1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000 Downloaded from YTS.MX 2 00:00:02,789 --> 00:00:03,622 (person roaring) 3 00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000 Official YIFY movies site: YTS.MX 4 00:00:08,240 --> 00:00:11,490 (dramatic piano music) 5 00:00:22,205 --> 00:00:25,455 (soothing piano music) 6 00:00:36,230 --> 00:00:37,300 - If you're one of the world's 7 00:00:37,300 --> 00:00:40,090 2.2 billion Christians 8 00:00:40,090 --> 00:00:42,200 wow, that's a lot of people. 9 00:00:42,200 --> 00:00:44,710 You probably think that around 2,000 years ago 10 00:00:44,710 --> 00:00:46,200 here in the Nazareth mountains, 11 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:49,460 in the Galilee region of modern Israel, 12 00:00:49,460 --> 00:00:52,670 a man known as Jesus Christ was born. 13 00:00:52,670 --> 00:00:55,210 You probably think of Him as the Messiah, 14 00:00:55,210 --> 00:00:59,323 the son of Yahweh, the God of the Jews. 15 00:01:00,190 --> 00:01:02,020 But, if you're one of the other 16 00:01:02,020 --> 00:01:04,220 5 billion people on the planet, 17 00:01:04,220 --> 00:01:06,180 you probably just think of Jesus 18 00:01:06,180 --> 00:01:08,190 as some kind of wise man 19 00:01:08,190 --> 00:01:10,050 who had a religious cult 20 00:01:10,050 --> 00:01:13,000 built up around him after his death. 21 00:01:13,000 --> 00:01:15,150 Or maybe you're one of those people 22 00:01:15,150 --> 00:01:17,500 who believe he never even really existed 23 00:01:17,500 --> 00:01:19,900 he's just some kind of literary myth, 24 00:01:19,900 --> 00:01:22,723 like a Hercules or King Arthur. 25 00:01:26,000 --> 00:01:27,170 But whichever camp you're in, 26 00:01:27,170 --> 00:01:28,820 I think we can all agree 27 00:01:28,820 --> 00:01:31,150 that Jesus is one of the most influential 28 00:01:31,150 --> 00:01:34,660 and intriguing figures in all of world history. 29 00:01:34,660 --> 00:01:35,840 About 40 years ago, 30 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:37,750 when I was a good little Catholic boy 31 00:01:37,750 --> 00:01:39,370 going to Sunday school, 32 00:01:39,370 --> 00:01:42,230 I was taught the story of Jesus. 33 00:01:42,230 --> 00:01:44,450 It went something like this. 34 00:01:44,450 --> 00:01:45,950 - [Narrator] About 2,000 years ago, 35 00:01:45,950 --> 00:01:48,320 a young married woman, still a virgin, 36 00:01:48,320 --> 00:01:50,830 was made pregnant by the God of the Jews. 37 00:01:50,830 --> 00:01:52,960 She gave birth to a baby in a barn. 38 00:01:52,960 --> 00:01:56,180 And three wise men found Him by following a star 39 00:01:56,180 --> 00:01:57,350 so they could worship Him 40 00:01:57,350 --> 00:01:59,910 and give some gold and scented oils. 41 00:01:59,910 --> 00:02:02,420 When He grew up, Jesus walked around Judea, 42 00:02:02,420 --> 00:02:04,620 telling thousands of people He was God 43 00:02:04,620 --> 00:02:06,100 and performing miracles, 44 00:02:06,100 --> 00:02:08,510 such as magically making fish and bread appear, 45 00:02:08,510 --> 00:02:10,000 turning water into wine, 46 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,150 and raising people from the dead. 47 00:02:12,150 --> 00:02:14,410 One night, He told his friends to eat some bread, 48 00:02:14,410 --> 00:02:15,430 which was His flesh 49 00:02:15,430 --> 00:02:17,950 and drink some wine, which was His blood. 50 00:02:17,950 --> 00:02:20,630 Then, the Jewish authorities who were angry with him, 51 00:02:20,630 --> 00:02:22,130 turned him over to the Romans 52 00:02:22,130 --> 00:02:24,080 who actually wanted to let Him go. 53 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:26,610 But the Jews convinced them to crucify Him. 54 00:02:26,610 --> 00:02:28,680 But then a few days later, 55 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:29,770 He rose from the dead 56 00:02:29,770 --> 00:02:30,700 and told His friends 57 00:02:30,700 --> 00:02:33,350 that dying was secretly the plan all along 58 00:02:33,350 --> 00:02:36,400 because His death wiped out the sins of the world. 59 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:37,990 His friends wrote down what happened 60 00:02:37,990 --> 00:02:40,610 in a book and started a new religion. 61 00:02:40,610 --> 00:02:43,200 But then, the Romans started persecuting them 62 00:02:43,200 --> 00:02:45,930 until one day, the Romans changed their minds 63 00:02:45,930 --> 00:02:48,600 and decided to become Christians instead. 64 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:49,890 At the end of the world, 65 00:02:49,890 --> 00:02:52,743 Jesus will return to judge the living and the dead. 66 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:56,490 - To be honest when I was a little kid, 67 00:02:56,490 --> 00:02:58,590 the story didn't make a lot of sense to me. 68 00:02:58,590 --> 00:02:59,910 I remember thinking, 69 00:02:59,910 --> 00:03:03,840 so this dude has magical powers, and he's invisible, 70 00:03:03,840 --> 00:03:06,520 and watching me when I sleep at night? 71 00:03:06,520 --> 00:03:09,200 It all seemed a little bit creepy. 72 00:03:09,200 --> 00:03:11,630 But as an adult, I started learning more 73 00:03:11,630 --> 00:03:13,970 about the history of early Christianity. 74 00:03:13,970 --> 00:03:15,760 As I read the Bible more carefully, 75 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:18,550 and read the works of modern New Testament scholars 76 00:03:18,550 --> 00:03:20,420 and ancient historians, 77 00:03:20,420 --> 00:03:21,330 I started to realize 78 00:03:21,330 --> 00:03:23,930 that the Sunday school version of the Jesus story, 79 00:03:23,930 --> 00:03:26,500 was vastly different to the story 80 00:03:26,500 --> 00:03:29,130 as it appears in the Bible. 81 00:03:29,130 --> 00:03:31,900 The actual story is far more complicated, 82 00:03:31,900 --> 00:03:33,390 and far more interesting. 83 00:03:33,390 --> 00:03:34,560 So I thought I'd go out 84 00:03:34,560 --> 00:03:38,840 and interview a range of world-renowned biblical scholars, 85 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:42,250 and historians and academics. 86 00:03:42,250 --> 00:03:45,750 And ask them to help me tell the story, 87 00:03:45,750 --> 00:03:46,810 of how Christianity 88 00:03:46,810 --> 00:03:51,300 went from being some sort of fringe Jewish personality cult, 89 00:03:51,300 --> 00:03:53,940 from the backwaters of the Roman empire, 90 00:03:53,940 --> 00:03:57,170 to a point where it was the state religion of that empire, 91 00:03:57,170 --> 00:04:01,610 wielding enormous power over the emperors themselves. 92 00:04:01,610 --> 00:04:05,320 So let's get back to the Sunday school version of the story. 93 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:09,720 What do scholars think about how accurate that version is. 94 00:04:09,720 --> 00:04:11,440 - Research that was happening 95 00:04:11,440 --> 00:04:13,560 at the beginning of the 20th century. 96 00:04:13,560 --> 00:04:15,413 A German scholar Walter Bauer, 97 00:04:16,670 --> 00:04:17,740 came to the conclusion 98 00:04:17,740 --> 00:04:20,570 that in fact, that picture is a very manufactured one. 99 00:04:20,570 --> 00:04:23,540 - And it's not like Jesus was walking around Palestine 100 00:04:23,540 --> 00:04:25,387 saying, "Hi, I'm God. 101 00:04:25,387 --> 00:04:27,117 "I'm gonna die for your sins soon. 102 00:04:27,117 --> 00:04:28,847 "But until then, how about I tell you 103 00:04:28,847 --> 00:04:31,267 "a few good cracking Sunday school stories, 104 00:04:31,267 --> 00:04:34,298 "and then afterwards you can get down with worshiping me." 105 00:04:34,298 --> 00:04:36,090 That may be the basic view, 106 00:04:36,090 --> 00:04:38,270 but that's not quite what happened. 107 00:04:38,270 --> 00:04:40,090 - [Cameron] So how did it happen? 108 00:04:40,090 --> 00:04:42,420 How did that version become the story 109 00:04:42,420 --> 00:04:44,933 most of my Christian friends seem to believe? 110 00:04:45,950 --> 00:04:49,320 - A lot of Christians don't actually read the Bible. 111 00:04:49,320 --> 00:04:50,470 And if they do read the Bible, 112 00:04:50,470 --> 00:04:52,030 they don't read it historically. 113 00:04:52,030 --> 00:04:54,300 They don't read it thinking about, 114 00:04:54,300 --> 00:04:56,300 what the story is telling you 115 00:04:56,300 --> 00:04:58,210 about the origins of Christianity. 116 00:04:58,210 --> 00:04:59,880 - They look at this uplifting passage 117 00:04:59,880 --> 00:05:01,670 or that uplifting passage. 118 00:05:01,670 --> 00:05:04,680 They don't compare the Gospels to one another. 119 00:05:04,680 --> 00:05:07,370 They don't look at the really weird stuff. 120 00:05:07,370 --> 00:05:09,570 So they feel like they know the Bible, 121 00:05:09,570 --> 00:05:11,410 but it's a very selective knowledge. 122 00:05:11,410 --> 00:05:12,770 It's a sort of greatest hits 123 00:05:12,770 --> 00:05:14,820 or the most uplifting, 124 00:05:14,820 --> 00:05:18,620 most seemingly relevant stuff to the 21st century. 125 00:05:18,620 --> 00:05:20,510 - They're looking for a single verse 126 00:05:20,510 --> 00:05:23,780 that will inspire them for their journey that day. 127 00:05:23,780 --> 00:05:24,740 And that's perfectly fine, 128 00:05:24,740 --> 00:05:25,930 there's no criticism of that. 129 00:05:25,930 --> 00:05:27,520 But the problem with that approach, 130 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,030 is that you're not actually reading the Bible 131 00:05:30,030 --> 00:05:31,610 as it's intended to be read. 132 00:05:31,610 --> 00:05:33,290 - Christians read bits, 133 00:05:33,290 --> 00:05:35,640 but do they read it systematically? 134 00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:37,960 Well, systematically but not necessarily 135 00:05:37,960 --> 00:05:39,010 for historical reasons. 136 00:05:39,010 --> 00:05:41,740 Systematically to clarify their beliefs. 137 00:05:41,740 --> 00:05:44,140 - And they just sort of don't get to see, 138 00:05:44,140 --> 00:05:46,800 all the really strange stuff, 139 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,790 all the contradictions, all the discrepancies. 140 00:05:49,790 --> 00:05:52,620 - How do you go from being a religion, 141 00:05:52,620 --> 00:05:57,360 that celebrates somebody who has died on a Roman cross, 142 00:05:57,360 --> 00:06:00,700 to a religion that celebrates that cross 143 00:06:00,700 --> 00:06:02,730 and takes that cross forward into battle? 144 00:06:02,730 --> 00:06:05,760 That's the story of Christianity within 300 years. 145 00:06:05,760 --> 00:06:08,090 Going from a superstition to being the state religion, 146 00:06:08,090 --> 00:06:09,680 that's absolutely extraordinary. 147 00:06:09,680 --> 00:06:12,290 And that is what the early Roman historians called it, 148 00:06:12,290 --> 00:06:13,800 they called it a superstition. 149 00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,570 - But before we get into the story of Jesus, 150 00:06:16,570 --> 00:06:19,230 I think we need to wind the clock back a little bit, 151 00:06:19,230 --> 00:06:20,770 and talk about the world 152 00:06:20,770 --> 00:06:23,473 into which Christianity was born. 153 00:06:23,473 --> 00:06:26,556 (calm ancient music) 154 00:06:29,250 --> 00:06:30,920 A long time ago, 155 00:06:30,920 --> 00:06:35,770 there was a man known as Lord, Liberator, Redeemer, Savior, 156 00:06:35,770 --> 00:06:40,100 simultaneously, fully human and fully divine. 157 00:06:40,100 --> 00:06:42,173 The son of God and God. 158 00:06:43,060 --> 00:06:45,230 The bringer of peace and salvation, 159 00:06:45,230 --> 00:06:48,210 sent into the world in the form of a man 160 00:06:48,210 --> 00:06:49,943 to forgive the sins of the people. 161 00:06:51,026 --> 00:06:54,526 (lively orchestral music) 162 00:06:58,279 --> 00:07:00,370 ♪ Hallelujah. ♪ 163 00:07:00,370 --> 00:07:02,110 That's Augustus Caesar. 164 00:07:02,110 --> 00:07:05,046 If you ask most people living in the Roman empire, 165 00:07:05,046 --> 00:07:06,920 right about the time Jesus was born, 166 00:07:06,920 --> 00:07:09,240 who the Son of God was, 167 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:12,950 most of them would have told you it was this guy. 168 00:07:12,950 --> 00:07:14,470 Augustus was the adopted son 169 00:07:14,470 --> 00:07:18,480 of the original JC, Julius Caesar. 170 00:07:18,480 --> 00:07:19,430 The great Roman general 171 00:07:19,430 --> 00:07:23,720 who was stabbed to death in 44 BCE. 172 00:07:23,720 --> 00:07:24,960 After he was assassinated, 173 00:07:24,960 --> 00:07:26,760 the Roman Senate declared 174 00:07:26,760 --> 00:07:31,190 that he ascended into the heavens to become a god. 175 00:07:31,190 --> 00:07:33,800 And Augustus as his adopted son 176 00:07:33,800 --> 00:07:35,530 was therefore called? 177 00:07:35,530 --> 00:07:37,960 - Divi Filius, the son of the deified. 178 00:07:37,960 --> 00:07:39,880 It was new to Rome, 179 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:41,910 because it was Augustus himself, 180 00:07:41,910 --> 00:07:45,340 who saw what he thought was the soul of, 181 00:07:45,340 --> 00:07:49,210 or a part of Caesars' going up to the heavens. 182 00:07:49,210 --> 00:07:51,130 And that's why he can then claim 183 00:07:51,130 --> 00:07:53,130 that he is the son, the adopted son 184 00:07:53,130 --> 00:07:54,730 not the natural son, clearly, 185 00:07:54,730 --> 00:07:57,300 the son of a divinity. 186 00:07:57,300 --> 00:08:00,960 - [Cameron] Another title bestowed upon Augustus was savior, 187 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,580 because he ended a 100 years of civil war. 188 00:08:04,580 --> 00:08:06,780 - He brought peace, he brought peace to Rome. 189 00:08:06,780 --> 00:08:08,440 He brought peace to the empire. 190 00:08:08,440 --> 00:08:11,430 - And then, according to tradition 191 00:08:11,430 --> 00:08:14,310 somewhere around the middle of the reign of Augustus, 192 00:08:14,310 --> 00:08:15,501 Jesus was born. 193 00:08:15,501 --> 00:08:17,890 (lively orchestral music) 194 00:08:17,890 --> 00:08:22,260 So several decades before Jesus even appears on the scene, 195 00:08:22,260 --> 00:08:24,270 Romans are pretty familiar with the idea 196 00:08:24,270 --> 00:08:26,240 that somebody can die and become a god, 197 00:08:26,240 --> 00:08:28,420 or be the son of a god 198 00:08:28,420 --> 00:08:30,323 and the savior of mankind. 199 00:08:31,410 --> 00:08:35,150 So who exactly was Jesus? 200 00:08:35,150 --> 00:08:38,273 Well, it kind of depends on who you ask. 201 00:08:39,760 --> 00:08:42,780 Some scholars believe he was an apocalyptic preacher 202 00:08:42,780 --> 00:08:44,850 or a political troublemaker. 203 00:08:44,850 --> 00:08:47,570 Others think he was more of a wise sage, 204 00:08:47,570 --> 00:08:51,280 or a hippie pacifist who preached love and brotherhood. 205 00:08:51,280 --> 00:08:52,240 It's a little bit strange 206 00:08:52,240 --> 00:08:54,090 that after 2,000 years, 207 00:08:54,090 --> 00:08:58,210 scholars still can't agree on exactly who Jesus was. 208 00:08:58,210 --> 00:09:00,120 One thing they all do agree on though, 209 00:09:00,120 --> 00:09:02,199 Jesus was a Jew. 210 00:09:02,199 --> 00:09:05,949 (playful instrumental music) 211 00:09:07,740 --> 00:09:10,400 If you look at pictures of Jesus in most churches today, 212 00:09:10,400 --> 00:09:13,490 you'll see a white guy with long brown hair, 213 00:09:13,490 --> 00:09:16,090 neatly trimmed beard, blue eyes. 214 00:09:16,090 --> 00:09:19,550 But Christianity started out as a Jewish personality cult, 215 00:09:19,550 --> 00:09:21,360 Jesus was a Jew. 216 00:09:21,360 --> 00:09:23,830 So he probably would have looked more like, 217 00:09:23,830 --> 00:09:28,060 I don't know, DJ Khaled than Jared Leto. 218 00:09:28,060 --> 00:09:29,960 He would have been a dark-skinned, 219 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:32,260 brown-eyed Palestinian. 220 00:09:32,260 --> 00:09:33,530 Let's put it this way, 221 00:09:33,530 --> 00:09:36,080 if Jesus returned and tried to board a plane 222 00:09:36,080 --> 00:09:37,810 in the United States today 223 00:09:37,810 --> 00:09:38,970 he'd probably get taken 224 00:09:38,970 --> 00:09:43,510 into a little room and randomly screened (siren ringing) 225 00:09:43,510 --> 00:09:45,210 And when I say Jesus was a Jew, 226 00:09:45,210 --> 00:09:47,590 I don't just mean ethnically a Jew, 227 00:09:47,590 --> 00:09:49,230 I mean a religious Jew. 228 00:09:49,230 --> 00:09:51,450 In fact, he was a very religious Jew, 229 00:09:51,450 --> 00:09:54,380 and so were most of the early members of his sect. 230 00:09:54,380 --> 00:09:56,100 - Jesus is Torah observant, 231 00:09:56,100 --> 00:09:57,870 Peter is Torah observant, 232 00:09:57,870 --> 00:09:59,830 James is Torah observant, 233 00:09:59,830 --> 00:10:01,790 and Paul is Torah observant. 234 00:10:01,790 --> 00:10:03,970 - [Narrator] The Torah is the first five books 235 00:10:03,970 --> 00:10:05,380 of the Hebrew Bible. 236 00:10:05,380 --> 00:10:08,110 What Christians call, the Old Testament. 237 00:10:08,110 --> 00:10:11,930 - Jesus and the guys who ran his group after he died, 238 00:10:11,930 --> 00:10:13,730 Peter, the guy he left in charge, 239 00:10:13,730 --> 00:10:16,420 and James, who according to tradition 240 00:10:16,420 --> 00:10:18,740 was one of Jesus' brothers, 241 00:10:18,740 --> 00:10:21,880 were Jews, not Christians. 242 00:10:21,880 --> 00:10:25,220 And they weren't trying to start a new religion. 243 00:10:25,220 --> 00:10:27,850 They weren't trying to reject Judaism, 244 00:10:27,850 --> 00:10:29,930 they were just trying to fix it. 245 00:10:29,930 --> 00:10:32,320 - Jesus was not only Torah observant, 246 00:10:32,320 --> 00:10:35,780 he actually made the law stricter rather than looser. 247 00:10:35,780 --> 00:10:37,300 The law says, "Don't commit adultery," 248 00:10:37,300 --> 00:10:39,920 Jesus says, "Don't think about it," that's harder. 249 00:10:39,920 --> 00:10:41,290 The laws says, "Don't murder," 250 00:10:41,290 --> 00:10:43,390 Jesus says, "Don't be angry." 251 00:10:43,390 --> 00:10:48,390 - Jesus was a first century AD Galilean Jewish prophet. 252 00:10:48,550 --> 00:10:49,860 He was a prophet who believed 253 00:10:49,860 --> 00:10:51,970 that God was about to intervene 254 00:10:51,970 --> 00:10:53,960 decisively in human history. 255 00:10:53,960 --> 00:10:56,740 - And being a religious Jew in the first century, 256 00:10:56,740 --> 00:10:58,690 must have been pretty depressing. 257 00:10:58,690 --> 00:10:59,940 For hundreds of years, 258 00:10:59,940 --> 00:11:04,040 Jewish prophets had promised that their God, Yahweh, 259 00:11:04,040 --> 00:11:08,070 really thought they were pretty, pretty special. 260 00:11:08,070 --> 00:11:09,660 They were his favorite tribe. 261 00:11:09,660 --> 00:11:11,210 He had their back, 262 00:11:11,210 --> 00:11:14,270 and he was gonna make sure they ruled the world. 263 00:11:14,270 --> 00:11:17,610 But for some reason, Yahweh hadn't delivered. 264 00:11:17,610 --> 00:11:19,520 Century after century, 265 00:11:19,520 --> 00:11:22,350 the Jews had been invaded and conquered. 266 00:11:22,350 --> 00:11:25,850 In fact, just a few years after Jesus was born, 267 00:11:25,850 --> 00:11:30,810 his homeland had finally become an official Roman province. 268 00:11:30,810 --> 00:11:31,940 - Jewish people could see 269 00:11:31,940 --> 00:11:34,350 that things were not going particularly well, 270 00:11:34,350 --> 00:11:36,170 things were not flourishing. 271 00:11:36,170 --> 00:11:39,030 They were subject to external powers, 272 00:11:39,030 --> 00:11:42,450 whether they'd be the great kings, the solicit kings, 273 00:11:42,450 --> 00:11:45,200 or whether it be the Romans later on. 274 00:11:45,200 --> 00:11:47,090 - Instead of coming to the conclusion, 275 00:11:47,090 --> 00:11:49,620 that their prophets were wrong, 276 00:11:49,620 --> 00:11:52,690 or that Yahweh had lied to them, 277 00:11:52,690 --> 00:11:56,160 the Jews just decided they must have disappointed Him 278 00:11:56,160 --> 00:12:01,100 and He was ignoring them or not answering their prayers. 279 00:12:01,100 --> 00:12:04,890 So anyway, the Jews decided they had to be better, 280 00:12:04,890 --> 00:12:09,488 and make Yahweh happy with them again, but how? 281 00:12:09,488 --> 00:12:13,238 (playful instrumental music) 282 00:12:14,969 --> 00:12:17,260 - The most important thing to know, 283 00:12:17,260 --> 00:12:19,830 is that there was no agreed standard, 284 00:12:19,830 --> 00:12:22,780 of what being a good Jew was in the first century. 285 00:12:22,780 --> 00:12:24,240 - Just like there are hundreds 286 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,660 of different versions of Christianity today, 287 00:12:27,660 --> 00:12:30,370 and they all think that they are the right one. 288 00:12:30,370 --> 00:12:31,540 We know that in the first century, 289 00:12:31,540 --> 00:12:35,760 there were lots of different versions of Judaism as well. 290 00:12:35,760 --> 00:12:37,840 And they were all trying to figure out 291 00:12:37,840 --> 00:12:40,040 the magic trick to get them back, 292 00:12:40,040 --> 00:12:42,530 into Yahweh's good book. 293 00:12:42,530 --> 00:12:44,370 - This is a situation 294 00:12:44,370 --> 00:12:46,730 that is eventually going to be rectified by God. 295 00:12:46,730 --> 00:12:48,930 Destroy the Roman oppressors, 296 00:12:48,930 --> 00:12:52,170 think end of "Raiders of the Lost Ark" for instance, 297 00:12:52,170 --> 00:12:55,236 where the fire comes down and burns up all the Nazis. 298 00:12:55,236 --> 00:12:56,840 That's probably the view 299 00:12:56,840 --> 00:12:59,230 that a decent number of Jews had. 300 00:12:59,230 --> 00:13:01,670 - Now, some Jews living in the first century, 301 00:13:01,670 --> 00:13:05,940 believe that God was going to send someone to save them. 302 00:13:05,940 --> 00:13:08,453 They called that person, the Messiah. 303 00:13:08,453 --> 00:13:11,036 (gentle music) 304 00:13:14,210 --> 00:13:17,470 - So how do you know who's a Messiah? 305 00:13:17,470 --> 00:13:19,730 Different people will give you different answers, 306 00:13:19,730 --> 00:13:22,519 and there were different messianic candidates to follow. 307 00:13:22,519 --> 00:13:24,830 (pages fluttering) 308 00:13:24,830 --> 00:13:28,230 - Oh, I'm just looking for the official guide 309 00:13:28,230 --> 00:13:30,410 to knowing who the chosen one is. 310 00:13:30,410 --> 00:13:33,950 I'm sure it's gotta be in here somewhere (pages fluttering) 311 00:13:33,950 --> 00:13:36,300 - There's no messianic checklist in Judaism, 312 00:13:36,300 --> 00:13:38,090 as if, you make sure your mother is a virgin 313 00:13:38,090 --> 00:13:39,230 when you're conceived, 314 00:13:39,230 --> 00:13:41,560 walk on water, raise the dead, 315 00:13:41,560 --> 00:13:42,950 die a sacrificial death 316 00:13:42,950 --> 00:13:45,440 come back after three days, and ascend. 317 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:48,100 Some Jews were expecting a shepherd, 318 00:13:48,100 --> 00:13:50,870 others were expecting the Angel Michael, 319 00:13:50,870 --> 00:13:53,210 still others were expecting a priest, 320 00:13:53,210 --> 00:13:55,050 and still others, a warrior. 321 00:13:55,050 --> 00:13:57,810 Some people thought John the Baptist was the Messiah, 322 00:13:57,810 --> 00:14:01,360 and he doesn't fit any of those categories (book slamming) 323 00:14:01,360 --> 00:14:02,738 - When you use the term Messiah, 324 00:14:02,738 --> 00:14:05,050 Messiah is fine, it means anointed, 325 00:14:05,050 --> 00:14:07,760 it means that God has anointed this person with oil. 326 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:09,040 But when you're talking about Messiah, 327 00:14:09,040 --> 00:14:10,970 you're really talking about somebody 328 00:14:10,970 --> 00:14:13,010 who is a king, in the line of 329 00:14:13,010 --> 00:14:16,180 the greatest of all the Jewish kings, King David. 330 00:14:16,180 --> 00:14:18,090 And lots of Jews believed that, 331 00:14:18,090 --> 00:14:19,770 a King David-like figure, 332 00:14:19,770 --> 00:14:22,450 would establish himself in Jerusalem, 333 00:14:22,450 --> 00:14:25,760 and he would transform Israel. 334 00:14:25,760 --> 00:14:28,400 - Restore the kingdom politically was part of that. 335 00:14:28,400 --> 00:14:30,480 Bring the people back from exile, 336 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:32,433 set up the homeland again, 337 00:14:33,350 --> 00:14:37,720 restore their independence, drive out the foreign invader. 338 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:39,250 - [Cameron] Some Jews thought the Messiah 339 00:14:39,250 --> 00:14:40,820 was gonna be a great warrior 340 00:14:40,820 --> 00:14:43,700 to lead them to a military victory. 341 00:14:43,700 --> 00:14:47,120 Others thought he might be a charismatic preacher, 342 00:14:47,120 --> 00:14:49,520 who would convince the entire world 343 00:14:49,520 --> 00:14:50,973 to believe in Yahweh. 344 00:14:51,820 --> 00:14:56,010 Others, they didn't think about the Messiah much at all. 345 00:14:56,010 --> 00:14:58,620 - Not all Jews wanted a Messiah. 346 00:14:58,620 --> 00:14:59,940 Because normally if someone's going around 347 00:14:59,940 --> 00:15:01,130 calling themselves a Messiah, 348 00:15:01,130 --> 00:15:02,430 it's gonna lead to war, 349 00:15:02,430 --> 00:15:06,150 war means death, famine, bloodshed, that type of thing. 350 00:15:06,150 --> 00:15:08,110 So not everyone wanted a Messiah, 351 00:15:08,110 --> 00:15:09,670 not everyone even believed in one. 352 00:15:09,670 --> 00:15:12,580 - So there's a variety of expectations. 353 00:15:12,580 --> 00:15:13,660 Certainly the dominant one, 354 00:15:13,660 --> 00:15:16,630 is this political military figure. 355 00:15:16,630 --> 00:15:18,503 - So why is this important? 356 00:15:18,503 --> 00:15:20,770 Well, when Jesus is dragged 357 00:15:20,770 --> 00:15:25,270 before the Roman Governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate, 358 00:15:25,270 --> 00:15:27,020 the charges laid against him, 359 00:15:27,020 --> 00:15:30,890 are that he's claiming to be the Christos, the Christ. 360 00:15:30,890 --> 00:15:33,840 Which is just the Greek word for Messiah. 361 00:15:33,840 --> 00:15:38,720 In other words, he's claiming to be the King of the Jews. 362 00:15:38,720 --> 00:15:41,777 - [Narrator] Mark 15:2, "Pilate asked Jesus, 363 00:15:41,777 --> 00:15:44,440 "Are you the King of the Jews?" 364 00:15:44,440 --> 00:15:47,810 - Judea at the time was ruled by Rome. 365 00:15:47,810 --> 00:15:50,390 They didn't have a king of their own. 366 00:15:50,390 --> 00:15:52,420 They had a governor who reported 367 00:15:52,420 --> 00:15:56,070 to the Roman Emperor, Tiberius Caesar. 368 00:15:56,070 --> 00:15:57,340 Claiming to be the Messiah, 369 00:15:57,340 --> 00:16:00,650 was an act of political rebellion against Rome. 370 00:16:00,650 --> 00:16:02,630 A modern equivalent would be, 371 00:16:02,630 --> 00:16:07,630 declaring you're the rightful King of the United States. 372 00:16:08,010 --> 00:16:09,140 Now the important thing to understand 373 00:16:09,140 --> 00:16:11,530 about the Jewish concept of a Messiah, 374 00:16:11,530 --> 00:16:14,020 was that he wasn't supposed to be divine, 375 00:16:14,020 --> 00:16:16,470 and he wasn't gonna have magical powers, 376 00:16:16,470 --> 00:16:19,390 he was just gonna be a regular man. 377 00:16:19,390 --> 00:16:21,870 - They did sometimes talk about the Messiah 378 00:16:21,870 --> 00:16:22,920 as the son of God, 379 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:25,170 but not in the later Christian sense. 380 00:16:25,170 --> 00:16:26,180 They meant son of God, 381 00:16:26,180 --> 00:16:28,130 in the sense of good Israelite, 382 00:16:28,130 --> 00:16:30,410 because all Israelites are sons of God 383 00:16:30,410 --> 00:16:32,220 in the adopted sense. 384 00:16:32,220 --> 00:16:34,220 - Anointed by God, special to God, 385 00:16:34,220 --> 00:16:36,930 but like their kings David, Solomon, 386 00:16:36,930 --> 00:16:40,660 and the other good kings, yeah, fully human. 387 00:16:40,660 --> 00:16:43,900 - Somebody that God has placed on the throne, 388 00:16:43,900 --> 00:16:45,920 to rule in his stead. 389 00:16:45,920 --> 00:16:47,220 But it doesn't really mean, 390 00:16:47,220 --> 00:16:48,300 somebody who has, 391 00:16:48,300 --> 00:16:49,980 from all time been sitting 392 00:16:49,980 --> 00:16:51,610 at the right hand of God, the Father. 393 00:16:51,610 --> 00:16:53,080 It's a different concept from that, 394 00:16:53,080 --> 00:16:54,040 it's much more Jewish, 395 00:16:54,040 --> 00:16:55,670 and it's much more grounded than that. 396 00:16:55,670 --> 00:16:57,724 - The Son of God, 397 00:16:57,724 --> 00:17:00,580 would only have been used, 398 00:17:00,580 --> 00:17:04,995 I think in a metaphorical sense, 399 00:17:04,995 --> 00:17:08,400 not in the way that we come to expect 400 00:17:08,400 --> 00:17:09,450 with Christian doctrine. 401 00:17:09,450 --> 00:17:13,210 - The early Christians took that and ran with it further. 402 00:17:13,210 --> 00:17:14,510 - It really does remind me 403 00:17:14,510 --> 00:17:16,240 of how Augustus Caesar, 404 00:17:16,240 --> 00:17:19,620 was anointed to be the adopted son 405 00:17:19,620 --> 00:17:22,030 of his father, Julius Caesar, 406 00:17:22,030 --> 00:17:24,900 and therefore became the son of god. 407 00:17:24,900 --> 00:17:28,200 Here's an interesting thing about Jesus' name. 408 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:30,600 In Hebrew, his name was Yeshua, 409 00:17:30,600 --> 00:17:35,600 which basically translates as God saves or savior. 410 00:17:35,770 --> 00:17:38,907 And as we've already seen, Christ means Messiah, 411 00:17:38,907 --> 00:17:41,990 and the Messiah was supposed to be the Savior. 412 00:17:41,990 --> 00:17:43,950 So Jesus, the Christ, 413 00:17:43,950 --> 00:17:47,210 translates as Savior, the Savior. 414 00:17:47,210 --> 00:17:50,560 According to the Jewish historian Josephus, 415 00:17:50,560 --> 00:17:52,640 there were actually quite a few guys 416 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,300 who people thought might be the Messiah, 417 00:17:55,300 --> 00:17:56,980 walking around Judea, 418 00:17:56,980 --> 00:18:01,020 roughly around about the same time as Jesus. 419 00:18:01,020 --> 00:18:04,610 None of them succeeded, they all failed. 420 00:18:04,610 --> 00:18:06,620 They were all killed, 421 00:18:06,620 --> 00:18:09,030 and can you really be the Messiah 422 00:18:09,030 --> 00:18:11,020 if you don't achieve anything? 423 00:18:11,020 --> 00:18:12,810 - Which is why the vast majority of Jews 424 00:18:12,810 --> 00:18:15,520 in the middle of the first century don't follow Jesus. 425 00:18:15,520 --> 00:18:20,040 - Because a Messiah was not supposed to die on a cross, 426 00:18:20,040 --> 00:18:21,660 executed by the Romans, 427 00:18:21,660 --> 00:18:22,770 because this is somebody 428 00:18:22,770 --> 00:18:27,010 who's supposed to lead a successful military victory. 429 00:18:27,010 --> 00:18:31,560 If you just get executed as a revolutionary, 430 00:18:31,560 --> 00:18:34,280 in the eyes of most Jews that rules you out. 431 00:18:34,280 --> 00:18:36,110 - [Cameron] Can't possibly be the Messiah. 432 00:18:36,110 --> 00:18:39,743 - Can't be the Messiah in that precise understanding. 433 00:18:40,840 --> 00:18:42,620 So what they, they re-interpret, 434 00:18:42,620 --> 00:18:45,987 they re-invent the meaning of the word. 435 00:18:45,987 --> 00:18:49,570 (funny instrumental music) 436 00:18:51,260 --> 00:18:55,210 - A crucified Messiah was kind of like fried ice cream. 437 00:18:55,210 --> 00:18:56,680 It's an oxymoron, it's a paradox, 438 00:18:56,680 --> 00:18:58,670 and the Messiah doesn't get crucified. 439 00:18:58,670 --> 00:19:01,070 He rises up, defeats the Romans, 440 00:19:01,070 --> 00:19:03,524 and establishes a new divided kingdom. 441 00:19:03,524 --> 00:19:04,610 - What is this? 442 00:19:04,610 --> 00:19:06,200 So you wanna be a Messiah? 443 00:19:06,200 --> 00:19:08,950 - Well, the Messiah actually. - Okay. 444 00:19:08,950 --> 00:19:10,990 Did you kick the Romans out of Judea? 445 00:19:10,990 --> 00:19:13,030 - Well, no, not yet, but I tried. 446 00:19:13,030 --> 00:19:15,710 - Have you converted the world to Judaism? 447 00:19:15,710 --> 00:19:17,253 - No, I'm planning on it, but you know it's a-- 448 00:19:17,253 --> 00:19:19,760 - Did you bring about world peace in your lifetime? 449 00:19:19,760 --> 00:19:20,935 - Well, not yet, no but-- 450 00:19:20,935 --> 00:19:23,230 - (laughs) Boy bye, you really don't have 451 00:19:23,230 --> 00:19:26,090 the qualifications to be the Messiah, now do you? 452 00:19:26,090 --> 00:19:27,850 Maybe you should try carpentry. 453 00:19:27,850 --> 00:19:31,770 I see you have some experience in that area, next. 454 00:19:31,770 --> 00:19:33,760 - So someone came up with the idea, 455 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:38,760 to pitch the concept of the Messiah to the Gentiles. 456 00:19:38,770 --> 00:19:41,853 (speaking gibberish) 457 00:19:43,520 --> 00:19:45,880 - Wait, I've got an idea. 458 00:19:45,880 --> 00:19:48,226 What if we market it to Gentiles? 459 00:19:48,226 --> 00:19:51,320 (audience laughs) 460 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:55,370 - So what you see in early Christian writings, 461 00:19:55,370 --> 00:19:58,810 is a sort of re-definition of a Messiah. 462 00:19:58,810 --> 00:20:01,790 - Which is a pretty wacky idea when you think about it, 463 00:20:01,790 --> 00:20:04,200 because the whole point of the Messiah, 464 00:20:04,200 --> 00:20:07,860 was he was supposed to save the Jews from the Gentiles, 465 00:20:07,860 --> 00:20:10,310 not save the Gentiles. 466 00:20:10,310 --> 00:20:12,860 - [Narrator] A Gentile is someone who isn't Jewish. 467 00:20:13,820 --> 00:20:17,130 - But of course, the Gentiles didn't know that. 468 00:20:17,130 --> 00:20:18,760 They didn't know that the Messiah 469 00:20:18,760 --> 00:20:21,550 was supposed to come and defeat them. 470 00:20:21,550 --> 00:20:23,820 And they had already been indoctrinated, 471 00:20:23,820 --> 00:20:25,640 over the last 100 years, 472 00:20:25,640 --> 00:20:28,260 with the idea that a man could die 473 00:20:28,260 --> 00:20:29,500 and become a god, 474 00:20:29,500 --> 00:20:32,920 so why not this Jesus guy? 475 00:20:32,920 --> 00:20:35,230 The Greeks and Romans already accepted 476 00:20:35,230 --> 00:20:37,610 a whole pantheon of gods. 477 00:20:37,610 --> 00:20:40,910 So there was no big deal about adding one more, 478 00:20:40,910 --> 00:20:43,040 especially if this one is promising, 479 00:20:43,040 --> 00:20:45,220 that the end of the world is coming soon 480 00:20:45,220 --> 00:20:48,120 and that people who pray to him, as a God, 481 00:20:48,120 --> 00:20:50,970 will get the reward of eternal paradise. 482 00:20:50,970 --> 00:20:54,310 Something the older gods didn't promise. 483 00:20:54,310 --> 00:20:56,990 And who was the number one salesman 484 00:20:56,990 --> 00:20:59,265 for this new kind of Messiah? 485 00:20:59,265 --> 00:21:03,015 (ominous instrumental music) 486 00:21:04,510 --> 00:21:06,500 - The earliest references to Jesus 487 00:21:06,500 --> 00:21:08,940 come from the letters of the Apostle Paul. 488 00:21:08,940 --> 00:21:11,510 - [Cameron] The New Testament contains 14 letters, 489 00:21:11,510 --> 00:21:13,980 supposedly written by Paul. 490 00:21:13,980 --> 00:21:15,730 But, many scholars only believe 491 00:21:15,730 --> 00:21:19,070 seven of those are authentic. 492 00:21:19,070 --> 00:21:20,900 Despite his letters being stuffed down 493 00:21:20,900 --> 00:21:22,910 the back of the New Testament. 494 00:21:22,910 --> 00:21:24,840 Paul is actually the first person, 495 00:21:24,840 --> 00:21:28,430 who ever wrote anything about Jesus, 496 00:21:28,430 --> 00:21:30,300 at least as far as we know. 497 00:21:30,300 --> 00:21:32,680 But Paul was a bit like that friend you have, 498 00:21:32,680 --> 00:21:35,590 who just started watching "Breaking Bad". 499 00:21:35,590 --> 00:21:37,520 He was a bit late to the party. 500 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:39,940 - Paul never met Jesus, 501 00:21:39,940 --> 00:21:42,290 but he knew people who knew him. 502 00:21:42,290 --> 00:21:43,890 - One of the things that really surprised me, 503 00:21:43,890 --> 00:21:46,110 when I started studying Christianity, 504 00:21:46,110 --> 00:21:50,490 was that the earliest and most prolific writer about Jesus, 505 00:21:50,490 --> 00:21:53,130 never even knew him. 506 00:21:53,130 --> 00:21:56,620 Never even saw him, for that matter. 507 00:21:56,620 --> 00:21:59,330 Now Paul says that he knew people 508 00:21:59,330 --> 00:22:01,770 who said they knew Jesus, 509 00:22:01,770 --> 00:22:03,130 but did he really know them? 510 00:22:03,130 --> 00:22:05,750 We've only got his word for it. 511 00:22:05,750 --> 00:22:08,400 And before he joined the Jesus bus, 512 00:22:08,400 --> 00:22:10,660 Paul was a hater. 513 00:22:10,660 --> 00:22:13,930 - Paul actually had letters from the High Priest, 514 00:22:13,930 --> 00:22:17,260 that enabled him to go and persecute earlier Christians. 515 00:22:17,260 --> 00:22:18,590 - [Narrator] The High Priest was a member 516 00:22:18,590 --> 00:22:21,190 of the Sadducee sect of Judaism. 517 00:22:21,190 --> 00:22:23,530 They controlled the sacrifices in the temple 518 00:22:23,530 --> 00:22:25,640 and didn't believe in the afterlife, 519 00:22:25,640 --> 00:22:27,423 or the resurrection of the dead. 520 00:22:28,857 --> 00:22:31,387 "But Saul began to destroy the church. 521 00:22:31,387 --> 00:22:32,607 "Going from house to house, 522 00:22:32,607 --> 00:22:34,657 "he dragged off both men and women, 523 00:22:34,657 --> 00:22:36,450 "and put them in prison." 524 00:22:36,450 --> 00:22:39,150 - In his own words, Paul says he was beating up 525 00:22:39,150 --> 00:22:41,570 and arresting Christians because. 526 00:22:41,570 --> 00:22:46,060 - Paul says, that to him as a Jew, 527 00:22:46,060 --> 00:22:48,470 the idea of a crucified Messiah, 528 00:22:48,470 --> 00:22:52,360 the Messiah going and getting crucified, was nonsense. 529 00:22:52,360 --> 00:22:55,110 - A few years after Jesus dies, 530 00:22:55,110 --> 00:22:57,060 Paul goes from beating them up 531 00:22:57,060 --> 00:22:59,890 to becoming their number one salesperson. 532 00:22:59,890 --> 00:23:01,820 Why the change of heart? 533 00:23:01,820 --> 00:23:03,860 Well, according to his own letters, 534 00:23:03,860 --> 00:23:06,610 written in the late 40s CE, 535 00:23:06,610 --> 00:23:10,470 about 15 to 20 years after Jesus died. 536 00:23:10,470 --> 00:23:12,720 The ghost of Jesus appeared to Paul 537 00:23:12,720 --> 00:23:15,920 and told him to go preach to the Gentiles. 538 00:23:15,920 --> 00:23:19,070 But how do you convince a bunch of Greeks and Romans 539 00:23:19,070 --> 00:23:21,450 to worship a dead Jew? 540 00:23:21,450 --> 00:23:25,660 Well, Paul came up with four fantastic marketing ideas, 541 00:23:25,660 --> 00:23:28,970 that continue to resonate with billions of people 542 00:23:28,970 --> 00:23:31,780 around the world to this very day. 543 00:23:31,780 --> 00:23:35,530 (ominous instrumental music) 544 00:23:36,817 --> 00:23:37,827 - [Narrator] "For what I received, 545 00:23:37,827 --> 00:23:40,827 "I passed onto you, as a first importance. 546 00:23:40,827 --> 00:23:44,397 "That Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures." 547 00:23:46,110 --> 00:23:49,310 - For Paul, the Messiah is not really a warrior king, 548 00:23:49,310 --> 00:23:50,840 or a charismatic preacher, 549 00:23:50,840 --> 00:23:53,730 he's more of a human sacrifice to Yahweh. 550 00:23:53,730 --> 00:23:56,570 See Paul seems to think that Jesus had to die, 551 00:23:56,570 --> 00:23:58,700 so Yahweh would forgive the human race, 552 00:23:58,700 --> 00:24:01,953 for Adam having eaten the magical piece of fruits. 553 00:24:02,900 --> 00:24:04,440 Oh, merci madame. 554 00:24:04,440 --> 00:24:05,900 Now most Romans and in fact, 555 00:24:05,900 --> 00:24:07,290 most people on the planet, 556 00:24:07,290 --> 00:24:09,300 had never even heard of Yahweh, 557 00:24:09,300 --> 00:24:13,290 let alone Adam's act of grand theft fruito. 558 00:24:13,290 --> 00:24:14,480 So it seems a little bit harsh 559 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:18,110 to sentence them to an eternity of damnation. 560 00:24:18,110 --> 00:24:19,890 Now, listen, I know most Christians 561 00:24:19,890 --> 00:24:21,300 don't like thinking of Jesus 562 00:24:21,300 --> 00:24:23,670 as a human sacrifice to an angry God, 563 00:24:23,670 --> 00:24:25,230 but, let's be honest 564 00:24:25,230 --> 00:24:26,160 at least on paper, 565 00:24:26,160 --> 00:24:27,860 that's exactly what it looks like. 566 00:24:28,730 --> 00:24:31,130 According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, 567 00:24:31,130 --> 00:24:32,970 human sacrifice is the offering 568 00:24:32,970 --> 00:24:35,923 of the life of a human being to a deity. 569 00:24:38,070 --> 00:24:39,760 Centuries before Paul, 570 00:24:39,760 --> 00:24:41,640 both the Jews and the Romans, 571 00:24:41,640 --> 00:24:46,460 had replaced human sacrifices with animal sacrifices. 572 00:24:46,460 --> 00:24:49,040 But he's bringing it back baby, 573 00:24:49,040 --> 00:24:52,750 with the greatest sacrifice of them all. 574 00:24:52,750 --> 00:24:55,190 - Not just a human, but a son of a God. 575 00:24:55,190 --> 00:24:58,030 The best sacrifice you can possibly have, 576 00:24:58,030 --> 00:24:59,810 is this superhuman sacrifice. 577 00:24:59,810 --> 00:25:01,820 And because it was given, 578 00:25:01,820 --> 00:25:04,730 that blood can save everybody. 579 00:25:04,730 --> 00:25:06,400 - And Paul doesn't stop there, 580 00:25:06,400 --> 00:25:09,737 he's resurrecting more old ideas. 581 00:25:09,737 --> 00:25:13,487 (melancholy orchestra music) 582 00:25:15,320 --> 00:25:16,340 - It comes then down 583 00:25:16,340 --> 00:25:19,820 to the fundamental thing for Christianity, 584 00:25:19,820 --> 00:25:23,190 is Jesus is raised from the dead. 585 00:25:23,190 --> 00:25:25,390 That becomes the one thing 586 00:25:25,390 --> 00:25:29,430 that makes everything else pile into insignificance. 587 00:25:29,430 --> 00:25:32,630 Okay, he hasn't driven the Romans out of Jerusalem, 588 00:25:32,630 --> 00:25:35,120 but God raised him from the dead. 589 00:25:35,120 --> 00:25:36,500 No matter what else happens, 590 00:25:36,500 --> 00:25:39,230 whatever failure he was in his life, 591 00:25:39,230 --> 00:25:41,890 he is approved by God. 592 00:25:41,890 --> 00:25:43,440 - Like human sacrifice, 593 00:25:43,440 --> 00:25:47,070 the idea of a resurrected God wasn't original 594 00:25:47,070 --> 00:25:49,520 to Paul or Christianity. 595 00:25:49,520 --> 00:25:50,900 Now like every great marketer, 596 00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:52,760 Paul knows how to take a negative, 597 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:54,740 the fact that Jesus didn't really kick the Romans 598 00:25:54,740 --> 00:25:56,530 out of Judea before he died, 599 00:25:56,530 --> 00:25:58,300 and spin it into a positive. 600 00:25:58,300 --> 00:26:00,137 He says, "Wait, wait, wait, wait you don't understand. 601 00:26:00,137 --> 00:26:01,167 "He's gonna come back, 602 00:26:01,167 --> 00:26:05,070 "and then he's gonna destroy every authority and power." 603 00:26:05,070 --> 00:26:07,920 He's like the Terminator, "I will be back." 604 00:26:07,920 --> 00:26:10,510 You know what's cooler than a warrior king Messiah? 605 00:26:10,510 --> 00:26:13,980 A warrior king Messiah with super powers. 606 00:26:13,980 --> 00:26:15,060 But, not many Jews 607 00:26:15,060 --> 00:26:17,830 bought into the whole super powered Messiah idea. 608 00:26:17,830 --> 00:26:20,350 They tended to call BS on all of that, 609 00:26:20,350 --> 00:26:23,920 so Paul decides he needs to find a new audience. 610 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:27,265 Paul's the guy that takes it to the Gentiles. 611 00:26:27,265 --> 00:26:31,015 (ominous instrumental music) 612 00:26:34,214 --> 00:26:35,047 - No, the original sect 613 00:26:35,047 --> 00:26:37,220 just wasn't hitting the right market, essentially. 614 00:26:37,220 --> 00:26:41,490 And Paul figured this out, consciously or unconsciously, 615 00:26:41,490 --> 00:26:43,410 and re-told it to be a successful in that market. 616 00:26:43,410 --> 00:26:44,810 And that's why it exploded. 617 00:26:44,810 --> 00:26:47,430 Which I think led to the doom of the original sect, 618 00:26:47,430 --> 00:26:50,560 because Paul had a much bigger market to tap, 619 00:26:50,560 --> 00:26:52,900 so way more Gentiles than Jews. 620 00:26:52,900 --> 00:26:55,320 Way more Gentiles who are excited by this idea 621 00:26:55,320 --> 00:26:56,750 than Jews would be. 622 00:26:56,750 --> 00:26:58,350 And so you had, 623 00:26:58,350 --> 00:27:01,290 the church has explode in size with Gentiles. 624 00:27:01,290 --> 00:27:04,910 - Now of course, in order to market Judaism to the Gentiles, 625 00:27:04,910 --> 00:27:08,530 Paul needed to make some pretty fundamental changes. 626 00:27:08,530 --> 00:27:10,750 As far as all of the other early Jesus 627 00:27:10,750 --> 00:27:12,120 worshipers were concerned, 628 00:27:12,120 --> 00:27:13,650 in order to join their little club, 629 00:27:13,650 --> 00:27:16,780 you had to either be or become a Jew. 630 00:27:16,780 --> 00:27:18,840 But of course, probably the biggest hurdle 631 00:27:18,840 --> 00:27:20,960 for most Gentiles in becoming a Jew, 632 00:27:20,960 --> 00:27:24,080 was that you had to get circumcised, 633 00:27:24,080 --> 00:27:27,670 whether you were a child or an adult. 634 00:27:27,670 --> 00:27:31,850 But Pauly Walnut says, "Oh, forgot about it." 635 00:27:31,850 --> 00:27:34,480 - Just the marketing genius it took 636 00:27:34,480 --> 00:27:36,817 to get rid of that one restriction, 637 00:27:36,817 --> 00:27:37,650 "Oh, we don't have to do that? 638 00:27:37,650 --> 00:27:40,867 "Sure, sure, I'll become a Jew, yeah, that's fine. 639 00:27:40,867 --> 00:27:42,067 "I'll take on this new religion, 640 00:27:42,067 --> 00:27:44,738 "we don't have to chop our penis up anymore." 641 00:27:44,738 --> 00:27:48,240 (man Walking) (drink pouring) 642 00:27:48,240 --> 00:27:51,140 - Can I interest you in a new form of Judaism? 643 00:27:51,140 --> 00:27:53,503 - No, thanks, heard it all before. 644 00:27:53,503 --> 00:27:54,860 - What if I told you 645 00:27:54,860 --> 00:27:59,013 that you don't have to chop off the end of your knob? 646 00:27:59,013 --> 00:28:00,680 (glass shutters) - Go on. 647 00:28:00,680 --> 00:28:03,980 - Paul's type of preaching was ideal for them. 648 00:28:03,980 --> 00:28:07,550 Oh, we can be in that Jewish trajectory, 649 00:28:07,550 --> 00:28:10,400 but without all the stuff we don't like, sign me up. 650 00:28:10,400 --> 00:28:12,230 - But what do the original disciples 651 00:28:12,230 --> 00:28:13,540 think about all of this? 652 00:28:13,540 --> 00:28:16,270 Well, as they were Torah-observing Jews, 653 00:28:16,270 --> 00:28:18,050 we can only imagine. 654 00:28:18,050 --> 00:28:21,320 - So, Paul, we've been hearing rumors 655 00:28:21,320 --> 00:28:22,550 that you've been making up 656 00:28:22,550 --> 00:28:25,180 some fakakta stories about Jesus. 657 00:28:25,180 --> 00:28:27,740 What exactly are you telling people? 658 00:28:27,740 --> 00:28:29,760 - Just the usual stuff, James. 659 00:28:29,760 --> 00:28:33,030 Jesus was a real mensch who died for our sins. 660 00:28:33,030 --> 00:28:35,900 He's coming back any day now with superpowers, 661 00:28:35,900 --> 00:28:37,460 yada yada yada. 662 00:28:37,460 --> 00:28:40,730 Oh, and Gentiles don't need to become Jews anymore. 663 00:28:40,730 --> 00:28:42,570 - Whoa! Are you crazy? 664 00:28:42,570 --> 00:28:45,370 This is a Jews-only club, bubala. 665 00:28:45,370 --> 00:28:46,700 Anyone who wants to get in, 666 00:28:46,700 --> 00:28:49,410 needs to lose the end of his schwantz. 667 00:28:49,410 --> 00:28:52,380 Non-negotiable, you schmuck. 668 00:28:52,380 --> 00:28:56,916 - Peter, bubbee, the Gentiles really like their foreskin. 669 00:28:56,916 --> 00:28:58,588 Let them keep it. 670 00:28:58,588 --> 00:29:01,790 - Oh, (speaks in foreign language) 671 00:29:01,790 --> 00:29:04,870 Listen up, buds, you know bupkis. 672 00:29:04,870 --> 00:29:06,680 We were his best friends. 673 00:29:06,680 --> 00:29:08,840 James is his brother. 674 00:29:08,840 --> 00:29:10,680 If he wanted to let the goyim in, 675 00:29:10,680 --> 00:29:12,073 he would have told us. 676 00:29:13,140 --> 00:29:15,050 - Listen, I'll tell you what. 677 00:29:15,050 --> 00:29:17,590 You do your thing and I'll do my thing, 678 00:29:17,590 --> 00:29:20,920 and we'll just see who wins, mazel tov. 679 00:29:20,920 --> 00:29:23,960 - I think a lot of Jesus' original disciples 680 00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:25,650 were very suspicious of Paul. 681 00:29:25,650 --> 00:29:27,210 He wasn't part of the original band, 682 00:29:27,210 --> 00:29:28,760 he didn't know Jesus 683 00:29:28,760 --> 00:29:30,160 and even worse than that, 684 00:29:30,160 --> 00:29:33,300 the young Paul had persecuted the church. 685 00:29:33,300 --> 00:29:35,910 He was trying to bring down the church, 686 00:29:35,910 --> 00:29:36,987 so why should they trust this guy? 687 00:29:36,987 --> 00:29:39,130 - Paul doesn't really seem to care 688 00:29:39,130 --> 00:29:41,700 what Peter and James think anyway. 689 00:29:41,700 --> 00:29:43,600 He says that when he did meet them, 690 00:29:43,600 --> 00:29:44,960 they didn't tell him anything 691 00:29:44,960 --> 00:29:46,730 that he didn't already know. 692 00:29:46,730 --> 00:29:48,350 - He is very clear, 693 00:29:48,350 --> 00:29:50,530 repeatedly in his letters 694 00:29:50,530 --> 00:29:51,363 that he learned this, 695 00:29:51,363 --> 00:29:53,180 his Gospel from no man, 696 00:29:53,180 --> 00:29:54,977 no human source whatsoever. 697 00:29:54,977 --> 00:29:57,387 - [Narrator] "I want you to know, brothers and sisters, 698 00:29:57,387 --> 00:30:00,417 "that the Gospel I preached is not of human origin. 699 00:30:00,417 --> 00:30:03,627 "I did not receive it from any man nor was I taught it. 700 00:30:03,627 --> 00:30:07,150 "Rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ." 701 00:30:07,150 --> 00:30:09,163 - When he does mention his sources, 702 00:30:10,810 --> 00:30:14,260 it's the divine, it's the Lord, it's God, 703 00:30:14,260 --> 00:30:15,710 and it's the scriptures also. 704 00:30:15,710 --> 00:30:17,300 - Because he feels, well, 705 00:30:17,300 --> 00:30:20,600 I've got every bit as much of a right 706 00:30:20,600 --> 00:30:22,740 to be called an apostle as you all have. 707 00:30:22,740 --> 00:30:24,360 But they said, "Yeah, but you didn't meet Jesus." 708 00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:28,247 So, his big answer to that is to say, 709 00:30:28,247 --> 00:30:29,537 "I did meet Jesus. 710 00:30:29,537 --> 00:30:32,087 "I met him on the road to Damascus. 711 00:30:32,087 --> 00:30:34,190 "I met the resurrected Jesus." 712 00:30:34,190 --> 00:30:36,150 - Paul says that the ghost of Jesus 713 00:30:36,150 --> 00:30:37,560 told him he could throw out 714 00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:40,810 a thousand years of Jewish law and tradition. 715 00:30:40,810 --> 00:30:42,830 But they don't seem to believe him 716 00:30:42,830 --> 00:30:46,030 anyone can claim to have a revelation, 717 00:30:46,030 --> 00:30:48,120 and he doesn't really have a great reputation either. 718 00:30:48,120 --> 00:30:49,990 It was only just a few years ago 719 00:30:49,990 --> 00:30:53,110 that he was having their friends arrested and beaten up. 720 00:30:53,110 --> 00:30:55,590 So they all seemed to butt heads. 721 00:30:55,590 --> 00:30:58,300 - There's one story where Paul and Peter 722 00:30:58,300 --> 00:30:59,870 have a stand up row. 723 00:30:59,870 --> 00:31:02,420 A stand up row in Antioch in front of everybody, 724 00:31:02,420 --> 00:31:05,140 because they disagree on the implications 725 00:31:05,140 --> 00:31:08,030 of the movement that they're part of. 726 00:31:08,030 --> 00:31:10,010 - According to Paul's own account, 727 00:31:10,010 --> 00:31:14,030 he started calling Peter a fraud to his face, 728 00:31:14,030 --> 00:31:15,847 in front of everybody. 729 00:31:15,847 --> 00:31:17,397 - [Narrator] "When Peter came to Antioch, 730 00:31:17,397 --> 00:31:19,087 "I opposed him to his face, 731 00:31:19,087 --> 00:31:21,177 "because he was clearly in the wrong." 732 00:31:22,200 --> 00:31:25,560 - Now, Peter was the first disciple that Jesus ever had. 733 00:31:25,560 --> 00:31:28,630 Can you imagine what must have been going through his mind 734 00:31:28,630 --> 00:31:30,110 when this Paul guy, 735 00:31:30,110 --> 00:31:32,300 who never even knew Jesus, 736 00:31:32,300 --> 00:31:35,150 started getting up in his face in front of people? 737 00:31:35,150 --> 00:31:38,540 Unfortunately we only have Paul's side of the story. 738 00:31:38,540 --> 00:31:40,600 - When Paul is in a bad mood, 739 00:31:40,600 --> 00:31:41,750 and he's in a really bad mood 740 00:31:41,750 --> 00:31:43,080 in the Epistle to the Galatians. 741 00:31:43,080 --> 00:31:46,027 He wants to say, "They didn't add anything to me, 742 00:31:46,027 --> 00:31:47,827 "there's nothing that they told me 743 00:31:47,827 --> 00:31:52,487 "that added anything to the Gospel, which I got from God." 744 00:31:52,487 --> 00:31:54,570 But we know that this isn't true. 745 00:31:54,570 --> 00:31:55,590 - [Man] As you imagine him pacing 746 00:31:55,590 --> 00:31:58,800 up and down a room, yelling, 747 00:31:58,800 --> 00:32:00,337 while someones taking it all down, 748 00:32:00,337 --> 00:32:03,360 it's the, that's the best way to imagine Paul 749 00:32:03,360 --> 00:32:05,274 creating Galatians, a Letter to the Galatians. 750 00:32:05,274 --> 00:32:06,730 And it's trying to talk about 751 00:32:06,730 --> 00:32:07,970 a lot of affection, 752 00:32:07,970 --> 00:32:10,640 and love, and care as well. 753 00:32:10,640 --> 00:32:13,015 So maybe he was bipolar, I don't know. 754 00:32:13,015 --> 00:32:16,182 (deep voice growling) 755 00:32:19,360 --> 00:32:21,420 - And it's not just Peter and James 756 00:32:21,420 --> 00:32:23,810 that Paul's having a problem with at this stage. 757 00:32:23,810 --> 00:32:27,970 You see, even at this early phase of the Jesus movement, 758 00:32:27,970 --> 00:32:31,650 there seem to be a number of different factions emerging. 759 00:32:31,650 --> 00:32:33,620 And just like today, 760 00:32:33,620 --> 00:32:37,390 they all claim to be the one true movement. 761 00:32:37,390 --> 00:32:38,780 - So we have an example of, 762 00:32:38,780 --> 00:32:39,910 in First Corinthians, 763 00:32:39,910 --> 00:32:42,870 Paul is trying to respond to a letter 764 00:32:42,870 --> 00:32:44,210 that the Corinthians wrote to him saying, 765 00:32:44,210 --> 00:32:47,463 hey, this other Apostle, Apollos, 766 00:32:48,420 --> 00:32:50,660 came by and taught us all this other new weird stuff, 767 00:32:50,660 --> 00:32:52,370 what's, it seems to contradict yours. 768 00:32:52,370 --> 00:32:54,120 What's what are we supposed to make of this? 769 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:57,070 But you'd immediately ask me who's this Apollos guy? 770 00:32:57,070 --> 00:32:58,910 He's not on any lists of disciples. 771 00:32:58,910 --> 00:33:02,300 - Paul calls these other missionaries false apostles, 772 00:33:02,300 --> 00:33:06,450 even though he's the guy that never even knew Jesus. 773 00:33:06,450 --> 00:33:08,700 Oh, the cahoneys on this guy. 774 00:33:08,700 --> 00:33:10,220 We know that in the first century 775 00:33:10,220 --> 00:33:12,970 there were a whole range of divergent Jewish sects. 776 00:33:12,970 --> 00:33:15,070 So it seems entirely possible 777 00:33:15,070 --> 00:33:18,290 that there were a range of savior cults running around 778 00:33:18,290 --> 00:33:19,780 at the same time as Paul, 779 00:33:19,780 --> 00:33:21,660 using similar terminology. 780 00:33:21,660 --> 00:33:23,140 Let's just keep in mind 781 00:33:23,140 --> 00:33:27,890 that both Jesus and Messiah both mean Savior. 782 00:33:27,890 --> 00:33:29,540 - What's the name of your Savior? 783 00:33:30,470 --> 00:33:32,360 - We just call him the Savior. 784 00:33:32,360 --> 00:33:34,973 - So Jesus. - Yeah, yeah, Jesus. 785 00:33:36,140 --> 00:33:37,920 - What's the name of your Savior? 786 00:33:37,920 --> 00:33:40,280 - We just call him the Savior. 787 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:43,510 - So Jesus. - Yeah, yeah, Jesus. 788 00:33:43,510 --> 00:33:46,177 (comical music) 789 00:33:47,610 --> 00:33:49,210 - Each cult probably would have had 790 00:33:49,210 --> 00:33:52,110 their favorite Messiah stories, 791 00:33:52,110 --> 00:33:55,660 their favorite miracles and their favorite teachings. 792 00:33:55,660 --> 00:33:57,680 Each of course would have had 793 00:33:57,680 --> 00:33:59,520 their own missionaries as well. 794 00:33:59,520 --> 00:34:02,500 - There were manifest signs in the New Testament, 795 00:34:02,500 --> 00:34:03,940 about a big differences. 796 00:34:03,940 --> 00:34:05,180 And when you look at other stuff 797 00:34:05,180 --> 00:34:06,960 that didn't get into the New Testament, 798 00:34:06,960 --> 00:34:08,860 it becomes real obvious. 799 00:34:08,860 --> 00:34:11,750 - At one point, Paul gets so angry 800 00:34:11,750 --> 00:34:14,060 about these competing missionaries, 801 00:34:14,060 --> 00:34:15,470 that he writes in his letters, 802 00:34:15,470 --> 00:34:18,797 he wishes they would cut their own genitals off. 803 00:34:18,797 --> 00:34:20,617 - [Narrator] "As for those agitators, 804 00:34:20,617 --> 00:34:22,167 "I wish they would go the whole way 805 00:34:22,167 --> 00:34:26,360 "and emasculate themselves," Galatians 5:12. 806 00:34:26,360 --> 00:34:30,290 - Emasculate means removal of the penis 807 00:34:30,290 --> 00:34:32,010 and the testicles, 808 00:34:32,010 --> 00:34:36,670 not just castration, but the whole package. 809 00:34:36,670 --> 00:34:38,890 So much for turning the other cheek. 810 00:34:38,890 --> 00:34:40,510 And remember, this is the same guy 811 00:34:40,510 --> 00:34:43,080 that was beating up and arresting Christians 812 00:34:43,080 --> 00:34:44,930 just 20 years earlier. 813 00:34:44,930 --> 00:34:46,340 Forget about what the disciples 814 00:34:46,340 --> 00:34:47,840 would have thought about him for a second. 815 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:50,820 What would Jesus have thought about Paul. 816 00:34:50,820 --> 00:34:52,890 As a Torah observant Jew, 817 00:34:52,890 --> 00:34:54,720 I suspect that he may have found 818 00:34:54,720 --> 00:34:58,230 some of Paul's rhetoric a little bit heretical. 819 00:34:58,230 --> 00:35:01,090 - I think that if Jesus had said, 820 00:35:01,090 --> 00:35:04,240 nobody has to follow the Jewish law anymore, 821 00:35:04,240 --> 00:35:07,660 then why would Paul have had such a hard time 822 00:35:07,660 --> 00:35:10,330 convincing Jesus' apostles of this. 823 00:35:10,330 --> 00:35:11,490 - The Gospels record, 824 00:35:11,490 --> 00:35:13,220 certain missionary instructions 825 00:35:13,220 --> 00:35:15,150 that Jesus gave his followers. 826 00:35:15,150 --> 00:35:19,010 But they're not detailed toward going to the Gentiles. 827 00:35:19,010 --> 00:35:21,450 - Which if you ask me is a little bit 828 00:35:21,450 --> 00:35:23,930 of an oversight on Jesus's behalf. 829 00:35:23,930 --> 00:35:26,280 - All versions of Christianity today 830 00:35:26,280 --> 00:35:29,070 are basically descendants of Paul's version of Christianity. 831 00:35:29,070 --> 00:35:30,280 And that was just one sect. 832 00:35:30,280 --> 00:35:33,310 - Now Paul's not going after the well educated, 833 00:35:33,310 --> 00:35:35,960 the Gentiles or the rich and the famous, 834 00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:38,260 Paul's gonna take it down market. 835 00:35:38,260 --> 00:35:42,310 - It becomes a religion for the poor and the downtrodden 836 00:35:42,310 --> 00:35:45,470 and the oppressed and the underprivileged, 837 00:35:45,470 --> 00:35:49,290 who can all find in this, a sense of a better tomorrow. 838 00:35:49,290 --> 00:35:52,580 - The Greco-Roman religions didn't really offer much 839 00:35:52,580 --> 00:35:54,020 in the way of an afterlife, 840 00:35:54,020 --> 00:35:57,650 unless you were some sort of great hero or King, 841 00:35:57,650 --> 00:36:00,380 and heaven doesn't actually turn up in Judaism 842 00:36:00,380 --> 00:36:03,510 much either, barely gets a mention in the Old Testament. 843 00:36:03,510 --> 00:36:06,460 But Paul is saying, you can get eternity 844 00:36:06,460 --> 00:36:09,350 in paradise and he's offering it to everyone. 845 00:36:09,350 --> 00:36:11,470 And who doesn't wanna spend eternity in paradise. 846 00:36:11,470 --> 00:36:13,880 Hell, I'd be happy with a weekend in paradise. 847 00:36:13,880 --> 00:36:15,390 So Paul talks a lot 848 00:36:15,390 --> 00:36:18,800 about what Jesus is gonna do when he comes back. 849 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:21,540 But how much does he have to say about the life 850 00:36:21,540 --> 00:36:23,283 and teachings of Jesus 851 00:36:23,283 --> 00:36:25,850 during his actual time on earth? 852 00:36:25,850 --> 00:36:27,450 - Paul wrote a lot. 853 00:36:27,450 --> 00:36:30,600 He wrote a massive chunk of the New Testament 854 00:36:30,600 --> 00:36:33,820 and we don't even get incidental mentions, 855 00:36:33,820 --> 00:36:37,330 not even once about miracles that Jesus did, 856 00:36:37,330 --> 00:36:39,170 healings, it's absurd. 857 00:36:39,170 --> 00:36:41,120 - Now one of the explanations for this might be 858 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:43,820 that Paul's letters really dealing with disputes 859 00:36:43,820 --> 00:36:46,990 in his communities about how to be good Christians. 860 00:36:46,990 --> 00:36:48,740 But isn't that the perfect time 861 00:36:48,740 --> 00:36:50,980 to be quoting the founder of the firm? 862 00:36:50,980 --> 00:36:52,460 - When it comes to disputes about that, 863 00:36:52,460 --> 00:36:54,350 he could have easily, 864 00:36:54,350 --> 00:36:55,500 he could have easily said, 865 00:36:55,500 --> 00:36:57,620 Jesus said this, 866 00:36:57,620 --> 00:37:00,500 when Jesus was in Jerusalem, he said that. 867 00:37:00,500 --> 00:37:02,280 No, what we get is Paul speaking 868 00:37:02,280 --> 00:37:03,940 from his own authority. 869 00:37:03,940 --> 00:37:08,650 He gets his information directly from the Lord above. 870 00:37:08,650 --> 00:37:10,540 From his celestial Christ 871 00:37:10,540 --> 00:37:14,330 and also from the earliest scriptures. 872 00:37:14,330 --> 00:37:17,540 - Paul briefly mentions that Jesus was born, 873 00:37:17,540 --> 00:37:20,380 died and resurrected in some form. 874 00:37:20,380 --> 00:37:21,750 But that's pretty much it 875 00:37:21,750 --> 00:37:23,870 when it comes to talking about the life 876 00:37:23,870 --> 00:37:26,000 and teachings of Jesus. 877 00:37:26,000 --> 00:37:27,880 There are a few passages where he says 878 00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:30,060 he got something from the Lord, 879 00:37:30,060 --> 00:37:33,980 but as he claims no human told him anything, 880 00:37:33,980 --> 00:37:37,997 he might just be referring to the ghost of Jesus. 881 00:37:37,997 --> 00:37:39,957 - [Narrator] "To the married, I give this command. 882 00:37:39,957 --> 00:37:41,747 "Not I, but the Lord. 883 00:37:41,747 --> 00:37:44,487 "A wife must not separate from her husband. 884 00:37:44,487 --> 00:37:46,627 "First Corinthians 7:10." 885 00:37:47,928 --> 00:37:49,180 - But Paul has zero to say 886 00:37:49,180 --> 00:37:51,860 about the miracles that Jesus did in his lifetime. 887 00:37:51,860 --> 00:37:53,560 There's no turning water into wine, 888 00:37:53,560 --> 00:37:55,350 no multiplying, loaves and fishes. 889 00:37:55,350 --> 00:37:57,040 There's no walking on water, 890 00:37:57,040 --> 00:37:59,100 there's no healing the sick with his spit. 891 00:37:59,100 --> 00:38:00,450 There's no exorcisms, 892 00:38:00,450 --> 00:38:03,220 there's no bringing people back from the dead. 893 00:38:03,220 --> 00:38:04,310 Which is kind of strange 894 00:38:04,310 --> 00:38:05,310 if you think about it. 895 00:38:05,310 --> 00:38:07,820 If you knew somebody who could do all of those things, 896 00:38:07,820 --> 00:38:09,520 you'd never stop talking about it. 897 00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:14,210 - Whether that's really strange 898 00:38:14,210 --> 00:38:16,640 or whether that's because for example, 899 00:38:16,640 --> 00:38:17,710 he takes for granted 900 00:38:17,710 --> 00:38:20,653 that they know that already, is hard to be sure. 901 00:38:26,680 --> 00:38:30,800 - Maybe Paul assume that they already knew the stories. 902 00:38:30,800 --> 00:38:31,950 But we have to remember 903 00:38:31,950 --> 00:38:34,300 that Paul's writing his letters, 904 00:38:34,300 --> 00:38:37,690 20 to thirty years before the Gospels were written. 905 00:38:37,690 --> 00:38:39,450 Maybe he'd never heard the stories. 906 00:38:39,450 --> 00:38:41,350 Maybe he had heard them, 907 00:38:41,350 --> 00:38:42,510 but didn't believe them. 908 00:38:42,510 --> 00:38:45,070 Maybe they were invented later 909 00:38:45,070 --> 00:38:47,860 or maybe Paul had heard the stories, 910 00:38:47,860 --> 00:38:51,080 but just didn't think they were very important. 911 00:38:51,080 --> 00:38:53,890 Maybe he thought they were completely irrelevant. 912 00:38:53,890 --> 00:38:56,410 - Look at what Christian preachers do today. 913 00:38:56,410 --> 00:38:58,450 When they wanna say what you should be doing, 914 00:38:58,450 --> 00:38:59,290 what you should be thinking, 915 00:38:59,290 --> 00:39:00,400 what you should be behaving. 916 00:39:00,400 --> 00:39:01,250 What do they say? 917 00:39:01,250 --> 00:39:03,020 They say, Jesus says this, 918 00:39:03,020 --> 00:39:03,910 Jesus says this. 919 00:39:03,910 --> 00:39:06,170 Jesus just did this, Jesus taught that. 920 00:39:06,170 --> 00:39:08,230 So why doesn't Paul? 921 00:39:08,230 --> 00:39:11,230 Why does Paul never say, what would Jesus do? 922 00:39:11,230 --> 00:39:12,650 - What did matter to Paul 923 00:39:12,650 --> 00:39:15,560 was converting as many people as possible, 924 00:39:15,560 --> 00:39:17,350 as quickly as possible, 925 00:39:17,350 --> 00:39:18,683 because he's absolutely convinced 926 00:39:18,683 --> 00:39:20,320 that time is running out. 927 00:39:20,320 --> 00:39:22,987 (clock ticking) 928 00:39:24,505 --> 00:39:28,255 (ominous instrumental music) 929 00:39:29,300 --> 00:39:30,730 - Paul believes that the end of the world 930 00:39:30,730 --> 00:39:32,430 is dawning any minute. 931 00:39:32,430 --> 00:39:33,263 Everyday he gets up in the morning 932 00:39:33,263 --> 00:39:34,687 he thinks it could be today. 933 00:39:34,687 --> 00:39:37,637 - [Narrator] "Then we who are alive, who are left, 934 00:39:37,637 --> 00:39:38,967 "shall be caught up together 935 00:39:38,967 --> 00:39:40,437 "with them in the clouds, 936 00:39:40,437 --> 00:39:42,650 "to meet the Lord in the air." 937 00:39:42,650 --> 00:39:45,410 First Thessalonians 4:17. 938 00:39:45,410 --> 00:39:46,950 - But then time goes on 939 00:39:46,950 --> 00:39:49,080 and the end still hasn't arrived yet. 940 00:39:49,080 --> 00:39:53,340 So Paul, like every doomsday prophet starts 941 00:39:53,340 --> 00:39:55,000 to hedge his bets a little. 942 00:39:55,000 --> 00:39:56,770 - Suddenly now we've got Christians dying 943 00:39:56,770 --> 00:39:58,820 and that's not supposed to happen. 944 00:39:58,820 --> 00:40:00,800 Jesus is meant to return. 945 00:40:00,800 --> 00:40:02,160 This kingdom of God 946 00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:04,660 is meant to be ushered in and it's not happening. 947 00:40:04,660 --> 00:40:06,500 So there needs to be a rethink. 948 00:40:06,500 --> 00:40:08,600 - Well, he says oh jeez, right. 949 00:40:08,600 --> 00:40:10,242 About the resurrection. 950 00:40:10,242 --> 00:40:12,030 You see, yeah, some are gonna die, 951 00:40:12,030 --> 00:40:14,150 but Christ will come back 952 00:40:14,150 --> 00:40:17,710 and the dead in Christ will rise first. 953 00:40:17,710 --> 00:40:20,030 We'll have the, we'll be second in line. 954 00:40:20,030 --> 00:40:21,710 We'll be transformed. 955 00:40:21,710 --> 00:40:25,710 - Paul was clearly wrong, the end didn't come. 956 00:40:25,710 --> 00:40:28,410 Paul eventually realizes 957 00:40:28,410 --> 00:40:29,440 that he's more likely than not 958 00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:32,150 going to die before Jesus returns. 959 00:40:32,150 --> 00:40:34,250 - Paul claims the ghost of Jesus 960 00:40:34,250 --> 00:40:35,580 told him the end of the world 961 00:40:35,580 --> 00:40:37,530 would come within his lifetime. 962 00:40:37,530 --> 00:40:39,480 You'd think if God told you, 963 00:40:39,480 --> 00:40:41,670 the end of the world was happening soon, 964 00:40:41,670 --> 00:40:46,510 you'd be pretty careful about getting confirmation. 965 00:40:46,510 --> 00:40:48,520 - Blessed are the meek, 966 00:40:48,520 --> 00:40:50,720 turn the other cheek. 967 00:40:50,720 --> 00:40:53,090 The world will end in your lifetime, 968 00:40:53,090 --> 00:40:54,757 let him who hath not sinned. 969 00:40:54,757 --> 00:40:57,220 (clearing his throat) - Excuse me there the Lord, 970 00:40:57,220 --> 00:40:58,990 could you just repeat that last bit 971 00:40:58,990 --> 00:41:00,760 I'm not sure I heard you correctly. 972 00:41:00,760 --> 00:41:02,380 The world's gonna end in my lifetime. 973 00:41:02,380 --> 00:41:05,280 Yeah, yeah, in your lifetime. 974 00:41:05,280 --> 00:41:06,113 - Are you sure? 975 00:41:07,380 --> 00:41:11,090 - I find your lack of faith disturbing. 976 00:41:11,090 --> 00:41:12,520 - Oh, hey, okay. 977 00:41:12,520 --> 00:41:13,730 Chill, big guy. 978 00:41:13,730 --> 00:41:16,060 I just hate to get something like that wrong. 979 00:41:16,060 --> 00:41:17,860 Wouldn't want that on my conscience. 980 00:41:19,050 --> 00:41:20,320 - So as far as I can tell, 981 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:23,280 one of five things must have happened. 982 00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,470 Either one, Jesus made a mistake. 983 00:41:26,470 --> 00:41:28,890 Two, Jesus lied. 984 00:41:28,890 --> 00:41:31,240 Three, Jesus changed his mind 985 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:33,680 and just forgot to tell Paul. 986 00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:37,500 Four, Paul misunderstood Jesus, 987 00:41:37,500 --> 00:41:41,460 or five, Paul just made it all up. 988 00:41:41,460 --> 00:41:45,060 - This is a debate among historical Jesus scholars 989 00:41:45,060 --> 00:41:47,000 about whether Jesus believed, 990 00:41:47,000 --> 00:41:47,870 that the end of the world would 991 00:41:47,870 --> 00:41:50,920 happen in his lifetime or not. 992 00:41:50,920 --> 00:41:52,950 The vast, vast majority of scholars 993 00:41:52,950 --> 00:41:56,197 who say, "Nah looks pretty clear from, 994 00:41:56,197 --> 00:41:58,637 "Jesus' teachings as preserved in the Gospels 995 00:41:58,637 --> 00:42:02,020 "that he really does expect the end to come 996 00:42:02,020 --> 00:42:03,230 in his lifetime." 997 00:42:03,230 --> 00:42:07,580 So he seems to have been 998 00:42:07,580 --> 00:42:10,190 like many people before him, 999 00:42:10,190 --> 00:42:12,300 and pretty much everybody after him. 1000 00:42:12,300 --> 00:42:13,410 Everybody who's predicted 1001 00:42:13,410 --> 00:42:15,350 that the world was going to end in their lifetime 1002 00:42:15,350 --> 00:42:17,630 thus far has been wrong. 1003 00:42:17,630 --> 00:42:20,410 And Jesus would seem to have been one of those. 1004 00:42:20,410 --> 00:42:22,700 - Now, if you don't like to think of Jesus 1005 00:42:22,700 --> 00:42:26,140 as getting something that important wrong, 1006 00:42:26,140 --> 00:42:29,130 let's go with Paul made it all up. 1007 00:42:29,130 --> 00:42:31,460 And if he did. 1008 00:42:31,460 --> 00:42:32,370 - Maybe he's lying about 1009 00:42:32,370 --> 00:42:34,360 all this other stuff we're using him for. 1010 00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:37,180 - Did he really meet Peter and James? 1011 00:42:37,180 --> 00:42:38,947 We only have his word for it. 1012 00:42:38,947 --> 00:42:40,290 Did the ghost of Jesus 1013 00:42:40,290 --> 00:42:41,440 really appear to him 1014 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:44,160 and tell him to preach to the Gentiles. 1015 00:42:44,160 --> 00:42:45,630 So if Paul is throwing out 1016 00:42:45,630 --> 00:42:47,590 all of this Jewish law and tradition, 1017 00:42:47,590 --> 00:42:50,180 telling people that the end is nigh 1018 00:42:50,180 --> 00:42:54,060 and having public arguments with the original apostles, 1019 00:42:54,060 --> 00:42:56,410 why did they tolerate him? 1020 00:42:56,410 --> 00:42:58,510 Well from how it appears in the Bible 1021 00:42:58,510 --> 00:43:01,350 it seems that James and Paul 1022 00:43:01,350 --> 00:43:05,060 agreed to some kind of payment. 1023 00:43:05,060 --> 00:43:06,410 - There's a lot of references in letters 1024 00:43:06,410 --> 00:43:08,810 to him collecting money from his churches. 1025 00:43:08,810 --> 00:43:10,750 It's clear that some of these churches are challenging him, 1026 00:43:10,750 --> 00:43:12,190 are like, what are you doing with this money? 1027 00:43:12,190 --> 00:43:13,207 And he has to like, justify that, 1028 00:43:13,207 --> 00:43:14,620 you know, no, no, don't worry 1029 00:43:14,620 --> 00:43:15,520 I'm not running off with it. 1030 00:43:15,520 --> 00:43:17,590 I'm doing what I said I was gonna do with it. 1031 00:43:17,590 --> 00:43:18,640 Which is, he says, 1032 00:43:18,640 --> 00:43:20,630 taking it back to the saints in Jerusalem, 1033 00:43:20,630 --> 00:43:23,000 you know, the Holy ones in Jerusalem. 1034 00:43:23,000 --> 00:43:24,900 And we're not entirely sure what that means, 1035 00:43:24,900 --> 00:43:25,820 but you can be sure 1036 00:43:25,820 --> 00:43:26,653 it certainly meant 1037 00:43:26,653 --> 00:43:27,830 that the Jerusalem church, 1038 00:43:27,830 --> 00:43:29,100 these heads are getting a cut. 1039 00:43:29,100 --> 00:43:32,100 - Whether we wanna call that a bribe 1040 00:43:32,100 --> 00:43:35,050 in terms of, let's collect this money 1041 00:43:35,050 --> 00:43:36,810 so that the Jerusalem Christians 1042 00:43:36,810 --> 00:43:39,190 don't send missionaries, 1043 00:43:39,190 --> 00:43:41,300 to make our lives more difficult. 1044 00:43:41,300 --> 00:43:42,650 It's hard to say. 1045 00:43:42,650 --> 00:43:44,090 And Paul's not even sure that. 1046 00:43:44,090 --> 00:43:46,410 In Romans, he's not even sure 1047 00:43:46,410 --> 00:43:49,180 that they're going to accept this collection. 1048 00:43:49,180 --> 00:43:51,660 He says, he expresses anxiety 1049 00:43:51,660 --> 00:43:53,580 about taking this back to Jerusalem 1050 00:43:53,580 --> 00:43:56,860 because he thinks, well, maybe they'll reject it. 1051 00:43:56,860 --> 00:44:00,550 So that sounds a bit like a bribe. 1052 00:44:00,550 --> 00:44:03,150 - [Cameron] And in fact, he probably gets arrested. 1053 00:44:03,150 --> 00:44:05,237 - Yeah, yeah, yeah. 1054 00:44:05,237 --> 00:44:08,440 If we follow the book of acts at that point, 1055 00:44:08,440 --> 00:44:10,010 what seems to be going on 1056 00:44:10,010 --> 00:44:12,330 when he is in Jerusalem and is arrested, 1057 00:44:12,330 --> 00:44:17,320 is that, that's when he was gonna take the collection back 1058 00:44:17,320 --> 00:44:21,170 and put it at the feet of the apostles in Jerusalem. 1059 00:44:21,170 --> 00:44:22,800 That doesn't seem to have worked out. 1060 00:44:22,800 --> 00:44:27,800 Paul went to Rome and was under house arrest there. 1061 00:44:28,630 --> 00:44:32,240 So presumably Paul got executed by the Romans. 1062 00:44:32,240 --> 00:44:35,900 - Acts of the Apostles written many decades later, 1063 00:44:35,900 --> 00:44:38,430 vaguely blames Paul's arrest in Jerusalem, 1064 00:44:38,430 --> 00:44:41,270 on some Jews who complained 1065 00:44:41,270 --> 00:44:45,037 that Paul was leading people, astray. 1066 00:44:45,037 --> 00:44:47,137 - [Narrator] "Fellow Israelites help us. 1067 00:44:47,137 --> 00:44:48,527 "This is the man who teaches 1068 00:44:48,527 --> 00:44:50,287 "everyone everywhere against 1069 00:44:50,287 --> 00:44:53,486 "our people and our law and this place." 1070 00:44:53,486 --> 00:44:55,730 - Of course, the people he's taking the money to 1071 00:44:55,730 --> 00:44:58,540 in Jerusalem also fit that description. 1072 00:44:58,540 --> 00:45:03,350 They are Jews, who think that Paul is leading people astray 1073 00:45:03,350 --> 00:45:05,540 with his idolatrous teachings 1074 00:45:05,540 --> 00:45:07,410 about abandoning the law. 1075 00:45:07,410 --> 00:45:08,450 Really in many ways, 1076 00:45:08,450 --> 00:45:10,570 I think we can say that Paul's the guy 1077 00:45:10,570 --> 00:45:14,580 that invented Christianity as we know it today. 1078 00:45:14,580 --> 00:45:16,080 If it wasn't for Paul, 1079 00:45:16,080 --> 00:45:18,290 I think most Christians today 1080 00:45:18,290 --> 00:45:20,458 would probably be Jews. 1081 00:45:20,458 --> 00:45:23,958 (calm instrumental music) 1082 00:45:27,880 --> 00:45:31,130 Somewhere between the years of 60 and 70 CE 1083 00:45:31,130 --> 00:45:35,600 it's assumed that Peter, Paul and James all died. 1084 00:45:35,600 --> 00:45:37,420 We don't really know much about where 1085 00:45:37,420 --> 00:45:39,630 or when or how it happened. 1086 00:45:39,630 --> 00:45:41,010 One thing we do know happened 1087 00:45:41,010 --> 00:45:42,150 during this period though, 1088 00:45:42,150 --> 00:45:44,020 is some Jewish zealots 1089 00:45:44,020 --> 00:45:47,090 decided to rise up against Roman occupation. 1090 00:45:47,090 --> 00:45:50,100 And it led to a devastating war. 1091 00:45:50,100 --> 00:45:51,680 We don't know who started it, 1092 00:45:51,680 --> 00:45:53,560 could have been the Judean people's front, 1093 00:45:53,560 --> 00:45:55,550 could have been the people's front of Judea. 1094 00:45:55,550 --> 00:45:56,530 - [Small Voice] No, no. - We know 1095 00:45:56,530 --> 00:45:58,490 it lasted for four years 1096 00:45:58,490 --> 00:46:01,710 and the Jews got completely destroyed. 1097 00:46:01,710 --> 00:46:03,030 As it turns out, 1098 00:46:03,030 --> 00:46:06,640 Yahweh didn't send a Messiah to save them. 1099 00:46:06,640 --> 00:46:08,430 As punishment for the rebellion 1100 00:46:08,430 --> 00:46:12,860 the Romans completely destroyed the temple in Jerusalem. 1101 00:46:12,860 --> 00:46:13,770 Something else happened 1102 00:46:13,770 --> 00:46:16,330 just after the destruction of the temple. 1103 00:46:16,330 --> 00:46:19,640 The first Christian Gospel was written. 1104 00:46:19,640 --> 00:46:20,770 - The earliest of the Gospels 1105 00:46:20,770 --> 00:46:22,330 is probably the Gospel of Mark. 1106 00:46:22,330 --> 00:46:24,830 Which seems to be written about 70 AD 1107 00:46:24,830 --> 00:46:25,930 maybe a few years before, 1108 00:46:25,930 --> 00:46:27,130 maybe a few years after. 1109 00:46:27,130 --> 00:46:29,270 - Ironically, the first thing I run into 1110 00:46:29,270 --> 00:46:31,050 again and again as I traveled North America 1111 00:46:31,050 --> 00:46:32,700 and talked to people, 1112 00:46:32,700 --> 00:46:35,250 who either were Christians or are Christians 1113 00:46:35,250 --> 00:46:36,840 and they often tell me, the first is like, 1114 00:46:36,840 --> 00:46:37,990 they were shocked to find out 1115 00:46:37,990 --> 00:46:40,510 that Mark was written before Matthew. 1116 00:46:40,510 --> 00:46:41,570 They were shocked to find out 1117 00:46:41,570 --> 00:46:42,710 that the letters of Paul 1118 00:46:42,710 --> 00:46:45,140 were written before the Gospels. 1119 00:46:45,140 --> 00:46:47,790 - Here's something that might shock some Christians. 1120 00:46:47,790 --> 00:46:49,830 Most scholars don't think Mark was written 1121 00:46:49,830 --> 00:46:51,070 by an eye witness 1122 00:46:51,070 --> 00:46:54,000 or even somebody who knew an eye witness. 1123 00:46:54,000 --> 00:46:59,000 - The tradition in the second century 1124 00:46:59,540 --> 00:47:01,030 is that Mark was written 1125 00:47:01,030 --> 00:47:04,930 by a disciple of the apostle Peter. 1126 00:47:04,930 --> 00:47:07,120 And that he was sort of Peter's secretary 1127 00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:08,540 who followed him around 1128 00:47:08,540 --> 00:47:11,430 and took Peter's sermon notes 1129 00:47:11,430 --> 00:47:15,763 and arranged them into sort of a narrative about Jesus. 1130 00:47:16,640 --> 00:47:19,630 Is that who Mark really was? 1131 00:47:19,630 --> 00:47:20,740 It's hard to say. 1132 00:47:20,740 --> 00:47:22,360 - If Mark had been Peter's scribe, 1133 00:47:22,360 --> 00:47:24,140 Mark would say, I am Peter's scribe. 1134 00:47:24,140 --> 00:47:26,230 That's how ancient historiography was written. 1135 00:47:26,230 --> 00:47:27,720 - And despite it being called, 1136 00:47:27,720 --> 00:47:29,720 the Gospel, according to Mark, 1137 00:47:29,720 --> 00:47:33,930 the document doesn't actually state who the author was. 1138 00:47:33,930 --> 00:47:35,390 - The difficulty with Mark's Gospel 1139 00:47:35,390 --> 00:47:38,350 is it's like the other Gospels, it's anonymous. 1140 00:47:38,350 --> 00:47:40,490 We don't really know where it comes from. 1141 00:47:40,490 --> 00:47:42,960 Most people now think that it's unlikely 1142 00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:45,940 that Mark is kind of taking down Peter's dictation 1143 00:47:45,940 --> 00:47:46,920 or anything like that. 1144 00:47:46,920 --> 00:47:48,540 - But for the sake of simplicity 1145 00:47:48,540 --> 00:47:50,830 let's refer to him as Mark, 1146 00:47:50,830 --> 00:47:53,180 otherwise, we're gonna end up in Prince territory, 1147 00:47:53,180 --> 00:47:56,570 you know, the author formerly known as Mark. 1148 00:47:56,570 --> 00:48:00,250 And how's Mark's Gospel connected to the Jewish Roman war. 1149 00:48:00,250 --> 00:48:03,570 - Mark is kind of obsessed with the temple, 1150 00:48:03,570 --> 00:48:06,950 as if something recent and traumatic has happened. 1151 00:48:06,950 --> 00:48:07,960 So it makes a lot of sense 1152 00:48:07,960 --> 00:48:08,880 to say that Mark was written, 1153 00:48:08,880 --> 00:48:12,090 after the fall of the temple in AD 70. 1154 00:48:12,090 --> 00:48:13,200 - The Romans had just come in 1155 00:48:13,200 --> 00:48:14,660 and destroyed the temple 1156 00:48:14,660 --> 00:48:17,310 and just ended the cult, basically braised the city. 1157 00:48:17,310 --> 00:48:19,120 The city of God destroyed God's temple. 1158 00:48:19,120 --> 00:48:20,470 So this is a big existential issue. 1159 00:48:20,470 --> 00:48:23,030 If you're a sect that stems from the Jews 1160 00:48:23,030 --> 00:48:25,330 and the Jewish God just let heathens come in 1161 00:48:25,330 --> 00:48:27,020 and destroy his own house, 1162 00:48:27,020 --> 00:48:28,010 this is a problem. 1163 00:48:28,010 --> 00:48:29,180 This is a marketing problem, right. 1164 00:48:29,180 --> 00:48:31,167 It's a PR problem, so how do you explain that? 1165 00:48:31,167 --> 00:48:33,490 - For Mark, a lot of Mark is structured 1166 00:48:33,490 --> 00:48:34,650 to answer that and say like, 1167 00:48:34,650 --> 00:48:35,930 well, here's the answer. 1168 00:48:35,930 --> 00:48:37,950 - They've got to reinvent themselves. 1169 00:48:37,950 --> 00:48:40,860 - [Cameron] According to the Jewish historian Josephus, 1170 00:48:40,860 --> 00:48:43,630 who actually fought in the war 1171 00:48:43,630 --> 00:48:46,900 over a million Jews died. 1172 00:48:46,900 --> 00:48:49,870 - This is a profoundly traumatic time for Judaism. 1173 00:48:49,870 --> 00:48:51,030 They've lost the land, 1174 00:48:51,030 --> 00:48:52,520 they've lost the temple. 1175 00:48:52,520 --> 00:48:55,120 They've lost the sense of God's blessing 1176 00:48:55,120 --> 00:48:56,420 on their everyday lives. 1177 00:48:56,420 --> 00:49:00,280 So this is really a very difficult time indeed for Jews. 1178 00:49:00,280 --> 00:49:02,420 - And of course the original Jesus gang 1179 00:49:02,420 --> 00:49:06,290 the disciples, were Jews living in Jerusalem. 1180 00:49:06,290 --> 00:49:08,910 So they probably got swept up in all of the death 1181 00:49:08,910 --> 00:49:10,650 and destruction too. 1182 00:49:10,650 --> 00:49:11,810 What happened to them? 1183 00:49:11,810 --> 00:49:13,320 We don't really know, 1184 00:49:13,320 --> 00:49:15,550 there's no historical record. 1185 00:49:15,550 --> 00:49:17,590 In fact, we have nothing at all 1186 00:49:17,590 --> 00:49:20,130 written down by Peter or James 1187 00:49:20,130 --> 00:49:22,450 or any other eyewitness of Jesus, 1188 00:49:22,450 --> 00:49:26,570 nothing, zero, nada, zip, bupkis. 1189 00:49:26,570 --> 00:49:27,870 Oh yeah, sure there were letters 1190 00:49:27,870 --> 00:49:28,910 in the new Testament 1191 00:49:28,910 --> 00:49:31,230 that claim to be written by them. 1192 00:49:31,230 --> 00:49:34,640 But do scholars believe those letters are actually legit? 1193 00:49:34,640 --> 00:49:37,980 - I don't think we actually have any extent writings 1194 00:49:37,980 --> 00:49:40,730 from Peter or from James. 1195 00:49:40,730 --> 00:49:43,750 We have documents that claim to be by them. 1196 00:49:43,750 --> 00:49:46,870 There probably other people writing in their honor, 1197 00:49:46,870 --> 00:49:49,230 in their name pretending to be these figures. 1198 00:49:49,230 --> 00:49:53,400 So we are actually a little bit weak 1199 00:49:53,400 --> 00:49:57,410 on knowing what Peter and James actually thought. 1200 00:49:57,410 --> 00:49:59,570 We have to reconstruct what they thought. 1201 00:49:59,570 --> 00:50:01,630 - Like half of the letters attributed to Paul, 1202 00:50:01,630 --> 00:50:03,990 that found their way into the New Testament, 1203 00:50:03,990 --> 00:50:05,720 many scholars believe the letters 1204 00:50:05,720 --> 00:50:08,700 from Peter and James are fake. 1205 00:50:08,700 --> 00:50:12,430 That means we really don't have any clear idea 1206 00:50:12,430 --> 00:50:15,690 of what Jesus' immediate disciples 1207 00:50:15,690 --> 00:50:17,730 actually thought about him, 1208 00:50:17,730 --> 00:50:20,140 his teachings, his miracles, 1209 00:50:20,140 --> 00:50:22,420 what he told them in private 1210 00:50:22,420 --> 00:50:25,300 or what they thought about Paul. 1211 00:50:25,300 --> 00:50:27,190 They must have been writing letters too, 1212 00:50:27,190 --> 00:50:31,223 but apparently nobody bothered to keep copies of them. 1213 00:50:31,223 --> 00:50:33,119 - It's all erased. 1214 00:50:33,119 --> 00:50:34,920 That data had to have existed 1215 00:50:34,920 --> 00:50:35,790 it had to have been written down 1216 00:50:35,790 --> 00:50:37,470 somewhere in some form. 1217 00:50:37,470 --> 00:50:38,860 It's just all gone. 1218 00:50:38,860 --> 00:50:41,340 - Well how convenient for team Paul. 1219 00:50:41,340 --> 00:50:43,090 After the Jewish Roman war, 1220 00:50:43,090 --> 00:50:46,610 they're the only major Christian sect that's left. 1221 00:50:46,610 --> 00:50:47,900 These are the Gentiles, 1222 00:50:47,900 --> 00:50:51,240 the Greeks and Romans who aren't Jews. 1223 00:50:51,240 --> 00:50:53,220 Don't understand Judaism, 1224 00:50:53,220 --> 00:50:56,360 and quite frankly don't like the Jews 1225 00:50:56,360 --> 00:51:00,040 who kind of made fun of their version of the Messiah. 1226 00:51:00,040 --> 00:51:02,010 So the original disciples, 1227 00:51:02,010 --> 00:51:03,920 the people who actually knew Jesus 1228 00:51:03,920 --> 00:51:07,360 and their movement, is pretty much completely wiped out, 1229 00:51:07,360 --> 00:51:11,610 within 40 years of the death of Jesus Christ. 1230 00:51:11,610 --> 00:51:14,130 - And if we accept that most of the New Testament writing 1231 00:51:14,130 --> 00:51:17,240 occurs post 70, 1232 00:51:17,240 --> 00:51:19,961 when the Jews have been removed 1233 00:51:19,961 --> 00:51:21,683 as an influence. 1234 00:51:23,980 --> 00:51:25,940 Then the kind of Paul line crusade 1235 00:51:25,940 --> 00:51:28,720 from 20 years earlier is gonna win. 1236 00:51:28,720 --> 00:51:32,280 - So Mark's Gospel is written for a Gentile community 1237 00:51:32,280 --> 00:51:35,050 not Jews and probably in Rome sometime 1238 00:51:35,050 --> 00:51:37,620 just after the reign of the emperor Nero. 1239 00:51:37,620 --> 00:51:40,020 And it's a lot of strange stuff in Mark's Gospel. 1240 00:51:40,020 --> 00:51:42,840 One of them, is that Jesus is walking around 1241 00:51:42,840 --> 00:51:46,040 trying to tell his disciples to keep their mouth shut 1242 00:51:46,040 --> 00:51:47,780 about the miracles that he's doing. 1243 00:51:47,780 --> 00:51:50,240 Like it's supposed to be some kind of big secret. 1244 00:51:50,240 --> 00:51:51,740 - Mark starts out his Gospel, 1245 00:51:51,740 --> 00:51:54,140 with saying something that it just blows my mind. 1246 00:51:54,140 --> 00:51:55,710 And that's in Mark 4:11, 1247 00:51:55,710 --> 00:51:58,390 where he has Jesus gather all his disciples 1248 00:51:58,390 --> 00:51:59,650 and say, okay, 1249 00:51:59,650 --> 00:52:04,170 I'm teaching you all these things in secret, in parables. 1250 00:52:04,170 --> 00:52:06,910 That way, you'll know who I'm talking about, 1251 00:52:06,910 --> 00:52:09,810 but those outsiders, they won't be able to tell 1252 00:52:09,810 --> 00:52:11,650 what I'm talking about, otherwise, 1253 00:52:11,650 --> 00:52:13,000 and this is the kicker, 1254 00:52:13,000 --> 00:52:18,000 they would turn from their sins and repent and be saved. 1255 00:52:18,007 --> 00:52:19,217 - [Narrator] "And he told them 1256 00:52:19,217 --> 00:52:20,967 "the mystery of the kingdom of God 1257 00:52:20,967 --> 00:52:22,567 "has been given to you, 1258 00:52:22,567 --> 00:52:24,037 "but to those on the outside, 1259 00:52:24,037 --> 00:52:25,817 "everything is expressed in parable 1260 00:52:25,817 --> 00:52:28,077 "so that they may be ever seeing, 1261 00:52:28,077 --> 00:52:29,447 "but never perceiving, 1262 00:52:29,447 --> 00:52:32,197 "and ever hearing but never understanding. 1263 00:52:32,197 --> 00:52:36,780 "Otherwise, they might turn and be forgiven," Mark 4:11. 1264 00:52:36,780 --> 00:52:38,680 - They can't handle the truth. 1265 00:52:38,680 --> 00:52:42,120 What kind of Messiah tells his disciples 1266 00:52:42,120 --> 00:52:44,390 to keep his work big secret? 1267 00:52:44,390 --> 00:52:45,640 What kind of Messiah 1268 00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:48,920 doesn't want his disciples to be forgiven? 1269 00:52:48,920 --> 00:52:50,010 According to Mark, 1270 00:52:50,010 --> 00:52:52,750 Jesus is telling secret teachings 1271 00:52:52,750 --> 00:52:54,460 only to his inner circle. 1272 00:52:54,460 --> 00:52:56,350 - And when you ask a biblical scholar today, 1273 00:52:56,350 --> 00:52:58,740 well what are those secret teachings that he was giving? 1274 00:52:58,740 --> 00:53:00,520 They don't know any more than we do. 1275 00:53:00,520 --> 00:53:02,490 - Those secret teachings are lost forever. 1276 00:53:02,490 --> 00:53:05,320 Like the truth about who killed JFK 1277 00:53:05,320 --> 00:53:08,720 and what happened to Michael Jackson's nose. 1278 00:53:08,720 --> 00:53:10,470 Maybe the whole secrecy business 1279 00:53:10,470 --> 00:53:12,320 is Mark's way of explaining 1280 00:53:12,320 --> 00:53:16,643 why most people in his time had never heard of Jesus. 1281 00:53:16,643 --> 00:53:19,930 - This is all made up by the Gospel, 1282 00:53:19,930 --> 00:53:21,760 the author of the Gospel of Mark 1283 00:53:21,760 --> 00:53:24,840 as sort of damage control and explanation, 1284 00:53:24,840 --> 00:53:28,980 for why people didn't widely accept him as the Messiah 1285 00:53:28,980 --> 00:53:30,610 because he didn't want them to. 1286 00:53:30,610 --> 00:53:31,960 - [Cameron] So around Mark's time, 1287 00:53:31,960 --> 00:53:32,970 people were saying, 1288 00:53:32,970 --> 00:53:34,120 he did all these miracles 1289 00:53:34,120 --> 00:53:35,730 I never heard of any guy doing miracles. 1290 00:53:35,730 --> 00:53:37,950 He goes, well that's cause he told us not to tell anyone. 1291 00:53:37,950 --> 00:53:40,720 - Right, exactly. - Maybe this story 1292 00:53:40,720 --> 00:53:45,250 about parables is also a parable? 1293 00:53:45,250 --> 00:53:47,750 - You go through the Gospel story after story, after story 1294 00:53:47,750 --> 00:53:49,210 and they look like parables 1295 00:53:49,210 --> 00:53:51,250 that has, you know, additional meanings. 1296 00:53:51,250 --> 00:53:53,990 They might not be meant to be taken historically true. 1297 00:53:53,990 --> 00:53:55,900 And this is how mythology is written, right. 1298 00:53:55,900 --> 00:53:57,300 You tell a story about something 1299 00:53:57,300 --> 00:53:58,560 and it's the meaning of the story 1300 00:53:58,560 --> 00:54:00,210 rather than the literal truth of the story, 1301 00:54:00,210 --> 00:54:02,320 that's actually the important part of the story. 1302 00:54:02,320 --> 00:54:04,250 - For instance, let's take a look 1303 00:54:04,250 --> 00:54:07,247 at the story of the trial of Jesus. 1304 00:54:07,247 --> 00:54:08,620 - And Mark tells this story 1305 00:54:08,620 --> 00:54:12,430 where a Pontius Pilate wants to let Jesus go 1306 00:54:12,430 --> 00:54:14,580 but Mark says, this was the holiday, 1307 00:54:14,580 --> 00:54:16,640 and on the holiday, the Romans would traditionally 1308 00:54:16,640 --> 00:54:18,600 let go one prisoner. 1309 00:54:18,600 --> 00:54:20,240 And the crowd kept calling for Barabbas. 1310 00:54:20,240 --> 00:54:21,500 We want to release Barabbas, 1311 00:54:21,500 --> 00:54:23,750 who Mark says was a notorious rebel, 1312 00:54:23,750 --> 00:54:25,040 a rebel and murderer, right. 1313 00:54:25,040 --> 00:54:27,600 And Pilates like, no, no, let me let Jesus go. 1314 00:54:27,600 --> 00:54:29,250 And not this, this murderous rebel 1315 00:54:29,250 --> 00:54:31,340 and then it's no, release Barabbas, released Barabbas. 1316 00:54:31,340 --> 00:54:32,950 And so Pilate lets him go 1317 00:54:32,950 --> 00:54:35,773 and then Jesus is crucified and that's the story. 1318 00:54:35,773 --> 00:54:37,230 - When we look at the depiction 1319 00:54:37,230 --> 00:54:39,560 of Pilate in non-biblical sources. 1320 00:54:39,560 --> 00:54:41,450 Pilate is venal. 1321 00:54:41,450 --> 00:54:44,880 Pilate does not care at all about Jewish sensibilities. 1322 00:54:44,880 --> 00:54:47,760 Pilate goes out of his way to offend Jews. 1323 00:54:47,760 --> 00:54:50,390 Pilate is awful. 1324 00:54:50,390 --> 00:54:51,910 But when we look at the Gospels, 1325 00:54:51,910 --> 00:54:53,350 going from the earlier Gospel, 1326 00:54:53,350 --> 00:54:55,240 like Mark up to John 1327 00:54:55,240 --> 00:54:58,110 Pilate looks better and better and better. 1328 00:54:58,110 --> 00:55:00,330 I would date Pilate from the Gospels 1329 00:55:00,330 --> 00:55:03,020 because he seems like a perfectly decent guy 1330 00:55:03,020 --> 00:55:04,710 who's simply backed into the corner 1331 00:55:04,710 --> 00:55:06,980 by a bunch of evil Jewish leaders 1332 00:55:06,980 --> 00:55:08,580 who want him to do away with the Jesus. 1333 00:55:08,580 --> 00:55:11,030 - And there's no way this is historically true. 1334 00:55:11,030 --> 00:55:13,383 - [Cameron] So what does Barabbas translate as? 1335 00:55:15,010 --> 00:55:16,790 - Son of Rabbas. 1336 00:55:16,790 --> 00:55:19,440 - The word Bar in Aramaic means son of, 1337 00:55:19,440 --> 00:55:22,650 and Abbas comes from Abba, which means father. 1338 00:55:22,650 --> 00:55:24,860 - And here's the best bit. 1339 00:55:24,860 --> 00:55:26,350 - And according to the Gospel of Matthew, 1340 00:55:26,350 --> 00:55:28,900 Barabbas' first name was Jesus. 1341 00:55:28,900 --> 00:55:31,430 - Jesus Barabbas, okay. - Jesus son of the father. 1342 00:55:31,430 --> 00:55:34,420 - Pilate says you can have Jesus Barabbas, 1343 00:55:34,420 --> 00:55:37,460 a murderer, an insurrectionist 1344 00:55:37,460 --> 00:55:39,560 or you can have Jesus of Nazareth, 1345 00:55:39,560 --> 00:55:41,820 the other Jesus, Son of the father. 1346 00:55:41,820 --> 00:55:42,990 - The Jews are given a choice 1347 00:55:42,990 --> 00:55:46,610 between two Jesus, two saviors. 1348 00:55:46,610 --> 00:55:48,960 One is the violent kind of savior 1349 00:55:48,960 --> 00:55:50,880 like the one who tried to overthrow 1350 00:55:50,880 --> 00:55:54,500 the Romans in the rebellion of 66 CE. 1351 00:55:54,500 --> 00:55:57,230 The other is a pacifist kind of Savior. 1352 00:55:57,230 --> 00:55:59,070 Who's never hurt anything, 1353 00:55:59,070 --> 00:56:03,050 which one will the Jews choose to punish? 1354 00:56:03,050 --> 00:56:04,460 - And what happens, 1355 00:56:04,460 --> 00:56:07,040 the innocent Jesus pays the penalty, 1356 00:56:07,040 --> 00:56:10,960 pays the ransom for the very guilty Barabbas 1357 00:56:10,960 --> 00:56:12,410 son of the Father. 1358 00:56:12,410 --> 00:56:15,090 In terms of Christian theology it's perfect, 1359 00:56:15,090 --> 00:56:17,430 in terms of history, it's ridiculous. 1360 00:56:17,430 --> 00:56:20,553 - Two identical saviors, one is gonna be set free. 1361 00:56:20,553 --> 00:56:22,830 One is gonna pay the penalty. 1362 00:56:22,830 --> 00:56:25,360 Now if you were a Jew living in the first century, 1363 00:56:25,360 --> 00:56:27,890 this story might sound a little familiar. 1364 00:56:27,890 --> 00:56:30,070 - Well, we know this story, this is in Leviticus. 1365 00:56:30,070 --> 00:56:32,200 This is the whole ritual of Yom Kippur, 1366 00:56:32,200 --> 00:56:33,810 which is the whole atonement ceremony. 1367 00:56:33,810 --> 00:56:36,540 - [Narrator] Yom Kippur is usually expressed in English 1368 00:56:36,540 --> 00:56:38,743 as Day of Atonement. 1369 00:56:39,700 --> 00:56:41,920 - There are two great ceremonies in the Jewish calendar. 1370 00:56:41,920 --> 00:56:44,820 One was Passover and the other was Yom Kippur. 1371 00:56:44,820 --> 00:56:46,510 And this one, every year there would be this, 1372 00:56:46,510 --> 00:56:48,410 you have the two goats, the two identical goats, 1373 00:56:48,410 --> 00:56:50,120 they have to be, look the same. 1374 00:56:50,120 --> 00:56:52,160 One you would cast the sins of Israel on 1375 00:56:52,160 --> 00:56:54,260 and cast it into the crowd, 1376 00:56:54,260 --> 00:56:55,920 release it into the wilderness, and the other, 1377 00:56:55,920 --> 00:56:57,420 you would sacrifice on the alter 1378 00:56:57,420 --> 00:56:58,930 in the temple its blood would atone 1379 00:56:58,930 --> 00:57:00,400 for all the sins of Israel. 1380 00:57:00,400 --> 00:57:02,680 - The braveous story seems to be saying 1381 00:57:02,680 --> 00:57:04,610 that the goat sacrifices, 1382 00:57:04,610 --> 00:57:08,557 which had replaced human sacrifices in Judaism 1383 00:57:08,557 --> 00:57:11,170 are now being replaced once more 1384 00:57:11,170 --> 00:57:14,160 with the ultimate human sacrifice. 1385 00:57:14,160 --> 00:57:17,140 Mark is writing for one of Paul's communities, 1386 00:57:17,140 --> 00:57:18,870 possibly in Rome. 1387 00:57:18,870 --> 00:57:22,050 Originally it was written to symbolize the Gospel. 1388 00:57:22,050 --> 00:57:24,370 It wasn't written to be taken as literally true, 1389 00:57:24,370 --> 00:57:27,150 at least not by informed insiders in the sect. 1390 00:57:27,150 --> 00:57:28,370 - This story by the way 1391 00:57:28,370 --> 00:57:31,020 is where we get the term scapegoat. 1392 00:57:31,020 --> 00:57:34,223 - Forgive me Lord, I have committed murder. 1393 00:57:35,410 --> 00:57:37,483 - That's a terrible sin, 1394 00:57:37,483 --> 00:57:40,790 have you pushed a goat over cliff. 1395 00:57:40,790 --> 00:57:42,450 - Why yes, Lord I did. 1396 00:57:42,450 --> 00:57:46,250 - Then no problem see you next year. 1397 00:57:46,250 --> 00:57:48,890 - Now most people who read the Barabbas story today, 1398 00:57:48,890 --> 00:57:50,260 probably aren't Jews 1399 00:57:50,260 --> 00:57:52,810 probably don't know their Leviticus very well. 1400 00:57:52,810 --> 00:57:55,510 So the whole story about two identical goats 1401 00:57:56,840 --> 00:58:01,350 goes right over their heads (crowd laughing) 1402 00:58:01,350 --> 00:58:03,030 - And I think you can go from story to story 1403 00:58:03,030 --> 00:58:05,370 through Mark and see, like, if you look at it as history, 1404 00:58:05,370 --> 00:58:07,860 it doesn't make a whole lot of sense. 1405 00:58:07,860 --> 00:58:09,290 But if you look at it as allegory, 1406 00:58:09,290 --> 00:58:12,350 as something representing something else, 1407 00:58:12,350 --> 00:58:13,187 then it makes perfect sense 1408 00:58:13,187 --> 00:58:14,860 and it looks literarily brilliant. 1409 00:58:14,860 --> 00:58:17,160 - Then towards the end of Mark's Gospel, 1410 00:58:17,160 --> 00:58:20,230 we find Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, 1411 00:58:20,230 --> 00:58:22,290 where he's literally begging Yahweh 1412 00:58:22,290 --> 00:58:24,827 not to let him be killed. 1413 00:58:24,827 --> 00:58:27,227 - [Narrator] "They went to a place called Gethsemane. 1414 00:58:27,227 --> 00:58:30,527 "He began to be deeply distressed and troubled. 1415 00:58:30,527 --> 00:58:33,557 "He fell to the ground and prayed that if possible, 1416 00:58:33,557 --> 00:58:35,857 "the hour might pass from him. 1417 00:58:35,857 --> 00:58:40,857 "Father take this cup from me," Mark 14:32-42. 1418 00:58:43,910 --> 00:58:46,320 - It's a very moving story 1419 00:58:47,350 --> 00:58:51,610 until you realize that Jesus is Yahweh, 1420 00:58:51,610 --> 00:58:54,500 so this was His own plan all along 1421 00:58:54,500 --> 00:58:59,500 and He's literally begging Himself not to kill Himself. 1422 00:59:00,600 --> 00:59:02,833 Which is pretty confusing. 1423 00:59:03,700 --> 00:59:06,950 In Mark, Jesus appears to be very human. 1424 00:59:06,950 --> 00:59:11,570 He doesn't talk or act like a God in disguise. 1425 00:59:11,570 --> 00:59:16,030 This might be an idea that Christians came up with later. 1426 00:59:16,030 --> 00:59:19,410 Speaking of humans and parables 1427 00:59:19,410 --> 00:59:22,210 one of the stories that we don't find in Mark 1428 00:59:22,210 --> 00:59:24,210 is the virgin birth. 1429 00:59:24,210 --> 00:59:25,920 - Mark starts his Gospel 1430 00:59:25,920 --> 00:59:29,030 and says the beginning of the Gospel 1431 00:59:29,030 --> 00:59:30,963 of Jesus Christ, the son of God. 1432 00:59:31,870 --> 00:59:35,030 And then he doesn't tell us a story about Jesus' birth, 1433 00:59:35,030 --> 00:59:39,210 but instead narrates Jesus' baptism by John. 1434 00:59:39,210 --> 00:59:43,500 And if you look carefully at this story 1435 00:59:43,500 --> 00:59:47,420 with the Holy Spirit, descending upon Jesus 1436 00:59:47,420 --> 00:59:49,720 like a dove and God saying, 1437 00:59:49,720 --> 00:59:51,690 this is my beloved son. 1438 00:59:51,690 --> 00:59:55,040 It sorta sounds like Mark is saying 1439 00:59:55,040 --> 00:59:57,910 that this is when Jesus becomes the son of God, 1440 00:59:57,910 --> 00:59:59,290 at his baptism. 1441 00:59:59,290 --> 01:00:01,810 - In ancient Rome, birds landing on things 1442 01:00:01,810 --> 01:00:04,730 was read as a positive sign from the gods. 1443 01:00:04,730 --> 01:00:06,960 The process of deciphering the movement 1444 01:00:06,960 --> 01:00:08,237 of the birds was called, 1445 01:00:08,237 --> 01:00:10,250 "taking the auspices," 1446 01:00:10,250 --> 01:00:14,100 which literally translates as looking at birds. 1447 01:00:14,100 --> 01:00:17,920 It's the basis by the way of the English word auspicious. 1448 01:00:17,920 --> 01:00:20,250 Now, the person who took the auspices 1449 01:00:20,250 --> 01:00:22,500 was known as an Augur, 1450 01:00:22,500 --> 01:00:24,680 which is the basis of the name 1451 01:00:24,680 --> 01:00:28,220 Augustus, the original son of God. 1452 01:00:28,220 --> 01:00:31,250 So again, many people living in the Roman empire 1453 01:00:31,250 --> 01:00:34,350 1900 years ago reading Mark, 1454 01:00:34,350 --> 01:00:37,150 would probably have understood the symbolism. 1455 01:00:37,150 --> 01:00:41,320 - So what you see in early Christian history 1456 01:00:41,320 --> 01:00:44,410 is that the status of Jesus as son of God, 1457 01:00:44,410 --> 01:00:46,400 keeps getting kicked back further and further. 1458 01:00:46,400 --> 01:00:48,320 First, it's the resurrection 1459 01:00:48,320 --> 01:00:50,320 then it's at his baptism, 1460 01:00:50,320 --> 01:00:52,510 then it's at his birth, 1461 01:00:52,510 --> 01:00:55,320 then he's always been there from the beginning of time. 1462 01:00:55,320 --> 01:00:56,714 - [Cameron] So it evolved the idea-- 1463 01:00:56,714 --> 01:00:58,010 - Absolutely. - [Cameron] Of Jesus evolved 1464 01:00:58,010 --> 01:01:01,480 Over a century or so. - Yes, definitely. 1465 01:01:01,480 --> 01:01:04,110 - And that's just for Paul's communities. 1466 01:01:04,110 --> 01:01:05,070 The other factions, 1467 01:01:05,070 --> 01:01:06,940 including the one of the original disciples 1468 01:01:06,940 --> 01:01:09,090 had different ideas all together. 1469 01:01:09,090 --> 01:01:11,240 In fact, as we'll see a little bit later on 1470 01:01:11,240 --> 01:01:14,110 at least one major early Christian faction 1471 01:01:14,110 --> 01:01:17,620 didn't even believe Jesus was divine at all. 1472 01:01:17,620 --> 01:01:19,170 One of the other surprising things 1473 01:01:19,170 --> 01:01:21,220 that's missing from Mark's Gospel, 1474 01:01:21,220 --> 01:01:24,500 is one of the most important ideas in all of Christianity. 1475 01:01:24,500 --> 01:01:28,260 Jesus' resurrection appearances to his followers. 1476 01:01:28,260 --> 01:01:31,580 - It's so odd, the oldest Gospel is Mark's Gospel. 1477 01:01:31,580 --> 01:01:34,180 Most scholars believe that, I believe that. 1478 01:01:34,180 --> 01:01:36,110 And there are no appearances 1479 01:01:36,110 --> 01:01:38,090 of the risen Jesus to his disciples. 1480 01:01:38,090 --> 01:01:40,400 In fact, the Gospel ends in a very dark 1481 01:01:40,400 --> 01:01:43,090 and quite mysterious enigmatic way, 1482 01:01:43,090 --> 01:01:46,330 where this young man who just happens to be at the tomb, 1483 01:01:46,330 --> 01:01:49,810 says to the women, go and tell the disciples 1484 01:01:49,810 --> 01:01:52,750 and Peter what's happened to these women. 1485 01:01:52,750 --> 01:01:53,952 And the women just run away 1486 01:01:53,952 --> 01:01:57,190 and don't tell anyone for they're afraid, that's it. 1487 01:01:57,190 --> 01:01:59,180 So, I mean, if you believe Mark's Gospel, 1488 01:01:59,180 --> 01:02:01,170 no one ever found out about the resurrection, 1489 01:02:01,170 --> 01:02:02,280 cause they didn't tell anybody. 1490 01:02:02,280 --> 01:02:03,710 - [Cameron] Including Mark who - Right, right 1491 01:02:03,710 --> 01:02:05,063 couldn't have written it down because they didn't tell him. 1492 01:02:05,063 --> 01:02:06,990 - Yeah, yes, it's extraordinary. 1493 01:02:06,990 --> 01:02:08,960 - At some point a Christian scribe 1494 01:02:08,960 --> 01:02:12,150 decided to write a new ending to Mark's Gospel. 1495 01:02:12,150 --> 01:02:14,220 He decided to sex it up a little bit. 1496 01:02:14,220 --> 01:02:18,833 He (indistinct) like George Lucas making Greedo shoot first. 1497 01:02:19,680 --> 01:02:21,240 Have to wonder why bother, 1498 01:02:21,240 --> 01:02:24,440 why not just leave the original ending as it was? 1499 01:02:24,440 --> 01:02:27,330 - What's happening, I think is that the secret doctrines 1500 01:02:27,330 --> 01:02:29,310 some of the secret teachings are leaking out 1501 01:02:29,310 --> 01:02:30,880 into the public teachings. 1502 01:02:30,880 --> 01:02:32,520 - First rule about Jesus' club 1503 01:02:32,520 --> 01:02:35,000 is you don't talk about Jesus club. 1504 01:02:35,000 --> 01:02:36,080 - These particular doctrines 1505 01:02:36,080 --> 01:02:37,870 became less important to keep secret. 1506 01:02:37,870 --> 01:02:39,800 And so you see them leaking out over time. 1507 01:02:39,800 --> 01:02:42,820 So you gets, the nativity idea, 1508 01:02:42,820 --> 01:02:45,230 or you get the magical incarnation idea. 1509 01:02:45,230 --> 01:02:47,000 More of their secrets are being leaked out 1510 01:02:47,000 --> 01:02:48,330 and more attempt to try 1511 01:02:48,330 --> 01:02:50,420 and prove points by creating stories 1512 01:02:50,420 --> 01:02:51,830 that support your points. 1513 01:02:51,830 --> 01:02:53,530 And so you get more, more at miracle stories, 1514 01:02:53,530 --> 01:02:56,600 you get more doctrinally relevant stuff. 1515 01:02:56,600 --> 01:02:59,460 - It really makes me wonder about the intentions 1516 01:02:59,460 --> 01:03:01,010 of these early Christians. 1517 01:03:01,010 --> 01:03:03,470 If the truth was so important to them, 1518 01:03:03,470 --> 01:03:07,740 why bother rewriting the ending of the first Gospel? 1519 01:03:07,740 --> 01:03:11,028 And just like Paul, Mark is counting down. 1520 01:03:11,028 --> 01:03:13,695 (clock ticking) 1521 01:03:15,090 --> 01:03:18,140 - Mark's Gospel believes just like Paul does, 1522 01:03:18,140 --> 01:03:20,430 that the end is absolutely eminent. 1523 01:03:20,430 --> 01:03:22,387 So there is a line in Mark's Gospel, 1524 01:03:22,387 --> 01:03:24,847 "Some of those standing here," Jesus says 1525 01:03:24,847 --> 01:03:26,397 "will not taste death 1526 01:03:26,397 --> 01:03:28,970 "before they see the kingdom of God come with power." 1527 01:03:28,970 --> 01:03:32,300 It's one of these interesting ironies of history 1528 01:03:32,300 --> 01:03:36,260 that every time there's a delay in the Eschaton coming, 1529 01:03:36,260 --> 01:03:38,820 the faithful don't kind of give up on the idea. 1530 01:03:38,820 --> 01:03:41,890 They become all the more eager 1531 01:03:41,890 --> 01:03:43,590 in thinking that it's about to happen. 1532 01:03:43,590 --> 01:03:46,090 - [Narrator] The Eschaton means the end times, 1533 01:03:46,090 --> 01:03:48,253 the end of the world, as we know it. 1534 01:03:50,540 --> 01:03:52,370 - [Cameron] Like a modern UFO cult. 1535 01:03:52,370 --> 01:03:54,780 - Yeah, modern religious cults as well 1536 01:03:54,780 --> 01:03:55,970 I mean, they do this all the time. 1537 01:03:55,970 --> 01:03:57,340 When disappointment comes, 1538 01:03:57,340 --> 01:03:59,580 they don't say, we must have been wrong. 1539 01:03:59,580 --> 01:04:01,930 Or at least they don't say we must have been wrong 1540 01:04:01,930 --> 01:04:03,500 in our fundamental identity. 1541 01:04:03,500 --> 01:04:05,540 They just, we may have gotten the timetable a bit wrong. 1542 01:04:05,540 --> 01:04:07,800 So you revise it, you change it. 1543 01:04:07,800 --> 01:04:09,740 And the early Christians were no different from that. 1544 01:04:09,740 --> 01:04:10,960 - Those Christians who believed 1545 01:04:10,960 --> 01:04:13,530 that the Bible is literally true 1546 01:04:13,530 --> 01:04:15,310 must have a hard time explaining 1547 01:04:15,310 --> 01:04:17,600 why the world hasn't ended yet. 1548 01:04:17,600 --> 01:04:20,810 - It's one of the things that I think many Christians 1549 01:04:20,810 --> 01:04:23,380 across the centuries have really struggled with, 1550 01:04:23,380 --> 01:04:25,970 the fact that Jesus appears to say 1551 01:04:25,970 --> 01:04:29,070 that he is coming back within the lifetime of his followers. 1552 01:04:29,070 --> 01:04:30,400 And that clearly didn't happen. 1553 01:04:30,400 --> 01:04:31,520 It clearly didn't happen. 1554 01:04:31,520 --> 01:04:33,020 You can spiritualize it, 1555 01:04:33,020 --> 01:04:36,350 you can kind of try and find some sort of fine fancy way 1556 01:04:36,350 --> 01:04:38,800 of saying in a very real sense spiritually, he did come. 1557 01:04:38,800 --> 01:04:41,570 But, the fact is that he didn't return 1558 01:04:41,570 --> 01:04:43,960 in the lifetime of his followers, 1559 01:04:43,960 --> 01:04:45,630 as he had said that he would. 1560 01:04:45,630 --> 01:04:47,860 And this is something that has always been 1561 01:04:47,860 --> 01:04:51,320 at the heart of some real anxiety in Christianity. 1562 01:04:51,320 --> 01:04:52,750 It's almost like a kind of a trauma 1563 01:04:52,750 --> 01:04:53,980 trying to come to terms with, 1564 01:04:53,980 --> 01:04:55,550 how can it be that Jesus said this 1565 01:04:55,550 --> 01:04:56,910 when it didn't actually happen? 1566 01:04:56,910 --> 01:04:59,360 - Yeah, definitely, you can see a trajectory 1567 01:04:59,360 --> 01:05:00,810 in the New Testament writings 1568 01:05:00,810 --> 01:05:04,360 as you move from letters like Paul's. 1569 01:05:04,360 --> 01:05:05,820 So the earliest writings we have 1570 01:05:05,820 --> 01:05:09,710 to writings composed in the first half 1571 01:05:09,710 --> 01:05:11,020 of the second century 1572 01:05:11,020 --> 01:05:13,800 where the apocalyptic expectations, 1573 01:05:13,800 --> 01:05:16,670 just continue to get sort of toned down 1574 01:05:16,670 --> 01:05:20,110 and there become sort of an increasing recognition 1575 01:05:20,110 --> 01:05:24,520 that Jesus is not coming back anytime soon. 1576 01:05:24,520 --> 01:05:25,877 - Each generation of Christians 1577 01:05:25,877 --> 01:05:26,710 was probably led to believe 1578 01:05:26,710 --> 01:05:28,850 that it would happen in their time, 1579 01:05:28,850 --> 01:05:30,670 just like still happens. 1580 01:05:30,670 --> 01:05:33,080 And they may not even have noticed 1581 01:05:33,080 --> 01:05:34,570 that there had been a delay. 1582 01:05:34,570 --> 01:05:38,520 It's not like most people had copies of the Bible to read. 1583 01:05:38,520 --> 01:05:41,060 So they only knew what they heard in church. 1584 01:05:41,060 --> 01:05:42,270 - Don't worry though, 1585 01:05:42,270 --> 01:05:47,270 the end of the world is coming any day now. 1586 01:05:47,487 --> 01:05:50,154 (ominous music) 1587 01:06:02,780 --> 01:06:05,000 The next Gospel to be written was Matthew 1588 01:06:05,000 --> 01:06:08,060 probably 10 or 20 years after Mark, 1589 01:06:08,060 --> 01:06:10,630 around 80 or 90 CE. 1590 01:06:10,630 --> 01:06:12,400 So who was he? 1591 01:06:12,400 --> 01:06:17,400 - Gospel of Matthew is attributed to Matthew, 1592 01:06:18,070 --> 01:06:20,670 one of the 12 disciples. 1593 01:06:20,670 --> 01:06:25,200 But it's improbable that this was actually written 1594 01:06:25,200 --> 01:06:29,270 by an eyewitness, because Matthew's Gospel 1595 01:06:29,270 --> 01:06:32,340 is using as one of its major sources, Mark. 1596 01:06:32,340 --> 01:06:35,310 And if Mark is not written by a disciple even, 1597 01:06:35,310 --> 01:06:38,930 why would a disciple, an eyewitness to Jesus ministry, 1598 01:06:38,930 --> 01:06:41,940 use somebody else's secondhand reports. 1599 01:06:41,940 --> 01:06:44,260 Why wouldn't they just tell their own story? 1600 01:06:44,260 --> 01:06:47,080 So it does not seem 1601 01:06:47,080 --> 01:06:49,360 that Matthew is actually written by an eyewitness. 1602 01:06:49,360 --> 01:06:51,220 - And also Matthew again is writing in Greek. 1603 01:06:51,220 --> 01:06:52,560 - Matthew is written, 1604 01:06:52,560 --> 01:06:55,230 I think by a Jewish Christian 1605 01:06:55,230 --> 01:06:58,070 who he kind of likes Mark's Gospel. 1606 01:06:58,070 --> 01:07:00,450 He copies his whole passages verbatim. 1607 01:07:00,450 --> 01:07:02,930 So he clearly quite likes Mark's Gospel, 1608 01:07:02,930 --> 01:07:05,190 but I think he thinks Mark got some things wrong. 1609 01:07:05,190 --> 01:07:08,470 - For Mark, who's firmly in Paul's world 1610 01:07:08,470 --> 01:07:10,380 of Christian Gentiles, 1611 01:07:10,380 --> 01:07:12,950 Jesus doesn't appear to be very Jewish. 1612 01:07:12,950 --> 01:07:13,890 Matthew on the other hand, 1613 01:07:13,890 --> 01:07:15,370 calls BS and all of that. 1614 01:07:15,370 --> 01:07:17,810 In Matthew, Jesus is quite clear 1615 01:07:17,810 --> 01:07:20,897 that he's only interested in the Jews. 1616 01:07:20,897 --> 01:07:22,757 - [Narrator] "I was sent only to the lost sheep 1617 01:07:22,757 --> 01:07:24,207 "of the House of Israel. 1618 01:07:24,207 --> 01:07:26,397 "It is not right to take the children's bread 1619 01:07:26,397 --> 01:07:30,657 "and throw it to the dogs," Matthew 15:24-26. 1620 01:07:30,657 --> 01:07:34,267 "These 12 Jesus sent out with the following instructions, 1621 01:07:34,267 --> 01:07:36,147 "do not go among the Gentiles 1622 01:07:36,147 --> 01:07:38,457 "or enter any town of the Samaritans. 1623 01:07:38,457 --> 01:07:43,457 "Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel," Matthew 10:5-6. 1624 01:07:43,530 --> 01:07:44,980 - Which makes Paul's claims 1625 01:07:44,980 --> 01:07:46,230 that the ghost of Jesus 1626 01:07:46,230 --> 01:07:50,020 told him to go and preach to the Gentiles, pretty suspect. 1627 01:07:50,020 --> 01:07:53,330 I mean, if that was Jesus' original intention, 1628 01:07:53,330 --> 01:07:55,730 you think he would have told his apostles. 1629 01:07:55,730 --> 01:07:58,130 - So Matthew's engaged in this fascinating project 1630 01:07:58,130 --> 01:08:00,230 of re-jewdianising Jesus. 1631 01:08:00,230 --> 01:08:01,380 And quite interestingly, 1632 01:08:01,380 --> 01:08:02,780 because Jesus was a Jew 1633 01:08:02,780 --> 01:08:06,060 and because he was probably quite faithful to the law, 1634 01:08:06,060 --> 01:08:08,950 Matthew in a away is also re-jesusizing Mark's Gospel. 1635 01:08:08,950 --> 01:08:11,500 He is actually bringing it a bit back around 1636 01:08:11,500 --> 01:08:13,190 to what Jesus was probably more like. 1637 01:08:13,190 --> 01:08:14,800 The historical Jesus that is. 1638 01:08:14,800 --> 01:08:16,700 - [Cameron] A Jew preaching to Jews 1639 01:08:16,700 --> 01:08:18,380 about being a good Jew. - Right. 1640 01:08:18,380 --> 01:08:20,610 - It is an irony of history 1641 01:08:20,610 --> 01:08:25,610 that the most popular Gospel in Christian history, 1642 01:08:25,810 --> 01:08:27,770 far and away has been the Gospel of Matthew. 1643 01:08:27,770 --> 01:08:31,933 And yet it presents the most Jewish, 1644 01:08:34,323 --> 01:08:35,960 of the four Gospels 1645 01:08:35,960 --> 01:08:38,510 and probably would have been quite hostile 1646 01:08:38,510 --> 01:08:41,670 to the kind of law free Christianity 1647 01:08:41,670 --> 01:08:44,020 that Paul is proposing. 1648 01:08:44,020 --> 01:08:47,490 These two sources, Paul and the Gospel of Matthew 1649 01:08:47,490 --> 01:08:51,210 would definitely come into conflict 1650 01:08:51,210 --> 01:08:54,180 over whether a Gentile Christians, 1651 01:08:54,180 --> 01:08:55,780 should follow the law. 1652 01:08:55,780 --> 01:08:58,340 But Paul definitely says, no they don't. 1653 01:08:58,340 --> 01:09:01,520 Matthew says yes, absolutely, they do. 1654 01:09:01,520 --> 01:09:03,750 - And it's one of the amazing things about Christianity 1655 01:09:03,750 --> 01:09:06,060 is that, most people just ignore that. 1656 01:09:06,060 --> 01:09:07,460 Most people just ignore it, 1657 01:09:07,460 --> 01:09:09,980 but it was a very important strand in early Christianity 1658 01:09:09,980 --> 01:09:11,487 and emerging Christianity, 1659 01:09:11,487 --> 01:09:14,930 that saw the Christians duty 1660 01:09:14,930 --> 01:09:17,720 as being not just to be loyal to Jesus, 1661 01:09:17,720 --> 01:09:19,940 but also to be loyal to the Jewish law. 1662 01:09:19,940 --> 01:09:22,250 And they were loyal to the law 1663 01:09:22,250 --> 01:09:23,470 because they believe 1664 01:09:23,470 --> 01:09:25,230 that's what Jesus had taught them to do. 1665 01:09:25,230 --> 01:09:28,800 - So Matthew's position is, if you're not going to temple, 1666 01:09:28,800 --> 01:09:32,600 you're not circumcised and you're not eating kosher food, 1667 01:09:32,600 --> 01:09:33,920 you're doing Jesus wrong? 1668 01:09:33,920 --> 01:09:34,753 - That's right, they have to get, 1669 01:09:34,753 --> 01:09:37,570 well at the very least have to get a copy of the Talmud 1670 01:09:37,570 --> 01:09:39,670 and start learning Hebrew. 1671 01:09:39,670 --> 01:09:41,050 - [Cameron] Wear a yamaka. - Yeah. 1672 01:09:41,050 --> 01:09:44,150 - The Matthew Gospel is where some of those most famous 1673 01:09:44,150 --> 01:09:47,860 and dubious Jesus stories first turn up. 1674 01:09:47,860 --> 01:09:49,180 Remember how in Paul's day 1675 01:09:49,180 --> 01:09:51,270 there seemed to be lots of factions 1676 01:09:51,270 --> 01:09:53,730 telling different stories about Jesus. 1677 01:09:53,730 --> 01:09:55,740 Matthew seems to have included stories 1678 01:09:55,740 --> 01:09:59,420 he had heard that Mark either hadn't heard 1679 01:09:59,420 --> 01:10:01,300 or just didn't like. 1680 01:10:01,300 --> 01:10:04,010 Stories like the sermon on the Mount, 1681 01:10:04,010 --> 01:10:06,030 the resurrection appearances 1682 01:10:06,030 --> 01:10:08,440 and the massacre of the innocence. 1683 01:10:08,440 --> 01:10:10,960 Where Herod the great, King of Judea, 1684 01:10:10,960 --> 01:10:14,750 orders the execution of all male babies around Bethlehem. 1685 01:10:14,750 --> 01:10:15,800 Historians by the way, 1686 01:10:15,800 --> 01:10:19,810 have found no other evidence of that ever happening. 1687 01:10:19,810 --> 01:10:22,220 Matthew probably just made it up 1688 01:10:22,220 --> 01:10:24,650 to sound like the similar story 1689 01:10:24,650 --> 01:10:27,180 about Moses in the Old Testament. 1690 01:10:27,180 --> 01:10:29,400 Matthew is also the first person 1691 01:10:29,400 --> 01:10:32,440 to mention the virgin birth. 1692 01:10:32,440 --> 01:10:34,930 - So fully half a century appears 1693 01:10:34,930 --> 01:10:37,607 before we ever get anyone writing about a virgin birth. 1694 01:10:37,607 --> 01:10:39,110 - The story of the virgin birth 1695 01:10:39,110 --> 01:10:41,530 I think is is baffling. 1696 01:10:41,530 --> 01:10:43,990 You heard in Matthew's Gospel, 1697 01:10:43,990 --> 01:10:48,680 this genealogy that connects Jesus right back to Abraham, 1698 01:10:48,680 --> 01:10:49,820 going through David. 1699 01:10:49,820 --> 01:10:51,630 - [Cameron] King David, the possibly mythical 1700 01:10:51,630 --> 01:10:55,450 second King of the United Kingdom of Israel and Judah, 1701 01:10:55,450 --> 01:10:58,603 who supposedly killed a giant with a slingshot. 1702 01:10:59,660 --> 01:11:02,490 - All going through Joseph, Jesus' father. 1703 01:11:02,490 --> 01:11:04,280 Then the very next story 1704 01:11:04,280 --> 01:11:06,340 is about how Joseph isn't Jesus' father. 1705 01:11:06,340 --> 01:11:08,430 I mean, religious people are very good 1706 01:11:08,430 --> 01:11:10,270 at getting their head around contradictions, 1707 01:11:10,270 --> 01:11:11,470 but there's a big one 1708 01:11:11,470 --> 01:11:13,700 right there on the very first page of the New Testament. 1709 01:11:13,700 --> 01:11:16,380 It's fascinating, what did Matthew think he was doing? 1710 01:11:16,380 --> 01:11:19,570 Why is he telling a story about a virginal conception, 1711 01:11:19,570 --> 01:11:20,760 when he also wants to tell us 1712 01:11:20,760 --> 01:11:24,660 that Jesus was descended from David via his father? 1713 01:11:24,660 --> 01:11:27,560 I don't know, I think it's a mystery. 1714 01:11:27,560 --> 01:11:30,160 - Did he just hope no one would notice. 1715 01:11:30,160 --> 01:11:32,580 - And so Jesus is the descendant of King David, 1716 01:11:32,580 --> 01:11:34,870 because Joseph is his father? 1717 01:11:34,870 --> 01:11:37,120 But I thought Mary was a virgin? 1718 01:11:37,120 --> 01:11:39,640 - Yeah, look over there, it's the Messiah. 1719 01:11:39,640 --> 01:11:41,690 - Where? - No, no, it's just Larry 1720 01:11:41,690 --> 01:11:43,150 they got the same beard. 1721 01:11:43,150 --> 01:11:45,800 - No, no, no, now I lost my place. 1722 01:11:45,800 --> 01:11:47,140 - Hey, don't worry about it, 1723 01:11:47,140 --> 01:11:49,150 let's go get a kosher kebab. 1724 01:11:49,150 --> 01:11:51,120 - And the fact is lots of people don't notice. 1725 01:11:51,120 --> 01:11:53,320 Many Christians will happily affirm, 1726 01:11:53,320 --> 01:11:55,330 Jesus is the son of David. 1727 01:11:55,330 --> 01:11:56,163 They will also affirm 1728 01:11:56,163 --> 01:11:58,420 that Jesus was conceived by a virgin. 1729 01:11:58,420 --> 01:12:02,330 - Scholars believe that Matthew's idea of a virgin birth 1730 01:12:02,330 --> 01:12:05,930 is possibly based on a bad translation of the Old Testament. 1731 01:12:05,930 --> 01:12:09,770 See, in the Hebrew version of the prophet Isaiah, 1732 01:12:09,770 --> 01:12:12,530 he predicts that a baby boy will be born 1733 01:12:12,530 --> 01:12:16,070 as a sign that God is going to destroy his enemies. 1734 01:12:16,070 --> 01:12:19,620 And the Hebrew word that Isaiah uses to describe 1735 01:12:19,620 --> 01:12:22,720 the mother of the boy is Almah. 1736 01:12:22,720 --> 01:12:27,030 Now Almah just translates as a childless young woman, 1737 01:12:27,030 --> 01:12:31,070 but Matthew wasn't using the Hebrew version of Isaiah, 1738 01:12:31,070 --> 01:12:34,330 he was using a Greek translation, 1739 01:12:34,330 --> 01:12:38,670 which mistranslated Almah into virgin. 1740 01:12:38,670 --> 01:12:41,670 Another unfortunate thing about Matthew's Gospel 1741 01:12:41,670 --> 01:12:45,130 is despite it being fairly pro Torah, 1742 01:12:45,130 --> 01:12:50,130 it's also inspired 1900 years of antisemitism. 1743 01:12:52,170 --> 01:12:53,770 - In Matthew's Gospel, 1744 01:12:53,770 --> 01:12:57,500 you have this ideal of a kind of loyalty 1745 01:12:57,500 --> 01:13:00,010 to Torah, loyalty to the synagogue, 1746 01:13:00,010 --> 01:13:02,230 to all of these Jewish traditions. 1747 01:13:02,230 --> 01:13:05,470 And yet also, this bitter, 1748 01:13:05,470 --> 01:13:08,507 bitter vitriol against fellow Jews. 1749 01:13:08,507 --> 01:13:11,910 - Now keep in mind that although Matthew is a Jew 1750 01:13:11,910 --> 01:13:15,200 and he's writing for a community of Jewish Christians, 1751 01:13:15,200 --> 01:13:17,403 they're an extremely fringe, sect, 1752 01:13:17,403 --> 01:13:21,620 kind of like the way that Catholics view Mormons today. 1753 01:13:21,620 --> 01:13:24,380 And he's writing 10 or 20 years 1754 01:13:24,380 --> 01:13:27,020 after this big Jewish Roman war, 1755 01:13:27,020 --> 01:13:31,110 so Jews are probably pretty unpopular across the empire. 1756 01:13:31,110 --> 01:13:34,260 And the Jesus Jews, wanna distance themselves 1757 01:13:34,260 --> 01:13:37,080 from the traditional Jews as much as possible 1758 01:13:37,080 --> 01:13:38,430 for political reasons. 1759 01:13:38,430 --> 01:13:42,670 And Matthew just like Mark and Paul before him, 1760 01:13:42,670 --> 01:13:44,480 believes that the end of the world 1761 01:13:44,480 --> 01:13:46,268 is gonna happen very soon. 1762 01:13:46,268 --> 01:13:49,708 (clock ticking) 1763 01:13:49,708 --> 01:13:52,700 But keep in mind by the time he's writing, 1764 01:13:52,700 --> 01:13:56,510 most of those original disciples are probably dead 1765 01:13:56,510 --> 01:14:00,749 and yet there's still no sign of Jesus. 1766 01:14:00,749 --> 01:14:04,499 (amusing instrumental music) 1767 01:14:06,090 --> 01:14:07,370 According to most scholars, 1768 01:14:07,370 --> 01:14:09,620 the next Gospel to be written is Luke. 1769 01:14:09,620 --> 01:14:14,590 Written somewhere between 10 and 30 years after Matthew. 1770 01:14:14,590 --> 01:14:17,940 Luke, by the way also wrote the Acts of the Apostles, 1771 01:14:17,940 --> 01:14:21,120 which is kind of a sequel to the Gospels. 1772 01:14:21,120 --> 01:14:24,110 - Luke's writing, I think this really big epic narrative. 1773 01:14:24,110 --> 01:14:25,840 He wants to tell the story of Jesus 1774 01:14:25,840 --> 01:14:28,160 and the story of the early church. 1775 01:14:28,160 --> 01:14:30,650 Luke, according to tradition, 1776 01:14:30,650 --> 01:14:33,290 was a traveling companion of Paul. 1777 01:14:33,290 --> 01:14:36,150 He was a Gentile, a physician, 1778 01:14:36,150 --> 01:14:37,830 a doctor in the ancient world. 1779 01:14:37,830 --> 01:14:38,663 So he was definitely a, 1780 01:14:38,663 --> 01:14:41,500 what we would call a second generation Christian. 1781 01:14:41,500 --> 01:14:45,020 - He says, this is the stuff that was handed on to us 1782 01:14:45,020 --> 01:14:47,120 and written down by earlier generations. 1783 01:14:47,120 --> 01:14:49,730 And I'm, working with it myself. 1784 01:14:49,730 --> 01:14:52,050 - In reality, we know he's not using oral 1785 01:14:52,050 --> 01:14:56,110 or we know he's using the previous books, Mark and Matthew. 1786 01:14:56,110 --> 01:14:58,850 So yeah, so the traditional attributions 1787 01:14:58,850 --> 01:15:01,000 are clearly late legend, 1788 01:15:01,000 --> 01:15:03,480 and mainstream scholarship has long since realized that 1789 01:15:03,480 --> 01:15:05,530 and gotten off that wagon. 1790 01:15:05,530 --> 01:15:07,530 - Acts of the Apostles, Luke's account 1791 01:15:07,530 --> 01:15:10,360 of what happened after Jesus died, 1792 01:15:10,360 --> 01:15:14,240 tries to white wash all of this tension 1793 01:15:14,240 --> 01:15:18,220 and conflict that obviously existed 1794 01:15:18,220 --> 01:15:21,210 between Paul and the original Jesus gang. 1795 01:15:21,210 --> 01:15:23,660 - Luke undoubtedly is trying to present 1796 01:15:23,660 --> 01:15:27,330 an idealized account of the early Christian community. 1797 01:15:27,330 --> 01:15:29,670 Certainly at the end of Acts, chapter two, 1798 01:15:29,670 --> 01:15:32,320 you've got everyone gathered around the apostles teaching, 1799 01:15:32,320 --> 01:15:34,440 breaking bread, worshiping God, 1800 01:15:34,440 --> 01:15:36,480 finding favor of God and all the people. 1801 01:15:36,480 --> 01:15:38,760 So it's definitely an idealized account. 1802 01:15:38,760 --> 01:15:41,880 - All of the anger, tension and bribery 1803 01:15:41,880 --> 01:15:43,780 that we see in Paul's letters, 1804 01:15:43,780 --> 01:15:47,630 either disappears in Luke or gets toned down. 1805 01:15:47,630 --> 01:15:48,960 It's kind of like he's saying, 1806 01:15:48,960 --> 01:15:52,800 Oh, it was no where near as bad as you've probably heard. 1807 01:15:52,800 --> 01:15:56,110 - So I think he does try to paint generally, 1808 01:15:56,110 --> 01:15:58,140 a rosy picture of it. 1809 01:15:58,140 --> 01:16:01,290 But it's certainly not a complete white wash, 1810 01:16:01,290 --> 01:16:05,590 he does include some instances of division and differences. 1811 01:16:05,590 --> 01:16:08,440 And I mean he does portray Paul as quite a hothead. 1812 01:16:08,440 --> 01:16:10,720 - By the time Luke's writing Acts 1813 01:16:10,720 --> 01:16:12,860 towards the end of the first century, 1814 01:16:12,860 --> 01:16:13,693 the Paul line community, 1815 01:16:13,693 --> 01:16:17,290 had tried to strengthen their credentials. 1816 01:16:17,290 --> 01:16:19,590 Trying to solidify their connection 1817 01:16:19,590 --> 01:16:21,690 to the original founders, Peter and James 1818 01:16:21,690 --> 01:16:24,400 who were probably dead at this stage. 1819 01:16:24,400 --> 01:16:27,040 Their community is pretty much wiped out 1820 01:16:27,040 --> 01:16:29,300 and so they can't fight back. 1821 01:16:29,300 --> 01:16:32,600 Winners get to write the history. 1822 01:16:32,600 --> 01:16:37,600 All in all, Luke's not a very credible historical source. 1823 01:16:37,740 --> 01:16:41,890 And Luke just like Matthew, Mark, and Paul before him 1824 01:16:41,890 --> 01:16:43,460 believes the end of the world 1825 01:16:43,460 --> 01:16:45,532 is gonna happen anytime soon. 1826 01:16:45,532 --> 01:16:48,267 (clock ticking) 1827 01:16:48,267 --> 01:16:49,307 - [Narrator] "Truly, I tell you, 1828 01:16:49,307 --> 01:16:51,590 "this generation will not pass away 1829 01:16:51,590 --> 01:16:55,733 until all these things are fulfilled." Luke 21:32. 1830 01:17:00,770 --> 01:17:02,770 - The last of the full Gospels to be written 1831 01:17:02,770 --> 01:17:07,770 is John, probably written around 100 or 110 CE. 1832 01:17:08,460 --> 01:17:10,370 Compared to the other three. 1833 01:17:10,370 --> 01:17:12,353 - John is different. 1834 01:17:12,353 --> 01:17:13,186 Think of it this way. 1835 01:17:13,186 --> 01:17:14,410 The synoptic Gospels. 1836 01:17:14,410 --> 01:17:16,530 - [Narrator] The Gospels of Mark Matthew and Luke 1837 01:17:16,530 --> 01:17:17,810 are called synoptic, 1838 01:17:17,810 --> 01:17:20,873 which means they share a common vision of Jesus. 1839 01:17:22,250 --> 01:17:25,150 - New York, LA, Chicago. 1840 01:17:25,150 --> 01:17:29,000 John is basically New Orleans, okay. 1841 01:17:29,000 --> 01:17:32,690 He's just, he's doing something very different down there. 1842 01:17:32,690 --> 01:17:36,050 - With John, this whole thing is so obviously 1843 01:17:36,050 --> 01:17:37,810 a literary creation. 1844 01:17:37,810 --> 01:17:39,620 Jesus in the Gospel of John, 1845 01:17:39,620 --> 01:17:42,570 does not sound like he does in the other Gospels 1846 01:17:42,570 --> 01:17:45,670 and, all the characters in John sound the same way, 1847 01:17:45,670 --> 01:17:47,590 like you're watching a Woody Allen movie, 1848 01:17:47,590 --> 01:17:49,750 everybody's talking like Woody Allen. 1849 01:17:49,750 --> 01:17:51,830 And its, 'cause he wrote everybody's part. 1850 01:17:51,830 --> 01:17:56,830 And, and it's obvious this is not anybody's recollection. 1851 01:17:57,930 --> 01:17:59,060 - Instead of telling everyone 1852 01:17:59,060 --> 01:18:02,410 to keep the stories about his miracles, a big secret. 1853 01:18:02,410 --> 01:18:04,277 - He might as well have on a t-shirt, 1854 01:18:04,277 --> 01:18:06,200 "I am God," written in big letters 1855 01:18:06,200 --> 01:18:07,033 and you have to wonder 1856 01:18:07,033 --> 01:18:09,090 well, didn't they have blasphemy laws then, 1857 01:18:09,090 --> 01:18:11,947 why wasn't he stoned to death five minutes out of the gate? 1858 01:18:11,947 --> 01:18:13,797 - [Narrator] "The woman saith unto him, 1859 01:18:13,797 --> 01:18:15,447 "I know that Messiah cometh 1860 01:18:15,447 --> 01:18:17,377 "He, that is called Christ. 1861 01:18:17,377 --> 01:18:21,097 "When he is come, he will declare unto us all things. 1862 01:18:21,097 --> 01:18:22,867 "Jesus saith unto her, 1863 01:18:22,867 --> 01:18:27,867 "I that speak unto thee am He," John 4:25. 1864 01:18:28,567 --> 01:18:32,800 "I and my Father are one," John 10:30. 1865 01:18:32,800 --> 01:18:35,870 - John's Gospel contains no parables, 1866 01:18:35,870 --> 01:18:37,260 no last supper, 1867 01:18:37,260 --> 01:18:39,530 no sermon on the Mount. 1868 01:18:39,530 --> 01:18:41,070 But it's the only one 1869 01:18:41,070 --> 01:18:44,380 with Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. 1870 01:18:44,380 --> 01:18:48,970 And it's the most antisemitic of the Gospels. 1871 01:18:48,970 --> 01:18:50,620 As for the second coming, 1872 01:18:50,620 --> 01:18:53,270 as far as John's concerned, 1873 01:18:53,270 --> 01:18:54,984 it's happening right now. 1874 01:18:54,984 --> 01:18:58,206 (clock ticking) 1875 01:18:58,206 --> 01:19:01,956 (amusing instrumental music) 1876 01:19:10,740 --> 01:19:14,580 Why is John so different from the other three Gospels? 1877 01:19:14,580 --> 01:19:15,970 No one really knows, 1878 01:19:15,970 --> 01:19:17,250 but if we look at Paul 1879 01:19:17,250 --> 01:19:19,810 and the four Gospels in chronological order, 1880 01:19:19,810 --> 01:19:24,330 we can kind of see how the Jesus story evolved over time. 1881 01:19:24,330 --> 01:19:27,090 In Paul, he doesn't do any miracles 1882 01:19:27,090 --> 01:19:29,650 and become special after he died. 1883 01:19:29,650 --> 01:19:31,370 In Mark, he becomes special 1884 01:19:31,370 --> 01:19:33,000 when a bird lands on him, 1885 01:19:33,000 --> 01:19:35,980 walks around being a secret miracle worker 1886 01:19:35,980 --> 01:19:38,990 whose body disappears from a cave. 1887 01:19:38,990 --> 01:19:42,670 Matthew and Luke making the product of the divine pregnancy 1888 01:19:42,670 --> 01:19:44,690 who comes back from the dead 1889 01:19:44,690 --> 01:19:49,240 and in John he's proudly out of the God closets. 1890 01:19:49,240 --> 01:19:52,230 But if you think the variation in these stories is strange, 1891 01:19:52,230 --> 01:19:53,340 wait till you see the stories 1892 01:19:53,340 --> 01:19:56,026 that didn't even make it into the Bible? 1893 01:19:56,026 --> 01:19:59,693 (gentle instrumental music) 1894 01:20:01,080 --> 01:20:04,910 - So one of the things that many Christians don't know, 1895 01:20:04,910 --> 01:20:08,000 is that in addition to the four canonical Gospels 1896 01:20:08,000 --> 01:20:12,920 there's a number of other early Christian Gospels out there. 1897 01:20:12,920 --> 01:20:15,803 - [Narrator] Canonical means approved by the Vatican. 1898 01:20:17,230 --> 01:20:18,460 - In the early centuries, 1899 01:20:18,460 --> 01:20:21,420 there were some fairly significant Christian factions. 1900 01:20:21,420 --> 01:20:24,377 The Ebionites, the Marcionites and the Gnostics. 1901 01:20:24,377 --> 01:20:29,377 And they all had pretty different ideas about who Jesus was. 1902 01:20:29,660 --> 01:20:31,860 Their Gospels were all destroyed 1903 01:20:31,860 --> 01:20:35,900 by Imperial decree, around 400 CE. 1904 01:20:35,900 --> 01:20:38,050 However. - One suspects, 1905 01:20:38,050 --> 01:20:40,620 that some monk in upper Egypt 1906 01:20:40,620 --> 01:20:45,500 decided I can't do this to, 1907 01:20:45,500 --> 01:20:47,280 I've spent my entire life writing them out 1908 01:20:47,280 --> 01:20:49,463 for example, I can't do this to that. 1909 01:20:50,540 --> 01:20:52,400 So I'm gonna gather them up 1910 01:20:52,400 --> 01:20:53,780 and put them away safely 1911 01:20:53,780 --> 01:20:55,700 and say that they're destroyed, whatever. 1912 01:20:55,700 --> 01:20:58,230 - But the wonderful thing that happened in 1945, 1913 01:20:58,230 --> 01:21:02,120 is there was the discovery of 12 codices, 1914 01:21:02,120 --> 01:21:04,830 12 ancient leather books 1915 01:21:04,830 --> 01:21:08,230 found in a jar in Nag Hammadi in Egypt. 1916 01:21:08,230 --> 01:21:11,520 - Some of them and the ones that I love the most 1917 01:21:11,520 --> 01:21:13,100 are infancy Gospels. 1918 01:21:13,100 --> 01:21:16,470 So stories about Jesus' birth and childhood. 1919 01:21:16,470 --> 01:21:18,830 And one of the most interesting of these, 1920 01:21:18,830 --> 01:21:20,740 is a text that is generally known 1921 01:21:20,740 --> 01:21:23,070 as the infancy Gospel of Thomas. 1922 01:21:23,070 --> 01:21:25,100 And what this text seeks to do 1923 01:21:25,100 --> 01:21:30,100 is say, what would Jesus have been like as a child. 1924 01:21:30,490 --> 01:21:32,250 If he's a divine being, 1925 01:21:32,250 --> 01:21:33,890 which this text believes him to be, 1926 01:21:33,890 --> 01:21:36,629 if he's a divine being from the beginning, 1927 01:21:36,629 --> 01:21:39,730 he's got all this miraculous power. 1928 01:21:39,730 --> 01:21:41,130 What does he actually, 1929 01:21:41,130 --> 01:21:44,290 what does a kid like that look like? 1930 01:21:44,290 --> 01:21:46,360 According to the infancy Gospel of Thomas, 1931 01:21:46,360 --> 01:21:47,920 it's not a pretty picture. 1932 01:21:47,920 --> 01:21:49,530 - It's Jesus, the bot Simpson 1933 01:21:49,530 --> 01:21:51,760 of the kind of the early Christian world. 1934 01:21:51,760 --> 01:21:53,050 He's really a brat. 1935 01:21:53,050 --> 01:21:55,160 - One story in the infancy Gospel of Thomas 1936 01:21:55,160 --> 01:21:57,070 says that when Jesus was five years old, 1937 01:21:57,070 --> 01:21:58,750 he was sitting by a pool of water 1938 01:21:58,750 --> 01:22:01,870 making clay sparrows which were coming to life 1939 01:22:01,870 --> 01:22:03,457 and when another kid came 1940 01:22:03,457 --> 01:22:05,560 and messed with his pool of water, 1941 01:22:05,560 --> 01:22:09,023 Jesus cursed him and he withered up and died. 1942 01:22:10,060 --> 01:22:12,490 He's basically a little super villain. 1943 01:22:12,490 --> 01:22:13,930 - Yeah, I'd say so, 1944 01:22:13,930 --> 01:22:17,530 because he essentially gets angry 1945 01:22:17,530 --> 01:22:19,100 at a number of his playmates 1946 01:22:19,100 --> 01:22:22,020 for different things and kills them. 1947 01:22:22,020 --> 01:22:24,900 And so he kills one playmate, 1948 01:22:24,900 --> 01:22:26,510 he kills another playmate. 1949 01:22:26,510 --> 01:22:30,770 Then the villagers start to complain 1950 01:22:30,770 --> 01:22:31,730 to Mary and Joseph. 1951 01:22:31,730 --> 01:22:34,750 - What's kid Jesus' response to all this? 1952 01:22:34,750 --> 01:22:37,913 He makes his accusers go blind. 1953 01:22:39,175 --> 01:22:40,497 (child zapping) - Oh what the? 1954 01:22:40,497 --> 01:22:41,937 (child zapping) (mumbling) 1955 01:22:41,937 --> 01:22:42,770 (child zapping) Oh I can't see 1956 01:22:42,770 --> 01:22:44,270 (child zapping) What's going on? 1957 01:22:44,270 --> 01:22:45,537 - Why, why would you do (people mumbling) 1958 01:22:45,537 --> 01:22:49,740 - As Ron Burgundy says, "That escalated rather quickly." 1959 01:22:49,740 --> 01:22:52,840 So it's a fascinating story 1960 01:22:52,840 --> 01:22:57,360 and yet, if we think that the story is saying, 1961 01:22:57,360 --> 01:22:59,130 Oh, Jesus had these sort of, 1962 01:22:59,130 --> 01:23:02,440 immature things that he had to work out of his system. 1963 01:23:02,440 --> 01:23:03,410 I don't think that's what 1964 01:23:03,410 --> 01:23:05,610 the Infancy Gospel of Thomas is saying. 1965 01:23:05,610 --> 01:23:08,250 It's essentially saying that's who Jesus is. 1966 01:23:08,250 --> 01:23:10,570 He's got all the power of God 1967 01:23:10,570 --> 01:23:13,870 and if people are jerks to him, 1968 01:23:13,870 --> 01:23:16,550 he can strike them dead. 1969 01:23:16,550 --> 01:23:19,870 This is how they viewed Jesus, 1970 01:23:19,870 --> 01:23:22,670 weird and upsetting to us as it seems to be. 1971 01:23:22,670 --> 01:23:25,760 And I love, I love Joseph's instructions to Mary 1972 01:23:25,760 --> 01:23:27,100 after all of this has happened. 1973 01:23:27,100 --> 01:23:30,500 He takes Jesus, puts him in their house 1974 01:23:30,500 --> 01:23:32,660 and tells Mary don't let him outside 1975 01:23:32,660 --> 01:23:35,290 because those who annoy him end up dead. 1976 01:23:35,290 --> 01:23:36,300 - Oh, you might think, 1977 01:23:36,300 --> 01:23:38,440 well, that's an unbelievable story. 1978 01:23:38,440 --> 01:23:40,880 No wonder if didn't end up in the Bible, 1979 01:23:40,880 --> 01:23:42,410 but is it any crazier 1980 01:23:42,410 --> 01:23:44,890 than stories about walking on water 1981 01:23:44,890 --> 01:23:47,240 or turning water into wine 1982 01:23:47,240 --> 01:23:49,390 or raising people from the dead 1983 01:23:49,390 --> 01:23:52,970 or zapping demons into a herd of pigs. 1984 01:23:52,970 --> 01:23:56,710 Why do we say these magic stories are crazy, 1985 01:23:56,710 --> 01:23:58,750 but these other stories about magic, 1986 01:23:58,750 --> 01:24:00,410 well, they're just fine and dandy. 1987 01:24:00,410 --> 01:24:03,730 Back then, they were arguing over what Jesus was, 1988 01:24:03,730 --> 01:24:05,000 who he was. 1989 01:24:05,000 --> 01:24:06,970 What was his relationship to God, 1990 01:24:06,970 --> 01:24:09,130 all the controversies about Christology. 1991 01:24:09,130 --> 01:24:11,230 And this included of course, 1992 01:24:11,230 --> 01:24:13,500 whether Jesus was even a human being. 1993 01:24:13,500 --> 01:24:15,490 - Just a really interesting human being 1994 01:24:15,490 --> 01:24:18,200 who somehow became possessed by God. 1995 01:24:18,200 --> 01:24:19,940 Others thought he was an angel, 1996 01:24:19,940 --> 01:24:23,090 still others thought he was part of God. 1997 01:24:23,090 --> 01:24:25,110 Still others thought he was just a good teacher. 1998 01:24:25,110 --> 01:24:26,060 They didn't know. 1999 01:24:26,060 --> 01:24:28,900 - One of the really big early Christian factions 2000 01:24:28,900 --> 01:24:32,440 the Ebionites, might've closely resembled 2001 01:24:32,440 --> 01:24:34,830 the original Christians, team Peter. 2002 01:24:34,830 --> 01:24:37,910 - The Ebionites again, that means the poor, 2003 01:24:37,910 --> 01:24:39,560 they claim to be the descendants 2004 01:24:39,560 --> 01:24:42,600 of the Jerusalem Christians, maybe they were. 2005 01:24:42,600 --> 01:24:44,820 - To be a true Christian, 2006 01:24:44,820 --> 01:24:47,160 you had to obey the Jewish law. 2007 01:24:47,160 --> 01:24:48,880 They seem to have denied 2008 01:24:48,880 --> 01:24:50,680 the idea of the virgin birth 2009 01:24:50,680 --> 01:24:53,100 and they had a kind of Gospel, 2010 01:24:53,100 --> 01:24:58,040 that sounds very much like a Jewish Christian Gospel. 2011 01:24:58,040 --> 01:25:00,460 Maybe one of the earliest forms of the Gospel. 2012 01:25:00,460 --> 01:25:02,700 - We have people who were following Jewish law, 2013 01:25:02,700 --> 01:25:04,440 honoring the Sabbath on Saturday 2014 01:25:04,440 --> 01:25:05,590 and keeping it Holy. 2015 01:25:05,590 --> 01:25:07,110 Circumcising their kids, 2016 01:25:07,110 --> 01:25:08,730 and they're worshiping Jesus. 2017 01:25:08,730 --> 01:25:11,900 - The Ebionites declared Paul a heretic. 2018 01:25:11,900 --> 01:25:13,590 On the other hand, 2019 01:25:13,590 --> 01:25:15,360 another one of the major early factions 2020 01:25:15,360 --> 01:25:17,760 the Marcionites loved Paul, 2021 01:25:17,760 --> 01:25:19,347 but really hated Judaism. 2022 01:25:19,347 --> 01:25:20,976 - The Marciones said 2023 01:25:20,976 --> 01:25:25,976 that Jesus had come from a different God, 2024 01:25:26,000 --> 01:25:28,920 not the Hebrew God, not the creator God, 2025 01:25:28,920 --> 01:25:30,910 not the Torah giving God. 2026 01:25:30,910 --> 01:25:32,760 - The God of the Old Testament. 2027 01:25:32,760 --> 01:25:34,149 So the God of the old Testament 2028 01:25:34,149 --> 01:25:37,720 was a wicked God who made the world. 2029 01:25:37,720 --> 01:25:39,710 I mean, that's why the world was so messed up. 2030 01:25:39,710 --> 01:25:42,700 - The Gnostics claimed to have a special teaching 2031 01:25:42,700 --> 01:25:45,890 from Jesus that only they knew about. 2032 01:25:45,890 --> 01:25:47,560 - Well, the word Gnostic really means 2033 01:25:47,560 --> 01:25:49,420 somebody who's claiming to have knowledge. 2034 01:25:49,420 --> 01:25:50,320 - But it's basically, 2035 01:25:50,320 --> 01:25:54,710 the idea that this world is bad and wicked 2036 01:25:54,710 --> 01:25:56,450 and we have to get away from it. 2037 01:25:56,450 --> 01:25:58,490 And getting a certain secret knowledge 2038 01:25:58,490 --> 01:26:00,220 of the universes origins 2039 01:26:00,220 --> 01:26:01,672 and your own cosmic origins 2040 01:26:01,672 --> 01:26:03,550 is how you get away from all. 2041 01:26:03,550 --> 01:26:05,380 - So why didn't all of those Gospels 2042 01:26:05,380 --> 01:26:06,590 make it into the Bible? 2043 01:26:06,590 --> 01:26:08,310 Well, a common Christian view 2044 01:26:08,310 --> 01:26:09,420 is that the ones that made it in 2045 01:26:09,420 --> 01:26:11,550 were the real stories, 2046 01:26:11,550 --> 01:26:12,900 and the ones that didn't, 2047 01:26:12,900 --> 01:26:14,730 were just made up. 2048 01:26:14,730 --> 01:26:19,550 - Well, when it comes to the stories of Jesus' birth 2049 01:26:19,550 --> 01:26:22,260 and childhood, it's all made up. 2050 01:26:22,260 --> 01:26:26,830 If you talk to most New Testament scholars 2051 01:26:26,830 --> 01:26:28,480 about the infancy narratives, 2052 01:26:28,480 --> 01:26:32,180 the Christmas story in Matthew's Gospel and Luke's Gospel, 2053 01:26:32,180 --> 01:26:36,130 they'll say, there's not much historical basis 2054 01:26:36,130 --> 01:26:37,260 behind any of that. 2055 01:26:37,260 --> 01:26:39,030 There's no census, 2056 01:26:39,030 --> 01:26:41,210 there's no slaughter of the innocence by Herod, 2057 01:26:41,210 --> 01:26:43,437 there's no star of Bethlehem, no wise men. 2058 01:26:43,437 --> 01:26:45,820 Jesus probably was not born in Bethlehem, 2059 01:26:45,820 --> 01:26:47,830 he was probably born in Nazareth. 2060 01:26:47,830 --> 01:26:50,240 Those stories are all propaganda 2061 01:26:50,240 --> 01:26:51,950 that are designed on the one hand 2062 01:26:51,950 --> 01:26:54,890 to present Jesus as a divine being 2063 01:26:54,890 --> 01:26:56,150 from the moment of his birth 2064 01:26:56,150 --> 01:26:57,330 and also to say, 2065 01:26:57,330 --> 01:27:00,100 he can fit the qualifications for a Messiah 2066 01:27:00,100 --> 01:27:02,300 because he's born in the city of David. 2067 01:27:02,300 --> 01:27:03,710 - Of course, all of these factions 2068 01:27:03,710 --> 01:27:06,100 believe that their version of Christianity 2069 01:27:06,100 --> 01:27:07,680 was the correct one. 2070 01:27:07,680 --> 01:27:09,900 Just like they all do today. 2071 01:27:09,900 --> 01:27:12,170 - There are many different Christianity's today. 2072 01:27:12,170 --> 01:27:14,765 There were many different Christianity's back then. 2073 01:27:14,765 --> 01:27:18,432 (gentle instrumental music) 2074 01:27:20,740 --> 01:27:23,530 - Eventually team Paul sold there soul 2075 01:27:23,530 --> 01:27:27,070 to the first Christian emperor, Constantine, 2076 01:27:27,070 --> 01:27:31,790 who fought his way to power in the year 305 CE. 2077 01:27:31,790 --> 01:27:34,970 According to his contemporary Bishop Eusebius, 2078 01:27:34,970 --> 01:27:38,640 the so-called father of church history, 2079 01:27:38,640 --> 01:27:41,730 Jesus appeared to Constantine in a vision 2080 01:27:41,730 --> 01:27:44,200 and said he'd help him defeat his rival 2081 01:27:44,200 --> 01:27:46,990 for the throne in a bloody war. 2082 01:27:46,990 --> 01:27:51,990 Hallelujah, Jesus is finally the warrior King Messiah 2083 01:27:52,560 --> 01:27:55,100 that the Jews had been waiting for. 2084 01:27:55,100 --> 01:27:57,750 According to Christian sources from the time, 2085 01:27:57,750 --> 01:28:00,390 Jesus used his supernatural powers 2086 01:28:00,390 --> 01:28:05,260 to help Constantine kill thousands of Roman citizens 2087 01:28:05,260 --> 01:28:09,510 and consolidate his control over the empire. 2088 01:28:09,510 --> 01:28:10,600 - Winners are grinners. 2089 01:28:10,600 --> 01:28:15,600 And so, because the, a version of Christianity 2090 01:28:16,360 --> 01:28:20,840 secures Imperial supported early in the fourth century. 2091 01:28:20,840 --> 01:28:22,830 They are able to suppress their opponents 2092 01:28:22,830 --> 01:28:24,050 ever more effectively. 2093 01:28:24,050 --> 01:28:27,650 - Once Christianity and Orthodox Christianity 2094 01:28:27,650 --> 01:28:30,130 became the official religion of the empire, 2095 01:28:30,130 --> 01:28:32,241 they had official patronage. 2096 01:28:32,241 --> 01:28:35,550 You then could use Imperial power 2097 01:28:35,550 --> 01:28:37,690 to put the thumbscrews down 2098 01:28:37,690 --> 01:28:39,810 on any dissident Christian groups. 2099 01:28:39,810 --> 01:28:42,080 - The final selection of books 2100 01:28:42,080 --> 01:28:43,350 that made it into the Bible, 2101 01:28:43,350 --> 01:28:48,240 wasn't actually decided upon until 400 CE. 2102 01:28:48,240 --> 01:28:51,420 It seems like a number of competing Christian factions 2103 01:28:51,420 --> 01:28:54,840 might have merged into some sort of mega church. 2104 01:28:54,840 --> 01:28:57,330 - Each of these Gospels has a faction behind it. 2105 01:28:57,330 --> 01:28:58,320 There's a lot of people 2106 01:28:58,320 --> 01:29:00,150 like they have their own favorite Gospels. 2107 01:29:00,150 --> 01:29:01,280 It's like everybody has their own favorite 2108 01:29:01,280 --> 01:29:03,220 Harry Potter novel or whatever. 2109 01:29:03,220 --> 01:29:06,080 And so, if you want to win this battle 2110 01:29:06,080 --> 01:29:07,050 for control of the church, 2111 01:29:07,050 --> 01:29:09,260 you want as many people on your side 2112 01:29:09,260 --> 01:29:11,020 to outnumber the other side. 2113 01:29:11,020 --> 01:29:13,090 And the best way to do that, is to pick Gospels 2114 01:29:13,090 --> 01:29:15,180 that had a lot of supporters behind them 2115 01:29:15,180 --> 01:29:16,700 that were not too deviant. 2116 01:29:16,700 --> 01:29:20,600 - The other Gospels were declared fake news. 2117 01:29:20,600 --> 01:29:23,560 - Constantine does not enforce Christianity on everybody. 2118 01:29:23,560 --> 01:29:25,650 Constantine allowed pagan temples to stand 2119 01:29:25,650 --> 01:29:26,620 and pagans to worship, 2120 01:29:26,620 --> 01:29:28,150 and he let Jews be Jews. 2121 01:29:28,150 --> 01:29:30,470 - But he does favor just one Christian faction 2122 01:29:30,470 --> 01:29:32,640 and tries to shut down all the rest. 2123 01:29:32,640 --> 01:29:35,670 And this one faction has no hesitation 2124 01:29:35,670 --> 01:29:37,870 at putting their head of the Roman empire, 2125 01:29:37,870 --> 01:29:39,240 the same Roman empire 2126 01:29:39,240 --> 01:29:42,520 that killed Jesus, Paul, Peter and James 2127 01:29:42,520 --> 01:29:44,780 at the head of their church. 2128 01:29:44,780 --> 01:29:45,750 - And so Constantine, 2129 01:29:45,750 --> 01:29:47,150 I think he treats Christianity 2130 01:29:47,150 --> 01:29:48,930 as any emperor has treated 2131 01:29:48,930 --> 01:29:52,560 any other religious kind of group, 2132 01:29:52,560 --> 01:29:55,570 by saying, well, I'm the head of religion. 2133 01:29:55,570 --> 01:29:57,570 I am the Pontifex Maximus. 2134 01:29:57,570 --> 01:30:00,423 So therefore, I'm the head of this community. 2135 01:30:01,400 --> 01:30:05,150 The Bishop seemed to agree to that 2136 01:30:05,150 --> 01:30:07,580 without much hesitation. 2137 01:30:07,580 --> 01:30:11,290 - Overnight, the persecuted become the persecutors 2138 01:30:12,210 --> 01:30:14,820 and the first group that they persecute, 2139 01:30:14,820 --> 01:30:18,910 are other Christians who they now declare heretics. 2140 01:30:18,910 --> 01:30:22,120 - You're only a heretic if you lose the historical battle. 2141 01:30:22,120 --> 01:30:24,780 And it takes the church about three to 400 years, 2142 01:30:24,780 --> 01:30:27,290 to figure out who's in and who's out. 2143 01:30:27,290 --> 01:30:30,090 - About 50 years after Constantine, 2144 01:30:30,090 --> 01:30:33,000 another Roman emperor, Theodosius 2145 01:30:33,000 --> 01:30:36,020 drove the final nail into the cross 2146 01:30:36,020 --> 01:30:38,010 and made Catholic Christianity, 2147 01:30:38,010 --> 01:30:40,980 the state religion of the empire. 2148 01:30:40,980 --> 01:30:45,373 - So not only are preexisting varieties 2149 01:30:46,380 --> 01:30:48,670 or versions of Christianity wiped out 2150 01:30:48,670 --> 01:30:51,500 or put on a banned list, 2151 01:30:51,500 --> 01:30:53,580 new dissident groups emerge 2152 01:30:53,580 --> 01:30:57,410 and a dealt with this new kind of Imperial authority. 2153 01:30:57,410 --> 01:30:58,980 - Temples were shut down, 2154 01:30:58,980 --> 01:31:01,310 pagan priests if they wanted to keep their job 2155 01:31:01,310 --> 01:31:03,340 became Christian priests. 2156 01:31:03,340 --> 01:31:05,910 Jews had their movements restricted, 2157 01:31:05,910 --> 01:31:07,840 were not allowed to join certain guilds, 2158 01:31:07,840 --> 01:31:10,150 had their synagogues burned down. 2159 01:31:10,150 --> 01:31:12,080 And the empire becomes Christian 2160 01:31:12,080 --> 01:31:13,250 and it remains Christian, 2161 01:31:13,250 --> 01:31:15,580 because of the force of the state 2162 01:31:15,580 --> 01:31:17,183 and the force of the army. 2163 01:31:18,790 --> 01:31:20,640 Was this a good thing or a bad thing? 2164 01:31:21,500 --> 01:31:22,920 It was a thing. 2165 01:31:22,920 --> 01:31:25,650 And it's something we have to deal with. 2166 01:31:25,650 --> 01:31:27,800 - To put a modern perspective on it. 2167 01:31:27,800 --> 01:31:31,960 Imagine that the Scientologists, were able to get Tom cruise 2168 01:31:31,960 --> 01:31:34,090 elected president of the world, 2169 01:31:34,090 --> 01:31:38,723 and he passed a law making Scientology mandatory. 2170 01:31:39,780 --> 01:31:43,770 And that's what team Paul did around about 400 CE. 2171 01:31:43,770 --> 01:31:46,720 The Roman empire became a theocracy, 2172 01:31:46,720 --> 01:31:48,450 not unlike the caliphate 2173 01:31:48,450 --> 01:31:49,850 that ISIS has been trying to set up 2174 01:31:49,850 --> 01:31:52,510 in the middle East in the last few years. 2175 01:31:52,510 --> 01:31:54,560 It's not that hard to be a successful religion 2176 01:31:54,560 --> 01:31:56,990 when you're the only game in town 2177 01:31:56,990 --> 01:32:00,040 and everything else is pretty much outlawed. 2178 01:32:00,040 --> 01:32:01,050 So that's the story 2179 01:32:01,050 --> 01:32:04,350 of how Christianity went from being irrelevant 2180 01:32:04,350 --> 01:32:09,350 to inescapable, but in the words of a different God, 2181 01:32:09,420 --> 01:32:11,943 wait, there's one more thing. 2182 01:32:12,792 --> 01:32:16,375 (happy instrumental music) 2183 01:32:20,510 --> 01:32:23,510 It wasn't that long ago, that most historians believe, 2184 01:32:23,510 --> 01:32:25,930 that the characters in the old Testament 2185 01:32:25,930 --> 01:32:28,850 like Abraham or Moses 2186 01:32:28,850 --> 01:32:31,150 or figures from literary history 2187 01:32:31,150 --> 01:32:36,150 like King Arthur were also based on real people. 2188 01:32:36,400 --> 01:32:39,070 But today, most historians think 2189 01:32:39,070 --> 01:32:42,010 they are completely mythical. 2190 01:32:42,010 --> 01:32:44,923 So what about Jesus? 2191 01:32:44,923 --> 01:32:47,820 - Well, when I started as a historian 2192 01:32:47,820 --> 01:32:50,650 and I was actually quite certain 2193 01:32:50,650 --> 01:32:52,720 that Jesus existed as a historical person, and I thought, 2194 01:32:52,720 --> 01:32:55,070 anyone who suggested otherwise was a crackpot. 2195 01:32:55,070 --> 01:32:57,410 And what happened was, the more I looked at the evidence, 2196 01:32:57,410 --> 01:32:58,350 the worse it looked. 2197 01:32:58,350 --> 01:32:59,570 The more you pull up the threads, 2198 01:32:59,570 --> 01:33:00,710 the more it falls apart. 2199 01:33:00,710 --> 01:33:02,150 And I started to realize by the end of it, 2200 01:33:02,150 --> 01:33:04,250 it's like actually unbalance of evidence 2201 01:33:04,250 --> 01:33:05,760 it looks like it goes the other way. 2202 01:33:05,760 --> 01:33:10,180 - It just seems to me, the weight of probability 2203 01:33:10,180 --> 01:33:12,630 is that there was no Jesus. 2204 01:33:12,630 --> 01:33:14,000 - One thing that struck me 2205 01:33:14,000 --> 01:33:18,320 is just the case for this figure is extremely poor. 2206 01:33:18,320 --> 01:33:22,070 The main sources we have are the Gospels. 2207 01:33:22,070 --> 01:33:25,240 Over time, we found even more reason to doubt the Gospels. 2208 01:33:25,240 --> 01:33:27,490 They're just really, really poor sources. 2209 01:33:27,490 --> 01:33:29,040 They're not what we want. 2210 01:33:29,040 --> 01:33:30,710 E.P. Sanders says that , 2211 01:33:30,710 --> 01:33:32,700 Jesus is better attested in history 2212 01:33:32,700 --> 01:33:34,023 than Alexander the great. 2213 01:33:35,410 --> 01:33:37,300 When you actually compare the evidence 2214 01:33:37,300 --> 01:33:38,550 for both of those figures, 2215 01:33:38,550 --> 01:33:40,390 that's not even close to correct. 2216 01:33:40,390 --> 01:33:42,250 And actually the evidence for Alexander the great 2217 01:33:42,250 --> 01:33:44,440 is way better than for Jesus. 2218 01:33:44,440 --> 01:33:46,790 - Obviously a lot of evidence gets lost 2219 01:33:46,790 --> 01:33:48,540 or destroyed over the years, 2220 01:33:48,540 --> 01:33:51,400 like the letters of team Peter. 2221 01:33:51,400 --> 01:33:53,480 So historians are trying to piece together 2222 01:33:53,480 --> 01:33:56,210 what happened using sketchy evidence 2223 01:33:56,210 --> 01:33:59,660 or evidence that's been corrupted, like Mark's Gospel. 2224 01:33:59,660 --> 01:34:00,810 - And the trick to that 2225 01:34:00,810 --> 01:34:02,927 is that you look at that body of evidence 2226 01:34:02,927 --> 01:34:04,760 You got to look at it all, you can't leave anything out, 2227 01:34:04,760 --> 01:34:06,200 even stuff that's weird 2228 01:34:06,200 --> 01:34:08,350 and say is that the evidence that should exist, 2229 01:34:08,350 --> 01:34:11,550 if this hypothesis existed, is it what we expect? 2230 01:34:11,550 --> 01:34:13,050 And, and that's what you look at. 2231 01:34:13,050 --> 01:34:15,220 And you can measure that, in the sense of your feeling 2232 01:34:15,220 --> 01:34:17,930 of how expected is this evidence, 2233 01:34:17,930 --> 01:34:20,760 or how weird is this evidence given that hypothesis? 2234 01:34:20,760 --> 01:34:22,170 - And then you look at all of the theories 2235 01:34:22,170 --> 01:34:23,140 and try and decide 2236 01:34:23,140 --> 01:34:26,023 which one does the evidence support best. 2237 01:34:27,990 --> 01:34:29,730 - And if you're stuck in this situation 2238 01:34:29,730 --> 01:34:31,700 where the evidence is equally expected 2239 01:34:31,700 --> 01:34:34,700 on all your hypotheses, then you don't know. 2240 01:34:34,700 --> 01:34:36,350 It could be any one of those hypotheses 2241 01:34:36,350 --> 01:34:37,890 and we just kind of have to settle on 2242 01:34:37,890 --> 01:34:39,850 well, it's one of those we don't know. 2243 01:34:39,850 --> 01:34:42,010 - So how does the evidence stack up 2244 01:34:42,010 --> 01:34:46,050 with the theory that Jesus actually existed? 2245 01:34:46,050 --> 01:34:47,100 - I think on balance, 2246 01:34:47,100 --> 01:34:48,180 he probably didn't exist. 2247 01:34:48,180 --> 01:34:50,050 I think the hypothesis that 2248 01:34:50,050 --> 01:34:51,530 he started out a revelatory being 2249 01:34:51,530 --> 01:34:53,760 and became historicized later, 2250 01:34:53,760 --> 01:34:55,020 I think fits the evidence better. 2251 01:34:55,020 --> 01:34:56,450 It makes the evidence more expected, 2252 01:34:56,450 --> 01:34:58,050 especially a lot of weird stuff. 2253 01:34:58,050 --> 01:34:58,970 - So in other words, 2254 01:34:58,970 --> 01:35:01,810 Jesus appeared as some kind of an angel 2255 01:35:01,810 --> 01:35:04,530 in visions to people like Paul. 2256 01:35:04,530 --> 01:35:06,680 And then later on, people decided that, 2257 01:35:06,680 --> 01:35:09,460 well, he must have been real. 2258 01:35:09,460 --> 01:35:11,180 But of course this kind of a view 2259 01:35:11,180 --> 01:35:14,370 is still a minority amongst scholars, 2260 01:35:14,370 --> 01:35:16,490 but will it always be that way? 2261 01:35:16,490 --> 01:35:18,330 - We saw the same thing with the challenging 2262 01:35:18,330 --> 01:35:19,950 of the historicity of Moses, right. 2263 01:35:19,950 --> 01:35:21,060 In the seventies, 2264 01:35:21,060 --> 01:35:23,340 everybody said, that's fringe, that's crazy. 2265 01:35:23,340 --> 01:35:25,020 Now it's the mainstream consensus 2266 01:35:25,020 --> 01:35:28,205 at least agnosticism about the historicity of Moses. 2267 01:35:28,205 --> 01:35:30,490 And that took, 20, 30 years. 2268 01:35:30,490 --> 01:35:33,170 So I always tell people, 2269 01:35:33,170 --> 01:35:34,830 come back to me in 20 and 30 years, 2270 01:35:34,830 --> 01:35:36,450 and then we'll see if that's still a situation 2271 01:35:36,450 --> 01:35:37,730 or if it's changed since then. 2272 01:35:37,730 --> 01:35:42,730 - This kind of talk get some people pretty, pretty cranky. 2273 01:35:43,970 --> 01:35:46,410 - Well, look, my blunt response to that, 2274 01:35:46,410 --> 01:35:48,520 the whole Jesus mythicism thing 2275 01:35:48,520 --> 01:35:52,440 to be frank, I consider it mental masturbation for atheist. 2276 01:35:52,440 --> 01:35:53,963 That's the best way I can describe it. 2277 01:35:53,963 --> 01:35:55,770 It's the ultimate get up, 2278 01:35:55,770 --> 01:35:58,810 telling your arch enemy that their superhero didn't exist. 2279 01:35:58,810 --> 01:36:01,130 It's with the joy, of going up to some bratty kid 2280 01:36:01,130 --> 01:36:03,517 you don't like and saying, "Hey kid, guess what, 2281 01:36:03,517 --> 01:36:05,010 "there's no Santa Claus." 2282 01:36:05,010 --> 01:36:07,910 - Telling a little kid that Santa doesn't exist 2283 01:36:07,910 --> 01:36:11,490 might be mean, but it's also true. 2284 01:36:11,490 --> 01:36:13,853 Look, the fact is that the historical evidence 2285 01:36:13,853 --> 01:36:15,850 that Jesus existed 2286 01:36:15,850 --> 01:36:19,000 is pretty slim to say the least. 2287 01:36:19,000 --> 01:36:21,150 But the evidence that the stories about him 2288 01:36:21,150 --> 01:36:23,060 were all over the place 2289 01:36:23,060 --> 01:36:27,023 and kind of evolved over time is incredibly strong. 2290 01:36:28,870 --> 01:36:30,860 Make from that what you will. 2291 01:36:30,860 --> 01:36:33,527 (ominous music) 2292 01:36:36,270 --> 01:36:37,240 So let's take a look 2293 01:36:37,240 --> 01:36:41,653 at what our new updated Sunday school story looks like. 2294 01:36:42,840 --> 01:36:44,170 Around 2000 years ago, 2295 01:36:44,170 --> 01:36:46,670 the Romans decided that dead men could be gods 2296 01:36:46,670 --> 01:36:49,010 and living men could be sons of gods. 2297 01:36:49,010 --> 01:36:51,110 Meanwhile, in the backwaters of the Roman empire, 2298 01:36:51,110 --> 01:36:52,960 the Jewish people were waiting for their God, 2299 01:36:52,960 --> 01:36:54,540 Yahweh to send a warrior King 2300 01:36:54,540 --> 01:36:56,930 they called the Messiah to kick out the Romans. 2301 01:36:56,930 --> 01:36:58,730 But the Messiah was a no show. 2302 01:36:58,730 --> 01:37:00,235 Eventually several generations later, 2303 01:37:00,235 --> 01:37:02,950 a small fringe Jewish sect said 2304 01:37:02,950 --> 01:37:05,030 this is our guy, Jesus Christ, 2305 01:37:05,030 --> 01:37:06,197 which means Saving the Savior 2306 01:37:06,197 --> 01:37:07,770 was a very Jewish Jew, 2307 01:37:07,770 --> 01:37:10,070 but had two problems in his messianic resume. 2308 01:37:10,070 --> 01:37:11,780 He had not defeated the Romans 2309 01:37:11,780 --> 01:37:13,400 and he was already dead. 2310 01:37:13,400 --> 01:37:14,430 A few years later, 2311 01:37:14,430 --> 01:37:17,630 Paul who'd been busy beating up early Jesus' worshipers 2312 01:37:17,630 --> 01:37:19,070 suddenly changed his mind 2313 01:37:19,070 --> 01:37:21,740 and invented his own version of the Jesus sect. 2314 01:37:21,740 --> 01:37:23,090 He reinvented the Messiah, 2315 01:37:23,090 --> 01:37:25,640 to be a super powered celestial warrior King 2316 01:37:25,640 --> 01:37:27,761 for non Jews, who could keep their fore skin 2317 01:37:27,761 --> 01:37:29,720 and still get into heaven. 2318 01:37:29,720 --> 01:37:31,600 The OG Christians weren't impressed, 2319 01:37:31,600 --> 01:37:34,190 this is fake news, Paul didn't even know Jesus. 2320 01:37:34,190 --> 01:37:36,170 This is the Jews only club bubala. 2321 01:37:36,170 --> 01:37:38,470 According to Paul Jesus spoke to him in visions 2322 01:37:38,470 --> 01:37:40,560 and any day now, JC would come down to earth 2323 01:37:40,560 --> 01:37:42,920 with supernatural powers to defeat the Romans 2324 01:37:42,920 --> 01:37:44,900 and anyone else who didn't worship Him. 2325 01:37:44,900 --> 01:37:48,420 Unfortunately, Jesus didn't return within Paul's lifetime. 2326 01:37:48,420 --> 01:37:50,270 And despite writing lots of letters 2327 01:37:50,270 --> 01:37:52,130 in his 30 years of missionary work, 2328 01:37:52,130 --> 01:37:53,630 Paul never mentioned anything 2329 01:37:53,630 --> 01:37:56,330 about Jesus' life teachings or miracles. 2330 01:37:56,330 --> 01:37:58,920 But the Jews did get their war against the Romans 2331 01:37:58,920 --> 01:38:01,270 and got their butts badly kicked. 2332 01:38:01,270 --> 01:38:02,777 No warrior King Messiah showed up 2333 01:38:02,777 --> 01:38:05,180 and their temple was torn down. 2334 01:38:05,180 --> 01:38:07,350 The original disciples of Jesus were all dead, 2335 01:38:07,350 --> 01:38:09,180 leaving not a single written record 2336 01:38:09,180 --> 01:38:10,740 of what they thought about Jesus 2337 01:38:10,740 --> 01:38:11,970 or his teachings. 2338 01:38:11,970 --> 01:38:13,950 After the war, one of Paul's community 2339 01:38:13,950 --> 01:38:16,070 did document some stories about Jesus 2340 01:38:16,070 --> 01:38:17,780 in which he appears as a human, 2341 01:38:17,780 --> 01:38:20,040 but with super powers and a big secret, 2342 01:38:20,040 --> 01:38:21,970 who begs Yahweh not to let him be killed, 2343 01:38:21,970 --> 01:38:24,040 but Yahweh ignored his prayers. 2344 01:38:24,040 --> 01:38:25,780 Many other versions of the Jesus story 2345 01:38:25,780 --> 01:38:27,900 were recorded over the next 100 years. 2346 01:38:27,900 --> 01:38:29,690 None by actual eye witnesses 2347 01:38:29,690 --> 01:38:31,963 or people who knew eye witnesses or people who knew people 2348 01:38:31,963 --> 01:38:34,200 who would, you get the idea. 2349 01:38:34,200 --> 01:38:37,060 As time passed, these stories grew more far fetched, 2350 01:38:37,060 --> 01:38:39,400 suddenly including miracles like walking on water, 2351 01:38:39,400 --> 01:38:40,420 the virgin birth, 2352 01:38:40,420 --> 01:38:42,527 the resurrection of violent teenage Jesus 2353 01:38:42,527 --> 01:38:45,360 and Jesus raising people from the dead. 2354 01:38:45,360 --> 01:38:46,720 All these authors were still certain 2355 01:38:46,720 --> 01:38:48,660 that the Messiah would come to defeat their enemies 2356 01:38:48,660 --> 01:38:49,630 within their lifetimes, 2357 01:38:49,630 --> 01:38:51,330 but he still didn't come. 2358 01:38:51,330 --> 01:38:52,330 For 300 years, 2359 01:38:52,330 --> 01:38:54,960 various Jesus' factions fought against the Romans lines 2360 01:38:54,960 --> 01:38:57,250 and amongst themselves about who Jesus was 2361 01:38:57,250 --> 01:38:58,640 and how to worship him properly. 2362 01:38:58,640 --> 01:39:00,677 Until one of these groups met with the Roman emperor 2363 01:39:00,677 --> 01:39:02,900 and said, give us protection and tax breaks, 2364 01:39:02,900 --> 01:39:04,937 and we'll make you the head of our religion. 2365 01:39:04,937 --> 01:39:07,040 - "That's an offer I can't refuse," 2366 01:39:07,040 --> 01:39:08,500 said the emperor Constantine. 2367 01:39:08,500 --> 01:39:09,560 And within a hundred years, 2368 01:39:09,560 --> 01:39:12,730 this group managed to take control of the entire empire. 2369 01:39:12,730 --> 01:39:14,400 They burned competing Gospels, 2370 01:39:14,400 --> 01:39:16,890 tore down temples, killed pagan philosophers, 2371 01:39:16,890 --> 01:39:18,240 and banned other religions, 2372 01:39:18,240 --> 01:39:21,290 including competing versions of the Jesus club. 2373 01:39:21,290 --> 01:39:23,730 And that my friends 2374 01:39:23,730 --> 01:39:26,430 is the slightly more accurate story 2375 01:39:26,430 --> 01:39:30,393 of the triumph of Christianity, Amen. 2376 01:39:33,000 --> 01:39:35,030 Well, isn't that a far more interesting story. 2377 01:39:35,030 --> 01:39:36,990 And it's also one that's supported 2378 01:39:36,990 --> 01:39:40,860 by historical evidence and biblical scholars. 2379 01:39:40,860 --> 01:39:44,440 So what does the next century hold for Christianity? 2380 01:39:44,440 --> 01:39:47,100 Peace and love or another theocracy. 2381 01:39:47,100 --> 01:39:49,440 I guess only time's gonna tell 2382 01:39:49,440 --> 01:39:52,860 unless of course, Jesus does come back soon, 2383 01:39:52,860 --> 01:39:55,350 which I've been told with very good authority 2384 01:39:55,350 --> 01:39:59,701 should be happening any minute now. 2385 01:39:59,701 --> 01:40:02,368 (clock ticking) 2386 01:40:05,738 --> 01:40:08,321 (lively music) 2387 01:40:16,080 --> 01:40:17,567 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2388 01:40:17,567 --> 01:40:19,219 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2389 01:40:19,219 --> 01:40:20,571 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2390 01:40:20,571 --> 01:40:22,299 ♪ I have a friend in Jesus. ♪ 2391 01:40:22,299 --> 01:40:23,665 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2392 01:40:23,665 --> 01:40:25,557 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2393 01:40:25,557 --> 01:40:28,723 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2394 01:40:28,723 --> 01:40:31,669 ♪ He taught me how to live, my life as it should be. ♪ 2395 01:40:31,669 --> 01:40:33,275 ♪ He taught me how to turn my cheek ♪ 2396 01:40:33,275 --> 01:40:35,002 ♪ When people laugh at me. ♪ 2397 01:40:35,002 --> 01:40:36,423 ♪ I've had friends before ♪ 2398 01:40:36,423 --> 01:40:38,067 ♪ And I can tell you that, ♪ 2399 01:40:38,067 --> 01:40:42,271 ♪ He's one who will never leave your flat. ♪ 2400 01:40:42,271 --> 01:40:43,478 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2401 01:40:43,478 --> 01:40:45,368 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2402 01:40:45,368 --> 01:40:46,852 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2403 01:40:46,852 --> 01:40:48,456 ♪ I have a friend in Jesus. ♪ 2404 01:40:48,456 --> 01:40:49,950 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2405 01:40:49,950 --> 01:40:51,618 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2406 01:40:51,618 --> 01:40:54,490 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2407 01:40:54,490 --> 01:40:57,691 ♪ He taught me how to pray, and how to save my soul. ♪ 2408 01:40:57,691 --> 01:40:59,314 ♪ He taught me how to praise my God ♪ 2409 01:40:59,314 --> 01:41:00,971 ♪ And still play rock and roll. ♪ 2410 01:41:00,971 --> 01:41:02,358 ♪ The music may sound different ♪ 2411 01:41:02,358 --> 01:41:03,906 ♪ But the message is the same. ♪ 2412 01:41:03,906 --> 01:41:08,265 ♪ It's just that instrument who praise his name. ♪ 2413 01:41:08,265 --> 01:41:09,472 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2414 01:41:09,472 --> 01:41:11,320 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2415 01:41:11,320 --> 01:41:12,680 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2416 01:41:12,680 --> 01:41:14,459 ♪ I have a friend in Jesus ♪ 2417 01:41:14,459 --> 01:41:15,851 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2418 01:41:15,851 --> 01:41:17,728 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine.. ♪ 2419 01:41:17,728 --> 01:41:21,100 ♪ Six feet two, eyes are blue, ♪ 2420 01:41:21,100 --> 01:41:23,965 ♪ Jesus Christ he was a Jew. ♪ 2421 01:41:23,965 --> 01:41:28,331 ♪ Has anybody seen my Lord? ♪ 2422 01:41:28,331 --> 01:41:29,950 ♪ Big hook nose, ♪ 2423 01:41:29,950 --> 01:41:34,165 ♪ There he goes preaching so that everyone knows. ♪ 2424 01:41:34,165 --> 01:41:38,385 ♪ Has anybody seen my Lord? ♪ 2425 01:41:38,385 --> 01:41:41,533 ♪ Speared in the abdomen by a Roman. ♪ 2426 01:41:41,533 --> 01:41:44,086 ♪ Blood gushing out. ♪ 2427 01:41:44,086 --> 01:41:45,456 ♪ Rose from the dead, ♪ 2428 01:41:45,456 --> 01:41:46,843 ♪ So it is said. ♪ 2429 01:41:46,843 --> 01:41:49,741 ♪ People believe without a doubt. ♪ 2430 01:41:49,741 --> 01:41:52,584 ♪ Jesus died still a Jew. ♪ 2431 01:41:52,584 --> 01:41:55,307 ♪ Still a Jew so why aren't you? ♪ 2432 01:41:55,307 --> 01:41:58,136 ♪ Has anybody seen my, ♪ 2433 01:41:58,136 --> 01:42:00,939 ♪ Has anybody seen my, ♪ 2434 01:42:00,939 --> 01:42:04,606 ♪ Has anybody seen my Lord. ♪ 2435 01:42:06,096 --> 01:42:08,679 (lively music) 2436 01:42:13,279 --> 01:42:14,559 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2437 01:42:14,559 --> 01:42:16,207 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2438 01:42:16,207 --> 01:42:17,636 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2439 01:42:17,636 --> 01:42:19,332 ♪ I have a friend in Jesus ♪ 2440 01:42:19,332 --> 01:42:20,847 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2441 01:42:20,847 --> 01:42:22,553 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2442 01:42:22,553 --> 01:42:25,454 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2443 01:42:25,454 --> 01:42:28,631 ♪ He taught me how to live, my life as it should be. ♪ 2444 01:42:28,631 --> 01:42:30,329 ♪ He taught me how to turn my cheek, ♪ 2445 01:42:30,329 --> 01:42:32,022 ♪ When people laugh at me. ♪ 2446 01:42:32,022 --> 01:42:33,466 ♪ I've had friends before ♪ 2447 01:42:33,466 --> 01:42:34,990 ♪ And I can tell you that, ♪ 2448 01:42:34,990 --> 01:42:38,955 ♪ He's one who will never leave you flat. ♪ 2449 01:42:38,955 --> 01:42:40,492 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2450 01:42:40,492 --> 01:42:42,300 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2451 01:42:42,300 --> 01:42:43,751 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2452 01:42:43,751 --> 01:42:45,471 ♪ I have a friend in Jesus. ♪ 2453 01:42:45,471 --> 01:42:46,912 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2454 01:42:46,912 --> 01:42:48,577 ♪ Jesus is my friend. ♪ 2455 01:42:48,577 --> 01:42:51,610 ♪ Jesus is a friend of mine. ♪ 2456 01:42:51,610 --> 01:42:54,620 ♪ He taught me how to pray and how to save my soul. ♪ 2457 01:42:54,620 --> 01:42:56,247 ♪ He taught me how to praise my God ♪ 2458 01:42:56,247 --> 01:42:57,829 ♪ And still play rock and roll. ♪ 2459 01:42:57,829 --> 01:42:59,466 ♪ The music may sound different ♪ 2460 01:42:59,466 --> 01:43:00,919 ♪ But the message is the same' ♪ 2461 01:43:00,919 --> 01:43:05,919 ♪ It's just the instrument who praise his name. ♪