• Well pumps
• Filters for cleaning
• Well drilling
• Borehole pumps
• Wells

Why is Jesus called Christ? God is the creator of the world and his son Jesus. Why is Jesus called God? Who Called Jesus Christ

Introduction.

1. What will be discussed?

2. We do not know Jesus, we do not know Christ either.

Part I.

3. "Jesus" or "Emmanuel"?

4. From Nazareth to Bethlehem or from Bethlehem to Nazareth?

6. The name of Jesus in the cult in the everyday life of Christians.

Part II.

8. "Christ" - "Anointed One".

12. Conclusion.

Introduction.

1. What will be discussed?

In the history and content of Christianity, the names "Jesus" and "Christ" have much more significance than believers, theologians and scientists realize. In our private opinion, a comprehensive study, illumination and understanding of these names opens up to everyone - believer and unbeliever, intellectual and layman, interested and indifferent - new aspects of the vision of both Christianity itself and much of what is associated with it, Christianity. What exactly can be seen in this case is already a matter of each individual person, his tastes and the knowledge he already has. In particular, we believe that the study of these names can become a significant additional contribution to the study of the history of the emergence of Christianity and lead to a fundamentally new, possibly final solution to the problem of the historical existence of Jesus Christ. True, in this article we do not set ourselves the task of giving a solution to this problem, although we will talk about it. Our task is extremely narrow and extremely specific: we will only talk about what the name "Jesus" and the name "Christ" mean, which is applied to the founder and God of the Christian religion.

2. We do not know Jesus, we do not know Christ either.

The first Christian communities (churches) arose almost 2,000 years ago. Christianity officially came to Kievan Rus 1,000 years ago and became first the state and then the dominant religion of the peoples of Kievan Rus. Knowledge about Christianity and about Jesus Christ is assimilated by our contemporaries spontaneously, "with mother's milk", as the name and content of all other traditional folk elements of our people are assimilated: religion, art, everyday life, and the like. As a result, it seems to the overwhelming majority of all strata of the population that they know the content of the expression "Jesus Christ" as well as they know other phrases of general dictionary meaning. But in fact, as Volodya Vysotsky sang, "all this is not so, all this is different." Neither theological nor scientific research from antiquity to the present day has given proper attention to the names of Jesus Christ. Moreover, the initial views on this problem have now been forgotten, the meaningful history of the penetration of the name of the founder and God of the Christian religion into our everyday life is not traced.

For almost two thousand years around the problems of Christianity, heated theological and scientific disputes have been constantly boiling, from which irreconcilable points of view on Christianity not only do not decrease, but, on the contrary, are constantly increasing. In the field of religious-theological and historical-scientific views, the gospel predictions come true word-for-word. This is what I mean. According to the stories of the Gospel according to Luke, Simeon the God-Receiver, holding the newborn Jesus in his hands, says about him: “Here lies in my hands the one who will become the subject of controversy and the cause of the fall of many” (2:34). (Biblical quotes from the Hebrew and Greek dialects of Koine have been translated by us everywhere. The Synodal translation of the Bible is polished according to the standards of the Orthodox faith and does not quite accurately convey the content of the originals. chapters. For example, "(Luke, 2:34)" would mean: "The Gospel of Luke, chapter two, verse thirty-four")... "Do you really think that I came to create peace on earth? In no way! (I brought) division. From now on, five in the same house will be opposed to each other: three against two and two against three. Father. will oppose the son, and the son - against the father, the mother against the daughter, and the daughter against the mother; the mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, "Jesus Christ himself says to his disciples (Luke 12: 51-53).

We are not going to reconcile religious or scientific points of view on Christianity, which are hostile to each other, or to make our own, additional, “contribution” (Mark, 12:42; Luke, 21: 2) into the far from peaceful disputes generated by Jesus Christ. We will focus our readers' attention only on the content of the phrases "Jesus" and "Christ".

Of course, contrary to the efforts and intentions of the author of the article, he will have to speak out on one or another perplexed issue. And there are such questions and there are many of them. They arise immediately, as soon as we begin, even superficially, to get acquainted with the biblical message about the origin of the name "Jesus" in the appendix to Christ (A special story about the origin and name "Christ" will be below.)

___ Part I .___

3. "Jesus" or "Emmanuel"?

On the very first page of the New Testament, in the first chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, the following is written about the origin of the name "Jesus":

There is no need to analyze the entire New Testament text. Let's focus our attention on the name of the newborn Savior.

The New Testament books include four gospels - four versions of stories about the earthly life of Jesus Christ. Each of the Gospels dozens of times describe events that seemed to have been foreseen by the prophets of the Old Testament. At the same time, the evangelists certainly emphasize that this and that, this and that, and that and that happened to Jesus Christ, and not otherwise, precisely because certain prophecies were fulfilled on him. At the same time, after describing a certain event, it is separately emphasized that it was predicted there and that prophet. (For examples of this fulfillment of prophecies, see: Matthew 2:15; 8:17; 12:17; 13:35; 21: 4; Mark 14:49; 15:28; Luke 14,21; 24: 27-45 ; John 12:38; 15:25; 17; 12; 19: 28,36.) Paying attention to what we have noted, a number of well-known and prominent scientists are researchers: Friedrich Strauss, Arthur Drews, Andrzej Nemoevsky, S. I. Kovalev, I. A. Kryvelev, Scott Ouser, Gordon Stein, Earl Dougherty, Jack Kirsey and many, many others deny the historical existence of Jesus Christ. In their unanimous opinion, the authors of the Gospels described the life of the founder of Christianity not proceeding from real historical or everyday events, but from their subjective desires. The apostles, they say, really wanted their Christ to be born, live, create, teach, die and rise again exactly in accordance with the prophecies of the Bible. According to the prophecies of the Bible, they came up with a biography of Jesus Christ.

Now we will neither deny nor confirm the views of those who consider the gospel Jesus Christ from beginning to end a mythical creature. Let's just note that not everything in such views is based on irrefutable scientific foundations. It is enough to pay attention to the name of the founder of the Christian religion. If, for example, the author of the Gospel of Matthew really from beginning to end invented his Jesus Christ exclusively in accordance with biblical prophecies, then why? .. Well, why did he call his literary hero, Christ, Jesus, and not Emmanuel? ! After all, Matthew referred to biblical prophecy and immediately illustrated that the prophecy did not come true. Some kind of embarrassment. And again why. Well, why did not subsequent scribes and church authorities correct Matthew by omitting his reference to prophecy?

The author of the Gospel of Matthew, of course, looked at the Christ described by him as the promised by the prophets of the Old Testament and the Messiah sent by God. He, Matthew, in fact, wanted to see the fulfillment of all (or, in extreme cases, more) of the Bible prophecies on the literary hero he was describing. But with all this, Matthew, obviously, overdid it, for the name "Emmanuel" is neither in sound nor in content identical with the name "Jesus". The Hebrew word "Em-manu-il" literally means "God with us", and the word "Jesus" means "Savior". Savvy preachers convince their listeners that the word "Jesus" is the same as "Immanuel." But this is not the case. For example, we never identify the name of Latin origin "Victor" with the name of Greek origin "Nikolai", although both of these words mean the same thing, namely - "Winner". And the words "Jesus" and "Emmanuel" are completely different not only in sound, but also in content. This is the first thing. And secondly. The prophecy of Isaiah, referred to by Matthew, was told about the birth of Emmanuel to the Jewish king Ahaz, and during his lifetime the latter was fulfilled in 8 centuries BC. This is joyfully reported in the same book of the prophet Isaiah (chapters 7-8; 8: 8,10). It is no coincidence that Isaiah's prophecy about the birth of Emmanuel applied to Jesus Christ does not use any of the remaining three canonical gospels. His prophecies about Emmanuel were not used by any of the authors of another 36 gospels not canonized by the church.

So, let's fix an important point. Referring to the prophet Isaiah, the author of the Gospel of Matthew did not follow the biblical prophecy about the name of the born Savior. Why? - Yes, only because the writer of the Gospel was pressed by the pressure of the historically real Christ, whose name was not Emmanuel, but Jesus. There are no other plausible explanations for the noted incident and cannot be.

4. From Nazareth to Bethlehem or from Bethlehem to Nazareth?

There is enough in the gospels to support the fact that behind the gospel Jesus Christ is the solid figure of the historical Jesus who became the Christ. Here is one convincing piece of evidence.

The real Jesus was from the Nazareth settlement (A number of researchers refer to the fact that in the historical documents that have come down to us, the city of Nazareth has been mentioned only since the 3rd century, and on this basis they deny the existence of Nazareth at the beginning of our era. "How did Jesus Christ manage to be born in a city that appeared three centuries after his birth? "- with such a rhetorical question they deny the historical existence of Jesus Christ. But this is not scientific. If, for example, the village of Zaplazy in the Odessa region was first mentioned in documents from the end of the 18th century, this does not mean that it did not exist before. It was founded and settled by the Turks.During the Russian-Turkish war at the end of the 18th century, the Turks were expelled from the Tauride region. Part of the Turkish population of the Zaplazy village remained in place, converted to Orthodoxy. And then the village was settled by settlers from Russia, Ukraine, Polish lands. But you never know there are settlements that are not reflected in historically accurate documents?) in Galilee. It is no coincidence that in the stories of all the canonical and apocryphal gospels he is called Jesus of Nazareth. (Matthew 1:24; 2:33; 4:67; 21:11; Mark 10:47; Luke 4:34; 18:37; 24:19; John 1:45; 18: 5; 19 : 19; Acts 2:22; 3: 6; 4:10; 10,38; 24: 5; 26: 9.) Based on an analysis of the words spoken by Jesus Christ on the cross (In the Gospel of Matthew (27:46), these words are transmitted in the Greek spelling: (Hili, Hili, lema sabachphani; Or, Or, lema sabachphani) - God, God, why did you leave me? And in the Gospel of Mark (15: 34) these words of Jesus Christ on the cross are transmitted in a slightly different way: Eloi, Eloi, Lema Savakhvani ") some researchers have concluded that the Savior spoke Hebrew in the Galilean dialect. There is other evidence that Jesus Christ was from Galilee. (After the death of Herod the Great (4 BC), the Kingdom of Judah came under the control of the Roman governors - prefects and procurators. The legacy of Herod the Great, which occupied the whole of Palestine, was divided into four parts, into tetrarchies: Judea, Samaria, Galilee and Decapolis. The latter was located on the left bank of the Jordan and was inhabited by the Hellenes. Jews of Judea disdained the inhabitants of other tetrarchies, including the Jews there. According to the reports of the first three gospels, which researchers call synoptic, all the activities of Jesus Christ took place in Galilee. In the capital of Judea, Jerusalem, he came only a week before the holiday, began to preach, expel merchants from the temple, declare himself the Son of God, for which he was accused by the Jewish church authorities (Sanhedrin), condemned and handed over to the Roman authorities as a state, against the Roman Empire, a criminal. The Gospel of John, which was written in the second half of the second century, The main activity of Jesus Christ towards Jerusalem and Judea, which, in our opinion, not only contradicts the messages of the synoptic gospels, but also the actual state of affairs.)

But the appearance of the Jewish Messiah-Christ from Galilee, and even more from the unknown Nazareth, was not provided for by biblical prophecies, (In biblical prophecies, you can subtract various indications of the tribe (tribe) and the place from which the Messiah should come to the Jews. We will discuss this in more detail below.) in any case - by those prophecies that all the authors of the canonical and apocryphal gospels use in abundance. This was well understood by the Jews of Judea at the beginning of our era, which is vividly expressed in the Gospel stories. So, Nathanael, hearing from his fellow Galilee Philip a story about a meeting with Jesus, whose appearance, they say, predicted by Moses and the biblical prophets, asks with surprise: "How can something good (for the Jewish people) appear from Nazareth?" (John 1:46). The prophets who were revered in Judea said that the Messiah should come, like his distant ancestor David, from Bethlehem. Given these prophecies, Matthew and Luke describe the birth of Jesus Christ in Bethlehem. Matthew even refers to the corresponding words of the prophet Micah (5: 2). But according to the description of the Gospel of Matthew, the parents of Jesus Christ permanently lived in Bethlehem, which corresponds to biblical prophecies, but, in our opinion, is at odds with the actual state of affairs. The more educated author of the Gospel of Luke states that the parents lived in Nazareth. And since both the prophecy of Bethlehem and the fact of Jesus Christ's residence in Nazareth are authoritative for the authors of both gospels, each of the evangelists is forced by his conjectures to build a chain of communication between Bethlehem and Nazareth. Matthew is trying to show how Jesus from Bethlehem got to live in Nazareth, and Luke - how a resident of Nazareth managed to be born in Bethlehem. And that's what each of them comes up with.

In order to resettle Jesus Christ to his permanent residence in Nazareth, the author of the Gospel of Matthew needed to come up with a completely unnatural story about the three eastern wise men, whom the star leads to the house of the newborn King of the Jews. (We call the event described in the Gospel of Matthew (2: 1-12) unnatural for two reasons. First, at least the fact that the magi could not determine the house in which the future King of the Jews is located by the star / planet. If it was not a star, but some miraculous phenomenon, then miracles are outside of nature, outside of history and outside of science. Secondly, the birth of the King of the Jews is not so significant event so that the Eastern Magi, abandoning all their affairs, set out on a long journey to worship him. In the then King of the Jews was insignificant, in everything dependent on the Roman governor in Damascus, a person. The king of the Jews was a significant figure only in Judea itself and for the Jews. Truly, "There is no beast stronger than a cat!" They may object to me that the Magi came to bow to the future Savior of the world. But those who object in this case either do not read the Gospel of Matthew or blaspheme in a Christian way. Matthew speaks only of the worship of the Magi to the future King of the Jews. As for the Savior, did the Son of God really sink to the point of accepting worship from the Magi, that is, sorcerers and warlocks, who, according to the Bible (Deuteronomy, 18:10; Isaiah, Micah, 5.12; Nahum, 3:14 ; 8:19; Acts, 19:19; Apocalypse, 9:21; 21: 8; 22:15), are the servants of Satan and whom God cannot tolerate?) To this he adds the most incredible beating of babies at Bethlehem by the order of King Herod, (The last king of Judaic Herod the Great was a cruel man. We have heard about this scoundrel in the official documents of the Roman Empire, historians Josephus Flavius, a relative and close personally to Herod philosopher Philo of Alexandria and other contemporaries. All witnesses are extremely negative about Herod, in their descriptions do not miss a single event discrediting Herod, but none of them even remotely hints at the massacre of infants at Bethlehem.) the flight of Joseph and Mary with Jesus to Egypt. After the death of Herod, the holy family returns home. But on the way he learns that Herod's son Archelaus rules Judea, bypasses Judea, comes to Galilee and settles there in the inconspicuous town of Nazareth. Matthew sees the fulfillment of prophecy in Jesus Christ's residence in Nazareth (The author of the Gospel of Matthew uses the biblical prophecy to call Jesus Christ a Nazarene at all inappropriately. pronounced by the barren Mana, the wife of Zorah. It is also said that this prophecy was fulfilled, - Manoah's son Samson was born (13:24). It should be said here that Matthew completely illiterately connects the residence of Jesus Christ in Nazareth with the biblical Nazariteism. The chapter of the book of Numbers says that the Nazarene (who took the Nazarite vow) should not drink wine, not eat grapes, not touch the dead, not cut hair. In this regard, Jesus Christ depicted in the Gospels did not at all resemble a Nazarene. that he turned water into wine (John, chapter 2); if he drank with sinners, undoubtedly - with alcoholics (Matthew, 11: 18-19; Luke 5: 30-33), on his farewell evening he gave wine to his disciples. dead at least in the case when he resurrected them. Therefore, Christ was by no means a Nazirite.) that the Messiah "will be called a Nazirite" (2:23).

The author of the Gospel of Luke has the opposite problem - the problem of getting the inhabitants of Nazareth Joseph and Mary to give birth to Christ in Bethlehem. To do this, he composes a story about the census of the population "all over the earth" carried out by the emperor Augustus (For more information on the "census" and others mentioned by Luke historical facts we told in the article "Calendars, chronology and date of birth of Christ." The article is on the pages of the same site.) and thus forces Joseph with his wife Mary, who is nine months pregnant, to hurry "to Bethlehem is the birthplace of David" (2: 1-5), in order to give birth to Jesus exactly there. After the fulfillment of the prophecy determined by God about the place of Christ's birth, Joseph, along with his wife Mary and newborn Jesus, calmly return home to Nazareth. And no worship of the Magi for you, no beating of babies, no flight to Egypt, no search for a new place to live.

5. "Jesus" - semantic content; name and word options.

According to the Gospel stories, an angel commanded to call the boy "conceived in the womb" Jesus, who first appeared to Mary in reality (Luke 1: 3), and then to Joseph in a dream (Matthew 1:21). In both the first and second cases, the angel explains the reason for such a name for the future newborn.

According to the stories of the Gospel of Luke The angel explains the meaning of the name of the future King of the Jews to Mary in these words: "He will be great, he will be called the Son of God. God will give him the throne of David, his father. He will reign over the house of Israel forever, and his kingdom will have no end" (1: 31- 33). In a similar way, let us note that Luke in the future life of the "conceived baby" sees the fulfillment of biblical prophecies about the eternal existence of the kingdom of Israel and the eternal reign in it of the direct descendants of David, king of the 10th century BC (1 Samuel, 22:10; 2 Samuel, 7:12 ; Isaiah 9: 7; Jeremiah 23: 5; Daniel 2:44; Micah 4:17).

It should be said that at the beginning of our era, at the time of Jesus Christ, these prophecies could not be fulfilled in any way. After all, after the death of Solomon, the son of David, his kingdom fell into two: Judah and Israel. The famous Assyrian king Tiglathpalasar III (745 - 727 BC) conquered the northern and western parts of the Kingdom of Israel and resettled the tribes of Dan, Manasiah, Nefelim, Gad to Media - to the basins of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers (2 Kings, 15:29; 17: 6; 18:11). The son of Tiglatpasar, the famous Sargon III (722 - 705 BC) in 722, seized the capital city of Samaria and thus liquidated the Kingdom of Israel. All the Jews were taken to the regions of Assyria, where they finally dissolved among the non-Jewish peoples. Judaism, from the 4th century BC to the present day, considers the 10 tribes (tribes) of Israel, taken away by the Assyrians into captivity, as finally lost to the Jewish people.

And the kingdom of Judah, which was inhabited by the tribe of Judah and partly by the tribe of Benjamin, was conquered by the Babylonian king Nebuchadnezzar in 586 BC, again taken into captivity, in which all direct and indirect descendants of King David were destroyed. This unfortunate fact is attested to by the prophet Jeremiah, who lived during the Babylonian captivity of the Jews (52: 9-11). How could it be that in the gospels Jesus Christ is constantly and emphatically called "the descendant (son) of David" (Matthew, 9:26; 12:23; 15:22; 20: 30-31; 21: 9; Mark, 10 : 47; Luke 1:27; 2: 4; 18: 38-39; 20:41; John 7:42) ? In our opinion, this can only be explained by the following circumstances.

It is known that among the Jews after their return from Babylonian captivity, figures of various ranks periodically appeared who called themselves Messiahs - the saviors of God's chosen people promised by God. Such, for example, were considered the Maccabean brothers, who in the 60s BC led the uprising against the Syrian enslavement. Bar-Kokhba, the leader of the Jewish uprising against Roman enslavement, was recognized as the same Messiah in the 130s. But what is remarkable, not one of them proclaimed himself (he was not recognized) as a descendant of King David! Why?!

Yes, because he and his followers were well aware that the family of King David ceased to exist even during the time of the Babylonian captivity. At the same time, it is necessary to clarify that the complete absence of a descendant of David by the beginning of our era was well known only to the inhabitants of Judea, in whose capital was the High Priest of the Jerusalem Temple, and with him - a caste of highly educated clergy, unsurpassed experts in the history of the Jewish people and the Holy Scriptures.

But in far from Jerusalem, administratively isolated and hostile to Judea, in God-forsaken Galilee, the homegrown and ignorant clergy could only perform a religious cult at the request of the believers. Such a situation with the Jewish clergy is also read from the Gospel stories. So, according to the biblical instructions, which are effective to this day, only a person from the tribe of Levi, a Levite, can be a minister of the cult (a servant of the Jewish God Yahweh). Jesus Christ - both in the gospels and in reality - was not a Levite. But he, not a Levite, could walk in the Galilee synagogues and conduct his own propaganda, which was very far from Judaism. Modern Christians, who accept their faith from the words of priests, have the impression that Jesus Christ immediately came out with the propaganda of a new religion on the mountain, along the roads, on the banks of the river, in general - in an open area. But this is not the case. The main propaganda, both in content and in duration, was carried out by him in the Galilee synagogues, and Christ performed most of his healings in the Galilee synagogues, and Christ spoke most of his parables in the Galilee synagogues (Matthew 4:23; 12; 9; 13:54; Mark, 1: 23-29; 6: 2; Luke 4: 15-20; 4:33; 13:10; John 6:59; 9:22). At the trial of the Jerusalem high priests, Jesus Christ said in his own defense: "I have always taught in the synagogue." The ignorant priests of Judaism internally disagreed with the content of his sermons and his interpretation of Scripture, but they were not in a position to argue with him. All they could do was lure him up a mountain to push him against it (Luke 4: 28-30).

The absence in Galilee of proper priests and connoisseurs of Jewish Scripture served as fertile ground for Jesus to promote Reformed Judaism, the version of belief that served as the primary source of Christian doctrine. This is, first of all, the propaganda of the equality of all tribes and peoples before God, which Judaism categorically did not admit and until now does not admit. It is precisely this nature of religious propaganda that the Gospel text dimly testifies, reporting that “Jesus walked throughout Galilee, teaching in synagogues ... And there was a rumor about him all over Syria ... And they followed him. (You can also translate it in a way that would be more correct: "And it came to learn from him.") a multitude of people from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and because of Jordan "(Matthew 4: 23-25). Jesus did not limit himself to attracting non-Jews to himself, he personally and together with his disciples (apostles) visited heterodox (pagan) territories within Tire and Sidon (Matthew, 15:21; Mark, 3: 8; 7: 24-31;), was in the pagan country of the Gadarene (Mark, 5: 1-17; Luke, 8:26), visited the people Gergesinsky (Matthew 8:28), etc. In the conditions of Judea, such behavior of a pure-blooded Jewish Jesus was simply unthinkable. From the success of his preaching work in Galileo, Jesus, say humanly, felt dizzy and he decided to consolidate his work with propaganda The first three Evangelists, the authors of the Synoptic Gospels, unanimously testify that as soon as Jesus, having gone to Jerusalem, tried to preach his Galilee themes in the capital of Judea, he was immediately accused by the court of the most authoritative scholars of the Holy Scriptures and the keepers of piety of God's chosen people (and on my own ck Already: it was fully qualified in blasphemy and, adding to the blasphemy the rebellion of Jesus against Caesar (the Emperor of the Roman Empire) they had invented, they brought Pontius Pilate to trial.

Due to an important addition to the general history of Jesus' preaching work in Galileo, we somewhat deviated from the narrow topic of our research - from the hereditary lineage of Jesus. Now let's get back to her. Only in an atmosphere of ignorance of the Galilean Jews and their clergy could Jesus easily declare himself the Messiah and be perceived by his followers as a direct descendant of the biblical king David.

And now let us draw a conclusion from the above consideration. The proclamation of Jesus as a descendant of King David could get into the Gospel stories not from the texts of the Old Testament, but in spite of it - from the life of the historically real Galilean Messiah Jesus .

Now let's turn to the messages of the Gospel of Matthew. In it, the angel explains to Joseph: "Mary will give birth to a son, and you will give him the name" Jesus ", for he will save his people ("Their people" - the same (and only!) Jews, God's chosen people.) from their sins "(1:21).

Even before the Jews settled in Palestine, the name "Jesus" was quite respectful. This was the name of the closest helper and successor of the prophet Moses Joshua (Jesus Nun). The return from Babylonian captivity and the restoration of the Jerusalem temple was carried out under the leadership of Zerubbabel and Jesus (Ezra 3: 2). The prophets Haggai (1: 1) and Zechariah (3: 1-9; 6:11) mention Jesus among the names of their contemporaries. The author of one of the books of the Old Testament is called Jesus, the son of Sirach. From the works of a contemporary of Jesus Christ, the philosopher Philo of Alexandria (21 BC - 49 AD) and the historian Josephus Flavius, we learn that at the beginning of our era the name Jesus was the most common among the Jews. Jews named Jesus were also among the preachers of early Christianity (Colossians 4:11).

In Massoretic Bible texts that do not use vowels, the name of Jesus is written in three letters: "YSHV", which reads "Jeshua" (Yeshua) or "Joshua" (Yoshua) and literally means: "Yahweh (Yahweh is the name of the God of the Jewish tribe of Jews. Scientific research reveals different gods in different Jewish tribes of biblical times. In the Massoretic text of the Bible (and sometimes in the most conscientious Christian translations from it), God is now called now Eloah, now Elohim, then Yahweh , then Adonai, then Shekinah, then Hosts, then the Angel of Yahweh.) will save. "This is how the meaning of this word is interpreted by Philo of Alexandria. The philosopher wrote his works in Greek and on one of his pages he found it necessary to explain that the Hebrew word" Jesus "means" The salvation of the Lord. " (Philo of Alexandria wrote: Iesous - soteria kyrion, Jesus is the savior of the Lord.)

Consequently, the same style of letters for an ancient Jew could mean different names and different persons. The first pronunciation (Yeshua) means that which is translated into our language, like Jesus, into the second (Yoshua) - Josiah. Several kings of the Jews were called Josiah (not Jesus!). One of these kings is named among the direct ancestors of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:29). When in the 2-3 century BC the Jewish Bible was translated into Greek, the translators did not distinguish the biblical Jesus from the biblical Josiah. In the 10th century, the Masoretes introduced vowel signs into Hebrew writing - and thus divorced Jesus from Josiah. But in Christian translations of the Bible before the 10th century, the name Jesus was often mixed with the name Josiah. Only after the 10th century, the corresponding corrections of the biblical names began to be introduced into the Greek Bible lists. But until now in the Latin-language editions of the Bible among the ancestors of Jesus (Luke 3:29 in most cases it is not Joshua (Joshua), as it should be written, but Jesus (Jesus), which is wrong.

In the 4th century BC, Judea was captured from Alexander the Great and experienced a favorable influence Greek culture... The Jews began to rapidly Hellenize. Hellenism even penetrated into everyday and religious speech. A few decades later, they began to call their Jesus in the Hellenic manner Jason. Several people with the name "Jason" are found in the biblical second canon books of Maccabees (1st Maccabees, 8:15; 12; 16; 14:22; 2nd Maccabees, 1: 7; 2:24; 4: 7, 26 ; 5: 5, 10). Such Jason took an active part in the formation of Christianity, they can be found among the retinue of the apostles (Acts 17: 5-6; Romans 16:21). The Hellenized name "Jason" is consonant with the Greek word "Ηιστοι" (Histoy), which means "to heal."

All of the above variants and meanings of the word "Jesus" were generously used by churchmen in revealing the image of Jesus Christ to believers. So, taking into account the words of the angel according to the Gospel of Matthew, a prominent figure of the 4th century Cyril of Jerusalem, proclaimed the Holy Father and Teacher of the Church, explained to his believers that the word "Jesus" means "God the Savior" (Θεοσ Σοτεριον, Theos Soterion). A contemporary of Cyril of Jerusalem, the well-known church historian Eusebius Pamphilus, Bishop of Cessaria, associated the meaning of the name of Jesus with the Greek word "to heal". The name of Christ, according to Eusebius, tells us that the Son of God is the Healer of our souls and bodies. John Chrysostom said that an angel in Hebrew called Joseph the name of Christ and that the name "Jesus" literally means "Σοτηρ" (Sotir) - the Savior. Clement of Alexandria and many other famous figures of the 4th-5th centuries associated the name of Jesus Christ not with the Hebrew language, but with the Greek, since at that time anti-Semitism began to exert its influence on the Holy Fathers.

6. The name of Jesus in the cult and everyday life of Christians.

In Christianity, the name of Jesus from the very beginning was written in Greek as "Ιησουσ" (I-ys-oh-s, Jesus); up to the 15th century in the Latin Vulgate - "IHESUS" (Ihesus); in Church Slavonic literature it was always written - ²isqс (Jesus). Local Christians pronounced the name of Christ in different ways. The Council of Trent of the Catholic Church in the 16th century canonized the spelling and pronunciation of the name of Christ - "Jesus" (Jesus). In Russian it is written "Jesus", but it is always pronounced "Jesus", in Ukrainian it is written and pronounced "Isus" (Jesus).

During the Middle Ages, it begins to take root name cult Jesus. The church saw the admissibility of such a cult in the biblical texts: " In my name, - said Christ, - you will cast out demons "(Mark, 16: 17-18)." What you have not asked in my name, The heavenly Father will give you "(John, 14:18; 16:13; 24:26). In the name of Jesus, the apostles healed the sick (Acts 3: 6; 9:34). The Apostle Paul wrote that" before the name of Jesus, everyone shall bow down a knee in heaven, on earth and in hell "(Philippians 2:10).

There is a legend that these words of the Bible gave the foundation to Saint Bernandine of Siena, and after her Saint John of Capistral and Pope Martin V (1417 - 1431) urge believers to worship medallions on which the name "IHESUS" is inscribed or abbreviated - "IHS". Now the wooden medallion of Bernandina of Siena is exhibited for the worship of believers in the Roman church "Santa Maria" (Santa Maria - Holy Mary). The modern Catholic clergy interpreted the words on the medallion "IHS" as "Jesus Hominum Salvater" (Jesus is the Savior of the people).

At the end of the 16th century, the monogram with the letters "IHS" became the emblem of the Jesuit Order. But before this monogram, the Jesuits drew a cross above the letter "H", and under it three lines shortening from top to bottom, the ends of which were inserted into the letter "V" (Victoria - Victory). Under the entire image is written "Hic Victorio" (By this you will win). It is believed that this is the image of the cross that Emperor Constantine the Great saw in 314 when he opposed his rival to the Roman throne Licinius.

Over time, the popes by their decrees began to introduce the name of Jesus into the life of Catholics. At the same time, the Catholic Church still justifies its actions with the following reasoning: "In all religions it is customary to pronounce the names of their gods during spells ... The name of Jesus protects us from Satan and his malice, because the Devil is very afraid to hear the name of Jesus." (Encyсlopedia Catholica. 1913, "Jesus".)... Pope Urban IV (13th century) and Pope John XXII (13th century) began to offer indulgences for 30 days of liberation from torture in hell / purgatory to all those Catholics who, before the exclamation in honor of the Virgin Mary - "Ave Maria", would add the exclamation of the word " Jesus ". Pope Sixtus V on July 2, 1587, with a special bull granted an indulgence for 50 days to those who would be familiar with the words "Glory to Jesus" or answer this greeting with the word "Amen". It should be said that the Pope's recommendations immediately began to be implemented most successfully among Polish and Ukrainian Catholics, and then Uniates. Indulgences who will fulfill the Pope's recommendations regarding greetings to each other were confirmed by Pope Clement XIII on September 5, 1759, and Pius X on October 10, 1904 increased the effect of indulgences to 300 days. The same pope guaranteed absolution of all sins before death to those who will not forget to pronounce the words "Esus" and "Mary" every day. Today in the Catholic Church there are dozens of monastic and secular organizations with one name or another, "The Holy Name of Jesus".

The Orthodox Church did not follow the Catholic Church in the cult of the name of Jesus. But in it there is indirectly the cult of the initial letters of the full name of Jesus Christ. On the Orthodox icons The Son of God and on the crosses can now be seen and read such letters - "ІНЦІ" (INCI)., Which mean: "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews." It is believed that these were the words that Pilate ordered to write on the cross of Jesus Christ. But on the basis of the text of the Holy Gospels, it is impossible to establish which expression was written on the cross of Jesus. The gospel writers were very careless in reproducing the recording on the cross of Jesus. The Evangelist John reports that over the crucified Jesus Christ was inscribed in Hebrew, Greek and Roman: "Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews" (19:19). Evangelist Matthew says something else: "This is Jesus, King of the Jews" and does not say that it was written in three languages ​​(27:37). Luke testifies that on the cross was written "in Greek, Roman and Hebrew words:" This is the King of the Jews "(23:38). And Mark is even more concise:" The King of the Jews "(15:26). It turns out that the Evangelists in their records did not bother to accurately betray the sacramental text of the most tragic moment of the torment of Jesus Christ.What reasons do we have to trust the evangelists and the apostles when they try to convey the complex and incomprehensible teachings of Christ about salvation, the Holy Trinity, the heavenly hierarchy and other puzzling dogmas of faith. They cannot accurately reproduce the inscription by only 2-4 words, but they undertook to accurately retell the oral words of Christ.

Protestant churches and sects did not escape the cult of the names of Jesus. Pentecostals with the name "Jesus" do their best to heal and heal believers and unbelievers, in the name of Jesus they punish apostates, "block the lips" of their religious and atheistic opponents. In the 30s of this century in the United States, in the depths of Protestantism, a movement of admirers of the Name of Jesus was formed under the name: "The Sacred Name Movement" (Movement of the Holy Name). The shepherds of the Movement identified the name of Jesus with the name of the biblical God Yahweh. For them, God the Father is Jahovah, and God the Son is not Jesus, but Jahoshuah. Having found out for themselves the name of God and Christ, the movement began the corresponding edition of the biblical text, in which the well-known: "Give what is Caesar's to Caesar, but what God is to God" (Matthew, 22:21; Mark, 12:17) was written and read: "Give back what is Caesar's - to Caesar, Yagovagov - Yagovagu ".

___ Part 2 ___

7. "Christ" is the "Anointed One"

The word "Christ", which has now become familiar and familiar in the culture of all Christianized peoples, was not the same either for the population of the then Roman Empire, or for the original Christians themselves.

The historical origins of the word "Christ" are rooted in the Hebrew word "Moshiag" (Messiah, Massiah, Mossiah), which literally means: "He who was doused with (odorous) oil", "Anointed", "Anointed", "Anointed". As the Catholic Encyclopedia notes, the origin and initial meaning of ritual wetting (watering, sprinkling, rubbing, oil) of a dwelling, body (first of all, the head), a sacred place, a stone at a fork in the road has not been precisely established. Ritual anointing is found in many religions. Most likely, the original anointing was of sexual significance. (Encyclopedia Catholica, 1913, words "Anointed" and "Messiah".)

According to the text of the Old Testament, for the ritual anointing, a special oil (myrrh) was made from the seeds of precisely selected fragrant herbs (Exodus 24-33). When a priest (high priest, prophet) poured myrrh on the head of this or that person, this meant that the god of this person ordained to the office of a king, priest, prophet, miracle worker, healer. A person consecrated in this way became Anointed one - elected and approved for the performance of certain social functions.

During 3-2 centuries BC, the Jewish scripture (Old Testament) was translated into the Greek language of the Koine dialect. In the latter, the biblical word "Moshiach" was translated by the tracing word, which is not usual for the Greek language - "Christ" (the Anointed One). Both in Hebrew and in Greek, the word Moshiach-Christ is not proper names, it did not mean a specific person, but only those officials who were appointed to office through the anointing. In this sense, the entire chosen Jewish people are also called in the Bible a people anointed by God himself. Moreover, God, according to the stories of the Bible, could anoint not only his chosen people and its members, but also people from other nations and tribes. So, in the days of Abraham, who was still childless, although already chosen by God, among the pagan tribes (among the "goyim"), the high priest of God the Most High was Melchizedek, the king of Salem, who in a friendly way greeted and blessed Abraham (Genesis 14: 17-20). The prophet Isaiah proclaimed the Persian king Cyrus the anointed one (Moshiach) (45: 1).

In the first and second centuries AD, the original Christians did not call themselves Christians because they believed in Jesus, (According to the Greek and Latin language rules at the time, the followers of Jesus were to be called Jesusists and by no means Christians.) but because they considered themselves anointed with the Holy Spirit. So, defending his fellow believers, the apologist of the second century Theophylact of Antioch in his work "To Autolycus" (180) to the question: Why do you call yourself Christians (anointed) "? Answered:" Because we are anointed (chrysanitos) with oil from God " ...

8. "Christ" - "Anointed One".

Like every nation in the world, the Jews considered themselves the chosen ones of God, their relationship with God, he and their mutual obligations were recorded both orally and in writing. Covenants (Covenants) with God became the pivotal material of the entire Jewish Bible, which, under the name of the Old Testament, became an integral part of the Holy Scriptures of the Christian religion. Together with the Old Testament, Christianity inherited, and then transformed, the Hebrew understanding of Moshiach into its Christ. Let us first trace the stories of the Jewish Bible about the Anointed One.

The Bible says that God expresses his will to believing Jews through his messengers, mainly through angels (Genesis 16: 7-9; 19: 1-5; 22:11; 24: 7; Numbers 22: 23- 34; Judges 2: 1-4; 1 Chronicles 21:15 ...) and prophets (2 Chronicles 24:19; 25:15; 36: 1; Isaiah 6: 8; .. .). Saying goodbye to the Jewish people before his death, the Prophet Moses conveyed to them the following words, spoken to him by God: "The Prophet from your midst, from among your brothers, like me, (Note: God promises to "raise up a prophet" from the lineage of Moses. Moses was from the tribe (lineage) of Levi, a Levite. Subsequently, Christian theologians will refer to this testament of Moses as a prediction about Jesus Christ. But Jesus Christ, according to the stories of all the Gospels, was not a descendant of the Levites, not Moses, but King David, who belonged to the tribe of Judah, not Levi. In the Russian Synodal translation of the Bible, in order to please the Christian teaching about Jesus Christ, the words of the Prophet Moses are distorted. We have cited the content of the quotation from the Massoretic text.) - the Lord your God will set you up. You will listen to him ... I will put my words into his mouth and he will say everything that I tell him. And he will not obey my words, which he (the Prophet) will speak, - I will punish him "(Deuteronomy 18: 15-19).

In addition to the prophets, God constantly sent to the Jews individual judges, saviors, chosen with warnings. Some of these messengers of God were anointed for the ministry, some fulfilled the commission of God without anointing. Then, by order of God, the prophet Samuel anointed Saul as the first king (1 kingdoms, 10). After that, the people of the tribe of Judah themselves anointed the kingdom of David (2 Kings, 2: 2-4). David's descendants became kings with and without the anointed. At the same time, there were many wicked and blasphemers among the kings and the anointed and not anointed. For the bad kings and for the disobedience of the Jewish people, God punishes them by destroying the Kingdom of Israel (722 BC), and then the Kingdom of Judah (586 BC). The offspring of the 10 tribes of Israel (In fact, not 10, but 9 tribes of Israel were scattered. The tribe of Levites (descendants of Levi) performed priestly functions among all the tribes of Israel, including the tribe of Judah and Benjamin. Therefore, part of the Levites survived along with the Jews and Benjamites. But in the Bible and In the Jewish tradition, the assertion was strengthened that in the Assyrian captivity 10 tribes irrevocably disappeared for the Jewish people.) As a result of the captivity, they were scattered among the peoples of Mesopotamia and Persia, and the descendants of the tribe of Judah, Benjamin and part of the Levites in 536 returned to Judea from Babylonian captivity. At the head of the returnees were the leader Zerubbabel (Zarubabel) from the tribe of Judah and the priest Jesus from the tribe of Levi. The two of them led the rebuilding of the city of Jerusalem and the temple therein. The prophets Haggai and Zechariah, contemporaries of all these events) praise the leaders of the Jewish people and unanimously prophesy that Zerubbabel will sit on the throne of David (become the king of the restored Judah), and Jesus will become the high priest (bishop). “These two,” writes Zechariah, “are anointed with oil, stand before the Lord of the whole earth” (4:14). After the restoration of Jerusalem and the construction of the Second Jerusalem Temple (516 BC), Jesus actually became the high priest. But the Jewish state remained a vassal of Persia, and Zerubbabel did not become king of the Jews.

Later, as part of Hellenistic Syria, the Jews of Judea were subjected to religious persecution. In 168 BC, the Syrian king Antiochus Epiphanes, in order to convert the Jews to the Hellenic religious faith, ordered the statue of the God Zeus to be brought to the Jerusalem temple and offered sacrifices to him there. The prophet Daniel called the God of Zeus and the desecration of the Jerusalem temple "an abomination of desolation", as this phrase is translated in the Russian text of the Bible, and literally - "stinking Mr. Nom".

A family of Jewish high priests, the Maccabean brothers, in 167 BC raised and led the uprising of the Jewish people against the Syrian oppression. Simon Maccabee proclaimed himself a messenger of the Lord God for the salvation of God's chosen Jewish people. The Maccabees were Levites. Namely, the Levite was the prophet Moses, from whose family God promised to raise up the Prophet-Savior (Deuteronomy 18: 15-19). In 147 BC, the Jews achieved independence from Syria. Judea became an independent state, and the Maccabean family laid the foundation for the reign of the high priests, who went down in history as the Asmonean dynasty.

It should be said that the Messiah (Moshiach) with a capital letter - in his personified meaning of the definition of an individual person - is used in the Jewish Bible only two times: in the book of the prophet Daniel (9:26) and the Psalms (2: 2). It is these two words in the Greek translation of the Bible, in the Septuagint, rendered as "Christ." Both biblical texts were written during the Maccabean rebellion. It was the Asmonean dynasty that contributed to the formation in the religious environment of the Jews of the concept of the Messiah as a separate person - the messenger of God Yahweh, the Savior of the Jewish people from foreign oppression.

The Asmoneans did not live up to the Messianic expectations of God's chosen people. They intensified the oppression of the Jews, unleashed an unceasing slaughter against real and imaginary enemies within their state; wars of conquest caused hostility to Judea in all neighboring states. All this is read quite clearly in the second psalm.

The Jews themselves began to oppose the power of the high priests. At that time, in most cases, this was carried out under the religious slogans of the Sicarii (axmen), Zealots (poor), Pharisees (pure), Essen, Nazarens, Qumranites and other various sects. In 63 BC, the troops of Pompey captured Jerusalem, the government of the country was transferred into the hands of the empowered Rome, and in 37 BC, the Romans transferred the leadership of the Jews into the hands of the Edomite, a man from the tribe hated by the Jews, Herod the Great (37-4 years BC era). (Herod the Great did more for the greatness and its culture of Judea in his little 30 years of reign than many anointed kings in several centuries. Hated by the Jews, he entered the history of the Jewish people with the name "Great" during his lifetime.) This is how the history of God's chosen people under the rule of the first Messiah and his direct heirs - the high priests of the Asmoneans from the tribe (clan) of the Levites - passed and ended.

The consequences of the anti-Syrian uprising contributed to the rethinking of the concept of Moshiach in the Jewish environment. The understanding has already been strengthened that Moshiach is one specific person, and not anointed priests, prophets and kings in general. In the religious consciousness of the Jews, Moshiach began to rise above other anointed ones and gradually take on the dignity of all the anointed ones. He is simultaneously a king, a priest, and a prophet ... He is God's favorite and closest to him ... And from here it is already a stone's throw to the image of the Messiah as the son of God, .. the only son .. equal to God, .. By God.

The process of transformation of biblical ideas about the Messiah is clearly visible in the outside of the biblical literature of the Jews, in the Babylonian and Jerusalem editions of the Talmud, in the Jewish apocryphal apocalypses, the Sibylline books, additional prophetic books that were attributed to the twelve patriarchs, various kinds of Covenants (Treaty) and many similar texts literature. All these books were written during the 2nd century BC - 1st century AD.

It was the extra-biblical creativity that radically transformed the biblical understanding of the Messiah, and came close to creating a fundamentally new image of the Christian Savior - the image of Jesus Christ. Here are just a few examples of this kind.

In the Apocryphal Book of Enoch it was written that for the salvation of the Jewish people on Mount Zion (The Temple of Jerusalem and the royal chambers were built on Mount Zion. A solid wall was erected around Mount Zion.) God Yahweh himself will sit down and begin to judge all the righteous and sinful. He will divide everyone into two parts: he will place the righteous on his right, and the sinners on his left. The righteous chosen by God after the judgment will live for many centuries like the biblical patriarchs (1: 30-36). The Apocalypse of Baruch prophesies about the coming of the millennial kingdom of the righteous Jews on earth under the leadership of the "Anointed Yahweh". In the non-canonical psalm of Solomon, which was written 50 years before our era, the "Anointed One of Yahweh" (Moshiach Yahweh) is called a descendant of King David. The Pharisees, irreconcilable enemies of the Asmoneans and Sadducees, persistently advocated that the real Messiah would not be from the Levites, but from the lineage of King David. (Only in the non-canonical book "The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs" the Asmoneans are praised and the origin of the Messiah from the Levites is proved) All these views later became an organic part of the content of the Christian canonical books of the New Testament.

The socio-economic conditions of the beginning of our era, extra-biblical religious creativity, national lawlessness and oppression increased among the Jewish people expectations of the imminent coming of the Messiah. The Gospels, for example, testify that even a simple Samaritan woman at that time knew that “the Messiah, that is, Christ, was about to come” (John 4:25). All that majestic and best that could be read in all the biblical and extra-biblical promises of God Yahweh was transferred to the expected Messiah. Among the lower classes, the simple masses of the Jewish people, the image of the coming Messiah was simplified to the visible features of a certain Liberator from national oppression, or a Teacher of Justice, or a Healer of souls and bodies, or a Ruler over all nations, or a descendant of King David ... Historical documents contain information about the appearance of a dozen and a half such Messiahs at the beginning of our era in the lands of Palestine. So the famous historian Josephus Flavius ​​(37-102) in his works "The Jewish War" and "Jewish Antiquities" calls the Roman (Jewish and Christian theologians, for recognizing the Roman emperor Vespasian as the Messiah as the Messiah, accuse Josephus of blasphemy. King Cyrus also called God's Anointed One (Isaiah 45: 1).), while calling the Messiah-impostors John the Baptist, Thevda, Jesus. About one of these Messiahs, he writes: "Seven years before the destruction of Jerusalem (that is, in 67), a peasant named Yoshua (Some historians translate the name of this peasant Joshua as Joseph, others as Jesus.) appeared in Jerusalem on the feast of Tabernacles and began to cry out in an excited voice: (According to the stories of the Gospel of John, Jesus Christ also once came to Jerusalem on the Feast of Tabernacles, stood in the street and exclaimed something incomprehensible about rivers of living water from the womb (7: 37-41).)"The Voice of the Morning. The Voice of the Evening. The Voice of the Four Winds. The Voice of the Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple." (Jesus Christ also proclaimed the destruction of Jerusalem and its temple (Matthew 24: 2; Mark 13: 2; Luke 19: 44; 21: 6)) A voice against houses and bridges. ABOUT! ABOUT! Woe! Woe to you, Jerusalem! "The peasant was arrested, but he, without offering resistance, shouted: Oh! Oh!" It looked like stretched skin over bone. He was taken to the Procurator Albinius. He did not answer questions, but in response to the blows with the whip shouted: “Oh! Oh, Jerusalem!” ... The unfortunate man was declared insane and was released. But he walked around Jerusalem for another 6 months and shouted his own. Then he climbed the fortress wall. He was driven out of there, and finally the Romans from the tower brought down a stone on his head. (Josephus Flavius. The Jewish War. VI: 5, §3.) Other sources contain information about the Messiah on Mount Gerazim, about Judas the Galilean, whom the local population revered as the Messiah, (Pilate attacked the worshipers of Judas the Galilean when they offered sacrifice to God. The echo of this event is reflected in the Gospel of Luke (13: 1-5).) about a certain "miracle worker from Egypt". The Talmud, which was written at the beginning of our era, mentions Jesus ben Pandira - the son of the maiden Mary from the Roman soldier Pandera. Now a number of theologians in their oral and written publications claim that the Talmud confirms the existence of the gospel Jesus Christ, telling about him under the guise of Ben Pandira. But the Talmudic Jesus is a child of fornication, an illegitimate son. It is noteworthy that in the Middle Ages, the Christian Church ensured that in the editions of the Talmud, Jews did not reproduce pages where there are references (and there are several of them) about Jesus ben Pandir. Only in Arab countries and in Europe since the end of the 18th century was the Jewish Talmud published in full.

The gospel Jesus Christ acted and stories about him were written in an atmosphere filled with the same Messiahs as himself. It is not in vain and not accidentally that in a number of books of the New Testament Christians are often, openly and with hints expressed warnings not to believe other Christs, except Christ Jesus (Matthew, 24: 5, 23; Mark, 13:21; John, 20:31; Acts , 9:22; 18: 5,28; 1 ​​John 2:22; 5: 1;).

Since the Jews at the beginning of our era spoke not Hebrew, but Greek, they called the expected Moshiach Christ. By the way, in the New Testament the word "Messiah" is used only twice, and both times only in the Gospel of John (1:41; 4:25). Throughout the entire text of the New Testament, both Jews and Gentiles, and the authors of the text call Jesus not the Messiah (Moshiach), but Christ.

9. "Christ" and derived words.

Among historians to this day, discussions have abated over the mention of the rebel Chrestus (Chrestus) by the Roman historian Suetonius (70-140) in his work "On the Life of the Twelve Caesars", through whose fault Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews from Rome. Some scholars see this as evidence of an outstanding historian about the existence of Jesus Christ. Others deny the commonality between the names Christ (Christos) and Chrestos. For our part, we add that in the Greek language there is a word "chrestos", which can be translated as sweet, tasty, edible. There is also evidence that the name Chrest was common among the Romans and Greeks. The word Chrestos is also found in the text of the New Testament. Thus, in the first epistle of the Apostle Peter we read: "Like newborn babies, love the pure milk of the word, so that from it you may grow to salvation; for you have tasted that the Lord is sweet (chrestos O kyrios)" (2: 2-3).

Prominent Latin leaders of the Christian church of the 3-4th century: Tertullian, Lactantius, Blessed Jerome knew that in their church Jesus was mainly called Christ, but occasionally also Chrestos. With their interpretations, they even supported such a name. Later, from the interpretations of the holy fathers, a cult with a hymn to the "Sweetest Jesus" was created, which is still performed in the Catholic and Orthodox churches.

From the word "Christ" comes the name of the Christian religion. Now, believers in Jesus Christ do not call themselves "Anointed" anywhere, but only Christians.

A more indirect relationship with the word "Christ" is the Slavic word "Baptism", in Ukrainian - "Khreshchennya". In the Septuagint (the Greek text of the Bible), in all modern Romano-Germanic languages, baptism is called baptism, from the Greek word "Baptizo" - I dip in water, I baptize. Our word "Baptism" is based not on the word "Christ" or "Chrestos", but "Cross". Hence, in all non-Slavic languages, John the Baptist is called John the Baptist, since he dipped Jesus Christ into the water ("baptizil") in the Jordan River. And had nothing to do with the cross. It should be noted here that only on icons and paintings of Slavic origin, John the Baptist is depicted with a cross.

10. Christ anointed for ministry

as King, Prophet and Priest

The ecclesiastical authorities found out the content of the word "Christ" and the positions assigned to Jesus for themselves and for all the Church of Christ over the centuries after the emergence and establishment of the dominant position of Christianity in the Roman Empire. To solve the problems of Christ, Ecumenical Councils were convened, the blessings of the curse were proclaimed, the active leaders of this process were destroyed and elevated to the rank of saints. In church history, the period of such discussions and decisions is called the period of Christological controversies. Among Christian churches, schisms and heresies to this day there is no common opinion regarding the nature and mission of Jesus Christ, as well as regarding his anointing to anything.

In the book of Acts of the Holy Apostles, Christian proselytes in their address to God mention "the Holy Son, Thy Jesus, Thy anointed" (4; 27). But in none of the 4 canonical or 36 non-canonical gospels there is even a mention of the fact that someone, somewhere, ritually anointed Jesus with something on something. Modern theologians convince others and themselves that Jesus was anointed to the corresponding ministry by the very act of being born of the Holy Spirit, or by the act of baptism in the Jordan River already at the age of 30. They try to confirm both the first and second versions of the "anointing" by referring to specially selected and deliberately interpreted Bible passages, as well as appeals to "common sense." Of course, they say, it is clear that the birth of the Holy Spirit or baptism in the waters of the Jordan is nothing more than the anointing established by the Bible. From such explanations, we should be clear to ourselves that theological interpretations in this case are very far from ... the true state of affairs.

According to clear biblical instructions, the ritual anointing could have been performed, especially during the earthly life of Jesus Christ, only by the high priest or the prophet appointed for such a ritual. Namely, they are trying to conform to the expressed thought. Such a prophet was John the Baptist, about whom the Evangelist Mark wrote: "As it is written in the prophets:" Here. I (that is, God) send my angel before you, who will prepare your way before you "(1: 2). But John the Baptist did not anoint Jesus, but only baptized him. And he baptized Jesus exactly as he baptized and others who come to him. It was not anointing. But this behavior of all the authors of the Gospels serves ... What do you think serves? Serves as additional evidence of the historical existence of Jesus Christ. And here I want to throw my stone in the direction of the scholars of the mythological school who say that the evangelical Jesus Christ is a myth; that Christianity began with faith in an unearthly, heavenly and inhuman being and only then this creature gradually began to give human features, to lower it to earth, and, according to biblical prophecies, compose for him a fictional biography of Jesus from beginning to end But if the gospel "testimonies" about Jesus Christ were created in this way, then the story of Jesus' anointing would have been invented for them.

Let us focus the reader's attention, since this idea is expressed and argued for the first time by the author throughout the article. The biblical texts, which evangelists use in abundance, forced the authors of the gospel stories to invent a fragment about the anointing of Jesus Christ for his ministry, no less was forced to do this by the very name of Jesus Christ (the Anointed One). But when talking about the conception, birth, circumcision of Jesus, the authors of the Gospels do not even hint at his ritual anointing ascribed by the Bible to kings, prophets, priests and the Messiah (Moshiach) himself. Once again, why? Because there was no such ritual anointing over Jesus Christ. And in the th real situation! century AD and could not be. From the gospel stories themselves, it is clear that the Jerusalem high priests could not accomplish or even allow such an anointing, because they hated Jesus fiercely, did not recognize him either as a descendant of King David, or as Christ the Messiah.

Obviously, the gospel writers were concerned about Jesus' lack of ritual biblical anointing. This is evidenced at least by the fact that the Evangelist Mark (14: 3-9), Luke (7: 37-50) and John (12: 3-8) were forced to record a completely petty, in comparison with the greatness of Jesus' works, fact the anointing of Christ's feet by Mary Magdalene, from which he once expelled seven demons, or by Mary, the sister of Martha and the resurrected Lazarus. The authors of the gospels awkwardly try to elevate this fact to an event of universal significance and force Jesus himself to utter the words: "Truly I say to you: everywhere in the whole world, where the Gospel is preached, in memory of this woman everything that she has done will be told" (Mark , 14: 9). Despite the obvious desire of the apostles, none of them openly declared that this was the ritual anointing of Jesus on Christ the Messiah.

The name Jesus Christ forced the later - no longer Jewish, but purely Christian theologians - to consider in detail the consequences of the (failed) anointing of Jesus to Christ the Messiah. And in the process of stormy discussion of this issue throughout the 4-16 centuries (up to the Trent Cathedral), the Catholic Church, and behind it the Orthodox, came to the conclusion that the anointing of Jesus was, so to speak, a lot of vectorial and everywhere - of the highest quality. As a result of his (again forced to say: failed) anointing, the grace of God was poured on Jesus Christ, which the biblical prophets received through the anointing (Deuteronomy 18: 15-22; Daniel, chapter 7), biblical high priests (Genesis, 14-14-20 ; Psalm 109) and biblical kings (Genesis 49:10; Numbers 24:15; 2 Kings 7:13; Psalm 71: 8-11; Isaiah 42: 6; 52: 13-53; 61: 5-8; Jeremiah 23: 6;), As a result of all this, Jesus Christ became both the anointed Prophet, and the anointed Bishop (High Priest), and the anointed King .. To confirm just such a view of Jesus Christ, theologians like to refer to the Eastern Magi (sorcerers) who presented the newborn Jesus with great symbolic meaning in Bethlehem with gold (as a king), incense (as a high priest) and myrrh (as a prophet),

11. From Jesus - to Christ or from Christ - to Jesus.

According to the stories of the canonical gospels and the unanimous recognition of all believing Christians (with the exception of Unitarians and partly Jehovists), the founder of their religion and God appeared on earth immediately by Jesus and immediately by Christ. In historical science, as we already know, supernatural factors are not taken into account. Based on natural factors, researchers of early Christianity and the evangelical Jesus Christ were divided into two groups, they are called two schools. We have already spoken about the mythological school. The historical school proceeds from the fact that there really existed a certain religious reformer of Judaism, Jesus, around whom, after his death, additional fabrications and legends began to be created, and thus created for him the image of the eternal son of God Christ. Summarizing the views of both approaches, we can say that the mythological school proves the movement of the heavenly Christ to the earthly Jesus Christ, and the historical school examines the movement of the real earthly Jesus - to the image of a divine being. Both the first and second approaches substantiate their conclusions with an innumerable set of documents, analogies, conclusions and conclusions. Based on the results of two thousand years of scientific discussions around the gospel Jesus Christ by the anniversary date of Christianity, we can draw the only correct conclusion.We will operate with the achievements that both schools already have, adding to them the fundamentally new vision of the problem outlined in this article.

At the beginning of our era, faith in the heavenly Christ the Savior began to spread among Jewish believers. These beliefs are clearly recorded in the book "The Apocalypse, or the Revelation of John the Theologian" written in the late 60s, which is still contained in the books of the New Testament. We can say with confidence that this book marked the beginning of the separation of believers in heavenly Christ from Judaism, although the author of the Apocalypse and its addressees did not yet realize this at all. Christ was then portrayed as a completely mythical non-earthly creature whose eyes burn with fire, his legs are made of red-hot copper, his hair is white as snow, his voice is like the sound of waterfalls, in his hands he holds seven stars, from his mouth comes a double-edged sword ... (1: 13-16). The followers of the Apocalypse believed that all evil on earth comes from the fact that something is up there, in heaven, is not in order. They saw the essence of this disorder in the fact that the enemy of the human race (more specifically: the enemy of the Jews, God's chosen people) Satan sat in the heavenly palaces (in the modern way: in the heavenly office). According to the Jewish apocryphal literature, Satan is the elder Angel (in other versions - the eldest son of God), who, according to the law of the birthright and according to his position, received from God the right to sit in the heavenly temple and rule the whole world. Having occupied the highest position in the heavenly hierarchy, Satan became proud and began to rule the world not in a divine way, but in his pride. Decay has begun in the heavenly summits; began what we call "The fish stinks out of the head." And since there is no divine order at the top, in heaven, then what order can we talk about at the bottom, on earth. Hence, accordingly, the rule of evil and hatred in relation to God's chosen people was established on earth. And no earthly efforts, no transformations can eliminate evil on earth and instead affirm good. The sufficient practice of the Jewish people to fight their liberation and a sound comparison of their forces with the forces of the Roman Empire confirmed the most pessimistic assumptions. An eminent expert on the history of the origin of Christianity, an English scholar of the mid-20th century, Robertson, said: "Christ won because Spartacus was defeated." Eliminate evil and affirm good, according to the author of the Apocalypse and his followers, is possible only by "putting things in order" in heaven.

And therefore, throughout all his great deeds of Salvation, the apocalyptic Christ will perform in heaven. He will receive the anointing from God to overthrow Satan, enter the heavenly temple, bind Satan and throw him to earth into a deep well (into the abyss), which he will lock with locks for a thousand years. After that, Christ will cleanse the heavenly sanctuary from the spirit of Satan and sit on the throne. On earth and in heaven, peace and quiet and God's grace will be established (Apocalypse, chapter 20).

On the basis of apocalyptic beliefs, until the beginning of the 2nd century, faith in the sooner coming of a Heavenly Savior spread exclusively among Jewish believers, which was joined by faith in the Last Judgment over the enemies of the Jewish people, the End of the World and the Millennium on earth. After the capture of Jerusalem by the Roman troops under the leadership of Titus and the destruction of the temple in it, the Jews settled in the diasporas of Asia, Africa and Europe. Their beliefs in the heavenly Christ the Savior became known to the local non-Jewish population, mixed with the beliefs of the latter. The biblical and apocryphal beliefs in Christ of the Jews began to be filled with pagan beliefs, and therefore, in general, with elements of the spiritual life and culture of different peoples of the Roman Empire. The philosophy of Philo of Alexandria provided especially fertile ground for this belief. Philo of Alexandria was the greatest philosopher of the time. He, a Jew by birth, tried to combine his biblical beliefs with the philosophy of Plato. He taught that there is a whole chain of intermediary links between God and the earth. The closest link to God is the Logos (Word), which is eternally inherent in God, through which it creates the world. In the Jewish environment, Philon's Logos gradually merges with the image of Christ. Already in the middle of the 2nd century, the author of the Gospel of John began his story about Jesus Christ with the words of Philo of Alexandria: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. It was with God from the very beginning. Without him, nothing of the existing began to exist. There was life in him, and life became light for people. And the light shines in the darkness, but darkness cannot encompass him ... No one has ever seen God, only through his only-begotten son, who eternally abides in God the Father, God Himself appears to us "(1: 1-18). The philosophy of Philo of Alexandria opened the way for future Christianity to assimilate the philosophical heritage of the Greco-Roman world. On the other hand, the Philosophy of Philo of Alexandria, with its teaching about mediators between God and people, became a bridge through which the modernized biblical-apocryphal belief about Christ penetrated into the environment of the pagan beliefs of the Greco-Roman world. Under the influence of all this, the heavenly, mythical Christ in the religious and creative imagination of believers gradually descended to earth, overgrown with the features of an infinite number of humanoid gods of the Saviors (Attis, Ormuzd, Mithra, Hercules or, there, Prometheus) until he was embodied in the gospel image of Jesus Christ. (The sketched path of transformation, within the framework of the origin of Christianity, of the heavenly Christ the Savior into the image of the gospel Jesus Christ in all the most detailed details has been studied by numerous representatives of the so-called mythological school over the past one and a half hundred years.)

Regardless of the apocalyptic beliefs in Christ, perhaps several before the appearance of the book "The Apocalypse of John the Theologian", in Galilee, and then throughout Palestine, Rabbi Jesus of Nazareth launched his reform activities. By objectively analyzing various sources - and there are very, very few of them - we can reliably establish that he was the illegitimate son of the virgin Mary (possibly conceived by her from a Roman soldier-guest) (This is if you follow the numerous hints of the Talmud, which modern Christian theologians so willingly refer to in their attempts (frankly: attempts - primitive and clumsy) to prove the historical existence of Jesus Christ.); that he was adopted by the carpenter Joseph, who married an already pregnant Mary; that he had four brothers and two sisters who did not believe in Jesus as Christ (Matthew 13: 55-56; Mark 6: 3; John 7: 3-7). The sermon of Rabbi Jesus was based on the model of the Jewish Midrashim, in which the chosen topic was revealed on the basis of the selection and interpretation of the texts of Scripture (Tanakh, Old Testament) and Holy Tradition (Talmudic legends) of Judaism. He didn't write anything, (In the Gospel of John (8: 8) it is said that one day Jesus, bending down, wrote with his finger (or stick) on the ground. This happened when a harlot (according to church tradition - Mary Magdalene) was brought to Jesus, who was caught in fornication. The story of this at the beginning of the 3rd century first appeared in the text of the Gospel of Luke, but after a few decades it was transferred to the Gospel of John, where it is now.) although he could read (Luke 2: 46-49; 4:16). Jesus preached reconciliation between nations and classes; sympathized with the poor and enjoyed the greatest authority and respect among them; mercilessly denounced the rich and, especially, the priests. On one of the Easter holidays, already surrounded by universal respect, pan-Jewish glory and a crowd of admirers, he noisily entered Jerusalem. The embittered Jerusalem clergy seized Jesus, accused him of blasphemy, added a fictitious accusation of a state crime, and handed him over to Roman justice. The prefect (not the procurator) of Judea, Pontius Pilate, after a dozen minutes of consideration of the court case, ordered the crucifixion of Jesus, who confessed that he was Christ and a descendant of the Jewish king David.

After the death of Jesus Christ, his followers fled. None of them wrote a word about their teacher. They only verbally spread messages about their Moshiach. The first attempts to write down these stories, to convey in writing the Midrashim of Jesus Christ by the early Christians were met with condemnation. Thus, the famous Christian figure of the middle of the 2nd century, Papias of Hierapolis, reacted with great distrust to the "Memoirs of the Apostles" (possibly the first versions of the Gospels) that appeared in writing. Probably, the theses of the sermons of Jesus Christ once existed in the form of a collection called "The Logias (Words) of Jesus". Of these, only about two dozen proposals have come down to us. The content of "The Logias of Jesus" became an organic part of the current Gospel parables and midrashes, especially the content of the famous Sermon on the Mount (Matthew, chapter 5-7; Luke, 6: 20-49).

In the second century, among the population of the Jewish diaspora, the channels of believers in the apocalyptic Christ and followers of Christ of Nazareth met and began to interact and mix with each other. In church literature, the internal / external dialectical struggle between them in the process of the formation of Christianity, as a separate and independent religion, found its reflection in the history of the struggle of Paulinism (supporters of the Apostle Paul, in general - the apocalyptic trend) and Petrinism (supporters of the Apostle Peter, in general - supporters of Jesus Christ of Nazareth). Paulinism's victory opened the door for Christianity to win the hearts of believers throughout the Roman Empire. The remaining elements of Patrinism armed Christianity with the rich religious heritage of the Jewish religion, allowed it to acquire its own scripture, the Bible, the first part of which was the scripture of the Jewish religion (Tanach, Old Testament).

12. Conclusion.

In reality, the historical Jesus of Nazareth and the mythical Christ from biblical-apocalyptic sources evenly went to meet each other. Their union in torment gave humanity not only a touching, albeit contradictory, image of the gospel Jesus Christ, but also led to the emergence of the first monotheistic, interethnic and now most powerful world religion.

"Christ" in Greek is translated as "anointed" or "anointed." This is a literal translation into Greek of the Hebrew word mashiach or messiah, which also means anointed one. The Jews called the king the Messiah, because when he ascended the throne, he was anointed with a special aromatic oil - "myrrh". During the period when Jesus lived, the kingdom of Israel was fragmented into four parts - "tetrarchies", which were ruled by foreigners - representatives of the Edomite dynasty, supported by the Romans. It is clear that the Jews were annoyed by foreign power and fragmentation, and therefore they dreamed that a king from a legitimate dynasty (a descendant of the Hebrew king David) would appear, who would free the country from Roman occupation and unite it into a single kingdom, as it was in the time of David. Sometimes the Messiah (Christ) was called the Son of God, because it was considered impossible to restore the kingdom of Israel by human means, the intervention of Yahweh himself was necessary, who must choose the Messiah.
The expectation of the Messiah was so strong that rumors immediately began to circulate about every more or less famous person that he was the Messiah (Christ). The Gospels report that, for example, John the Baptist was asked, “Are you not the Christ?” To which he answered in the negative. Jesus was also asked the same question, and he also denied it. After all, he was not a royal family, his father was a carpenter, and his mother was a spinner. In addition, they were Galileans, and the Galileans did not count as their own, due to the difference in both language and faith. Since then, the Jews have assumed many times that their Messiah had finally appeared. In 1938, the Chief Rabbi of Warsaw proclaimed Adolf Hitler the Messiah. But expectations did not come true: the Messiah still has not appeared.

However, the Christian Church claims that the Jewish Messiah (Christ) has already come, only the Jews did not recognize him. And that this Christ was Jesus, who is the own son of God himself.
Let's see, however, who, according to the gospels, called Jesus Christ and the son
God?
First, these are "unclean spirits" and "demons":
“And the unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell before him and cried out: you are the Son of God. But he strictly forbade them. " (Mark, 3: 11)
“Demons also came out of many, crying out and saying, You are the Christ, the son of God. And he forbade them to say that he was Christ. " (Luke 4:41) It is worth paying attention to the reaction of Jesus: he forbade demons to call him Christ.
Who are these "unclean spirits" and "demons"? These are the messengers of the Devil, whose name in Greek is translated as "slanderer." Being unclean, they are naturally incapable of telling the truth; everything they say is a lie. Therefore, calling Jesus Christ, they did not glorify him, but on the contrary insulted him.
The second category is people possessed by demons, that is, in medical terms, the mentally ill:
“When he went ashore, a man from the city met him, possessed by demons for a long time, and who did not wear clothes, and who lived not in a house, but in graves. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell before him and with a loud voice said: what is it to you, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torture me. " (Luke 8:27)
“And when he arrived on the other side of the land of Gergesin, he was met by two demoniacs who came out of the tombs, very fierce, so that no one dared to go that way. And so, they cried out: what do you care about us, Jesus, the son of God? You came here before the time to torment us. " (Matthew 8: 28)

“We came to the other side of the sea, to the country of Gadara. And when he got out of the boat, he was immediately met by a man who had come out of the graves, possessed by an unclean spirit ... And, crying out in a loud voice, he said: what do you care about me, Jesus, son of the Most High God? I conjure you by God, do not torment me! For Jesus said to him: Come out an unclean spirit out of this man. And he asked him: what is your name? And he answered, "My name is legion, because we are many." (Mark 5: 1)
Here coffins should be understood as caves. Jews buried their dead in caves, since it was impossible to dig an ordinary grave in stony soil. Therefore, "cave" and "grave" in Hebrew are designated by one word. That is, we are talking about wild madmen isolated from society and living in caves.
Once Jesus was called Christ by his disciple Simon, nicknamed for his stubbornness "stone", in Greek Peter. This Simon - Peter was not distinguished by intelligence and ingenuity, and because of his stupidity, he repeatedly got into awkward situations. The evangelist Luke gives a short version of that conversation:
“He (Jesus) asked them (the disciples): and who do you think I am? Peter answered: for the Christ of God. But he strictly ordered them not to tell anyone about this ... ”(Luke 9:20).
And here's the same story in more detail:

“On the way he asked his disciples: for whom do people regard me? They answered: for John the Baptist; others for Elijah; and others for one of the prophets. He says to them: and who do you think I am? Peter answered him: you are Christ ... But he, turning and looking at his disciples, rebuked Peter, saying: Get away from me, Satan, because you think not about what is of God, but what is human. " (Mark 8:27)
Jesus emphasized that he came to tell people the truth that God had revealed to him, so that through him a new covenant (i.e., a contract) between people and God was established, since the old covenant was broken, primarily through the fault of the priests. perverted the meaning of the teachings of Moses. And therefore he did not want to have anything to do with the expectation of the Jewish king - Christ, i.e. with purely human political issues.
Insisting on strict observance of the commandments, Jesus considered it blasphemy to attribute a son to God, for this was a violation of the first commandment, and generally demanded not to rush rashly with the words:
“And one of the leaders asked him: good teacher! What can I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him: why do you call me good? No one is good but God alone. " (Luke 18:18)

So, Christ was called "unclean spirits", possessed, ie. the mentally ill, but the stubborn Simon, whom Jesus scolded Satan for this, i.e. the devil is a slanderer.

There was another category of people who called him Christ. These were “elders, high priests, scribes,” that is, representatives of the Jewish ruling class and priesthood against whom Jesus' preaching was directed and who desired his death. Hearing that some sick people on the streets spoke of him as Christ, they tried to use it as an accusation, because there were no other crimes for him: "Many testified against him, but this testimony was not sufficient." (Mk him to his Sanhedrin (i.e. court). And they said, Art thou the Christ? Tell us ... He answered them: YOU SAY that I am. " (Luke 22:67)
"And the high priest said to him: I conjure you by the living God, tell us, are you the Christ, the son of God?" (Matt. 26:63)
"And all their multitude rose up, and led him to Pilate, and began to accuse him, saying: we found that he corrupts our people and forbids giving tribute to Caesar, calling himself Christ the king." (Luke 23: 1)

The procurator of Judea, the Roman official Pontius Pilate, famous for his cruelty, also asked if he called himself Jesus Christ, i.e. king of the Jews, which for the Romans was tantamount to high treason: "Pilate asked him: are you the king of the Jews?" (Mark 15: 2)

When Jesus was convicted, and the accusation was mostly based precisely on the fact that he declared himself the Christ, i.e. king of the Jews, he was given into the hands of Roman soldiers, who mocked him and mockingly called him Christ: “Then they spat in his face and bit him; others struck him on the cheeks and said: Prophesy to us, Christ, who struck you? " (Matt. 26:67)
In the end, he was executed on the cross, and a sign was nailed over his head, on which his guilt was indicated:
“And the people stood and looked. And the rulers mocked with them, saying: He saved others; let him save himself, if he is Christ, the elect of God. Likewise, the soldiers scolded him, coming up and offering him vinegar and saying: If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself. And there was an inscription above it, written in Greek, Roman and Hebrew words: "This is the King of the Jews." One of the hanged villains cursed him and said: if you are the Christ, save yourself and us. " (Luke 23:35)

So, Jesus did not call himself Christ and forbade others to call him that. He was called Christ by evil spirits, the mentally ill, ignorant, criminals, as well as jailers, executioners and political opponents, in a word, enemies who betrayed him to death.
Therefore, when speaking of Jesus as the Christ, you need to think carefully about which company you are going to join.

Reviews

“Arriving in the countries of Caesarea Philippi, Jesus asked His disciples: for whom do people regard Me, the Son of Man? They said: some for John the Baptist, others for Elijah, and others for Jeremiah, or for one of the prophets. He says to them: a Whom do you think I am? ”But Simon Peter, answering, said:“ You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. ”Then Jesus answered him:“ Blessed are you, Simon, the son of Jonah, for it was not flesh and blood that revealed this to you, but My Father I am in heaven; and I say to you: you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it; and I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and what you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth, it will be permitted in heaven. Then [Jesus] forbade His disciples, so that no one should be told that He is Jesus Christ "(Matt. 16: 13-20). In addition, the words from John 17: 1 - 3 were pointed out to you.
If you include some quotes from the Gospels in your testimony, why do you reject others? In addition, you write that evil spirits, the mentally ill, etc., called Jesus Christ. and in general, as you write, His enemies. However, He is called so by the Apostles in their epistles, which are included in the New Testament. If you use quotes from the Gospels to support your theory, then why do you reject the Epistles of the Apostles? It turns out to be a rather biased view. If we are to use quotations from the Holy Scriptures, then from the entire New Testament.

The Orthodox Jews of Jerusalem were irreconcilable in their enmity with the teachings of Christ. Does this mean that Jesus was not a Jew? Is it ethical to question the Virgin Mary?

Jesus Christ often called himself the Son of Man. The nationality of the parents, according to the theologians, will shed light on the Savior's belonging to a particular ethnic group.

By following the Bible, all of humanity descended from Adam. Later, people themselves divided themselves into races, nationalities. And Christ during his lifetime, taking into account the Gospels of the Apostles, did not comment on his nationality in any way.

Birth of Christ

The country of Judea, the Son of God, in those ancient times was the province of Rome. Emperor Augustus ordered to hold He wanted to find out how many inhabitants in each of the cities of Judea.

Mary and Joseph, the parents of Christ, lived in the city of Nazareth. But they had to return to the homeland of their ancestors, to Bethlehem, to add their names to the lists. Once in Bethlehem, the couple could not find shelter - so many people came to the census. They decided to stay outside the city, in a cave that served as a refuge for shepherds during bad weather.

At night, Mary gave birth to a son. Having wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes, she put him to bed where they put the feed for the livestock - in the nursery.

The shepherds were the first to know about the birth of the Messiah. They were herding flocks in the vicinity of Bethlehem when an angel appeared to them. He broadcast that the savior of mankind was born. This is a joy for all people, and the sign for identifying a baby will be that he is lying in a manger.

The shepherds immediately went to Bethlehem and came across a cave, in which they saw the future Savior. They told Mary and Joseph about the angel's words. On the 8th day, the couple gave the child a name - Jesus, which means "savior" or "God saves."

Was Jesus Christ a Jew? Was the paternal or maternal nationality determined at that time?

Star of bethlehem

On the very night when Christ was born, a bright, unusual star appeared in the sky. The Magi, who studied the movements of the heavenly bodies, went after her. They knew that the appearance of such a star speaks of the birth of the Messiah.

The Magi began their journey from an eastern country (Babylonia or Persia). The star, moving across the sky, showed the wise men the way.

Meanwhile, the large number of people who came to Bethlehem for the census dispersed. And Jesus' parents returned to the city. Above the place where the baby was, the star stopped, and the Magi entered the house to present the gifts to the future Messiah.

They offered gold as a tribute to the future king. They gave incense, like God (incense was then used in worship). And myrrh (the fragrant oil with which the dead were rubbed), as to a mortal man.

King Herod

The local king, subject to Rome, knew about the great prophecy - bright Star in heaven marks the birth of a new king of the Jews. He summoned the Magi, priests, soothsayers to him. Herod wanted to know where the baby Messiah was.

With false speeches, cunning, he tried to find out the whereabouts of Christ. Unable to get an answer, King Herod decided to exterminate all the babies in the area. 14 thousand children under the age of 2 were killed in and around Bethlehem.

However, ancient historians, including, do not mention this bloody event. Perhaps this is due to the fact that the number of children killed was much smaller.

It is believed that after such a villainy, the anger of God punished the king. He died a painful death, eaten alive by worms in his luxurious palace. After his terrible death, power passed to the three sons of Herod. The lands were also divided. The regions of Perea and Galileo went to Herod the Younger. Christ spent about 30 years in these lands.

Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, beheaded to please his wife Herodias. The sons of Herod the Great did not receive the royal title. Judea was ruled by a Roman governor. Herod Antipas and other local rulers obeyed him.

Mother of the Savior

The parents of the Virgin Mary were childless for a long time. At that time it was considered a sin, such a union was a sign of the wrath of God.

Joachim and Anna lived in the city of Nazareth. They prayed and believed that they would definitely have a child. Decades later, an angel appeared to them and proclaimed that the couple would soon become parents.

According to legend, Virgin Mary Happy parents swore that this child would belong to God. Until the age of 14, Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, was brought up in the temple. From a young age she saw angels. According to legend, the archangel Gabriel took care of and guarded the future Mother of God.

Mary's parents had died by the time the Virgin had to leave the temple. The priests could not keep her. But they were also sorry to let the orphan go. Then the priests betrothed her to the carpenter Joseph. He was more of the Virgo's guardian than her husband. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, remained a virgin.

What was the nationality of the Virgin? Her parents were natives of Galilee. This means that the Virgin Mary was not a Jew, but a Galilean. On a confessional basis, she belonged to the law of Moses. Her life in the temple also points to Moses' upbringing in the faith. So who was Jesus Christ? The nationality of the mother, who lived in pagan Galilee, remains unknown. The mixed population of the region was dominated by the Scythians. It is possible that Christ inherited his appearance from his mother.

Savior's father

Theologians have been controversial since ancient times about whether Joseph should be considered the biological father of Christ? He had a fatherly attitude to Mary, he knew that she was innocent. Therefore, the news of her pregnancy shocked the carpenter Joseph. The Law of Moses severely punished women for adultery. Joseph had to stone his young wife.

He prayed for a long time and decided to let Mary go, not to keep her near him. But an angel appeared to Joseph, announcing an ancient prophecy. The carpenter realized what a great responsibility he had for the safety of the mother and child.

Joseph is Jewish by nationality. Can he be considered a biological father if Mary had an immaculate conception? Who is the father of Jesus Christ?

There is a version that the Roman soldier Pantira became the Messiah. In addition, there is a possibility that Christ was of Aramaic origin. This assumption is due to the fact that the Savior preached in the Aramaic language. However, at that time, this language was spoken throughout the Middle East.

The Jews of Jerusalem had no doubt that the real father of Jesus Christ existed somewhere. But all versions are too dubious to be true.

The face of Christ

The document of those times, describing the appearance of Christ, is called "The Message of Leptula." This is a report to the Roman Senate written by the proconsul of Palestine, Leptulus. He claims that Christ was of average height with a noble face and a good figure. He has expressive blue-green eyes. Hair, the color of a ripe walnut, parted in the middle. The lines of the mouth and nose are flawless. In conversation, he is serious and modest. Teaches softly, in a friendly manner. Terrible in anger. Sometimes he cries, but never laughs. The face is wrinkle-free, calm and strong.

At the Seventh Ecumenical Council (VIII century), the official image of Jesus Christ was approved. On the icons, the Savior should be painted in accordance with his human appearance. After the Council, painstaking work began. It consisted in the reconstruction of a verbal portrait, on the basis of which a recognizable image of Jesus Christ was created.

Anthropologists assure that not Semitic, but Greco-Syrian thin, straight nose and deep-set, large eyes are used in icon painting.

In early Christian icon painting, they knew how to accurately convey the individual, ethnic features of the portrait. The earliest depiction of Christ was found on an icon dated to the beginning of the 6th century. It is kept at Sinai, in the monastery of St. Catherine. The face of the icon is similar to the canonized face of the Savior. Apparently, the early Christians ranked Christ as a European type.

Nationality of Christ

There are still people who claim that Jesus Christ is a Jew, and a huge number of works have been published on the topic of the Savior's non-Jewish origins.

At the beginning of the 1st century AD, as Hebraic scholars found out, Palestine split into 3 regions, which differed in their confessional and ethnic characteristics.

1. Judea, headed by the city of Jerusalem, was inhabited by Orthodox Jews. They obeyed the law of Moses.
2. Samaria was closer to the Mediterranean Sea. Jews and Samaritans were longtime enemies. Even mixed marriages between them were forbidden. In Samaria, there were no more than 15% of the Jews of the total population.
3. Galilee consisted of a mixed population, some of whom remained faithful to Judaism.

Some theologians claim that Jesus Christ was a typical Jew. His nationality is beyond doubt, since he did not deny the entire system of Judaism. And only he did not agree with some of the postulates of the Mosaic Law. Then why did Christ react so calmly to the fact that the Jews of Jerusalem called him a Samaritan? This word was an insult to a true Jew.

God or man?

So who's right? Those who claim that Jesus Christ is God? But then what nationality can you demand from God? He's out of ethnicity. If God is the basis of everything, including people, there is no need to talk about nationality at all.

And if Jesus Christ is a man? Who is his biological father? Why did he receive the Greek name Christ, which means "anointed one"?

Jesus never claimed to be God. But he is not human in the usual sense of the word. Its dual nature was to find a human body and a divine essence within this body. Therefore, as a man, Christ could feel hunger, pain, anger. And as a vessel of God - to work miracles, filling the space around you with love. Christ said that he does not heal from himself, but only with the help of a divine gift.

Jesus worshiped and prayed to the Father. He completely surrendered himself to His will in the last years of his life and urged the people to believe in the One God in heaven.

As the Son of Man, he was crucified for the salvation of people. As the Son of God, he was resurrected and incarnated in the trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

Miracles of Jesus Christ

About 40 miracles are described in the Gospels. The first happened in the city of Cana, where Christ and his mother and the apostles were invited to a wedding. He turned water into wine.

Christ performed the second miracle by curing a patient whose illness lasted 38 years. The Jews of Jerusalem were angry with the Savior - he broke the Sabbath rule. It was on this day that Christ worked himself (healed the patient) and made another work (the patient himself carried his bed).

The Savior resurrected the dead girl, Lazarus and the widow's son. Healed the demoniac and tamed the storm on the Galilee. Christ filled the people with five loaves of bread after the sermon - there were about 5 thousand of them, not counting the children and women. He walked on water, healed ten lepers and the blind men of Jericho.

The miracles of Jesus Christ prove his divine nature. He had power over demons, disease, death. But he never performed miracles for his glory or for collecting offerings. Even during interrogation by Herod, Christ did not show a sign as evidence of his power. He did not try to defend himself, but asked only for sincere faith.

Resurrection of Jesus Christ

It was the resurrection of the Savior that became the basis for a new faith - Christianity. The facts about him are reliable: they appeared at a time when eyewitnesses of the events were still alive. All recorded episodes have slight discrepancies, but do not contradict each other as a whole.

The empty tomb of Christ testifies that the body was taken away (enemies, friends) or Jesus rose from the dead.

If the body was taken by the enemies, they would not fail to mock the disciples, thus stopping the newly born faith. Friends, however, had little faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ; they were disappointed and depressed by his tragic death.

The honorary Roman citizen and Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus mentions in his book the spread of Christianity. He confirms that on the third day Christ appeared to his living disciples.

Even modern scholars do not deny that Jesus appeared to some of his followers after death. But they attribute this to hallucinations or other phenomena, without questioning the authenticity of the evidence.

The appearance of Christ after death, an empty tomb, the rapid development of a new faith are proof of his resurrection. There is not a single known fact that denies this information.

Appointment by God

Already from the first Ecumenical Councils, the Church unites the human and divine nature of the Savior. He is one of the 3 hypostases of the One God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This form of Christianity was recorded and declared the official version at the Council of Nicaea (in 325), Constantinople (in 381), Ephesus (in 431) and Chalcedon (in 451).

However, the controversy about the Savior did not stop. Some Christians asserted that Jesus Christ is God; others asserted that he is only the Son of God and is completely subordinate to his will. The basic idea of ​​the Trinity of God is often compared to paganism. Therefore, disputes about the essence of Christ, as well as about his nationality, do not subside to this day.

The cross of Jesus Christ is a symbol of martyrdom in the name of atonement for human sins. Does a discussion about the Savior's nationality make sense if faith in him is able to unite different ethnic groups? All people on the planet are children of God. The human nature of Christ stands above national characteristics and classifications.

God is the creator of the world and his son Jesus. Why is Jesus called God?

You state in the question the heresy of Arianism and the anti-Christian doctrine of the sect Jehovah's Witnesses that supposedly Jesus Christ was created By god... Like Adam and Eve, which leads to a logical and therefore false conclusion, that Christ is not God, but creation God, like man and the matter of the world.

In fact, Christianity teaches that Jesus Christ is God, the Second Hypostasis of God, the Son of God the Father, but not created, but born before all ages;.

Christianity claims that Jesus, the son of God, at the same time was one with Him from the very beginning of time. That is, there was no such moment in the existence of the world when Jesus would not exist, or He was not God.

One way or another, it is obvious that the relationship between the Son and the Father presupposes something other than our human reproduction and generational change.

Rather, a metaphysical division of the principles of divinity: being, non-being and transcendence.

But even if God chose to multiply like us, who could He produce other than God?

So, God can only give birth to God.

Because this is all a banal fiction of people. Therefore, there are many inconsistencies. God was invented by people and do not be mistaken!

The fact that a part of humanity considers Jesus (peace be upon him) God is the main merit of Paul. Jesus himself (peace be upon him) never declared his divinity and his contemporaries did not consider him God. This was done by the Jew Paul, who claimed to have seen Jesus in heaven after his ascension. He took these statements from pagan beliefs in many of which their followers deified some people and declared them “sons of God”. Paul is the most famous author of the New Testament. Almost half of the New Testament (14 letters) belongs to him. Paul is rightfully considered the founder of Christianity and the creator of its creed. The main content of the New Testament, especially the Gospel of John, is generally consistent with the letters of Paul. At the Council of Nicea in 325, the Church rejected all the messages that contradicted the Christianity of Paul, who subjugated the true original Christianity to which Jesus and his disciples had called. On this occasion, Michael Hart wrote:

Hart also says:

Hart also emphasizes that Paul did not use the phrase son of man, unlike Jesus himself, who often called himself that. As for the expression son of God, which Paul liked to apply to Jesus, the researcher Charles Jeanniber does not consider it a sufficient basis for the deification of Jesus. He said:

Charles Jeannibert explains:

So for a long time I myself did not understand why! When I dared to ask people, in 80% of cases, I heard that a demon had possessed me))) Just because in the Bible it says that he was born of the holy spirit, and he himself walked and told everyone that he was the son of God (although if believe in his existence, he rather meant that we are all children of God)

But personally, I think that Jesus was that guy)

because God is triune: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus), the Holy Spirit

It's all very simple. Almighty God gave all the powers and equated the status of Christ with His. And in the Kingdom of Heaven, Christ, after the ascension, sits at the right hand of Almighty God. And who can be on the same level with God? Only God himself. The difference between God the Father and His Son was only in the fact that God was not born, and no one had ever seen God, but Christ was revealed to the world. But this difference ceased to exist after the resurrection of Christ. Indeed, before the crucifixion, the disciples of Christ called Him Rabbi the teacher, and after the resurrection, and the appearance of them, Lord.

; ; ; ; ; ; ).

B. The double name of Jesus Christ is the shortest SYMBOL OF THE FAITH of Christianity: Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Christ (Messiah). Jesus lived and worked with the knowledge that He is the very Messiah about whom the OT was predicted. Nevertheless, He tried to hide His messianic dignity (;;), since did not want people to use Him in their (eg, polit.) interests (). He called Himself the "Son of Man", thereby giving His contemporaries the opportunity to see in Him the Messiah, but without saying so directly (;;;;; etc.). The title "Son of Man" meant that Jesus was a man, a child of the human race. But he also had to recall the predictions about the coming of the Son of Man "with the clouds of heaven" (). Sometimes Jesus revealed himself to some believers as Christ (for example, to a Samaritan woman - and to someone born blind -). Jesus wanted the disciples to recognize Him as the Messiah based not on His words, but on His deeds; people themselves must see in Him the One whom they expect and testify to His messianic dignity (cf.). When Jesus asked who he believed Him to be, Peter answered: "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus called this testimony the revelation of God His Father (). Jesus deliberately arranged his entry into Jerusalem as foretold in c. He entered the holy city as the Messiah (). When the high priest asked whether He was Christ, Jesus answered: “You said” (). Likewise, He answered Pilate's question about whether He was King and explained Rome. the governor who came into the world in order to bear witness to the truth (). In filial humility, Jesus revealed Himself as the Christ, the Messenger of God, and God, having resurrected Him, bore witness to Him as such before the world. The Church of Christ arose precisely because God put faith in Jesus as the Messiah in the souls of people, and its purpose is to preach Jesus as Lord and Christ (;;).

II. PERSONALITY AND MISSION

A. EXISTENCE BEFORE EARTH LIFE (PRE-EXISTENCE)

Unlike priest. books of other religions (for example, Hinduism), the Bible does not consider the question of the existence of a person before his earthly birth; nevertheless, the pre-existence of Jesus is referred to here. The indignation of the Jews caused by the words of Jesus: “Before Abraham was, I am” () is quite understandable. In the beginning He was “with God”, He is the creative Word, through which everything “began to be” (). Therefore, Jesus speaks of the glory that He had with the Father “before the world was,” and that the Father loved Him “before the foundation of the world” (). Ap. It seems to Paul quite obvious that Jesus Christ in His existence before earthly life was "the image of God" (). But Jesus does not view His godliness as an inalienable privilege; He renounces His deities. primacy over the Father for the sake of entrusted. on His great mission.

B. Self-denial and humanity

1) about the self-denial and self-abasement of Jesus was said by the ap. Pavel (). For the salvation of people, Jesus Christ renounced His deities for the duration of His earthly life. essence (His self-denial) and fully perceived the human. nature (His self-abasement; ⇒ Image of a slave). The creeds of the ancient Church and the reformed churches spoke of perfect deities. the nature of Jesus and at the same time. about His perfect human. nature, while they were based on the word of Holy. Scriptures. With the incarnation (incarnation) of Jesus, His humble path to death (self-abasement) began;

2) the incarnation of the Son of God is shrouded in deities. mystery, not amenable to man. comprehension. The supernaturalness of His birth (;) lies in the fact that He was "born of the Virgin Mary of the Holy Spirit." Exist here at the same time. two seemingly mutually exclusive opposites: the Son of God and the Son of Man - in one Person. Jesus Christ was born in Bethlehem (and following), “when the fullness of time came” (); acc. chronological calculations, this happened between 8 and 4 years. BC. Ordinary people (shepherds) were the first to hear from the lips of an angel the news of the birth of the Savior of the world. God's heavenly host accompanied the incarnation of Christ with praise: "Glory to God in the highest." The appearance of the star of Jesus in the sky prompted the Magi from the East to come to worship the Newborn (). (⇒ Pedigree.)

B. MISSION

The word "finished", pronounced by Jesus on the cross (), testifies that a great mission has been laid. on Christ by His Father, was fulfilled. In this mission - mediation between the human race. and by God - Jesus sees the meaning of His life (;;). This goal was set before Him by the Father: to eliminate the alienation that arose as a result of man's falling away from his Creator (⇒ Sin). As the Son of Man, Jesus was the “second man” and “the last Adam” (), who set an example of the true relationship of man to God. He is the First, the Firstborn, “the image of the hypostasis of God” (), in which God's plan for the creation of man was embodied anew (). Jesus Christ is not tainted by sin (;;;;); He is distinguished by perfect obedience and absolute devotion to His Father (;;). He came to reconcile God and man in Himself (and next), so that people could come back to the Father through Him (;;); He is the “firstborn among many brothers,” the “true vine” of God's reconciled people (; et seq.). In doing the work of reconciliation, Christ destroyed the works of the devil () and deprived death of its power ().

D. PUBLIC SERVICE

1) in view of the obvious selectivity of the gospel narratives, it is difficult to draw up a clear historical record. a picture of societies. ministry of Jesus, through which He fulfilled His mission on earth (⇒ Gospel of Matthew, I, 1). The Gospels are not biographical. essays, and above all testimonies about the preaching and deeds of Jesus, the purpose of which is to call people to faith. And yet, comparing the data of the synoptic. Gospels and ⇒ Gospels of John, societies. Jesus' ministry can be divided into three periods: a) the beginning of the ministry, i.e. the time between the baptism of Jesus and the imprisonment of John the Baptist. This period is described only in -. Jesus reveals to His first disciples who He is and returns to Galilee (). He performs His first miracle at a wedding in Cana () and stays for a few days in Capernaum. In April, Jesus travels to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. He cleans the temple of the merchants and talks with Nicodemus at night (). This, apparently, is followed by Him. a short stay in Judea (-), which can be judged by the fact that four months before the harvest (), i.e. in December, returning through Samaria to Galilee, in the city of Sychar, He has a conversation with a Samaritan woman; b) the second period is marked by the ministry of Jesus in Galilee, described mainly in the synoptic. Gospels (-; -; -). The time of almost universal admiration for the great Preacher and Wonderworker was over by the time when Jesus for the second time during His society. service came to Jerusalem for the Passover celebration. The situation changed: the scribes and Pharisees were more and more sharply opposed to Him, and the admiration of the people seemed to be a fleeting outburst. That is why Jesus reproached the inhabitants of those cities in which He performed most of His acts (). He spent six months in Galilee and surrounding areas. Of all the events of this period, the Gospel of John tells only about the miracle of feeding five thousand people with five loaves of bread and two fish (). Acc. John, Jesus at this time once visited Jerusalem (); c) the third period of Christ's ministry began with His journey to Jerusalem on the last Easter. As the synoptic testify. Gospels, Jesus went to Jerusalem through east. the region of the Jordan region (;). John testifies that at first He came to Jerusalem for the ⇒ Feast of Tabernacles (and the following), in December he was present here at the Feast of Renewal (), without leaving the city limits. He spent the winter in solitude beyond the Jordan () or in Ephraim (), then to go to Jerusalem for the last time (). Based on the foregoing, it can be assumed that Jesus' earthly ministry lasted more than two years. It is impossible to say more definitively about the duration of His earthly activity, since the exact time of the baptism of Jesus is unknown - the Gospels were not intended to convey the exact chronology of events;

2) CALLING OF EMPLOYEES. After Jesus gathered around Him the first disciples (;), He chose twelve disciples from among His many followers (et seq .; et seq.). Their task was to follow Jesus, preach, heal diseases in His name, cast out evil spirits (;) and be His witnesses (;;;). These twelve formed the basis of His first community (⇒ Apostle);

3) ANNUNCIATION. The main idea of ​​Jesus' sermon is contained in His words: "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (). When the Pharisees asked when this Kingdom would come, Jesus answered: “The Kingdom of God is within you” (). Thus, He pointed to Himself as the One who established the Kingdom of God on earth. It was in the preaching of the Kingdom of God that the essence of the gospel of Jesus and His disciples lay (⇒ Gospel ⇒ Sermon on the Mount ⇒ Beatitudes ⇒ Kingdom of God). Naib. spread in the East, the form of teaching was ⇒ parable. Jesus Christ often spoke in parables (see;). In them He revealed the secrets of the Kingdom of God. But only His disciples were given to understand the secret of the Kingdom of Heaven, while others could not penetrate into it (). Jesus' words had a powerful effect on people. His words sometimes plunged the people into horror, tk. He "taught as one having authority, and not as scribes and Pharisees" (). (⇒ Teacher, IV);

4) POWERFUL ACTIONS. Jesus not only preached, but also acted, endowed with spiritual power: “His Word was with authority” (). He delivered many people from their sins; and among them were the relaxed (), the great sinner (), the adulteress (). "The power to allow and bind" Jesus passed on to His disciples (;;). With the power to forgive sins, Jesus healed the sick, cast out evil spirits and Satan (⇒ Miracle, III, 2). These "signs" testify to what is at work in Christ. the Kingdom of God has come and that Jesus is the promised Messiah (). But this ministry of Jesus is to be distinguished from the work that is the crown of His earthly life;

5) CROSSROADS. The suffering of Christ can be viewed in two aspects: a) the passionate path of Jesus begins with His incarnation: “He came to his own, and his own did not receive Him” (). There was no room for him in the hotel (); Herod tried to kill the baby (); parents “did not understand the words He said” (); the inhabitants of Nazareth "drove him out of the city and led him to the top of the mountain, on which their city was built, in order to overthrow him" (); His relatives said: “He lost his temper” (); “And His brothers did not believe in Him” (); the Jews "took up stones to throw at Him" ​​(); Peter “having called him back ... began to rebuke him: be merciful to yourself, Lord! may this not be with you! " (). An easily influenced people cling to Jesus: “ The whole the world follows Him ”(), but He is a sufferer among people, He repeatedly has to hide from them (). People think differently and do not recognize the suffering, not understood Jesus. And He retires and performs prayer. Gethsemane and Golgotha ​​are two culminating moments on this path of misunderstanding and non-recognition, on the path of unthinkable mental and physical torment; b) but understanding the sufferings of Christ as mental and physical torments does not fully reveal their true meaning. These are not just humbly endured suffering, but deeply conscious actions. Already at the age of twelve, Jesus realizes His chosenness and speaks about it. Even then, it is revealed to Him that His life is subordinated to the highest, divine "must" (). The baptism of Jesus (and par.) Is the essence of the story of His suffering. Not needing repentance and confession of sins, He voluntarily joins the ranks of sinners: “Behold the Lamb of God who takes to myself sin of the world ”(). Having been tempted (and par.), Jesus deliberately chooses the way of the cross and categorically rejects the proposed