Who Was Jesus?

I’ve studied Jesus for years. Not only his teachings, but also various texts and discoveries that pertain to him; also, the different opinions and views of believers, doubters, scientists and others. And while I could never present even the highlights of my research in a brief article, there are a view things I’d like to discuss and share.

Jesus was not born in 1 A.D. All accounts point to an extraordinary astronomical event when he was born. Astronomers have proved that nothing special happened in 1 A.D. In the sixth century, a monk called John the Little was assigned the task of calculating Jesus’ birth date. Apparently, he did so by adding together the reigns of kings. But in the year that he picked, Jesus would’ve already been six years old.

The astronomical evidence that refutes the old date is a certain type of alignment. The finding concerns the constellation Aries (the Ram). Jupiter came into Aries, and then the sun, followed by Saturn. The moon eclipsed and revealed Jupiter. Jupiter would have appeared as a morning star. This happened in April of 6 B.C.

This is a rare event, and, to the people of the region during that time, it signaled the birth of a king.

As for the story that we have in the New Testament, much of what’s in the Bible wasn’t translated correctly. One example is the inn where Jesus was supposedly born. The original Greek can also be translated as “upper room.” To this day, people in that region live that way, with the people in one area and the animals in the other. Archaeology has uncovered dwellings that contain a lower room (for the animals) and an upper room (for the people). I am by no means trying to say that the Bible is wrong; I’m only saying that one should remember that mistranslations could lead to misunderstandings.

But as I became exhausted with my studies, and anxious to study other things, I wondered, “Why are the little details so important? In a scholarly matter, they are important. But what do they mean to the overall story?”

We know (despite the astronomical evidence) that Jesus’ birthday is not December 25. That was a pagan holiday. The converted Roman Empire found that it could not simply stamp out an ancient tradition, so it adapted the holiday to a Christian theme. Before that, Jesus’ birthday was celebrated at various times, including April and May.

We’ll probably never really know the full details of the Star of Bethlehem and the three wise men of the east. Just as we’ll probably never know the details of the Resurrection.

Now, I won’t say that I don’t believe in the Resurrection. Nor will I say that I do believe in it. I see it as a mystery.

I’ve studied ancient myths and legends from all over the world. This isn’t the only story of resurrection. But there is a major difference here.

Though a lot has gone into the debate of Jesus’ relationship with Mary Magdalene, and though I do have my opinion, there is still too little evidence to say anything for sure regarding marriage. Yet we do know now that she was his closest companion – the Gospel of Luke itself calls her his companion. The story is that she was possessed by demons, and Jesus cast them out. In the ancient world, this could mean a number of things: physical ailment, emotional distress, etc. Perhaps Mary was sick and Jesus healed her somehow. Perhaps she was depressed, lonely, and she found in Jesus the friend she needed. We may never know, but Mary became his confidante, his close friend. And the story of the Resurrection centers on her.

Mary Magdalene was the first to see the resurrected Jesus. But she didn’t recognize him. How could that be? How could someone she knew so well appear as a stranger? It wasn’t until she heard his voice that she knew it was Jesus.

This never happens in other such stories. And what was it that sent his followers out to spread his teachings in the face of Roman persecution?

Is Christianity the greatest marketing strategy in history? Or did something really happen?

Ultimately, I get disgusted with the debate. So much time, money and effort goes into trying to figure out the details, or to prove the literal truth of the Scripture. Likewise, the same amount of time, money and effort goes into trying to disprove it, to write it off as some ancient fantasy.

There is no doubt that Jesus lived. Those around him, including Mary Magdalene, were real. That’s the whole point of my study, though: to find the humans beneath the legends.

I refuse to debate whether Jesus is the true Son of God. What one believes is the right of that person. But even if he was more than a man, we should remember that he was human, too.

When I learned his true name, which is his name in Aramaic, the language he spoke, it was like magic for me. Yeshua. (The spelling may be wrong, but I’ve spelled it the way it’s pronounced, for better understanding.) For it is the name of a fellow human being. The divine Jesus was always unreachable for me.

And though I do love his parables, and though I find great wisdom in them, it’s not his words that stir me to study him. It’s the way he lived. He lived with compassion, kindness, generosity, gentility, honesty, forgiveness . . . all the great virtues. Whatever one believes of his possible divinity, he was human. He loved, laughed, cried, hurt, and suffered, just as we do. We are human. Should we worship him as something beyond? Or should we see a beautiful heart and a beautiful mind that we should aspire to?

Right or wrong, whether anyone agrees or disagrees, I seek the latter in Jesus. For me, there are many whom I look up to. But he is undoubtedly unique. In him, I see something of the kind of person I strive to be.

It is a madly interesting search for his true birth date, and other such details. But that can too easily overshadow the type of person he was – and that’s the whole point of his story, isn’t it? To give us an example of how to live a better life and how to be better people?

Other would-be messiahs came and went before Jesus. What made him different on this score was that he was not a general that targeted the Roman army, as the others had done. He taught peace and acceptance. His issues were primarily with the corrupt Jewish religious authorities. From exhaustive study, it seems to me that he did not set out to start a new religion. It seems he was trying to make people remember the values they’d forgotten.

Jesus befriended a Roman soldier, a pagan; sinners; Gentiles; lepers. He treated women as equals. That was something that no good Jew would do in his society, yet he did it regardless of the scandals it caused. In that, I see this message: No matter who you are, what you believe, or what you’ve done, you deserve a chance.

I should like to have known him in person. I should like to have walked the streets of Galilee with him, discussing philosophy. Yet he’s near. Even for an “infidel” like me, Jesus lives on, as a friend and a teacher.