ClearWords

Some say that Jesus of Nazareth is just a myth and a legend. Others, a historical figure who was born in Bethlehem, probably around 5 BC.  Wouldn't it be great if we could find his birth certificate and settle the matter once and for all?! Oddly enough, it's not such a daft idea. The Roman Empire was assidious about keeping records, and the birth of Jesus would certainly have been noted in its archives. Unfortunately, between the sackings of Rome and Constantinople almost all of them were lost. That wasn't always the case, though. Several times in the first three centuries AD the Empire made concerted efforts to erase the story of Jesus from history. For all this time the records were available - as the Christian apologist, Justin Martyr, was at pains to point out in an open ketter to the Emperor: "Now there is a village in the land of the Jews, thirty-five stadia from Jerusalem, in which Jesus Christ was born, as you can ascertain also from the registers of the taxing...

I was struck just recently by the contrast between two particular people who met Jesus, and his response to them. One was a prosperous official who had acquired many possessions. Jesus' advice to him was, "Sell everything you have and give to the poor" (see my post of 27th May for a take on what that might mean). This man could have done so much to help those less fortunate than himself, but when Jesus suggested doing so he went away sad. He was far too jealous of his own wealth to consider sharing it. I would like to think, after he had time to reconsider, he was at least motivated to do more than before. But we don't know. His contact with Jesus and the gospel sources seems to end there. The other person was a poor widow who literally put her last two pennies into the temple offering (Luke 21:1-4). Of her Jesus said, "She, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on". She had no way of knowing how her tiny offering would be used. It might...