The Inimitable Story
Every year, on the 25th of December, Jesus is reborn, and then he is killed and resurrects, 3 or 4 months later. Some years 3 months, other closer to 4 months!
For quite some times now, I have been asking myself the same question: “How come we know precisely when Jesus was born and we ignore when exactly he was crucified?”
I know the historical explanation for the variation, year over year, in the date of Jesus’ resurrection. It is a matter of different calendars, the Jewish calendar based on a lunar approach, and the Western calendar based on a solar one. The 25th of December is not really the birth day of Jesus, but the Catholic church decided to unite all its followers around this symbolic date; and to mark its difference, the Orthodox church decided to fix Christmas two weeks later, but this lag is the same every year, unlike the huge variation related to Easter.
How can the Christian churches accept this long lasting confusion around the most important date in their existence, the day Jesus was crucified and resurrected, without running the risk of losing credibility towards their followers? According to these same respected Christian churches, doubt is the first enemy of faith. And in this instance, they are clearly perpetuating a big doubt in the heads of all Christians by not fixing the day the Saviour was crucified for the sake of humanity! This is an open door for doubting many other events connected to the life story of Jesus, starting with the birth itself, the age of Jesus when he was killed, and tens of other details, whose veracity is declared untouchable and beyond any doubt by these same churches:
His father is God. We believe!
His mother remained a virgin after his birth. Of course!
He transformed water into wine. Sure!
He resurrected Lazarus from the dead. Natural!
He walked on water. Yes, who can argue with that?
He was killed, died, and resurrected 2 days later. Normal!
He ascended to heaven in front of his apostles. Obviously!
Then he came down on them through the Holy Spirit, the third pillar of the sacred trinity. How else could he come back?
The apostles started to preach and everyone would hear them speaking their own language. No doubt!
We don’t know much about his life between childhood and manhood, but we know for sure that he didn’t have siblings, or a wife. Again, it is historical!
God, the Holy Spirit and Him are 3 in 1 and 1 in 3. Yes, logical!
Seconds before He died, he said: “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me”, then he followed this immediately after with: “Father into your hands I commit my spirit”. Very consistent!
He cursed the fig tree, because it was barren, even though it is a creation of his Father. Why not!
He disowned his mother few weeks before his death, after he transformed water to wine upon her request all the while he had been asking all his followers to love their enemies. Makes sense!
While preaching a simple life of giving and solidarity, he ostensibly enjoyed the washing and drying of his feet with perfume and the long hair of the so-called Mary. We are jealous!
Peter disowned him 3 times in one night, and this latter became the pillar of the Christian church. Entirely understandable!
He was born in December, and all shepherds were outside with their flocks. It happens!
He rose from the dead with open holes in his hands and on his side, so Thomas could put his fingers in them and believe. We wish we were there, but we believe!
He came to change the world, but he couldn’t stay more than 33 years to accomplish his mission. Surely he believed that his message of love and forgiveness was completed, it reached everyone and was well understood by all, as the EXACT opposite was demonstrated later through the disputes among the apostles and the different churches, not to mention all the massacres undertaken in His name. We believe! We want to believe! We believe that we believe!
Now, can someone tell us please the exact date when Jesus was crucified? This most important date, this foundational date, this keystone date, this date that has no equivalent in the entire Christian history and religion is still a mystery! No one really knows when was the resurrection day! This time we TRUELY believe.
Billions of people believed, volunteered, were converted, killed, destroyed, built, invented, and progressed. One third of the world believes this legend, and the other two thirds have their own two legends that have nothing to envy to this one in terms of illusions and imagination (the legends of Buddha and Mahomet).
Why does everyone believe such an unbelievable story? This is an astonishing mystery and a fundamental question. I have an answer, a simple answer, and unfortunately in this answer reside the limitations of people’s imagination and the misery of their minds. This answer embodies the big disappointment of God in the creatures he created according to his image!
People have believed this miracle story, because for over 2000 years now, with all their novelists, poets, thinkers, they couldn’t find or create one single story that is more beautiful, more intriguing, more complete and more timeless than the legend of Jesus Christ. It is unfortunate, but then again it is not entirely surprising, since geniuses like Him are extremely rare. The only hope, for which many people across the globe pray day and night, is that “Jesus, the hero of the legend, would return”, so another legend, more intriguing and more beautiful, can be written about him, and it will eventually take the place of the first one… it will be called “Jesus The Return!”
We all know that the day marking the return of Jesus is called the day of truth. Now, we understand a bit better why it is called this way! Jesus will finally reveal, during his return, to all people and especially to the believers in his legend, in which day exactly he was killed and resurrected! We are all eagerly waiting for the day of truth, and until then we will live to enjoy, as the rest is happening anyway!
Glory to luck, illusion and imagination, forever and ever, amen!