FACTS OF WHO IS JESUS AND HOW CHRISTIANITY STARTED
It is very clear that our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob want all peoples and nations to worship Him. The One and only one true and living God wants us to follow His commandments. He is a jealous God who punish even the third and fourth generation of disobedient fathers.
DEUTERONOMY 4:35
To you it was shown, that you might know that the Lord Himself is God; there is none other besides Him.
EXODUS 20:1 to 7
1And God spoke all these words:
2”I am the Lord your God, Who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.
3.”You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below. 5You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me. 6but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
WHO IS JESUS AND WHAT STARTED CHRISTIANITY????
Let me start with facts about Jesus based on the book of the new testament of the bible.
Fact 1. Jesus and his followers are Jews.
Fact 2. Jesus original objective is to teach repentance among Jews only. He is spreading the news that the kingdom of heaven is near.
Matthew 4:17
17From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.”
Mark 1:15
15”The time has come.” he said. “The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!”
KINGDOM OF GOD for the Jews means that the almighty God will rule all peoples and nations of the world. Justice and righteousness will reign all throughout the land. There will be everlasting peace. A transformation of the world will happen. All the people of all nations will have knowledge of God in their heart and soul. A leader or king (messiah) of the Jews will make this happen. This king will be from David’s line.
Matthew 15:26New International Version (NIV)
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
Matthew 15:21 to 28
21 Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the region of Tyre and Sidon. 22 A Canaanite woman from that vicinity came to him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is demon-possessed and suffering terribly.”
23 Jesus did not answer a word. So his disciples came to him and urged him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”
24 He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of Israel.”
25 The woman came and knelt before him. “Lord, help me!” she said.
26 He replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”
27 “Yes it is, Lord,” she said. “Even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”
28 Then Jesus said to her, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.” And her daughter was healed at that moment.
Fact 3.
Jesus and his followers are “Torah” adherent. They practiced the Torah religiously.
Matthew 5:17 to 20
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth disappear, not the smallest letter, not the least stroke of a pen, will by any means disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished. 19 Therefore anyone who sets aside one of the least of these commands and teaches others accordingly will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever practices and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 19:16-17
16 Just then a man came up to Jesus and asked, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to get eternal life?”
17 “Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”
Matthew 23:2-3
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: 2 “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. 3 So you must be careful to do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
Fact 4:
Jesus claims to be the messiah for the kingdom of heaven.
John 4:25 to 26
25The woman said, ”I know that Messiah(called Christ)” is coming. When he comes, he will explain everything to us. 26Then Jesus declared, “I who speak to you am he.”
Matthew 16:13-20
13 Jesus went to the area of Caesarea Philippi. There he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist. Others say Elijah. Still others say Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah. You are the Son of the living God.”
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah! No mere human showed this to you. My Father in heaven showed it to you. 18 Here is what I tell you. You are Peter. On this rock I will build my church. The gates of hell will not be strong enough to destroy it. 19 I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. What you lock on earth will be locked in heaven. What you unlock on earth will be unlocked in heaven.” 20 Then Jesus ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
John 20:17
17 Jesus said, “Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’”
Fact 5:
Jesus claim of being the Christ was rejected by teachers of the Torah.
Mark 12:35 to 37
35 Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard. He asked, “Why do the teachers of the law say that the Messiah is the son of David? 36 The Holy Spirit spoke through David himself. David said,
“ ‘The Lord said to my Lord,
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your control.” ’ (Psalm 110:1)
37 David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ So how can he be David’s son?”
The large crowd listened to Jesus with delight.
Matthew 21:42-46
42 Jesus said to them, “Haven’t you ever read what the Scriptures say,
“ ‘The stone the builders didn’t accept
has become the most important stone of all.
The Lord has done it.
It is wonderful in our eyes’? (Psalm 118:22,23)
43 “So here is what I tell you. The kingdom of God will be taken away from you. It will be given to people who will produce its fruit. 44 Anyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces. But the stone will crush anyone it falls on.”
45 The chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus’ stories. They knew he was talking about them. 46 So they looked for a way to arrest him. But they were afraid of the crowd. The people believed that Jesus was a prophet.
Fact 5:
Jesus was welcomed by the Jews as the Messiah and Christ
Luke 19:37-38
37 Jesus came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives. There the whole crowd of disciples began to praise God with joy. In loud voices they praised him for all the miracles they had seen. They shouted,
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:26)
“May there be peace and glory in the highest heaven!”
Mark 11:8-10
8 Many people spread their coats on the road. Others spread branches they had cut in the fields. 9 Those in front and those in back shouted,
“Hosanna!”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:25,26)
10 “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!”
“Hosanna in the highest heaven!”
John 12:12-13
12 The next day the large crowd that had come for the feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 So they took branches from palm trees and went out to meet him. They shouted,
“Hosanna! ”
“Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Psalm 118:25,26)
“Blessed is the king of Israel!”
Fact 6:
There is a twist of inconsistencies by the authors of the gospels. The Jews, days after accepting Jesus as Christ and Messiah decided to crucify him.
Matthew 27:20-23
20 But the chief priests and the elders talked the crowd into asking for Barabbas and having Jesus put to death.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to set free?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
Mark 15:13-15
13 “Crucify him!” the crowd shouted.
14 “Why? What wrong has he done?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted even louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Pilate wanted to satisfy the crowd. So he let Barabbas go free. He ordered that Jesus be whipped. Then he handed him over to be nailed to a cross.
Luke 23:23-25
23 But with loud shouts they kept calling for Jesus to be crucified. The people’s shouts won out. 24 So Pilate decided to give them what they wanted. 25 He set free the man they asked for. The man had been thrown in prison for murder and for fighting against the authorities. Pilate handed Jesus over to them so they could carry out their plans.
John 19:15-16
15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Should I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
16 Finally, Pilate handed Jesus over to them to be nailed to a cross.
Fact 7:
Paul came into the picture. Tried to teach the gospel to the Jews but was rejected. So he turned to teach to the gentiles instead.
Acts 13:46
46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:
“‘I have made you[f] a light for the Gentiles,
that you[g] may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’[h]”
48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.
Paul did not consult the original followers of Christ. He had his own belief on who Jesus is. A stir of confusion to the original followers of Jesus against the teachings of Paul occurred.
Acts 15:24
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said.
Acts 21:21
21 They have been informed that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to our customs.
Acts 21:27-28
27 When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him, 28 shouting, “Fellow Israelites, help us! This is the man who teaches everyone everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple and defiled this holy place.”
Fact 8:
Paul introduced a new doctrine that is against the practice of the Jews. The Torah was side track as a means of salvation. Believing only in Jesus is the way.
Galatians 3:24-25
24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. 25 Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian.
Galatians 2:15
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[d] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
1 Thessalonians 2:14
14 For you, brothers and sisters, became imitators of God’s churches in Judea, which are in Christ Jesus: You suffered from your own people the same things those churches suffered from the Jews 15 who killed the Lord Jesus and the prophets and also drove us out. They displease God and are hostile to everyone
Fact 9:
During Constantine, emperor of Rome, he enforced Christianity to be the religion of the land. Anti-Semitism flourished after that era. Jews who practiced their true faith were persecuted. They became evil in the eyes of men. People often kill them believing they were doing it for God.
