Truly & Falsely Jesus
By Saleh Ali
()
About this ebook
Jesus Christ is a unique being because of his miraculous birth, his ascension, and the Second Coming. Therefore, significant disputes have emerged regarding his reality and mission. The Bible itself contains two opposing images of Jesus, their parts have been scattered into the chapters of the books of the New Testament. Certainly, these two opposing images of Jesus cannot, of course, both be concurrently authentic at the same time. But one must be for Truly Jesus, and the other one is for Falsely Jesus.
The two contradictory images of Jesus in the Bible, as well as the disputes regarding his reality and his interrelation to salvation as a savior, will remain until his Second Coming. Then Truly Jesus is manifested to the man of that time, and the Falsely will be destroyed. But what about a person today? Is he aware of the two images of Jesus, the true image and the false one that are scattered in the Bible? Does he not feel the necessity of exploring Jesus who in his heart, whether he is the true one or the false? Certainly, whoever has based his faith in Jesus on clear and conclusive evidence is rightly guided, or else he is in plain error.
This book is a new analytical study, where it assembles all the scattered parts of each of the two contradictory images of Jesus in the Bible, highlights them as two complete images, examines them, explores their differences and how did Falsely Jesus appear and why? Also, this book presents to those who believe in the Hereafter, the proofs of the only one true formula of salvation, and to those who do not believe, the proofs of the necessity of an afterlife. The hope with this book is to offer the clarity of intention and the ability to distinguish between the two readings of Jesus as presented in this book.
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Truly & Falsely Jesus - Saleh Ali
Table of Contents
Title
Copyright
Preface
Introduction
Salvation, the goal
Why Jesus?
Faith in Jesus
Where is the truth about Jesus?
The gospels
The author of the Gospel of Matthew
The author of the Gospel of Mark
The author of the Gospel of Luke
The author of the Gospel of John
Chapter 1: Truly Jesus
What did Jesus's contemporaries say?
The disciple Peter
Cleopas and his companion
Nicodemus
The multitudes
Chapter 2: Jesus answers some conjectures and suspicions
1. I and my father are one
(John 10:30)
2. Son of God
3. The Trinity
4. The only begotten Son
(John 3:16)
5. Before Abraham was, I am
(John 8:58)
6. I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me
(John 14:6)
7. He who has seen me has seen the Father
(John 14:9)
8. Going to all nations
Chapter 3: Falsely Jesus
The fake image of Jesus in the New Testament
References of the fake image of Jesus
Deconstructing the fake image of Jesus
Chapter 4: Was Jesus really crucified?
Preface
Research 1: Was it a mission for Jesus to die for the forgiveness of sins?
Research 2: Why did the Jews plot to put Jesus to death?
Research 3: How did the Jews move to implement the plot of killing Jesus?
Research 4: How did Jesus behave toward the Jewish conspiracy?
Research 5: Did the Jews find Jesus and arrest him when they seek him?
The plot to kill Jesus
Preparing the Passover meal (the Last Supper)
Jesus's prophecies at the Passover table (Last Supper)
How did Jesus leave the garden to the place of hiding?
When Jesus prophesied that the Jews would seek him and not find him, did he mean their last attempt with Judas?
Did Jesus mean heaven for the place where he would go?
Did Jesus mean the tomb for the place where he would go?
What was the place of hiding that Jesus went to and where?
Was Jesus hinting to the tomb with the term the heart of the earth
?
Research 6: Who was the crucified person?
Peter was rescued too
Who was the substitute for Jesus?
Other prophecies concerning saving Jesus in the book of Psalms
When and how did the substitution happen?
An abnormal event, at the most critical moment
What happened to Judas?
Who did deal with the body of Judas?
Did the Jews know that they had killed another person?
What did the Jews do to cover up the scandal?
What did the Jews do with the body of Judas?
Who were the persons near the tomb?
Why was Jesus not ascended before the coming of the troops?
How did Jesus come out of the place of hiding?
Research 7: Why did Jesus not give any details about the end of his life on earth?
Research 8: Did Jesus prophesy that he would be killed?
The prophecy that Jesus must suffer and be killed, and after three days he rises
The prophecy of pouring Jesus's blood for many for the remission of sins
The prophecy of lifting up the son of man (Jesus) by the Jews
The author of John inserts his own notion to the texts
Research 9: Did Jesus declare that he had passed through death and resurrection?
Research 10: How different are the authors' narrations of some events?
Summary of the topic of the crucifixion
Chapter 5: The Falsifier
Who was Paul?
Paul and the early followers of Jesus
Stephen opened the door for Paul!
Paul persecuted the followers of Jesus
The first narration
The second narration
The third narration
The fourth narration
Suddenly Paul announced his conversion to the religion of Christ
The first narration
The second narration
The third narration
Discrepancies in the narrations of the alleged conversion
The first narration
The second narration
The third narration
Why did Paul change the religion of Christ?
How did Paul carry out his plan to create his own new Christianity?
How did the disciples deal with Paul after he was exposed, and how was his end?
Chapter 6: The way to God after Jesus
Illusions and realities
How can we find the true way to salvation?
The prophet to come after Jesus
Who is this prophet?
Is religion important in man's life, and what is its name with God?
Christianity and Christians
Conditions of salvation
The true faith and its Six Pillars
I. Believing in Allah
Where is Allah?
Allah's names and attributes
Dealing with the attributes of Allah
Monotheism.
II. Believing in angels
III. Believing in the books of Allah
IV. Believing in Allah's messengers
V. Believing in the Last Day (the Hereafter)
VI. Believing in Fate (Predestination), the Good of It and the Bad of It
The human desire (wanting) and will
Man's life plan
The known aspect of fate (predestination)
The unknown aspect of fate (predestination)
Tape of life (movie of life)
Fate and causes
Examples of causes and destinies from life and the Quran
The examples from the Quran are as follows:
Questions in fate (predestination)
The benefit of understanding fate (predestination)
Testing of faith
The two pillars of accepting good deeds (devotional deeds)
The return of Jesus Christ to earth
Why and how will Jesus come back?
The messenger of mercy
How can you join the only way to salvation?
Chapter 7: Consideration and pondering over the gospels
Putting gospels under microscope
To the Christian reader
Conclusion
I am Jesus
Yes, I am Paul
References
cover.jpgTruly and Falsely Jesus
Saleh Ali
Copyright © 2023 Saleh Ali as-Subayil
All rights reserved
First Edition
NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING
320 Broad Street
Red Bank, NJ 07701
First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2023
ISBN 978-1-68498-406-0 (Paperback)
ISBN 978-1-68498-407-7 (Digital)
Printed in the United States of America
In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful
Preface
There is a biblical verse that clearly indicates that there was no unanimous agreement about Jesus, his reality and message, among those who went to preach about him after his ascension. Rather, there was substantial dispute among them to the point that one of those preachers announced his worry to his followers and warned them from the deception of the other preacher that may come to them and preach another Jesus other than Jesus that he had presented to them. This preacher described his counterpart as the devil who deceived Eve by his lies. So he was afraid that the minds of his followers may be corrupted and that they would gladly tolerate the one who comes to them and preaches another Jesus. This is in a clear text, thus,
I am afraid that your minds will be corrupted and that you will abandon your full and pure devotion to Christ—in the same way that Eve was deceived by the snake's clever lies. For you gladly tolerate anyone who comes to you and preaches a different Jesus, not the one we preached. (2 Cor. 11:3–4)
This verse clearly speaks about two different images of Jesus were preached to people after his ascension. The pieces of the two different images of Jesus are already scattered into many chapters of the New Testaments. These two different depictions cannot, of course, both be concurrently authentic. But one must be for Truly Jesus, and the other one is for Falsely Jesus. Both images cannot meet in one heart. Surely, Jesus cannot be the source of both different images.
This book assembles all the parts of the two biblical images of Jesus that are scattered in the folds of the New Testament books and highlights them as two complete images, examines them, explores their differences, and answers the questions that may rise regarding them such as the following:
What are the sources of Truly and Falsely Jesus?
Why and how did Falsely Jesus appear?
Does faith in Falsely Jesus benefit the one who believes in such Jesus?
When does the truth come out and falseness come to an end?
What title can be given to those who hang the image of Falsely Jesus in their hearts?
What is the relation between salvation and Jesus?
How can we find the true way to God, and how can we be sure of it?
What are the conditions of Salvation?
Can we really grasp the genuine reality of Jesus? Surely. But with the spread of misinformation, there is a risk of facing the dangers of misguidance, unless we purify our intention and seek the proven truth. And at this point, God will not fail the one who seeks the truth, rather will guide him to it. Truly Jesus will remain as well as Falsely Jesus, until the second coming of Jesus, and then Truly Jesus is manifested, and the Falsely will be destroyed.
I pray to God to accept this effort as a sincere one and to provide the readers with both clarity of intention and the ability to distinguish between the two readings of Jesus as presented in this book.
Introduction
Salvation, the goal
People of all religious backgrounds throughout history who believe in an afterlife define salvation as a state of being saved from hell. And who would not want to attain this goal? Only on the day of resurrection shall we be paid our recompense in full. Whosoever is moved away from hell and admitted to paradise is indeed successful.
Our first life in this world is but the enjoyment of illusion and vanity, as for the Hereafter is the eternal life. Surely, there can be only one true formula that leads to salvation, but what is it? Is it a mystery, or is it obvious? The followers of every religion claim that the true formula of salvation is only within their religion. Surely, the only one, true formula of salvation can only be in one religion, which is the true religion, because it is the same formula that was brought by all the messengers of God since the first contact between heaven and earth. Therefore, it is necessary to rely on clear and conclusive proofs of the credibility of the salvation formula that we believe in before facing death.
Why Jesus?
Many people believe that Jesus is the key to their salvation as a savior. Surely, he was a unique being because of his miraculous birth, his ascension and second coming. However, significant disputes remain about his reality and mission.
The message of God to the human of earth about faith and salvation was always the same throughout history. It was always based on submission
to the One and Only true God, by obedience with devotion. This message of God was revealed to Adam, who passed it to his children. Then it was confirmed by Noah and all the messengers and prophets of God who came after him throughout human history, to various societies and nations, whenever they needed guidance to the true path. So the religion of God that came with all the messengers always contains the same pillars of faith even if there were different legal systems and patterns of worship from one prophet or messenger to another—that is, until God chose to send the final revelation, with the final law and the final salvation's formula to all mankind for the remainder of human history.
Faith in Jesus
What is the reality about Jesus?
The disputes in faith concerning the reality about Jesus among the followers of different religions and sects are centered on the following points:
Was Jesus God manifest in human form or merely a human?
Was Jesus the only begotten son of God or merely a messenger, like all other messengers?
Was Jesus the Word and the Knowledge of God manifest in a human form or one of the creatures of God?
Was Jesus the only savior who came to take away the sins of humanity through his blood sacrifice on the cross, or was he killed as a normal human like the prophets who were killed, or was he not killed or crucified?
Was his message a universal and forever or a local message addressed to a specific nation, people of Israel, and defined by a period of time?
These opposing beliefs about the reality of Jesus cannot be all true at the same time. They will remain until his second coming, and then his reality will be manifested to the man of that time. But for the man of today, whoever has based his faith in Jesus on clear and conclusive evidence is rightly guided or else he is in plain error. Who would want to be among those whose faith and deeds are wasted because of their misplaced understanding of the reality of Jesus? Who wants to be among those who will see their faith in Jesus on the day of judgment like a mirage in a desert, the thirsty one thinks it to be water, until he approaches and discovers nothing, but he will find God with him, who will pay him his due? They may also find Jesus himself to say to them, as the author of the Gospel of Matthew narrated, "I never knew you; depart from me" (Matt. 7:23).
I hope that this book can help to come to a conclusion of the correct salvation formula by recognizing the reality of Jesus with clear and conclusive evidence.
Where is the truth about Jesus?
A simple question that can be asked: did Jesus clearly revealed himself to people? The answer would be, surely, yes. Because one of his tasks was to reveal himself to the people. So the source of the truth about him should be Jesus himself, the speech he uttered. He already expressed himself to his people, the Israelites, through the gospel that he had preached. But where is the Gospel of Jesus that was written in his own language that he communicated with his people? Surely, there is no such gospel. In fact, there is no narration in the New Testament states that Jesus wrote down his gospel, or even instructed any of his followers to write one on his behalf. The available narrations tell us that Jesus simply carried out his mission. He went with his disciples from town to town in the land of Israel and to their synagogues, preaching his gospel that God had revealed to him through inspiration. "Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying, ‘The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel'" (Mark 1:14–15). The Jews were amazed, saying, How does this man know letters, having never studied?
(John 7:15). The author of John narrated that Jesus asked his apostles to preserve his words, saying to them,
He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me. These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the helper, the Holy Spirit whom the father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. (John 14:24–26)
So according to this text, the disciples who continued preaching in the Jewish world after Jesus did not have any written record of the gospel of Jesus to teach people through it, but rather relying on their memories with the help of the Holy Spirit—as was claimed.
The gospels
So what about the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John? Are they not authentic and reliable sources?
Well, historical evidence tells us that there were other many gospels and written materials that existed before these four gospels. The author of Luke says, "Many people have done their best to write a report of the things that have taken place among us" (Luke 1:1). But the four gospels were chosen in the fourth century to be included in the list of seventy-three books that were elected to compose the Bible. Christian researchers tell us that the Gospel of Mark was written first, around the year 65, more than thirty years after the ascension of Jesus. And the last gospel was John, around the year 96, more than sixty years after the ascension. Therefore, in order to determine these scriptures' authenticity and reliability, we need to carefully consider and ponder over them. The revealed Word of God cannot contain a single mistake. It is flawless and infallible precisely because it has been sent down by the All-Wise, the One worthy of all praise. A book that is containing many contradictions and mistakes cannot, by necessity, have come from God. Moreover, relying upon such a book for one's salvation would carry serious disastrous implications for one's Hereafter. But before making any consideration and pondering over the four gospels, we should better understand their authors first.
Let us imagine, for a moment, that we are able to somehow communicate directly with the authors of the four gospels. And let us start our conversation with Matthew.
The author of the Gospel of Matthew
Q: Sir Matthew; are you that Matthew, the disciple of Jesus?
Matthew: No, I am not.
Q: Who then are you?
Matthew: I am an anonymous author, merely carrying the same name as that disciple.
Q: How is this so? Would not the early Christian readers hearing the gospel ascribed to Matthew
naturally associate it with the disciple of that name?
Matthew: Perhaps. Though the name was not uncommon during those times. The confusion between me and Matthew, the disciple, was the result of a very natural misunderstanding. But I must declare outright that never did I claim to be an eyewitness as a follower of Jesus, neither by the name of Matthew, the disciple, nor did I ever claim to be inspired by the Holy Spirit.
And if you read chapter 9 verse 9 of my gospel, you would see that the apostle Matthew and I are not the same person. Then as Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And he said to him
follow me. And he arose and followed him
(9:9).
Indeed, had Matthew the disciple been the author of the gospel, you would have read instead, He saw me sitting at the tax office. And he said to me ‘follow me.' And I arose and followed him.
Not only that, but it is well-known that the historical seniority is for Mark's gospel. And after ten years, I wrote my gospel. So it is not a secret anymore that most of my gospel was copied almost word-for-word from Mark's gospel, who was not a disciple either. So the disciple Matthew could not possibly have authored my gospel. After all, how could an apostle, an eyewitness of Jesus and his companion, as Matthew, have relied upon the effort of Mark, who was not himself a companion of Jesus? If the disciple Matthew was the real author of my gospel, the gospel attributed to him, he would have no need to rely upon or copy from Mark's gospel. Rather, he would have written his own account from his own memory and personal eyewitness.
Q: So you used Mark's gospel to produce your own gospel.
Matthew: Indeed, I did. It was common in our days to rely upon and copy from the written works of others. There was nothing untoward in doing so. Nor was there any concept of intellectual copyright infringement in those days.
So with the matter of Matthew's gospel having been cleared, let us now converse with Mark, so to speak.
The author of the Gospel of Mark
Q: Are you that Mark, the man who was also called John, whose surname was Mark, who is mentioned in the book, Acts of the Apostles (12:12), he who accompanied Peter?
Mark: No. I am not that Mark.
Q: So then, who are you?
Mark: I am an anonymous Christian. But as a result of pure speculation—on account of our sharing the same name—my gospel became associated with this John Mark. The truth of the matter is, that if John Mark had written a gospel that had been preached to him by the disciple Peter, he would have surely mentioned at least something about it. In other words, if there was any connection between Peter to this gospel, it would have been made when the gospel was written.
I did not identify myself in my gospel, nor did I give direct information about the time or the place in which my gospel was written, nor even any connection to any apostle. Furthermore, the oldest copies of my gospel end at chapter (16:8) while the manuscripts used by the translators of the later King James Version of the Bible had a much longer ending.
The author of the Gospel of Luke
Q: It cannot be stated conclusively that you are the author of the Gospel of Luke, especially since you do not identify yourself as such.
Luke: Well, I was certainly not an eyewitness, nor for that matter was I a direct follower of the eyewitnesses of Jesus. I have only been described as a physician and a missionary companion of Paul, that Jewish who converted to Christianity after the ascension of Christ.
As to the purpose behind my writing a gospel, I was clear and direct from the outset: I wrote in dedication to Theophilus, who was a man of some considerable rank. I announced this clearly in chapter 1 wherein I wrote, It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write to you an orderly account, most excellent Theophilus.
(1:3). Also, I wrote another book, as another gift for Theophilus, which I called Acts of the Apostles, the disciples of Christ. It is about their work in spreading the religion of Christ after his ascension and what happened to them.
Q: I agree that you have not claimed to have been inspired by the Holy Spirit. In fact, you have made no claim at all. It was only that, as you said, Many people have done their best to write a report of the things that have taken place among us
(1:1). So It seemed good to you also
(1:3) to write just as wrote those who before you since you consider yourself as a man having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first. However, although your purpose in writing was clear, your written account itself was heavily borrowed from the Gospel of Mark.
Luke: Yes, as Matthew had also done. The Gospel of Mark was too concise, so both Matthew and I made it longer.
And that is why these first three gospels discussed thus far are called the Synoptic Gospels. It is impossible to hold that they were completely independent from each other because of the literary interdependence.
The author of the Gospel of John
Q: What about you, John? Are you really John the son of Zebedee, the disciple of Jesus? And did the disciple John author a gospel?
John: I will refer you to what Luke wrote about the disciple John in his book, Acts of the Apostles. He said, The members of the Council were amazed to see how bold Peter and John were and to learn that they were ordinary men of no education
(Acts 4:13). Matthew, wrote telling us that John was a fisherman, like his companion, Peter (Matt. 4:18, 21) as well as Luke (5:10). And if the composition of the Gospel of John was in AD 96 or shortly thereafter, that makes the disciple John nearly one hundred years old. Can one really expect from such an aged, ordinary, uneducated Galilean fisherman like John, whose native language was almost certainly Aramaic, to have authored a gospel in elegant Greek and include within it advanced theological concepts?
Q: Surely not. So why do people insist upon the idea that the disciple John was the author of the Fourth Gospel?
John: It was from the end of the second century that church tradition identified the disciple John as the actual author of the Fourth Gospel. This idea remained popular till the end of the eighteenth century, where after many biblical scholars finally acknowledged the lack of supporting solid historical evidence.
Q: But why did the church identify the disciple John as the author of the gospel for as long as it did? And if the disciple John, the aged, unschooled, ordinary Galilean fisherman, did not (and indeed could not) compose such a piece of writing, who then are you?
John: This longstanding traditional position of the church was an attempt to solve the problem that the author himself raised in the gospel, when he addressed one disciple with this phrase: The beloved disciple
or the disciple whom Jesus loved,
where he wrote, Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples, whom Jesus loved
(13:23). This phrase was mentioned no less than five times in this gospel. And the closing words of the gospel state explicitly concerning the beloved disciple, that he is the witness and writer of it. This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things
(21:24).
The church provided a name for this beloved disciple,
and they chose the name of John specifically, based on an assumption thus: since the other three gospels suggested that the disciple John was close to the disciple Peter, and the Fourth Gospel described Peter as being close to the beloved disciple.
So the disciple John, son of Zebedee, was the beloved disciple
and he who wrote the Fourth Gospel. In other words, there is no historical-evidence-based reason for the attribution of the Fourth Gospel to the disciple John, only a speculative one.
As for myself, the actual author of John's Gospel, I remain anonymous. And my true identity remains one of the biggest mysteries in biblical scholarship.
Q: Actually, some well-known facts raise more points than are answered, such as the following:
Why did the other three gospels not once mention this beloved disciple
? Their silence on the matter only adds to the mystery.
Besides the admission that John was illiterate, as is stated in Acts (4:13), and about one hundred years old when the gospel was produced, he is not identified anywhere in the gospel as its author. The gospel itself does not even mention the disciple John by name anywhere, nor his brother, James, but rather mentions them by their father's name sons of Zebedee.
Surely, if John the disciple was the author of the gospel, he would have his name mentioned as an eyewitness about his association and his brother with Jesus.
The authors of the first three gospels narrated a strange incident happened to Jesus, where a change came over him on the mountain. The eyewitness for this transfiguration of Jesus were only three disciples: Peter; John; and his brother James, sons of Zebedee. "Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, brought them up on a high mountain by themselves, and was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with him" (Matt. 17:1–3; Mark 9:2–4; Luke 9:28–30).
If the author of the Fourth Gospel is the disciple John, he would have reported in his gospel such profound event, which cannot be forgotten as the change of Christ's body, for he was one of the only three witnesses to that event; but the author of the Fourth Gospel did not report such incident in his gospel. This neglect is a clear proof that the eyewitness disciple of the event, John, son of Zebedee, was not the author of the Gospel of John.
The author of the Gospel of John, reported an incident that supports the opinion that the alleged beloved disciple and the apostle John, the son of Zebedee, are two different disciples. He reported about seven disciples were on a boat, including the two sons of Zebedee (John and James) and two unnamed disciples. He said, Simon Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of his disciples were together. Simon Peter said to them, ‘I am going fishing.' They said to him, ‘We are going with you also.' They went out and immediately got into the boat
(John 21:2–3). Then the author narrated that the alleged beloved disciple was the first to recognize Jesus when he appeared to them on the seashore. Therefore, that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, ‘It is the lord'
(John 21:7).
Here, the disciple John and his brother James are mentioned by their father's name (the sons of Zebedee) and, with them, two other unnamed disciples. And since the author never identifies himself as a witness to any event that he relates, so in this case, the one who recognized Jesus would not be John, the son of Zebedee, but one of the two unnamed disciples, who was supposed to be, in this case, the alleged beloved disciple.
If the church, merely by assumption, chose the disciple John to be the beloved disciple
who were allegedly to be the author of the gospel, some biblical scholars chose Lazarus for this nickname rather than John, because of four separate instances in this gospel where the author reports that Jesus already loved Lazarus, who was not among the twelve chosen disciples but he was one of those who accompanied Jesus wherever he went. No one else has been specifically identified as having been loved by Jesus in such a way. Jesus said to his disciples, Our friend Lazarus sleeps
(John 11:11). In addition, Lazarus's sister sent Jesus the message, Lord, behold, he whom you love is sick
(John 11:3). The author further tells us again that Jesus loved Lazarus: Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus
(John 11:5). The author further reported that Jesus went to the tomb to raise Lazarus from the death by God's permission, then, when he saw his body, he (Jesus) wept, causing the Jews to remark, "See how he (Jesus) loved him" (John 11:35–36).
Others biblical scholars suggested the man, who in his house the Last Supper was prepared, to have been the beloved disciple; for they counted him as a secret disciple of Christ, because of fear of the Jews. Other scholars suggested Mary Magdalene to have be the beloved disciple.
A point of controversy created by the gospel's author himself, when he closed his Gospel with the following phrase, This is the disciple who testifies of these things and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true
(John 21:24). With this verse, it is complex to identify a single person as an author of the gospel! This abrupt shift from the singular to the plural by use of the pronoun we
makes it impossible to ascertain the identity of the gospel's author with any degree of certainty. Precisely because the we
indicates a plurality of authors and not just one single John,
whichever that John was supposed to be!
No one has ascertained who wrote the Fourth Gospel, nor if they were any eyewitness. But the internal evidence of the writing exposes the gospel as a work was formulated by an anonymous writer, who never met Jesus, and were so careful to mask their identity by this designation the disciple whom Jesus loved
for pretending an apostolic authority for their ideas. The amazing thing is that the early church fathers, and millions of people who still read and studied this gospel, have missed the obvious references the author made of himself. And they just accept the traditional view that the disciple John, the son of Zebedee, was the beloved disciple who wrote the gospel.
This is the case of the authorship of the four gospels. The attributing of the two gospels of Matthew and John to disciples of the same names was pure speculation. The original authors were and remain anonymous, not eyewitnesses, and they did not claim divine inspiration. These four gospels do not represent the true gospel of Jesus that was preached in the Aramaic Galilee dialect. But they are biographical accounts of him, produced through purely human efforts, fallible endeavors that relied upon undocumented narrations, rumors and hearsay, copying from each other's works and the works of others.
Chapter 1
Truly Jesus
There is not any evidence that can assure us the ascription of the written sayings of Jesus in the gospels to him because of those circumstances surrounding the writing of the gospels and that the oldest existing copies of the gospels are written in a language other than the language of Jesus and his disciples but in Greek. Nevertheless, Christians consider the four gospels as the only available written records in the Bible containing the words of Jesus. So what do these gospels say about Jesus as he shows his reality to the nation to which he was sent?
A humble human prophet who did not come of himself, but was sent by God with a doctrine was not of his own making, but from God who sent him exclusively to the people of Israel; to confirm to them the true oneness of God, to show them the true path to salvation, to make their relation with God and him (Jesus) above all other familiar relations; to fulfill the law and to bring a better, more holistic understanding of the commandments; to preach the kingdom of God and to call the sinners to repentance. His miracles were performed by the will of God alone—not by his own power, for he can of himself do nothing, nor could he speak from his own authority, but God who sent him gave him a command, what he should say and what he should speak. So, what the people heard from Jesus were not his words, but the words of God Who sent him, for he never bears witness of himself, nor does he know about the unseen. He completed his mission and announced about another message to be brought by the final prophet who would come after him to guide people into all truth. He prophesied the plot of the Jews to kill him, and also prophesied that God would rescue him.
If you are surprised, reader, to see Jesus this way and began to wonder about the proofs. The proofs are as follows:
Jesus's humility
When a Jewish ruler called him a good teacher, saying, Good teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?
Jesus objected to him before answering and said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is God
(Luke 18:18–19). Also, Jesus said about himself, If I honor myself, my honor is nothing
(John 8:54).
His humanity
He said to the Jews, But now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this
(John 8:40).
A prophet
When Jesus had come to his own country (Nazareth), he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things? So, they were offended at him. But Jesus said to them,
A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house" (Matt. 13:54–57). Luke reported this incident in another wording from Jesus: Assuredly, I say to you, no prophet is accepted in his own country
(Luke 4:24).
He did not come of himself but was sent by God.
Some of the people of Jerusalem said, Is this not he whom they seek to kill? But look! He speaks boldly, and they say nothing to him. Do the rulers know indeed that this truly the Christ? However, we know where this man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where he is from.
Then Jesus said to them in a loud voice, You both know me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of myself, but He who sent me is true, whom you do not know
(John 7:25–28).
His doctrine was not of his own making but from God who sent him.
About the middle of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How does this man know so letters having never studied?
Jesus answered them,My doctrine is not mine, but His who sent me
(John 7:14–16).
He was sent exclusively to the people of Israel (i.e., the Jews).
He refused to heal a demon-possessed Canaanite girl, explaining to his disciples, I was not sent except to the lost sheep of the house of Israel
(Matt. 15:24).
And when Jesus used to send his disciples to preach, he would give them the following instructions: "Do not go into the way of the Gentile (non-Jew), and do not enter a city of the Samaritan. But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel" (Matt. 10:5–6).
He came to the Jews to confirm to them the true oneness of God.
One of the Jewish scribes who heard a discussion between Jesus and a group of the Jews, and saw that Jesus had given them a good answer, so he came to Jesus and asked him, Which is the first commandment of all?
Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one
(Mark 12:28–29).
He came to them to show them the true way to salvation.
Jesus already explained to the Jews the way to salvation: that they must believe that there is only one true God and that Jesus is His messenger and to keep the commandments. He said, Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears my word and believe in Him who sent me has everlasting life
(John 5:24). Jesus also spoke these words, lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent
(John 17:3). And when a man asked him, Good Teacher, what good things shall I do that I may have eternal life?
So, he said to him, Why do you call me good? No one is good but One, that is God. But if you want to enter into life keep the commandments.
(Matthew 19:16-17).
He came to them to make their relationship with God and him above all other relations.
Jesus declared that any Israeli who believes in him is not entitled to love those who did not believe from his family, where he said, Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a man's foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me
(Matt. 10:34–37).
He came to them to fulfill the law.
Jesus clarified about his message where he said, Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill
(Matt. 5:17).
He came to them to bring a better, more holistic understanding of the commandments.
Jesus said, You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.' But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. And if your right eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you; for it is more profitable for you that one of your members perish, than for your whole body to be cast into hell
(Matt. 5:27–29).
He came to them to preach the kingdom of God.
Jesus said to the people who tried to keep him from leaving: I must preach the kingdom of God to the other cities also, because for this purpose I have been sent
(Luke 4:43).
He came to them to call the sinners to repentance.
Jesus said, For I did not come to call the righteous but sinners, to repentance
(Matt.