By Cyril Anderson

Part 4 of 4

 He challenged the authority of the existing priesthood by teaching the people directly and authoritatively and challenged the priesthood’s corruption and hypocrisy.  He taught the importance of mercy and pity, and ministered to the weakest, most downtrodden members of the society.  He strove to purify the religion by cleansing the temple in Jerusalem of the corruption of the moneychangers who had set up shop there.  Powerfully, he taught against the teachings of the Sadducees, who disbelieved in resurrection, by raising, using the power given him by God, a man from the dead, as a concrete proof to those that saw that there was life after death.  As well, in the spirit of the major prophets of the earlier prophetic age, he warned his people of a terrible calamity to befall his people very soon in Jerusalem if they did not turn back from wrongdoing.  In this way, a parallel is seen between Jesus and Jeremiah, who gave warnings to Judah and Jerusalem in particular in the years leading up to the Babylonian exile.  Jesus refers often, in the Gospel accounts, to a “desolating sacrilege” to strike Jerusalem in the lifetimes of those present.  Forty years after the end of his mission on earth, following an unsuccessful revolt by the Jews, the Romans sacked Jerusalem, destroying and defiling the temple following a long siege in which thousands were killed in Jerusalem from plague, starvation, and slaughter.

 More dangerously, Jesus spoke out against the Roman Empire, challenging its authority and pointing out its weaknesses.  He challenged its authority in Judea in the Gospels and, according to the vision of Jesus the Apostle John experienced and recorded in the Book of Revelations, prophesied in general of the fall of Rome, the “whore of Babylon” and of the persecutions those following after him would experience at the hands of the Romans.   In his speaking of the truth, he made many enemies, including amongst the powerful and the priestly classes amongst his own people.  Some naïvely claim that the move to execute Jesus came from his community because of “heretical statements” by Jesus, and that the call to execute Jesus was simply carried out by the Romans.  However, this is not well-founded.  The Romans did not carry out punishments for internal matters of religious law within the Jewish community.  Crucifixion was a Roman punishment authorized only by the Roman leadership and was reserved for enemies of the Roman state.  As well, an awareness of the methods historically used to crush resistance movements shows that the most likely truth was that it was the Romans, who saw his charisma and popularity with the people, and aware of his claim to the throne of Israel at a time of great instability and Messianic fervour, who wanted Jesus dead.  The machinations of the Jerusalem clergy, who were closely involved with the Roman authorities, can be seen as a way to tarnish the name of Jesus and his followers and give the planned execution a religious support. Throughout these struggles, Jesus taught the necessity of a spirit of self-sacrifice, of striving and giving of oneself to do good in the world, to work, giving up time, energy, and wealth to make the world a better place.  Jesus (as) delivered ideas to simmer amongst the people, to challenge the status quo and work to undermine corrupt systems of leadership.  These ideas were echoed over the years through the teachings of Muhammad (saws) and the imams from his descendants, and have served to challenge the power of oppressors to this day.  God willing, it will be the spread of such values in the future which will bring the changes that will usher in a better world, just as such values have changed the world in the past.

Suggested Sources For Further Reading

Old Testament – Torah (Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy), Joshua, Judges, 1 and 2 Samuel, 1 and 2 Kings, 1 and 2 Chronicles, Ruth, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Job, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel

Old Testament Apocrypha – 1 and 2 Maccabees

Flavius Josephus – The Wars of the Jews, Antiquities

NT – Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts of Apostles, various Epistles, Revelations

NT Apocrypha – Infancy Gospel of Thomas, Infancy Gospel of James

Theodotus – Peleponnesian War

City of God – St. Augustine

  Wikipedia also has a strong series of articles on Jewish and Christian history, figures, and currents of thought.  Though one should be careful not to over-rely on encyclopedia sources, the information is quite good as a general overview and as a starting point to get pointed toward deeper information. 

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