The Jesus Mystery by Lena Einhorn
The Jesus Mystery by Lena Einhorn: Astonishing Clues to the True Identity of Jesus and Paul by Lena Einhorn was translated by Rodney Bradbury from Swedish. While I disagreed with her general premises, that Jesus became Paul after the crucifixion somehow, she did have a lot of interesting points to ponder.
She discusses the idea of the Q source for the bible. Q stands for Quelle or Source. Scholars believe that the first Gospels were written around 50 B.C. but that this original source material has since disappeared and all we are left with is copies of copies of copies.
The word Messiah appears in the Hebrew Old Testaments some 38 times. The Greeks used the word Khristos. Josephus Flavianum wrote about Roman History and he does include Jesus. While many people take this to mean this as proof of the historical figure, other scholars thing perhaps this was added later by Christians. Each of the four Gospels are written in different styles with different audiences in mind. Mathew is for Jewish Readers. Mark for the Greek Speaking people of the Roman Empire. Luke is the most literary and was written for a Greek audience that was Non-Jewish. John was radically different then all of them and had a more metaphysical tone.
There is some disagreement on when exactly Jesus was born. Were the Gospel written to fit the prophecies? There is no real evidence that Jesus was born in Bethlehem. Luke points to 6 C.E., but King Herod was before 4 B.C.E. So the date Jesus’ birth is somewhere between 4 B.C.E. and 6 C.E. His birth is oddly only described in two of the four gospels though. The Gospel of Mark is full of Miracles, but even in Jesus’ time people said Miracles were evil magic. But what is magic but Miracles done but someone undesirable or unacceptable?
Einhorn talks about the Essenes and The Dead Sea Scrolls. John the Baptist was likely to have training with the order of the Essenes. Jesus comes to the River Jordan to be baptized by John. Why does Paul never mention John the Baptist? Was John the Baptist also named Theudas?
Jesus was very charismatic. People seemed to either love him or hate him. There were 12 Apostles and 12 Tribes of Israel. Coincidence? Jesus was to be the leader of the new Israel. The Passover meal or The Last Supper was described by Mark briefly. John devotes five whole chapters to it. Paul also describes it.
Why was Jesus arrested? He had not carried out any military attacks on either Jews or Romans. He did launch a few verbal attacks and disagreed with people on a legal basis. It seems as if Jesus provoked his arrest and execution. He prophesied his own death after all. Was it irrational or part of a perfect plan?
Did Jesus have Roman citizenship? It was considered high treason to crucify a Roman citizen. Jesus’ final charge was high treason. Why did Pontius Pilate try to save Jesus when Pilate was often described as cruel? Maybe Jesus was connected to the government somehow?
Jesus refused to drink to numb his sense and dull the pain on the cross. What caused him to die? It would be unusual for someone to die on a cross after a mere 6 hours. Usually the death was a slow and painful four days. Someone gave him a sponge to wipe his face and lips. Did that cause him to pass out or lose consciousness? He was also spared having his legs broken because he died before the others. Aloe and Myrrh were brought to his grave. Those were used to treat wounds, but why bring them if he was dead?
Perhaps Jesus didn’t die. Maybe his disciples stole his body from the temporary tomb and the crucifixion was meant to be symbolic. After all, Paul stakes everything on Jesus’ crucifixion and death. What happened next if Jesus didn’t die? Did he get married and have a family like it is suggested in Holy Blood, Holy Grail?
Is it possible that Jesus was arrested in 52 C.E. instead of 30 C.E.? Paul goes to Jerusalem in either 57 or 58 C.E. Paul dies a martyr’s death in 66 C.E. Did he travel to Spain first before he died? Could Apollonius of Tyanna be Paul? Apollonius dies in 97 C.E. Apollonius sometimes went by Pol.
The last chapter is by far the weakest. It is the only chapter in which Einhorn tries to connect Paul and Jesus. She says that Jesus and Paul were born and lived in the same area. Both were ambivalent toward their Jewish Heritage. Both were unmarried, which was considered unusual at the time. Paul had the wound of Jesus marked on him and both were Roman Citizens. Both use the same terminology or spoke the same. Does that mean they are the same? I don’t think so.
carilynn27 