The Son of God?

The Son of God?

(The Jesus Diary Continues)

I spent quite a bit of time pondering what Jesus had said at the Temple. Is it possible that he really could be the Son of God?

I knew that the gods and goddesses of the Romans and Greeks often had children, sometimes by highly unusual means. One Greek god, Athena, I believe, came into being by popping out of Zeus' forehead after he had swallowed her mother Metis. That, I thought, was ridiculous.

Nevertheless, because the Greeks already had so many gods, some of whom had sons and daughters, and even wives, I thought they might welcome Jesus as the Son of God into their Pantheon.

And, since Romulus and Remus, the founders of the city of Rome, were believed to be sons of the god they called Mars, I thought they also might welcome Jesus as the Son of another God.

If you counted the number of Roman gods and goddess you would have to conclude that they were very religious people. The gods ruled their lives. The months of their year were all named after a god. They even had a god of the New Year, called Janus, who had two faces so he could look backward and forward at the same time.

Many Roman homes had a shrine devoted to special household gods, including the Lares, who watched over the house itself, and another group, called Penates, who assured that there was adequate food and drink in the pantry. On special occasions, like weddings and birthdays, devout Romans would make offerings to these household gods.

The Romans attributed the success of their city and their empire to the depth of their piety. In fact, I had heard that, not too many years before Jesus was born, they had begun making their deceased emperors into gods. This deification process began with Julius Caesar and I believe was still ongoing.

I thought for these reasons that the Romans would eagerly welcome Jesus. They were always looking to their gods for help, so why not add another one, especially one that had the powers that Jesus exhibited. He seemed so powerful that any sensible Roman would want to add him to his divine inventory.

I don't think they would like the idea of just one God, though. If they decided to worship the God of Jesus, what would happen to all their other gods? Many of them had distinctly human qualities and were known to become quarrelsome if not properly adored. They would not take kindly to another god, no matter how powerful, who might make them obsolete.

The same issue complicated life between the Jews and Romans. The Hebrews were monotheistic. We were taught that there was only one God, and he was Yahweh. He was fearsome and unforgiving. He demanded to be worshiped in specific ways.

We have had a complicated relationship with our God. He has always been doing things for us, like rescuing us from Egypt, producing manna in the desert, sending plagues against our enemies, but people keep turning their backs on him. There have been several agreements, called covenants, between Yahweh and his people, over the years, and the way things are going now, it's probably time for a new one.

At one point, angered by mankind's infidelity and ingratitude, Yahweh decided to do away with the whole human race by sending a giant flood to drown them all. Fortunately a few survived, thanks to a legendary prophet and ship builder named Noah, who convinced God to give them another chance. I wasn't sure if the flood story was real, but, based on what I saw going on in the world, I wouldn't blame Yahweh for being upset with what humanity has become.

The Pharisees were doing their part to try to set things right with Yahweh by dictating how he should be worshiped and making sure all the laws and regulations were strictly observed. They were the sole interpreters of hundreds of rules affecting virtually every aspect of one's life, from ritualistic hand washing to what and when to eat and what can and cannot be done on the Sabbath. I personally thought they made up some of these rules, although they maintained they were just following the dictates of the prophets and the ancient writings.

However, I had to admit, although I was no expert, I had never heard or read about Yahweh having a son. I wondered, if Jesus really were the Son of God, is it possible he was sent here to patch things up between Yahweh and his people?

This was getting too complicated for me, but, I thought, if it were possible to repair the relationship between God and man, then Jesus would be just the person to do it.

(This article is adapted from the book The Jesus Diary: An Anonymous Observer's Record of the Life and Accomplishments of Our Savior, by Dave Mishur, which is available on Amazon and other online retailers and can be ordered at any bookstore.)