8 - The Birth of Christianity

One of the most interesting things about human life is the element of surprise it contains. Nothing is too strange or unexpected to happen. You cannot look at a newborn child, for instance, and know exactly what it will grow into, the way you can when you look at a flower bud, or the chrysalis of a butterfly. The son of a labourer may grow up to become the president of his country. The child of uneducated parents may become a university professor. Even in this book, we have seen how a prince could become a beggar, and an ordinary merchant the founder of a great religion. And certainly, when a little boy named Jesus lived and played in the small, quiet town of Nazareth, no one could have imagined that he would some day be worshipped by millions of people as 'the Light of the World'.

The Boyhood of Jesus

We know very little about Jesus's childhood, but we do know that at Christmas time we are celebrating his birth. And such a humble birth it was, too—more humble than for almost any other baby of those parts and times, for, as we know, he was born in a stable at Bethlehem. Yet we are told that the most wonderful star shone over this humble birth, that the air was filled with the singing of angels, and that many people came to worship there: three wise kings from a far-off land, as well as poor shepherds from the nearby hills.

But reigning over Judea (the new name for Judah) at this time was Herod, one of the most evil kings in history. It came to his ear that a baby recently born in Bethlehem was rumoured to be the long-awaited Messiah—saviour of the world, and King of the Jews—and Herod decided to destroy, right away, anyone who might possibly, some day, sit upon his throne. So he ordered that every little boy in Bethlehem under the age of two should be killed.

But a kind man named Joseph, who had become the protector of baby Jesus and his mother Mary, dreamed about this, and the dream was so vivid that he felt sure it was a warning from God. So he took Jesus and Mary far away from Bethlehem to Egypt, where they remained until after King Herod died. Then they returned and settled in a little hidden-away town called Nazareth, where all the houses were built of white stone.

They lived here quietly for many years—a family little different from most other families in Nazareth—poor in worldly goods, but rich in their love for one another and in their reverence for the religion of Moses and the Prophets.

The most learned rabbis of this religion lived in Jerusalem, 80 kilometres away, and nearly all of the richer families in the outlying towns sent their sons there to study. But Joseph and Mary could not afford to send Jesus to Jerusalem, so they taught him what they could themselves—the Ten Commandments, and the great stories of the Torah (or as we call it, the Old Testament), and a few simple prayers. Also, he heard much about all this in the little synagogue every Sabbath, and he listened with rapt attention, especially when there was talk about the coming of the Messiah.

This was always spoken of in hushed voices, and with great hope and longing, for the Jewish people were now suffering more than ever under the rule of the Romans, and they felt that now, surely, must be the time when their Redeemer would come.

When Jesus was 12, Mary and Joseph took him to Jerusalem for the great feast of the Passover. As they were poor people who could not afford a donkey, they had to walk every step of those 80 kilometres, both there and back.

Going, Jesus was continually happy and excited. He had heard so much about Jerusalem, the City of God, and doubtless he had created glorious visions of it in the wonderment of his child mind. Now, for the first time in his life, he was actually going to see it. But when at last he walked along its streets and came to its Temple, he was bitterly disappointed, for he found that the City of God was a noisy, bustling marketplace filled with shouting, greed, money-changing, and Roman soldiers. Even the Temple itself was a marketplace, where animals were being sold for sacrifice. After the Passover, the way home to Nazareth seemed long indeed, for now there was sorrow instead of gladness in the heart of Jesus.

For years after this, life went on quietly in the little white town of Nazareth. Joseph taught Jesus his own trade (that of a carpenter), and every Sabbath, there was the synagogue. Then Joseph died, and Mary and Jesus moved to Cana, where again life went on quietly for a while. During the week Jesus would work as a carpenter, and again every Sabbath he would go to the synagogue, and take part in the learned discussions of the rabbis.

But the words of Jesus were different from those of anybody else. The rabbis read and re-read their Torah, trying to explain the exact meaning of every smallest detail, whereas Jesus spoke new words and new ideas so simple that even a child could have understood them. Sometimes, listening to him, one might almost have forgotten that the Torah existed, and of course the rabbis did not altogether like this. They wanted to keep their old familiar Sabbath just as it had always been, generation after generation.

Others, however, did like what Jesus had to say. They listened to his words with close attention, and accepted him as their teacher.

Jesus the Master

News now reached Cana that a man named John the Baptist had arrived in Judea, and was preaching there, particularly about the coming of the Messiah, and that he was also baptising all who came to him in the River Jordan. Jesus decided to go and meet him, partly because he was distantly related to him, but mainly because he wanted to hear all that John the Baptist had to say about the Messiah.

When he reached the banks of the River Jordan, he greeted John and asked to be baptised by him. But John did so only after Jesus asked a second time, for he recognised in this young man The One Who Is To Come, and he felt unworthy to baptise him.

Jesus was now 30 years old and, upon leaving John, he walked not straight home, but into the desert, where he remained for 40 days and 40 nights, thinking, meditating. During this time he must have been gloriously happy for long periods, with his whole heart and mind attuned to God, but also there must have been times when he just felt hungry, thirsty, tired, and alone. It was at these times that he heard the voice of the Evil One, tempting him to use his great powers merely to comfort or to glorify himself. But, one after another, Jesus turned away from each of these temptations—and when at last he emerged from the desert, he entered the world of men again as a great teacher.

In fact, ask any thoughtful person today which man in the whole history of mankind has had the greatest influence over the minds and affairs of men, during a period of 2000 years, and he will tell you 'Jesus of Nazareth'.

Now, once again, it was the time of the Passover, and Jesus again journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate it—and there, as before, was all the noise and bustle of buying and selling, especially around the Temple itself, where pilgrims were congregating from far and wide.

This was the sight which had bewildered and saddened Jesus when he was a child. Now it angered him as well. Taking a whip, he strode among the merchants and the money-changers, overturning their tables, scattering their goods, driving them out of the Temple, and commanding them, 'Make not God's house a marketplace!'.

This, of course, set many people against him, right at the beginning of his work as a teacher. The merchants turned against him; so did the established leaders of religion. And the Roman soldiers regarded him with suspicion, for a man who would take such liberties with the affairs of the Temple, might some day even raise a rebellion against the government of Rome. On the other hand, the courage that Jesus had shown, and the nobility of his purpose, won him many friends.

Back home in Cana, however, when he started preaching to groups of people in the streets, it was very different from when he had taken part, with others, in discussions in the synagogue. The people, who had for so long been awaiting their Messiah, felt quite sure that, when the time came, he would be carried down to Earth in a winged chariot, or alight upon the top of the world's highest mountain in a blaze of glory. It seemed quite unreasonable that he should be just an ordinary carpenter who had lived and worked among them for years.

So he left Cana and travelled to the little town of Capernaum, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee. There, he met two brothers named Peter and Andrew. These, like himself, followed a humble form of work, for they were fishermen. But such was their purity of heart that they were quick to recognise the true nature of Jesus—the Christ—and to devote their lives to following his teachings.

Gradually more and more people came to listen to him as he spoke.

He spoke to them gently about the need for kindness and love among men, and about the unfailing love, mercy and forgiveness of God. He often gave his teachings in the form of parables or little stories, so that everyone could easily understand them, learning great truths while listening to simple tales.

Once, when he had been saying that everyone must love his neighbour as himself, a lawyer asked him whom he meant by 'neighbour'—and this is how Jesus answered:

'A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite. ... But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed ... had compassion on him, ... and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him ....

'Which now of these three ... was neighbour unto him that fell among thieves?'

And when the lawyer replied, correctly, that it was the Samaritan, Jesus told him, 'Go, and do thou likewise'.

In those days, Jesus often spoke to gatherings of people around the shores of the Sea of Galilee. At first they were just the fisherfolk, and other people who lived and worked nearby. But then, as his fame spread far and wide, people came from more and more distant places. Also, wonderful stories began to be told about him—that he had turned water into wine, and healed those who were sick, even those who were crippled and blind. So, of course, people with all manner of ailments came to him, their hearts filled with hope.

Then one day, when a crowd larger than ever had gathered to hear his teachings, on a hillside near Capernaum, he spoke some of the most inspired words ever to come from the lips of man. They are known to us today as the Sermon on the Mount and the Lord's Prayer, and the whole of the teachings of Christianity are contained within them. They are beautifully simple, and filled with peace and comfort and love. But those who followed the oldest form of the Hebrew religion did not like them.

These people were called Pharisees. In the days of Jesus they were very powerful, and they stood with all their strength against any change whatever. The God in whom they believed had no loving kindness as taught by the later Prophets, but was like a harsh dictator, quick to anger and to seek vengeance.

Jesus taught that this was entirely wrong, that the Pharisees did not understand the scriptures, or Torah, and that in reality the One and Only God was a God of forgiveness—of everlasting mercy and love—the Father waiting with open arms for the return of his prodigal son.

The old law of Moses was in many ways a law of revenge—of 'an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth'. But Jesus told his followers that they must not hit back against anyone who attacked them.

According to the Pharisees, it was just as good to hate your enemy as it was to love your friend. But Jesus said, 'Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you'. And he insisted that 'whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them'.

It seems impossible that anyone should have wanted to destroy such a man—a man who did good wherever he went, who brought peace and comfort and joy to all who came near him, who carried love and forgiveness toward the whole human race. Yet there were many who did want to destroy him, especially when he next visited Jerusalem for the feast of the Passover, three years after his meeting with John the Baptist.

This time he entered the city surrounded by a great crowd singing, 'Hosanna! Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord!' And many who had not known of him until now, eagerly joined those who were thronging to pay homage to him as the Messiah.

When he reached the Temple and found it, as before, filled with merchants and money-changers, Jesus once again drove them out. The Pharisees, as well as the merchants and money-changers themselves, were furious.

They had been extremely angry when Jesus drove them out the first time, but now that he obviously had the support of so many people, his enemies decided that he was a threat to their whole way of life, and because of this they also decided that, in one way or another, they must destroy him.

Jesus knew this, because he knew the hearts and minds of men. So, while everybody else was happily looking forward to the Passover, Jesus was sorrowful because of the terrible things that lay ahead for him.

The Sad Ending

Finally, on the evening before Passover, while he sat at supper with his twelve apostles, the occasion became, not a happy gathering of friends, but a sad farewell; for Jesus now told them that he had only a very little while longer to stay with them.

The apostles had grown so close to Jesus during his years of teaching, and they loved him so dearly, that these words now filled their hearts with sorrow. But when he told them, a few minutes later, that one of the apostles themselves would betray him to his enemies, they were stunned with horror and disbelief.

It was during this last supper that Jesus divided a loaf of bread into small pieces which he gave to his apostles with the words, 'Take, eat, this is my body'. Then he blessed the wine, and told them, 'Take, drink, this is my blood'. But, of course, he did not mean that the apostles should think of these as his material body and blood; rather, that they should fill their minds and hearts with the spirit of the Christ, which is love. He told them gently:

'A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another. As I have loved you, so you shall love one another.' Then he rose from the table, and left the house.

He wandered out into the night (after the heat of the day, the air was fresh and cool) and at last he came to a sort of public garden, called Gethsemane.

Right through his life, Jesus had enjoyed short periods of silence and aloneness, but tonight, his apostles walked with him—all of them except Judas Iscariot—and somehow, he was glad that they did.

In Gethsemane, they all sat down to rest, for they were tired after their walk, and the hot day, and their sorrowful supper. Soon, one after another, the apostles fell asleep, while Jesus thought and prayed.

It was after midnight when the silence of the garden was shattered by the noise of Roman soldiers, following where Judas Iscariot led them. Exactly as Jesus had foretold, Judas—one of his closest friends—had betrayed him.

Without a word of protest, he went with the Roman soldiers, and then before Pontius Pilate of Jerusalem and Herod Antipas of Galilee, he was tried for plotting against the Roman government and for mocking the name of God.

Despite the fact that there could never have been the slightest proof of either of these things his enemies were determined to destroy Jesus, and they went about rousing so many people against him that at last Pontius Pilate satisfied the shouting, raging mob who wanted to see him killed. Even though he himself could find no fault in Jesus, he agreed that the people should have their way with him.

The Romans of that time had many brutal ways, and particularly enjoyed watching other people suffer. Just as we watch football and cricket matches today, the Romans of those days watched gladiators killing one another, and people being eaten by lions. And their executions often took the form of crucifixion—tying or nailing the 'criminal' to a wooden cross.

Jesus was condemned to die in this terrible way, and his enemies were sure that this would put an end to his strange, 'disturbing' influence. But nobody could ever have made a greater mistake, for the Christ was not a mere body that could be made to suffer and die. It was—and is— 'from everlasting to everlasting'.

Jesus was born a Jew, as the prophecies had said, of the house of David. Since there are always differences among people, many of the Jews in Jesus's time did not believe that he was indeed their promised Messiah, just as today many millions of them feel that he is yet to come. But there were so many others who did accept him, and follow him, that the Roman soldiers nailed a roughly printed notice at the top of his cross, 'Jesus of Nazareth—the King of the Jews'.

We are told that while he hung, dying, on the cross, a great darkness fell upon the world, and that, finally, the earth quaked, and 'the veil of the temple was rent in twain'.

There was, in Arimathea, a wealthy and a very good man named Joseph, who now came forward and asked Pontius Pilate for permission to take the body of Jesus down from the cross. Pilate allowed him to do this, and so it was that the body which had suffered so greatly was now lovingly and reverently handled. Joseph wrapped it in fine white linen, and laid it to rest in the stone tomb which was to have been his own. Then a great rock was rolled into the opening of the tomb, and a guard of Roman soldiers took up position around it, so that none of Jesus's friends would be able to steal his body, then pretend that he had risen from the dead. No doubt, also, the Romans feared that the death of their leader might cause an uprising among the followers of Jesus.

But there was no trouble—only a deep, despairing sorrow—until, three days later, the stone was found rolled away, and the tomb empty.

What had happened? Who had rolled away that heavy stone despite the constant presence of the Roman soldiers? Where was the wounded, lifeless body of Jesus? For many people these questions were never properly answered. But there were others who did know the one glorious answer— that Jesus was no longer dead, that he had risen, even from the tomb. They knew this because they actually saw him and talked with him, just as in those wonderful days when he had lived among them. And any of his followers who might secretly have doubted him before, now knew beyond all question that he was the Christ, victorious over everything—even death. And, being the Christ, he was victorious not by government order or by force of arms, but through the wonderful, radiant power of love.

Those who followed him became known as Christians. Today, after nearly 2000 years, Christianity has more followers than has any other religion—about 950000000—and these are to be found in almost every country in the world.

Through the centuries, it has been a guiding light in the hearts of countless millions, it has inspired some of the world's most glorious literature, painting, sculpture, architecture and music. There can be no doubt that even the greatest of our problems, here on Earth, would dissolve away if everyone truly lived Christianity, just as they would if everyone truly lived the other great religions. For we have seen that the root and essence of them all is exactly the same—pure and absolute love.