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Reversing Jesus to fit in

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
I'm not going to choose any images of Jesus, so if you would enter 'Jesus' in to your favoured search engine and click on images, then you can choose the picture of Jesus that feels most comfortable for you. Or will you do your best to research images of early 1st century Galilean peasants?

Peasant! How many folks object to that word! For many people Jesus was no peasant but a middle class skilled person! Research shows that in early 1st century Galilee there was no middle class. So what social position for Jesus would suit you best?

Over recent days I've followed a heated debate on a Christian forum about what Jesus chose to drink! Somebody had described Prince Philip, his Mum in-law, his family et all as a bunch of drunken layabouts, and when another member mentioned that Jesus (and his Mother) enjoyed wine and meat, certainly causing the Baptist some concerns..... well the objections flew in!

And property! I recently read the delightful suggestion that Jesus was a house owner. So I am guessing that somebody needed Jesus to own property, important for their feel-good factor in preference to camels getting stuck in needle eyes.

One Church searched for any reasons which might support galloping mammon and finally fixed upon the premise that Jesus owned his own clothes!

And Jesus in love. Do you allow the idea that Jesus ever (or never) loved a woman? One Apostle seems to want to paint the image of himself as a young man layed across the breast of Jesus, might that fit more easily for you?

And it goes on.... Jesus the warrior. Jesus the Puritan!. Jesus the loving. Jesus the Judge!. Jesus the executioner! Jesus the ........ fill in this space.

So here it is!

Describe your Jesus, please.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I believe I've said it before on these forums, but to me, Jesus will always be my husband's friend's son(who also happens to be my friend's old boss). He owns a restaurant in the area.
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
I believe I've said it before on these forums, but to me, Jesus will always be my husband's friend's son(who also happens to be my friend's old boss). He owns a restaurant in the area.
Excellent! :)
An interesting point.... I don't know a single British Jesus, not one. But I know scores of Muhammads. I suppose the difference could be that Muhammad was a prophet to Muslims but Jesus was God to Christians.
 

JustGeorge

Not As Much Fun As I Look
Staff member
Premium Member
I've noticed Jesus seems to be a popular name with those living in or having roots in Latin America(Jesus's parents are from Mexico), but I've never met anyone named that that didn't have that connection. Always wondered why.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
I like this picture and think of it as the closest to being true:

s-l1600.jpg
 

Aštra’el

Aštara, Blade of Aštoreth
A bright white light illuminating the vast darkness within one’s soul, encouraging and inspiring unconditional love, compassion, empathy, hope, forgiveness, kindness, happiness, humility, perseverance, redemption, salvation, deliverance, and loyalty to God.
 

Deeje

Avid Bible Student
Premium Member
OK...OB. FWIW....

I'm not going to choose any images of Jesus, so if you would enter 'Jesus' in to your favoured search engine and click on images, then you can choose the picture of Jesus that feels most comfortable for you. Or will you do your best to research images of early 1st century Galilean peasants?

Peasant! How many folks object to that word! For many people Jesus was no peasant but a middle class skilled person! Research shows that in early 1st century Galilee there was no middle class. So what social position for Jesus would suit you best?

Jesus was born to poor parents and his life was pretty typical for devout Jews of the period. His father was a carpenter who no doubt taught his oldest son all he knew about carpentry. Every year they would make the journey to Jerusalem for the festivals. So a very spiritually minded family.

Over recent days I've followed a heated debate on a Christian forum about what Jesus chose to drink! Somebody had described Prince Philip, his Mum in-law, his family et all as a bunch of drunken layabouts, and when another member mentioned that Jesus (and his Mother) enjoyed wine and meat, certainly causing the Baptist some concerns..... well the objections flew in!

The Bible has no prohibitions on either in moderation. Gluttony and drunkenness were prohibited however.

And property! I recently read the delightful suggestion that Jesus was a house owner. So I am guessing that somebody needed Jesus to own property, important for their feel-good factor in preference to camels getting stuck in needle eyes.
Jesus was not an owner of property and relied entirely on the generosity of his fellow Jews to sustain him with food, clothing and a place to sleep. Jews were always counseled to be hospitable. He even told his disciples at first that they needed to take nothing with them. That changed when the mood of the Jews became hostile towards them.

One Church searched for any reasons which might support galloping mammon and finally fixed upon the premise that Jesus owned his own clothes!
The garments he wore were of finest quality but they were gifted to him. The Roman soldiers cast lots to see who would take them home.

And Jesus in love. Do you allow the idea that Jesus ever (or never) loved a woman? One Apostle seems to want to paint the image of himself as a young man layed across the breast of Jesus, might that fit more easily for you?

No romance for Jesus. He was sent on a mission that did not include marriage or children.
Like us, he had some friends who were closer to him than others...like Lazarus and his sisters.
The disciple who was "in the bosom" position with Jesus at the Last Supper was mentioned as someone he was especially close to, although this one never elevated himself above the other apostles. That position had to be occupied by someone, why not John? He was also present at the transfiguration with Peter and James. So what? He was chosen by Jesus as an apostle, but he was not his betrayer.

And it goes on.... Jesus the warrior. Jesus the Puritan!. Jesus the loving. Jesus the Judge!. Jesus the executioner! Jesus the ........ fill in this space.

So here it is!

Describe your Jesus, please.

Obedient Son of God, humble teacher, champion of truth, preacher of God's Kingdom as the only hope for mankind and a lover of people. One who 'took the bullet' for mankind.....especially those who appreciate his mission and how successful he was in willingly carrying it out.

He has also been appointed as the judge of all mankind who will at the end, "separate the sheep from the goats" and put things to right on this planet because that is what he was sent to do.

Jesus is my hero and my Savior but he is not my God.
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
OK...OB. FWIW....
Hi, Deeje.

Jesus was born to poor parents and his life was pretty typical for devout Jews of the period. His father was a carpenter who no doubt taught his oldest son all he knew about carpentry. Every year they would make the journey to Jerusalem for the festivals. So a very spiritually minded family.
Nagars didn't do badly for income, actually. And all Jews were expected to attend at least one major feast each year because the Priesthood wanted the silver coin from every adult male.

What does Jesus look like in Watchtower mags these days?

The Bible has no prohibitions on either in moderation. Gluttony and drunkenness were prohibited however.
Drunks are still arrested here, but that doesn't stop folks getting very happy at parties. Mary was most keen for a very large amount of good wine to be produced at the Cana wedding, and the Baptist was worried about reports of Jesus's drinking. But that doesn't damage his image one bit imo.

Jesus was not an owner of property and relied entirely on the generosity of his fellow Jews to sustain him with food, clothing and a place to sleep. Jews were always counseled to be hospitable. He even told his disciples at first that they needed to take nothing with them. That changed when the mood of the Jews became hostile towards them.
I think Jesus lodged with Cephas and Andrew's Mum quite a lot, but he earned quite enough to look after himself. He could certainly produce more food than he needed.

The garments he wore were of finest quality but they were gifted to him. The Roman soldiers cast lots to see who would take them home.
Galilean peasants (there was no mid class) wore wool, mostly, rather than expensive linen, and if there was anything to be divided among the soldiers at his execution then that might have been the fine cloak that they put round him to mock him. But I believe a convicts clothing would have been ripped, bloody and worth nothing.

No romance for Jesus. He was sent on a mission that did not include marriage or children.
Like us, he had some friends who were closer to him than others...like Lazarus and his sisters.
The disciple who was "in the bosom" position with Jesus at the Last Supper was mentioned as someone he was especially close to, although this one never elevated himself above the other apostles. That position had to be occupied by someone, why not John? He was also present at the transfiguration with Peter and James. So what? He was chosen by Jesus as an apostle, but he was not his betrayer.
You didn't mention Magdalene....fair enough. You mention how John was at the Transfiguration, the most amazing incident ever to have happened fotr John, Ceophas and James..... Jesus lit up bright as a star and visited by God... in their view and presence. An experience to remember all life long, but one which Apostle John didn't think to mention himself.

Obedient Son of God, humble teacher, champion of truth, preacher of God's Kingdom as the only hope for mankind and a lover of people. One who 'took the bullet' for mankind.....especially those who appreciate his mission and how successful he was in willingly carrying it out.
So you don't focus too much on the Jesus that told his men to arm themselves, obtain swords, etc? OK.

He has also been appointed as the judge of all mankind who will at the end, "separate the sheep from the goats" and put things to right on this planet because that is what he was sent to do.
Ah yes, the returning Jesus with sword flicking to and fro from his mouth...... that image? OK

Jesus is my hero and my Savior but he is not my God.
Fair enough, Deeje.
Let's see how Jesus appears before any other members.
 

Hockeycowboy

Witness for Jehovah
Premium Member
When he was a human, probably like this pic, which I found on Pinterest....

upload_2021-4-12_4-30-47.jpeg


....very approachable, kind, & loving.

Now, he’s a powerful King “whom no one has seen or can see”, but still has those same qualities.

He’s my King.
 

Soapy

Son of his Father: The Heir and Prince
I've noticed Jesus seems to be a popular name with those living in or having roots in Latin America(Jesus's parents are from Mexico), but I've never met anyone named that that didn't have that connection. Always wondered why.
The name, “Jesus”, is a westernised version of the Jewish proper noun, “Joshua”.

“Jesus” (Yeshua) and Joshua (Yeshua) both mean the same: ‘He who saves’.

You will notice that jewish tradition required a male child to carry a name from an ancestor - which is why there was so much fuss made when John the Baptist was to be named: Zachias knew there was no one in his ancestry that had the name ‘John’ and so he argued with the Angel. His mouth (voice) was only allowed to be opened again when he agreed to the terms of the Angel (sent from God!).

But you will notice that Mary the Virgin accepted the name ‘Yeshua’ as soon as the Angel stated that the child to be born to her shall be named thus! Check your lineage history and see that there was an ancestor named ‘Joshua’.... no argument required!!

And, we know that though Moses led the tribe of Israelites out of Egypt, it was JOSHUA (Yeshua) who brought them INTO the Promised Land.... Joshua SAVED them out of the wilderness.

There is no ‘Power’ or ‘Fear’ in the name ‘Jesus’.

Hokd on ... hold on.... I hear you.. I hear you... !

The name is WESTERNISED... remember....

And, the scripture use of ‘Power in the name of Jesus’ means, ‘In what Jesus Christ’ stands for: integrity, honesty, truth, reverence to God, righteousness, humility, true sonship.

When we pray ‘In the name of Jesus [christ]’ or ‘Baptise in the name of Jesus’, THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS!!

It most certainly does not mean simply saying ‘In the name of Jesus’! It must be meant as described above. Hence the POWER is not the word, the name, but in the FORTHRIGHTNESS, the sincerity, that JESUS THE CHRIST, the person of God, would do.

In addition, scriptures tells of others called ‘Jesus’ (westernised) such one named ‘Bar-Jesus’ (Son of Jesus’ ... and we know it wasn’t THE CHRIST JESUS he was the son (bar-) of!!!!)

No one was upset or fearfulled to be called ‘Jesus’ in those days because it wasn’t ‘Jesus’... it was ‘Yeshua’ or otherwise written, ‘Joshua’.... Yet today, no one is afraid to call a male child ‘Joshua’!!
 
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pearl

Well-Known Member
And Jesus in love. Do you allow the idea that Jesus ever (or never) loved a woman? One Apostle seems to want to paint the image of himself as a young man layed across the breast of Jesus, might that fit more easily for you?

According to the gospel of Peter;

Wisdom, who is called barren, is the mother of the angels.

The companion of the [savior] is Mary of Magdala. The [savior loved] her more than [all] the disciples, [and he] kissed her often on her [mouth].

The other [disciples] [64]…said to him, “Why do you love her more than all of us?”

The savior answered and said to them, “Why do I not love you like her? If a blind person and one who can see are both in darkness, they are the same. When the light comes, one who can see will see the light, and the blind person will stay in darkness.”
 

Left Coast

This Is Water
Staff member
Premium Member
61c3HjzCVUL-1.jpg


He never married and had a bunch of dudes who followed him around everywhere hanging on his every word. Makes you think...
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
According to the gospel of Peter;

Wisdom, who is called barren, is the mother of the angels.

The companion of the [savior] is Mary of Magdala. The [savior loved] her more than [all] the disciples, [and he] kissed her often on her [mouth].

The other [disciples] [64]…said to him, “Why do you love her more than all of us?”

The savior answered and said to them, “Why do I not love you like her? If a blind person and one who can see are both in darkness, they are the same. When the light comes, one who can see will see the light, and the blind person will stay in darkness.”
Thank you very much or that pearl. :)
I have always thought that Jesus and Magdalene were lovers .
 

pearl

Well-Known Member
My Jesus is the Jesus that is defined in the Bible and he is the King. :)

The question of the kiss on the mouth is still nowadays not very clear.
Mary Magdalene was the favorite disciple of Jesus, who “kissed her on the mouth”. If we read this passage in the first degree, we deduce that they were lovers. But, if we read it in the Gnostic perspective, we know that the kiss symbolizes the breath of the spirit, knowledge. So, the master embraces his disciple to transmit the breath, the spiritual soul. It is a sign of spiritual intimacy and not carnal. As an exchange of breath, it marks communion and reciprocal spiritual regeneration
The Gospel of Philip, "The kiss of Jesus to Mary Magdalene" News
 

oldbadger

Skanky Old Mongrel!
When he was a human, probably like this pic, which I found on Pinterest....

View attachment 49432

....very approachable, kind, & loving.

Now, he’s a powerful King “whom no one has seen or can see”, but still has those same qualities.

He’s my King.
Thank you. :)
It's unusual for people to see a Jesus who is cheerful, enjoying company and involved in happiness.
Most pictures I see of him show a serious, mournful, skyward looking Jesus .
Yeah. Great. :)
 
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