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David Thunder gives his thoughts on how Jesus, the son of a Jewish carpenter, ended up tortured on a cross as a common criminal and by doing so spearheaded a movement that would radically alter the course of history.
The movement we now know as Christianity was and still is the greatest revolution the world has ever known.
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Holy Week Timeline
Last year, it was estimated that there were 2.63 billion Christians worldwide. In recent years, the Christian faith has experienced remarkable growth both in numbers of followers and geographically. For these billions of people, Easter is the most important time of the year.
Easter is a Christian holiday that commemorates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The days leading up to and including Easter are part of the Holy Week, which is observed with special solemnity. And today, Easter Sunday, is the most important day of the Week because it is the day we remember that Jesus triumphed over death.
For those who are unfamiliar, the following is a timeline of the Holy Week observed and celebrated every year. It tells the story of Jesus’ final days on Earth as a man.
Palm Sunday: Marks Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, where he was greeted by crowds waving palm branches. This day symbolises the beginning of Jesus’ journey to the cross and his triumphal entry into the city.
Holy Monday to Holy Wednesday: These days commemorate various events leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion, including his teachings, the cursing of the fig tree and the betrayal by Judas.
Maundy Thursday: Also known as Holy Thursday, commemorates the Last Supper, where Jesus shared bread and wine with his disciples, symbolising his body and blood.
Good Friday: Marks the crucifixion and death of Jesus. It is a day of mourning and reflection on the sacrifice Jesus made for humanity.
Holy Saturday: Also known as Black Saturday, it is the day between the crucifixion and resurrection. It is a day of waiting and anticipation.
Easter Sunday: Celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, marking the triumph over death and sin. This day is a time of joy and celebration for Christians.
Further reading:
- Easter Holy Week timeline: the 8 days of Easter, Office Timeline, 1 April 2023
- What is the significance of Holy Week? The Salvation Army
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How Did a Man Put to Death as a Common Criminal Change the Course of Human History?
For millions of Christians across the world, Easter is the culmination of the mystery of their faith: the triumph of life over death, of goodness over evil, of redemption over sin. For those immersed in a culture that still has at least the outward trappings of Christianity – a generalised admiration for Jesus’ kindness, some element of “churchgoing,” albeit in certain pockets of society, and a general familiarity with the Christian story, however superficial – the fact that a convicted criminal who suffered an ignominious death changed the course of history may seem unsurprising or even natural.
But if we step back from the world we have grown accustomed to, and try to project ourselves into the pre-Christian, pagan world dominated by Rome, it is far from evident that the son of a Jewish carpenter who ended up tortured on a cross as a common criminal, could spearhead a movement that would radically alter the course of history and infuse societies across the world with a new language and a rather unusual, and dare I say, “un-natural,” set of values.
I say, “un-natural,” not in the sense that Christian values are inconsistent with human nature in its most elevated state, but in the sense that the sort of poverty, self-abnegation and self-abasement Jesus was preaching involves a denial of the all-too-human desire to avoid pain and discomfort, be raised up and highly esteemed by others, and enjoy the perks and comforts of wealth and good social connections.
The idea of modelling your life on that of a man whose life on this Earth was extinguished in the most humiliating and cruel manner and who promised that his own followers, like their master, would suffer persecution, seems unthinkable if you consider it at face value. Even though that suffering was dignified and ennobled by the idea that it is an act of love toward God and humanity, no serious or widely revered pagan philosopher would have advocated voluntarily embracing the cross of suffering for one’s own redemption and that of the whole of humanity.
Jesus’s phrase, “If anyone wishes to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24), finds a partial echo in the Stoical idea of cultivating detachment from pleasures and goods of this life, as well as in the Aristotelian idea of disciplining the passions in accordance with reason. But neither the Stoics nor the Aristotelians premised their philosophies on universal love of humanity, nor would they ever consider the possibility of a voluntary martyrdom or death to self that only came fully to fruition in the next life.
Rather, self-renunciation was viewed by pagan philosophers almost exclusively as a path to a more virtuous and honourable human life, this side of death, or winning fame and a good name among one’s descendants. It was based on a quest for the higher forms of happiness in this life, not union with God in the next.
Now, I am not suggesting that Christians cannot be happy in this life, or that the rewards of their fidelity are confined to the next life. But the type of joy that Christians profess to seek – a joy amidst even the most gruelling forms of suffering – is beyond the grasp of the human mind, unassisted by faith. It is literally a “sign of contradiction” that a pagan mind, or a mind unenlightened by faith, cannot make sense of.
For it is one thing to undergo a calculated amount of suffering or self-denial for the sake of living a rounded and fulfilling moral life, and quite another to accept suffering without holding back, in conjunction with Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, as a way of participating in the redemption of all of mankind.
Something similar can be said of Christian values like humility, unconditional love of humanity and forgiveness of one’s enemies. Pre-Christian societies did not typically envisage humanity as a single family under God, but through the lens of freemen and slaves, friends and enemies, healthy and sick, wealthy and poor, rulers and ruled. For example, the Greek philosopher Aristotle considered those who did not have the benefit of Greek culture and education as “barbarians” unfit for freedom and self-rule.
If a marketing expert were asked to sell a movement, I doubt very much they would recommend the motto, “take up your cross daily, and follow me.” The puzzle is, how did a man who preached a message of radical self-abnegation and the washing of others’ feet, and was nailed to a cross in the most humiliating and cruel fashion imaginable, sow the seeds of a “quiet revolution” that took the Roman empire, and the world, by storm?
From the perspective of faith, if Jesus was indeed God, as he claimed to be, and the movement he founded was infused by God’s grace, then the explosion of Christian faith in the world might be explained by the miracle of a divine intervention in history. For those who do not share this faith, there is something deeply puzzling about the wide diffusion and historical duration of the Christian message and way of life.
End Note from David Thunder
I would like to take this opportunity to wish a happy Easter to all of my readers and subscribers. A special thank you to all of my paying subscribers for their continuing support for this blog.
Free subscribers, please consider supporting my work by upgrading to a paid subscription.
Find my latest book, ‘The Polycentric Republic’, which lays out a decentralised, “bottom-up” vision of politics, here. Use the discount code 25EFLY1 to avail of a 20% discount on the list price.
Alternatively, you can download the preface and introduction for free HERE.
My academic profile and publications are listed at davidthunder.com.
You can also find me on Twitter/X, Youtube, Rumble, and Telegram.
Featured image taken from ‘What Is the Importance of the Empty Tomb?’
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Categories: Breaking News, World News
“Scientists reveal how the stone sealing Jesus’ tomb COULD have been moved – including during an earthquake”
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14618675/Scientists-reveal-Jesus-tomb-moved.html
That article says, “Some scientists even claim that Jesus never really died on the cross”.
If he didn’t die then there could be no resurrection and a major part of Christianity has been wiped out.
Could this be part of a plot to bring in the One World religion?
The Islamic religion says that Jesus never died on the cross and there was no resurrection. Are these “scientists” trying to change the story of Jesus to match the Islamic version of events and thus merge the two religions?
Just a wild suspicion of mine.
Hi Garth, either could be correct, and at the same time.
There are only two sides in the war that is being waged – those that are for God, and those that are not. Those that are not for God will all be working toward the same aim whether they are knowingly collaborating or not – be it scientists, Islamists, politicians, kings etc, if they are not for God then they are likely to say and do things that are against Him and His law because they are in a state of rebellion.
Jesus said: ““Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” Mathew 12:30 and Luke 11:23
https://biblehub.com/matthew/12-30.htm
https://www.bible.com/bible/compare/LUK.11.23
How do we recognise who is on God’s side? “By their fruit you will recognise them.” Matthew 7:16
https://biblehub.com/matthew/7-16.htm
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” Galatians 5:22
https://biblehub.com/galatians/5-22.htm
Note that it is “fruit” not “fruits.” All these things represent the one fruit of the Holy Spirit.
On the other hand, “The works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like … those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Galatians 5:19
https://biblehub.com/nkjv/galatians/5.htm
There is a God shaped hole in everyone’s heart, if people try to fit a square into a round hole they will only frustrate and anger themselves. The more people realise that they will not inherit the kingdom of God, the more they give into and display the “works of the flesh” and then try to justify themselves whether its in media reports, science papers or in religious texts (such as the Koran or satanic bible, for example). In reality, they’re in denial. They have weaker characters than the average person. Not only are they too weak to resist temptation and sin, but they are burying their heads in the sand, unable to face up to the consequences of their choices which will become apparent on judgement day.
I once argued with you, Garth, regarding your acceptance of Poland’s accusations of starting World War II by invading Germany on September 1, 1939, but that is a completely different topic. I am glad to meet in the field of reflections on the meaning of the Cross for humanity.
David Thunder tries to find the answer to the question of what a Christian gains by following Christ on the way to Golgotha. After all, a Christian knows that the end of this path will be martyrdom. When they follow Christ on Friday, those who have not denied Him do not yet know that Sunday will come.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gx6_rGLz20
The teachings of Holy Week give us, not only Christians, an extremely condensed and universal life lesson. Palm Sunday, the triumphal entry of Christ into Jerusalem, greeted like a king, the betrayal of Judas, Peter’s denial, judgment and the crowd that had welcomed Christ like a king five days earlier demanded crucifixion. The CROSS, a symbol of shameful death, takes on the meaning of Hope at the moment of Christ’s Resurrection.
Thanks to the lesson of Holy Week, we Christians know that for faithfully adhering to the teachings of Christ, in which preaching the TRUTH is one of the main commandments, we will pay a price in material terms, lost careers, material penalties and environmental discredit, and in extreme cases even loss of life. We know the price, so what is the impetus behind the decision to follow Christ?
David Thunder, examining such situations, writes: „Now, I am not suggesting that Christians cannot be happy in this life, or that the rewards of their fidelity are confined to the next life. But the type of joy that Christians profess to seek – a joy amidst even the most gruelling forms of suffering – is beyond the grasp of the human mind, unassisted by faith. It is literally a “sign of contradiction” that a pagan mind, or a mind unenlightened by faith, cannot make sense of”.
I am convinced that those faithful to Christ receive their reward already in this life, not only in the next life. The truth is contagious. Tucker Carlson spoke beautifully about this in his speech at the Heritage Foundation on 21/04/2023
“…When you say one true thing and you stick to it, all kinds of other true things come to mind, the truth is contagious. There is a lie, but there is also a truth, and as soon as you decide to tell the truth about something, you are filled with it… You are filled with that power from somewhere else – try, tell the truth about something, you feel it every day, the more you tell the truth, the stronger you become. It is completely real, measurable in the way you feel, and of course the opposite is also true. The more you lie, the more you become become weaker and more scared. (…) But you look around and you see these people, and some of them have really paid a high price for speaking the truth. And they are kicked out of their groups, whatever they are, but they do it anyway.
And I look at these people with the deepest possible admiration.”
The day after his speech at the Heritage Foundation, Carlson was fired from Fox News for telling the truth that television networks were promoting a deadly and ineffective vaccine to please their pharmaceutical advertisers.
After his dismissal from Fox News, Carlson gave an interview to Weltwoche in which he referred to the importance of truth and religious faith. He said:
“I see it all around me. I see people around me asking themselves, ‘I used to believe this.’ Is this still true? Is that ever true? What is the truth?” I think people are focusing on issues of truth and falsehood much more deeply than ever before, and that’s a good thing.
I also see an awakening of spiritual awareness and religious faith in the United States, which I think is wonderful. Not everyone comes to the same conclusions as me, but that’s okay. It’s better than thinking Amazon will make you happy because Amazon won’t make you happy. That’s not true. This is a lie. And more and more people seem to be coming to the conclusion that that’s a lie, and I think that’s a great thing.
There is this idea that somehow the main threat to our happiness are religious people. This is absurd. The main threat to our happiness are people who think they are God. They are the dangerous ones.”
Carlson paid the price for preaching the truth, but very quickly received the reward, because for preaching the truth you get the blow first and the reward comes later, in the reverse cycle for preaching the lie, you get the reward first and the punishment comes later.
What do Christians gain by remaining in the Truth? The spiritual side of rewards and punishments is completely underestimated. The reward for following Christ and remaining in the Truth is peace of mind and losing the fear of death. Liars pay the price by living in fear.
Alleluia!
That is the exact reason
behind it. The bible tells
us of a coming one world
religion.
it makes me laugh… the
world rejects Christ and
tries to debunk Him. If
Jesus isn’t real; as many
say He isn’t, why do they
try so hard to fight Him?
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Where does your “definition” come from? Not from the Scriptures, that’s for sure.
Salvation is of the Jews. John 4:22. This is Truth.
Did Jesus “complete hatred of the Jews” extend to His disciples??? What of Paul, Nicodemus, I could go on.
but esau was not jewish; he was one of Isaac’s sons (sax-sons) an israelite; to be true jewish you need to be of the bloodline of Judah; ten tribes plus two; get your facts right… by the way; trace your bloodlines, zerah and pharez and see where that takes you;
Rhoda,
This article states “universal love of humanity”. Is this so?
“Redemption of all of mankind”. Likewise, is this so?
Hi Islander, yes, I believe so. It starts with God loving everyone equally and redeeming everyone. Then each person has a choice to make. Do we accept the love and redemption or do we turn our back on it. It is not God that is deciding who to redeem, it is us – we are making that choice for ourselves. This is my belief.
Here’s another interesting article which shows why this sets the Christian faith apart from all religions.
https://www.theartoftaleh.com/christianity-an-ongoing-revolution/
Some excerpts:
“The true light, which gives light to everyone …” (John 1:9-14)
“In Islam, Allah is beyond representation or conceiving. He doesn’t eat or drink like people, and the prohibition on images in much of the Islamic world is in part to assure only God is worshipped. Judaism has prohibitions against graven images, and seeing God is perceived as a lethal experience.
“In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the gods appear when they will, but are often limited to appearing to important people, and are selective about relating to people. Eternal life is reserved only for them.
“The contrast in Christianity is a God who is not (merely) inaccessible.”
Rhoda, if you were to employ 12 people, would you knowingly chose a devil?
Have I not chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? John 6:70.
Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Romans 9:13/Malachi 1:2-3.
For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to ELECTION might stand…Romans9:11 (emphasis mine).
Hi Islander, yes you are right. However, it is still the choice of those people. God is not bound by time as we are. When God selects people for a specific purpose, he already knows what they will do in the future, he knows what has been, what is and what is to come simultaneously. So, it starts with God loving and redeeming all people, and then it is people who choose for themselves whether they accept that or not. Of course, if people reject God then he will say “I never knew you” when it comes to judgement day.
Take the example of children. Up to a certain age (let’s say 12), children are not yet spiritually aware (have not been tempted to eat the apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, so to speak), they are not able to exercise their free will to choose to follow God. So, before children are capable of making this choice, I believe that ALL children fall under God’s grace and are redeemed from the moment of conception – i.e. by God’s grace, and in God’s eyes, young children are innocent. I believe that a baby or young child that dies before the age of spiritual awareness (say age 12) will go to heaven. Why, because the love and redemption is for all from the time we are conceived, and it is only when we have reached the age where we are able to freely choose to reject or accept God (specifically, Jesus as our saviour) is when we can lose it.
Rhoda, you say ” God is not bound by time as we are. When God selects people for a specific purpose, he already knows what they will do in the future, he knows what has been, what is and what is to come simultaneously”
but then “Take the example of children. Up to a certain age (let’s say 12), children are not yet spiritually aware (have not been tempted to eat the apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, so to speak), they are not able to exercise their free will to choose to follow God”.
If he already knows what we will do in the future and he knows what has been, what is and what is to come, then our lives are planned in advance and we have no free will. Any choices we make about our lives are not made by free minds because our future was already planned.
Hi Garth, I think you’re conflating God who is not bound by time and what we choose to do (our free will) during the time we live on Earth.
Our lives are not pre-planned. It’s that God sees the past, present and future all at the same time. We see our lives in minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years – we only know what we are doing now and can recall what has happened in the past. We can’t see into the future. But that is not what God sees – He sees the past, present and future all at the same time. On the day we are born, He knows what we will do on the day you die. He hasn’t pre-determined it, He simply can see your whole life at the same time because He is not bound or limited by time.
God will never impose Himself, manipulate us or coerce/force us. He will always give us a choice (free will). This is why there are so many references to obedience to God in the Bible. If our lives were pre-planned and God did not give us free will, there would be no need to mention obedience to God. There also would be no sin, because sin is disobedience to God.
Free will has been given to humans from the very beginning as proved by Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden:
“And the LORD God commanded him, “You may eat freely from every tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; for in the day that you eat of it, you will surely die.”” Genesis 2:17
As we know, Eve chose to disobey God and then enticed Adam to do the same, which he chose to do. Why does God give us free will? Because He wants to know that we chose to love and obey Him – he didn’t merely want mindless slaves to His will, he wanted something more, someone/s made in His image.
Angels also have free will – that is why satan and a third of the angels were cast out of Heaven, because they disobeyed God. Disobedience can only occur if there is the ability to choose (free will) in the first instance.
Rhoda,
If “it is still the choice of those people” as you confidently assert-however could unfulfilled prophecy come to pass?
How can it be that the Almighty Thrice Holy Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and Omniscient One, be subjected to the whims of His creatures???
Furthermore, If “He already knows what they will do in the future”, this is because He has ordained it to be so.
As for “the example of children” (I have already quoted Romans 9:11-13.
The sweet psalmist of Israel, king David himself exclaimed Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me. Psalm 51:5.
Hi Islander, do you believe that your life is pre-determined by God?
Below is an interesting article discussing free will versus pre-destination. What’s your views on it?
https://www.christianweb.org.uk/the-phrase-free-will-is-not-directly-mentioned-in-the-bible/
Rhoda, I most DEFINITELY believe my “life is pre-determined by God.” Therefore, yours and everyone else’s is as well, whether you know it (or like it) or not. He knows how many hairs are on your head at this moment, and what you are going to do tonight, and beyond. I came to believe this about 15 years ago after much study. Have you ever read Zanchius’s work (I doubt it!) The Doctrine Of Absolute Predestination?
Of course we have ‘freewill’ (free agency is a more appropriate description) otherwise we would all be robots! Nevertheless, God overrides our ‘freewill’. There is nothing that God can learn, nowhere He hasn’t been; Do not I fill heaven and earth? Saith the LORD. Jeremiah 23:24. Many call Him the Almighty, yet baulk at the thought everything has been predestinated. Spurgeon famously said “people are far more scared of election/predestination than if they were to come face to face with a lion!” As for me, I find this knowledge humbling, but also extremely reassuring.
Luther said “freewill is a name for nothing.” So true.
The true Christian walks as God would have him/her walk, we all know the Commandments, don’t we? I believe in personal responsibility, don’t we know if/when we grieve God’s Holy Spirit? Justification happens when we first believe (quickened by the Holy Spirit) after believing the Gospel, sanctification is a life-long process, hence the many apostolic admonitions such as 2 Peter 3:18. The best of us are never fully sanctified-only when glorified at the Second Advent.
I’ll read that article later, and give you my views on it.
Undeniably this is a deeply profound subject-needless to say.
Hi Islander, if everyone’s lives are pre-determined then people are either blameless for their actions or some people are pre-determined to go to hell. For those pre-determined to go to hell, who chooses who goes to hell and how, is there a selection criteria or is it simply a game of lottery?
I’m afraid we will have to forever disagree. I firmly believe we have all been given free will in equal portions: The most fundamental exercising of our free will is to choose to follow God or not. And for every person that chooses not to follow God, God weeps for them as a father would weep for a lost child.
Rhoda,
I read that link-not much “meat on the bones there”.
I am aware that the doctrine of absolute predestination/election has an unpalatable flipside, as it were. If God has an elect people (His chosen ones) then He must have passed over the rest, i.e. not chosen them-reprobation (Romans 9:20-22).
If you were to ask any atheist if they had a ‘freewill’ to chose or reject God, you know what their answer would be, don’t you?
And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and He doeth according to His will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of earth: and none can stay His hand, or say unto Him, What doest thou? Daniel 4:35.
Thank God for election.
As J.C. Ryle said, “If God didn’t choose me, I would never have chosen Him.”
Hi Islander, what do you make of these passages?
“I call heaven and earth as witnesses against you today that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing. Therefore choose life, so that you and your descendants may live.” Deuteronomy 30:19
https://biblehub.com/deuteronomy/30.htm
“And death shall be chosen rather than life by all the residue of them that remain of this evil family, which remain in all the places whither I have driven them, saith the LORD of hosts.” Jeremiah 8:3
https://biblehub.com/jeremiah/8-3.htm
“Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me.” Revelation 3:20
https://biblehub.com/revelation/3-20.htm
Rhoda,
The three verses you quote have a semblance (nothing more) of suggestion that we have a ‘choice’ in all these situations that God in Christ has put before us.
In Deuteronomy 30:19 God gave the nation of Israel the Commandments. As opposed to the Lord Jesus Christ giving individuals the Commandments-the sermon on the Mount (Matthew chapters 5-7).
The Commandments are revered by those whom God has quickened by His Holy Spirit, and eschewed by unbelievers.
Indeed, Jeremiah 8:3 has been fulfilled by unbelieving Israel.
‘Choices’ have always been put before us, have they not? Were not our first parents, Adam and Eve presented with a ‘choice’?
What did they do with that ‘choice’?
The GRAND question is this:
Who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? 1 Corinthians 4:7.
Who is this Who?
There is an irresistible and unseen Power that cannot be subdued!
Can we resist the Holy Spirit?
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do also resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did, so do ye. Acts 7:51.
Those who believe in ‘freewill’ use this verse to ‘prove’ that man can resist God! This is but the outward call-not the inward work of God’s grace in the believer’s heart.
Hi Islander, you say, “The three verses you quote have a semblance (nothing more) of suggestion that we have a ‘choice’.”
Only a semblance? Only a suggestion? Despite saying “choose life”?
For me, one of the main themes of the Bible is choice, or free will – it is throughout the Bible from the beginning. For example, if God did not want to give Adam and Eve the choice to eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, he simply wouldn’t have placed the tree in the Garden of Eden.
From my point of view, people conflate pre-determination with passages about God choosing specific people for a specific purpose. For example, Mary was chosen to be Jesus’ mother because she was descended from King David and was in the right place at the right time. At the time, it is estimated that the population of Nazareth was around 400 to 1,000 people. There can’t have been too many single women (virgins) living in Nazareth from David’s line who were betrothed to another descendent of King David (Joseph). So Mary was chosen because of her lineage, her faith, where she was living, that she was a virgin and who she was about to marry. How these circumstances came together at that time is a result of choices people made, perhaps even generations before.
So when I here people say “God has chosen me” then I equate that to God has chosen them for a specific task or purpose. It could be a specific and once off purpose (i.e. short lived) or it could be a life long mission, or in the case of the Hebrews it’s generations. Not everyone is chosen for a specific task or purpose, but everyone can choose to pick up their cross and follow Jesus, at any time. This is why Jesus was speaking to crowds of thousands of people (all were invited to attend), to get them to turn back to God. If turning back to God wasn’t a choice, then He wouldn’t have been reaching out to thousands at a time – He would have instead spent his time seeking out those who it had been pre-determined would turn back to God.
There can be no doubt that Christianity is based on God given free will. Without it, God would have no basis to judge us – because if we have no choice then everyone is blameless as we are all following God’s will and we are all innocent in God’s eyes – which we know is not true. The other option is that we are judged for choices God made for us before we were born (pre-determined) – which we know is also not true.
The reality is, we do have a free will. We are all given free will in equal portions, and it is for the choices we make that God will judge us. Not everyone will be saved from the second death, only those who choose to follow Jesus will be saved. Jesus said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
https://biblehub.com/john/14-6.htm
Hi Stuart-James, I note that you completely ignore the role the Romans played. Jewish authorities, while involved in the arrest and initial trial of Jesus, did not have the authority to carry out crucifixions, which were reserved for Roman officials. The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, gave the order to crucify Jesus.
More importantly than all that, also recall that it was the crowd that demanded Pontius Pilate release Barabbas and crucify Jesus. We don’t know how many or who was in that crowd as no description is given, but it was ordinary people like you and me (with a few activists likely running around stirring them up). Ultimately, it was the people that decided to crucify Jesus.
Barabbas represented human attempts to achieve salvation through violence, while Jesus offered salvation through love. Yet the crowd chose violence over love.
Metaphorically speaking, even to this day there is a crowd that brays out again and again, “release the criminal and murderer; crucify Jesus in his stead.”
If you were in that crowd 2,000 years ago, what would you have shouted out? Would you have stood up for the man who was innocent or would you have gone along with the crowd? As part of the crowd today, what are you shouting out? Release Jesus or release Barabbas?
Hi Stuart-James, Pilate wasn’t blackmailed. He knew what he was doing was wrong (sentencing an innocent man to death) which is why he famously washed his hand of it. He agreed to give the crowd what they wanted to avoid a riot, to stop a revolt against his (Roman) authority/control. At the time, decades of Roman rule were causing ever more resentment in Judea.
“Pilate saw that he wasn’t getting anywhere and that a riot was developing. So he sent for a bowl of water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood. The responsibility is yours!”” Matthew 27:24
https://biblehub.com/matthew/27-24.htm
You are right that Jesus could have saved himself but refused. The choice to do so did not come easily. Fulfilling God’s prophecy caused Him such distress that we are told he sweated blood.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/did-jesus-sweat-blood-in-the-garden-of-gethsemane.html
Hi Stuart-James, where are you getting your information from?
Hi Stuart-James, when you swim deep, make sure your visibility is still good; it’s a big ocean and you’re just a tiny little fish. Satan is a master deceiver; a trickster. Satan is not like God, he is not omnipresent and he does not know the future; he can only be in one place at a time and he only knows what God has revealed. Be aware that Satan knows the Bible better than anyone alive on Earth and he uses that knowledge to his advantage. And, remember, Satan knows Heaven because he dwelled there before he was cast out. He also knows God because he once served God as an angel. Satan knows his end, that he’s going to be locked up in hell for eternity, and he aims to take as many of us with him as he can. Don’t let him snare you and drag you to his lair.
It follows that its unwise to “swim deep” into matters of faith on your own. I’m not sure what your beliefs are but, if you’re a Christian, before diving in it’s advisable to put on your armour of God and seek God’s guidance. If you ever feel confused or afraid, take a break and read Psalm 23.
https://www.esv.org/Psalm+23/
If you’re not a Christian and don’t come under God’s protection, its best not to delve too deeply. If you can’t resist the curiosity or the temptation for more knowledge, then tread carefully – you don’t want to put a foot wrong and end up getting yourself into a situation that’s difficult to get out of. Some people get drawn into the occult by “swimming deep” in their quest for knowledge. Once the occult has sunk its teeth and claws into someone, it can be difficult for them to break free.
Hi Stuart-James, Jesus was born to Hebrew parents who were Jews, this is made very clear in the Bible. He did not carry Joseph’s DNA, his Earthly father who raised him, this is also very clear in the Bible. Did he carry Mary, his mother’s, DNA? probably.
So what physical characteristics did Jesus have? He certainly didn’t have the physical characteristics of a romanticised Roman as the statues/paintings as seen in Catholic and Anglican/Church of England churches, which come from the Romans when they eventually took on Christianity.
Did he look Hebrew? I believe so. He came to Earth to witness/teach/correct etc to Judeans. As you know, the tribe of Judah is one of the 12 tribes of Israel (i.e. Hebrews or Israelites). So, logically he would have looked the same as any other Judean. You must recall that Jesus came to Earth at a time when the Romans had occupied and was ruling over what they called Syria Palaestina or Palaestina (the Romans renamed Judea in an attempt to disenfranchise the Jews from their land). At the time, the Hebrews living under Rome were beginning to rise up against their Roman oppressors. So if Jesus looked different to other Hebrews, they would not have trusted him (e.g. they would have seen him as a Roman spy, for example.) God knows how to reach people, so Jesus would have had the physical appearance of a typical and instantly recognisable Judean/Hebrew/Israelite. He grew up and lived among them, he would have spoken their language and followed their customs etc.
Was Jesus a Jew? Yes. he observed all the Jewish traditions, as his Earthly mother and father did. He did not come to Earth to take away from Moses’ law but to add to it. Jesus did not come to destroy/replace Judaism but to fulfill their centuries old prophecy. As you know, the Jews did not listen, they rejected Him, and still do not recognise Jesus as the long awaited for first coming of God to Earth. Jews today view Jesus as a prophet and not God who came to Earth in the form of a man.
In short, did Jesus look Hebrew/Israelite/Judean? Yes. Was Jesus a Jew? Yes, but not a corrupted version of Judaism that had seeped into the higher levels, some of the priests, of the synagogues. As you know, he turned over the trading tables in the synagogue forecourt and chastised the priests for misusing/corrupting God’s house.
Is Jesus’ physical appearance central to my faith? No. I have spent very little time and energy on imagining what Jesus may or may not have looked like (what colour his skin, hair and eyes were etc), its not important to me (oddly enough, I’m much more fascinated to know what Adam and Eve looked like – I would love to know that, so if you know please do tell!). When I imagine Jesus, he has no physical body. It is the same with God (since they are the same), I do not conjure up an image of a physical body for God or the Holy Spirit when I pray. Neither do I stand in front of statues or images and pray, although I have no problem with them and can appreciate them for what they are (art), images of Jesus just simply do not resonate with me :).
“The legal fiction state of Israel is fake!” – you say. The land of Israel came into existence about 3,500 years ago, not by man’s hand but by God’s. As I said, if you’re going to be “a fish swimming deep” make sure you have good visibility, the ocean is big and there’s a lot of predators in it – the only way to have the visibility you need is to have God’s guidance and protection as you swim around.
Hi Stuart-James, I think perhaps you are hiding behind the comfort of your concept of “legal fiction” a little too much.
[…] https://expose-news.com/2025/04/20/the-greatest-revolution-ever-known/ […]
[…] Today marks the beginning of the greatest revolution the world has ever known David Thunder gives his thoughts on how Jesus, the son of a Jewish carpenter, ended up tortured on a cross as a common criminal and by doing so spearheaded a movement that would radically alter the course of history. The movement we now know as Christianity was and still is the greatest revolution the world has ever known. […]
Jesus isn’t a revolution.
He is the resurrection.
He is the revelation.
He is returning.
If you bothered to read
the bible, God wrote
Himself into our history.
God set up a genealogy
in Genesis 5 that spells
out the coming messiah.
Who can bring in people
to be born in a certain place,
at a certain time, and all
their Hebrew names conform
in order to tell us about Jesus
Christ? Only God can do that.
instead of all the Gods that we once worshipped which treated us well and saw us through such catastrophic times such as the ice ages ,the modern era gives us four Jews to idolise in their place ; Marx, Einstein, Freud and Jesus, what a coincidence ?
Hi Noj, its interesting you single out three people you perceive to be Jewish, but did not believe in God, and conflate them with God. To be Jewish, not only would they believe in God but they would follow Judaism.
Karl Marx was a serious atheist and viewed religion critically, seeing it as “the opium of the people” and a tool used to oppress and exploit the working class.
Albert Einstein did not believe in a personal God who intervenes in human affairs, describing such a belief as naïve.
Sigmund Freud regarded God as an illusion, based on the infantile need for a powerful father figure.
So you have taken three well known anti-God figures and conflated them with Jesus who was God on Earth. Any rational mind would not be able to, so how were you able to do that?
Jesus of Nazareth did not claim to be God.
He called himself, son of God and son of man.
The Old testament referred to Jesus Christ as Prince of love and Prince of peace, the one they pierced through, The Rod of justice, The staff of righteousness etc
Jesus the lamb of God is described as sitting at the right side of God in his heavenly throne.
Paul even says “God is his throne”
Jesus said he is one with God ( in spirit ) and said he is in union with God and we his loyal ones are in union with him.
Jesus is also King of kings, Lord of lords, and Judge of judges, the only one worthy of opening the seals of the scroll of the book of life.
Jesus also said he is God’s master servant and he said he is our representative from God, and God gave only him the power to resurrect us
Revelation 22 And he showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb ( Jesus )
Revelation 21, 23 for the glory of God lighted it up, and it’s lamp was the Lamb
Nevertheless, when Thomas answered and said unto Him, my Lord and my God. John 20:28, the Lord didn’t deny it!
I posted about a Daily Mail article that offered new theories about the events of Easter and The Resurrection.
Over the past few months, the Mail has had many articles about new archaeological discoveries, some that confirm Biblical events and some that contradict the Bible.
The sheer number of them made me suspicious. I found it odd that in such a short time period lots of new discoveries were being made when they had lain undiscovered for two thousand years, although the use of new technology does explain some of them.
One is not brand new, apparently it was discovered in the 1950s – a new book of the Bible – The Book Of Jubilees. Has anyone heard of that before now?
“Sacred text banned from the Bible reveals what really happened during Noah’s Great Flood”.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14487107/article-banned-Bible-reveals-Noah-Great-Flood.html
Another was rather like the one about Jesus, in that it gives a new theory about a Biblical event – the parting of the Red Sea.
“Scientists reveal how Moses COULD have parted the Red Sea – and say it may not have been a miracle after all”.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-14468581/Scientists-reveal-Moses-parted-Red-Sea.html
Why are they trying to dispute the idea of it being a miracle. I thought that was the point – that God did it to help the Israelites to escape and to kill the Egyptians.
So we have a claim that Jesus did not did die on the cross, and so there could be no resurrection, and now the parting of the waves was merely a natural phenomenon to do with tides.
It seems that God is being written out of the Bible.
Please note that I am not commenting on The Bible. My point is so many “new discoveries” all appearing now. The Mail has recently had many similar articles, I have mentioned only three of them.
Christianism, while allowing homosexuality, transgender, illegal wars, and the slaughter of native civilians, including babies, pedophilia within churches by priests…
False christianity / christians
You are talking about Judeo-Christianity centred on Rome, Russian Orthodox Christianity is not like that. It is the true Christianity. Rome is Satan’s church.
To the best of my knowledge, Christianity became a mainstream religion because Emperor Constantine (I think it was) decided, around three hundred or so years after Jesus’s death, to make Christianity the official religion. It was a political move, one decided upon most probably in order to control people better; the ‘turning of the other cheek’, the meekness, must have truly appealed to him, much better than having the many gods of the old way some of whom were very rampant and disorderly.
In a way, he was bitten by his own petard, as now it is real Christians in the main, who are standing up against the powers that should no longer be.