʿa meaning “deliverance” or “salvation”), was common among Jews in the Ancient Near East as it is today. Joshua and Jesus are the same name, and are translated differently in our modern Bible to distinguish Jesus from the Joshua of the Old Testament, who leads the Hebrew people to the Promised Land. In actuality, the relationship between the two figures is fascinating and important. Some scholars believe that the New Testament gospels are mostly historicized and updated retellings of the more ancient Joshua story, with episodes interwoven from stories of Elisha and Elijah and Moses. A modern parallel can be found in the way Hollywood writers have reworked Shakespearean tropes and plot elements into dozens of modern movies (though for a very different purpose).
7. Number of apostles (12) from astrology, not history.
Whether Jesus had 12 disciples who were above his other devotees is an open question. The number 12 was considered auspicious by many ancient peoples, and the fellowship of 12 disciples, who are depicted in Da Vinci’s The Last Supper, likely get their count from the same source as the 12 signs of the zodiac and 12 months of the year. Astrotheology or star worship preceded the Hebrew religion, and shaped both the Bible and Western religions more broadly. One might point to the 12 Olympian gods or 12 sons of Odin, or the 12 days of Christmas or 12 “legitimate” successors to the prophet Mohammed. But since the Gospels echo the story of Joshua, the 12 apostles most closely parallel the 12 tribes of Israel.
8. Prophecies recalled, not foretold.
Even people who aren’t too sure about the divinity of Jesus sometimes think that the way he fulfilled prophecies was a bit spooky, like the writings of Nostradamus. In reality, Scooby Doo could solve this one in a single episode with three pieces of information: First, Old Testament prophecies were well known to first-century Jews, and a messianic figure who wanted to fulfill some of these prophecies could simply do so. For example, in the book of Matthew, Jesus seeks a donkey to ride into Jerusalem “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet” (Matthew 21:4). Second, “gospels” are a genre of devotional literature rather than objective histories, which means that the authors had every reason to shape their stories around earlier predictions. Third, scholars now believe that some Bible texts once thought to be prophecies (fo example in the Book of Revelation) actually relate to events that were current or past at the time of writing.
9. Some Jesus quotes not from Jesus; others uncertain.
Lists of favorite Jesus sayings abound online. Some of the most popular are the Beatitudes (blessed are the meek, etc.) or the story of the woman caught in adultery (let he who is without sin cast the first stone) or the Golden Rule (do unto others as you would have them do unto you, which, we are told, sums up the Law and the Prophets).
Which words are actually from Jesus? This question has been debated fiercely by everyone from third-century Catholic Councils to the 20th-century Jesus Seminar. Even Thomas Jefferson weighed in, but much remains unclear. The New Testament Gospels were written long after Jesus would have died, and no technology existed with which to record his teachings in real time, unless he wrote them down himself, which he didn’t.
We can be confident that at least some of the wise and timeless words and catchy proverbs attributed to Jesus are actually from earlier or later thinkers. For example, the Golden Rule was articulated before the time of Christ by the Rabbi Hillel the Elder, who similarly said it was the “whole Torah.” By contrast, the much-loved story of the woman caught in adultery doesn’t appear in manuscripts until the fourth century. Attributing words (or whole texts) to a famous person was common in the Ancient Near East, because it gave those words extra weight. Small wonder then that so many genuinely valuable insights ended up, in one way or another, paired with the name of Jesus.
The person of Jesus, if indeed there was such a person, is shrouded in the fog of history leaving us only with a set of hunches and traditions that far too often are treated as knowledge. The “facts” I have listed here are largely trivial; it doesn’t really matter whether Jesus was tall or short, or how he cut his hair. But it does matter, tremendously, that “facts” people claim to know about how Jesus saw himself, and God and humanity are equally tenuous.
The teachings attributed to Jesus mix enduring spiritual and moral insights with irrelevancies and Judaica and bits of Iron Age culture, some of which are truly awful. That leaves each of us, from the privileged vantage of the 21st century, with both a right and a responsibility to consider the evidence and make our own best guesses about what is real and how we should then live. A good starting place might be a little more recognition that we don’t know nearly as much as we’d like to think, and a lot of what we know for sure is probably wrong.
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Source: http://www.wakingtimes.com/2015/02/26/9-things-you-think-you-know-about-jesus-that-are-probably-wrong/
Thank you,it nice to see someone not promoting a fable,but giving real truth. I sometimes can’t believe so many people put so much faith in the Bible, without first looking at the ‘who,what and why it was written..
I have stated that their were many people before Jesus, who were born on the 25 Dec to a virgin mother,and had 12 followers who died and were then reborn.? So why is it that Jesus was put in history as better than them?
“If there was such a person as Jesus”……indeed.
/science-and-technology/2014/04/ancient-high-performance-electric-motors-discovered-that-are-still-in-production-2685290.html
/prophecy/2014/06/pole-shift-of-noahs-day-about-to-happen-again-heres-the-evidence-you-decide-2461772.html
Given that Christ warned of virtually every major player on the world stage today, and what their powers and proclivities would be….and warned of the exact conditions that exist at this time….and given that He mentioned in detail, scientific principles such as the hydrologic Cycle which were not in evidence in His day…..and given that God asked Job if he could lose the bonds of the Pleiades which were only discovered to be gravitationally bound thousands of years later…..ETC…..etc…..
Yeah, the evidence is EVERYWHERE that Christ Yahshua WAS, IS, and WILL BE exactly who He said He was.
Remember ‘waking times’ that to be awake means to stay awake.
And Christ returns as a thief in the night….don’t find yourself seeking a hiding place like the military commanders, earthly leaders, merchants and such upon that day…..
Wishing you could take back your prideful false teachings.
Good Journies
I have to agree with the conclusions in your last two paragraphs. Otherwise, you have the same serious problem as many
‘educated’ Christians. You just don’t get the fact that Rome rules socalled protestantism which is the bulk of christianity. With 26 or 27,000 denominations you can’t even get the day of the week for sabbath.
Salvation of Yahweh, the plan and the man, is spoken as Yahshua in Aramaic. Within the construct of that name we have ‘yah’ which is the contraction of Yahweh.
Now, if you don’t get that Yahshua was the name of messiach, or that Yahweh is the name of the Creator, or that Saturday, the 7th day on our common calendar, is the sabbath for teaching and learning, then you won’t get much that the bible has to offer.
What do they say? Oh, yeah, get real or get lost!
As in; the blind leading the blind.
Anyone can do a bible search using ‘name’ as the keyword and find dozens of verses referencing how important the ‘name’ is. Your name, Yahweh’s name, Yahshua’s name.
And, when you get that sorted out, you can then study how the Mark of Yahweh is the Sabbath Seal. Of course, you can see clearly then how a different sabbath could be the mark of satan. I think most 4yr olds would understand the forgoing concept.
thank you, the Sabbath (Seventh Day of the Week) is VITAL, it is the final choice for mankind.
This day was blessed and set apart by Elohim at creation (Ber. 2:2-3 / Gen_2:2-3). Later on it was instituted as the sign of the everlasting covenant between Elohim and His people, a sign that He sets them apart, an everlasting sign (Shem. 31:13-17 / Exo_31:13-17, Yeḥez. 20:12-20 / Eze_20:12-20). Sabbath-keeping is one of the Ten Words of the Covenant, standing forever, settled forever in heaven, founded forever (Teh. 89:34 / Psa_89:34, Teh. 111:8-9 / Psa_111:8-9, Teh. 119:89 / Psa_119:89). We would like to point out the following:
(1) יהושע kept the Sabbath (Luk_4:16, Yn. 15:10 / Joh_15:10), and the women who were taught by Him still kept it at the time of Messiah’s burial (Luk_23:56).
(2) Sha’ul kept it (Act_13:14, Act_13:42-44, Act_7:2, Act_18:4 & Act_18:11).
(3) Ludia and the women kept it (Act_16:13).
(4) In Heb_4:9 we are again reminded of the necessity of keeping the Sabbath!
(5) Finally: After the end-time judgment has come upon this earth (Yesh. 66), and a new heavens and a new earth is established, we read in Yesh. 66:23 Isa_66:23 that the Sabbath shall still be kept!
(6) Who then changed it to Sunday, in effect nullifying it? In Dan_7:25 we read of a horn, a sovereign (remember: in those days the gentiles regarded their sovereigns as deities). This one is often interpreted as being the Anti-Messiah, the enemy of the Chosen People. In Dan_7:25 we read that he would “intend to change appointed times (or, festivals) and law.” The RCC openly boast that they changed the Sabbath to Sunday. This change was preceded by Emperor Constantine legislating, in the year 321, that “the venerable day of the Sun” was to be kept as a day of rest. Remember: Constantine was a worshipper of Sol Invictus, the sun-deity. The “Church” soon followed suit, and in the year 336 (some give the date as 364), at the Council of Laodicea, Canon 29, the christians were commanded to observe the Sunday as well. Bishop Eusebius (270-338 CE), who worked with Constantine, admits to the Church’s decision to change from Sabbath to Sunday.
i think may shall be Sealed by this article, and all who read Moriyah’s comment, now know what the mark of the beast is, and after reading my comment, shall have no a leg to stand on when the time is up. excellent.
I Corinthians 5:7 “Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened, For even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us:”
Passover” is the most high day in Christianity. That is the day that Christ became our Passover, when He died on the cross for the sins of all those that would believe on His name and repent of their sins in Jesus name.
Colossians 2:16 “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:”
“Sabbath” in the Hebrew tongue means “rest”. Hebrews chapter four makes it very clear that Christ is our rest every day of the week. Don’t put one day above another in respecting Christ, for we are required to put Christ foremost every day of our lives.
I wish Before Its News provided unlike buttons for articles that are propaganda and disinformation. Along with a few truths you have inserted untruths and claim they are in the gospels that are not even recognized by the church to have any valid authority other than being frauds produced by later century non-believers and Jews who wanted to discredit Christ. Yes, He had short hair and He was short and probably not very appealing to look at as per Isaiah. But, you certainly are out for creating mischief and to do the devils work, as it is worrying you that more and more people are turning towards the Word, that was in the beginning, Yahshua.