The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ Read Online Free PDF

Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
    The Stranger
    Now at about that time a stranger came to Christ and spoke to him privately.
    'I'm interested in you,' he said. 'Your brother is attracting all the attention, but I think you are the one I should speak to.'
    'Who are you?' said Christ. 'And how do you know about me? I have never spoken in public, unlike Jesus.'
    'I heard a story about your birth. Some shepherds saw a vision that led them to you, and some magicians from the East brought you gifts. Isn't that so?'
    'Why, yes,' said Christ.
    'And I spoke to your mother yesterday, and she told me of what happened when John baptised Jesus. You heard a voice speaking from a cloud.'
    'My mother should not have spoken of that,' said Christ modestly.
    'And some years ago, you confounded the priests in the temple at Jerusalem when your brother got into trouble. People remember these things.'
    'But - who are you? And what do you want?'
    'I want to make sure that you have your rightful reward. I want the world to know your name as well as that of Jesus. In fact I want your name to shine with even greater splendour. He is a man, and only a man, but you are the word of God.'
    'I don't know that expression, the word of God. What does it mean? And again, sir - who are you?'
    'There is time, and there is what is beyond time. There is darkness, and there is light. There is the world and the flesh, and there is God. These things are separated by a gulf deeper than any man can measure, and no man can cross it; but the word of God can come from God to the world and the flesh, from light to darkness, from what is beyond time into time. Now I must go away, and you must watch and wait, but I shall come to you again.'
    And he left. Christ had not found out his name, but the stranger had spoken with such knowledge and clarity that Christ knew, without having to ask, that he was an important teacher, no doubt a priest, perhaps from Jerusalem itself. After all, he had mentioned the incident in the temple, and how else would he have heard about it?

The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ
    Jesus and the Wine
    After being thrown out of the synagogue at Nazareth, Jesus found crowds following wherever he went. Some people said that his words showed he had gone out of his mind, and his family tried to speak to him and restrain him, for they were worried about what he would do.
    But he took little notice of his family. Once, at a wedding in the village of Cana, his mother said to him, 'Jesus, they've run out of wine.'
    Jesus answered, 'What's that got to do with me, or with you? Are you like my brother, that you want me to perform a miracle?'
    Mary did not know how to answer that, so she simply said to the servants, 'Just do as he says.'
    Jesus took the chief steward aside and spoke to him, and soon afterwards the servants discovered more wine. Some said Jesus had created it out of water by means of magic, but others said that the steward had hidden it, hoping to sell it, and Jesus had shamed him into honesty; and yet others only remembered the rough way Jesus spoke to his mother.
    Another time, when he was speaking to a group of strangers, someone came and told him, 'Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.'
    Jesus replied: 'My mother and my brothers and sisters are right here in front of me. I have no family except those who do the will of God, and whoever does the will of God is my mother and my brother and my sister.'
    Word of that got back to his family, and they were dismayed. That only added to the scandal that was beginning to surround his name, of course, and gave the people something else to spread stories about.
    Jesus was aware of the way people were talking about him, and he tried to discourage it. Once, a man whose skin was covered in boils and running sores came to him privately, and said, 'Lord, if you choose to, you can cure my disease.'
    The usual ritual for cleansing a leper (as those with skin diseases