High Stakes (11 page)

I remember when I was at St. Theresa's College, in Christian marriage class we were told we were always second and subservient to our husbands and that we were to have as many children as God saw fit. I won't go into how many times I was kept after class to be reprimanded by Father Nadian, but during those talks I found out even he felt differently but under Church law had to teach the dogma. I grew to love this priest and saw the pain this dear Dominican faced in being torn by what his heart and logic told him as opposed to what he was supposed to teach. I can't wait to see him on the Other Side, and run toward him screaming that we were right and now we are free in our thoughts.

Francine says Magdalene always walked in front and to the right of Jesus and behind them walked the disciples. This could have been another reason they felt jealous. Instead of one of them, a woman takes first place next to Jesus. Of course, it would be a natural position if she was his wife.

We don't read much of Christ's mother in the Bible either. She seems, except for the birth, the wedding feast at Cana and possibly a brief mention that she was at the crucifixion…to just disappear. With men writing the Bible I'm convinced they just left women out as much as possible. We see in the Old Testament Deborah, Esther, Ruth and Bathsheba, but except for a few other minor villainesses such as Jezebel, the queen of Sheba, Salome and Lot's wife, who was turned into a pillar of salt because she looked back at the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, women are secondary players.

Francine says Magdalene was very close to Mary, as well as Mary of Bethany, Martha and Naomi, who used to travel with Jesus and his brothers and sisters. So they traveled with a fairly large core group. Mary had known Magdalene most of her life and felt like she was truly a daughter and was extremely happy to have her as a daughter-in-law. This bears up at the crucifixion when they and John (the beloved) and others (depending upon which gospel you read) stood at the cross together while the rest of the disciples went into hiding.

W
HETHER HE WAS CURING
the sick, making the lame walk or the blind see, he was constantly preaching. He had only a few run-ins with the Sanhedrin. They tried at first to ignore him, feeling as if he was just another fanatic like John the Baptist; but as his popularity grew and the synagogues began to be empty, they became more alarmed. This came from two motives. One, they were losing money, and two, they didn't want to make the Romans angry; not only because they had their own gods, but because they wanted to separate themselves from the fact that, after all, he was a Jew and they were afraid they would be blamed for his words that went against Judaic teaching.

In all deference, let's understand that this religion had already existed and flourished for hundreds of years and gave birth to great kings and great religious beliefs for the time. Here they sat, the lawmakers and judges of the Judaic faith, with this “new” prophet, so to speak, who threatened the fiber of their established religion. The Romans at the same time became somewhat nervous, because wherever he went huge crowds gathered and this could spell insurrection.

The Jewish people, sadly, have had to bear the stigma of crucifying Christ. But we didn't live then, and if our establishment was threatened, how do we know what we would have done? Both the Jews and the Romans had a hand in his crucifixion—which, by the way, was the favorite Roman means of execution at that time. Later on, to the Romans, it became burning at the stake or a means of entertainment such as throwing criminals to wild animals; but at that time the Roman norm was crucifixion, just as the Jewish norm was stoning to death. Let's also not forget Jesus had to go through this to fulfill the prophecies that would culminate in his supposed death. It was out of this martyrdom that his teachings would live on.

Let's be logical…his teachings were vying against the long-standing religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism and the all-powerful Romans as well as other religions that were minor but popular. No one knew anything of this new monotheistic religious philosophy of a gentle, loving and all-forgiving God. Most Eastern religions don't have a personal God as such or they have many deities. The Judaic religion had one God, but He was unreachable, harsh, unforgiving and sometimes very frightening. So there appears on the stage of life a man who is trying to set the record straight, and he might well be ignored and forgotten unless his exit were dramatic. Let's face it, the world seems to love martyrs.

Yet here is where there is a big hole in the prophecies. The “Savior” was supposed to come and free the Jews. He was to be a king with wealth and, much like Moses, was to free them from oppression and lead them in their promised land. Christ came to show them how to be free in their souls and how to correct and live their lives so they could truly live in the “promised land” of the Kingdom of God (the Other Side). Christ did neither and yet he did both…does that sound confusing?

Some of the Messianic prophecies (prophecies pertaining to the Savior, and there are reputedly over three hundred) are: The Jewish Savior was to be from the lineage of David—Christ fulfilled that. The Savior was to be born of a virgin (a misinterpreted and man-made prophecy to deflect the influence of other religions)—Christ supposedly fulfilled that. The Savior was to be heralded by a messenger of God (John the Baptist)—Jesus fulfilled that. He would perform miracles—Jesus fulfilled that. He would preach good news—Jesus fulfilled that. He would enter Jerusalem as a King riding a donkey—Christ fulfilled that. He would die a humiliating and painful death—Christ supposedly fulfilled that. His hands and feet would be pierced—Jesus fulfilled that. His executioners would cast lots for his clothing—evidently fulfilled. None of his bones would be broken in his execution—Christ fulfilled that. His side would be pierced—Jesus fulfilled that. He would die with the wicked and be buried in a rich man's tomb—Christ supposedly fulfilled that. He would be born in Bethlehem—Jesus fulfilled that. He would come out of Egypt—Christ fulfilled that. And on and on it goes. Most of these Messianic prophecies from the Old Testament are very vague in nature and can be ascribed or not ascribed to Jesus depending upon interpretation. One of the main prophecies of the Savior was to bring world peace…Christ did not do that.

The problem with prophecies is that they are made many times by men or women for humankind, are interpreted by humankind and are always looked upon from the perspective of living life on earth. After all, most of us only consider reality to be what we can feel, hear, taste, smell and see…the premise of anything else being a part of reality is purely subjective, and therein lies the problem. God and the Afterlife are for most people a belief and not a reality, and are therefore a matter of faith. For those who are more enlightened spiritually, faith becomes knowing and also a part of their reality. The problem with most religion is that it is based on faith and not reality…thus, although a person who is religious may
believe
that something is true, they don't really
know
if it's true. They are put in the position of having God and an Afterlife compared to what they perceive as reality, and sadly, God and the premise of an Afterlife come in a poor second. This is because very few can hear, touch or see God or an Afterlife. If we can't sense something with our five main senses, it ceases to be real to us and then becomes a matter of faith—which is a poor substitute for our perceived reality.

If God would get on a loudspeaker that covered all the world and say, “I want to introduce myself, I am God”—then most likely all of us would make God part of our reality. Or if the heavens opened and all of us on Earth saw the Other Side in all its glory in a prolonged vision, then the chances are most of us might also make that a part of our reality. It is also a distinct possibility that many of us would say that hearing God or seeing the Other Side was only our imagination working overtime or a delusion. The point is that humankind perceives reality to be the life we live on Earth and that the belief in God (or gods) and an Afterlife will always be as diverse as the numerous cultures we have here on this planet.

Prophecy is nothing more than an extension of belief and faith. We certainly don't know if something prophesied will happen until it happens, and there are many prophecies that have not happened yet and certainly many that were not fulfilled. In the case of Jesus, there are many who say he fulfilled the Messianic prophecies and many who say he didn't. Does it really matter whether or not Christ fulfilled these Messianic prophecies? Is prophecy such an exact science that millions of Judaic people are still waiting for their savior because of it or that billions of Christian, Judaic and Islamic peoples are still waiting for the Judgment Day?

It seems that if a prophecy was made by David or Isaiah or Jeremiah, it has to be true; but many of their prophecies have not come to pass. The reason I have inserted this section on prophecy and reality is that it shows how strongly the Bible was associated with people who told the future. Then, after the Bible was put together, the Christian era banned all telling of future happenings. It's acceptable to prophesy in the Old Testament, but not after the Church was established, for it did not fit into the Church's perception of reality. It's also all right to prophesy if you are a saint, but keep it under wraps and above all keep it quiet if you are not. I've often wondered how religions all of a sudden decided that prophets were no longer being born and that prophecy was pure hogwash, especially when it plays such a large part in the dogma of all the major religions.

 

The true story of the Passion of Christ is one of the most controversial secrets Christianity has tried to hide for almost two thousand years. Nothing that is truth can be hidden forever, because it will work its way to the top for everyone to see.

The Sanhedrin and Pharisees started to put pressure on the Roman government to arrest Jesus and bring him in for trial. The incidents that occurred on Palm Sunday, as the Church now calls it, put the Sanhedrin and Pharisees over the proverbial edge. Jesus did come into the city with great fanfare on the Sabbath, which was one week before Passover. This seemed like a blasphemy to the Judaic elders. He then incurred more of their wrath by visiting the Temple and driving out the moneylenders with a whip, citing their hypocrisy in the process. The Sanhedrin met in a special council and decided to petition Pontius Pilate to arrest Jesus and put him on trial for blasphemy and sedition. This took a few days, as even then there were many in the Sanhedrin who felt the charges unjustified.

In the interim period, Jesus told Judas Iscariot to arrange a private meeting with Pilate if possible, as he knew what was coming. Pilate agreed to the meeting mostly out of curiosity, but also because his beloved wife had had a dream about Jesus that said Jesus should not be harmed, and he respected his wife's counsel. The meeting was arranged with only Pilate, Jesus, Judas Iscariot and Joseph of Arimathaea in attendance. This meeting was several days before the erroneous story of Judas's betrayal was to take place. If you use your logic, why would Judas have to betray him with a kiss and receive thirty pieces of silver when the Romans already knew who he was and where he was? Jesus was not exactly hiding when he preached to the people in Jerusalem for all to see.

This private meeting set into motion one of the greatest plots in the history of mankind. Pilate, in meeting Jesus for the first time, was profoundly curious about this man who seemed to attract huge multitudes to just hear him speak. After questioning him about his intentions toward Rome, he was satisfied that Christ had no seditious intent and was frankly quite impressed with him, as most people who came into contact with Jesus were similarly impressed. Pilate could find no wrong in him and found him to be a gentle and charming man. Pilate, however, was also the governor of Israel and certainly knew the political climate from his many spies in the Sanhedrin and Pharisees, as well as throughout Galilee and Judea, and therein was the problem—how was he to keep order and avoid possible rioting or insurrection?

Pontius Pilate was intelligent, decisive and cunning. He had to be or he would not be governor of Israel for long and would not maintain his stature. He knew that Rome wanted peace above all else, for otherwise trade would be disrupted and Roman resources would have to be spent on downing any uprisings. He also knew the atmosphere in Israel was potentially very explosive. He knew the Sanhedrin and Pharisees wanted Christ condemned, but Pilate also knew Jesus had many followers and he was afraid there could be rioting and possible revolution on either side if Jesus was condemned or set free. Pilate was faced with a great dilemma—what to do with this man known as Jesus?

Francine says Pilate came up with an ingenious plan. Finding no wrong in Jesus, he proposed an audacious scheme that would depend upon complete secrecy, but most of all would depend on Christ's cooperation.

According to Francine, Pilate explained to Christ that he found him to be no threat, but he had to maintain peace with the ruling religious structure (Sanhedrin and Pharisees) within Israel. Pilate outlined to Jesus that they wanted him to be arrested and put on trial and that he would do all he could to get a verdict of innocence for him. If they found him guilty he would try to keep him alive, even though he would have to enact the penalty of scourging and crucifixion as per the law; but there were no guarantees that he would be able to do so. Jesus understood what Pilate was saying and knew his fate was sealed. He held out a slight hope nonetheless that this plan might succeed, even though it would involve a great deal of pain and suffering. The four of them then talked for some time on the contingencies of the plan and the role of each in it. The plan depended upon mutual trust and precise actions on the part of all involved, but at least Christ had a slight hope that he might escape his preordained mission—not without pain and suffering, but with his life. Jesus would have to be strong in not only enduring what he must endure, but also in his belief that God would be merciful and allow him to live, for as Pilate said, there were no guarantees.

This seems to put Pilate in a good light, but Francine says he was just being careful and expedient. Pilate knew he had nothing to lose in this gamble to keep the peace. If Jesus was found innocent, so be it. If Jesus was found guilty and crucified, it would appease the Sanhedrin and Pharisees, and if he was able to keep him alive it would appease Christ's followers. No one would dare to accuse him of trying to keep Christ alive, and if the plot was discovered it could easily be blamed on Christ's followers. Francine says God did intervene here, however, because he sent the dream to Pilate's wife and also implanted the plan in Pilate's mind and caused him to go through with it.

Jesus knew beforehand what his fate was to be, but this plot devised by Pilate was a surprise to him. Francine says that we must remember that despite the divinity of Jesus and despite his knowing what he would have to go through, only God knows everything and knows the outcome of events that happen. We see divine intervention even today in situations that seem to be impossible in our understanding, but that turn out to be what we call miracles.

With this faint hope of survival in him, Jesus, knowing all involved had to keep this plan secret, advised both Judas and Joseph to not say anything to anyone, especially his disciples. Jesus did tell Mary Magdalene of the plan because she was his wife and closest confidante. Francine says her anguish was great. She knew that once he was turned over to the Sanhedrin anything could happen, even though the Romans were the only ones in power to carry out the final sentence of execution. In a small way it's like a surgery that you know has to be done and you hope you will survive, but the agony of going through it and the aftermath is still frightening because you know anything can go wrong. Jesus didn't trust his disciples with any of this knowledge because he worried that any one of them, either out of stupidity or fear, would tell the wrong person.