According to the Gospel of John, after an argument had developed between Jesus' disciples and the followers of John the Baptist, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea. But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus' brothers encouraged him, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." （John 7:1-4）

Jesus told them, "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the Feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come." Having said this, he stayed in Galilee. However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret. (John 7:6-10)

The relationship between Jesus and his brothers is inferred dimly from this conversation. The author of the gospel of John notes, "For even his own brothers did not believe in him," (John 7:5) immediately after mentioning that many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him because of his teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. His brothers seem to have seen Jesus as an equal brother but not an object of their faith. However, they likely understood both Jesus' mission and his plan. James the Less, who served as the high priest for the Nazirites in the temple and won the high honor of the Righteous among the clergy in Jerusalem, was perhaps the mainstay of Jesus' family and his other younger brothers seem to have studied under James but not Jesus.

By the way, in the Synoptic Gospels (3 Gospels: Mark/Matthew/Luke), the "incident of driving away the temple merchants'' is placed at the end of Jesus' missionary activities.

According to the account in the Gospel of John, as soon as Jesus made his spectacular debut in the Jerusalem religious society through the testimony of John the Baptist in Bethany, he chased away the temple merchants, following the story of Hanukkah, which had took back the Jerusalem Temple from the Greeks during the Maccabees War. It appears that Jesus briefly returned to Galilee to observe the reaction of the Jerusalem religious community. But his brothers said, "You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles you do.'', and goes on to say, "No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.'', and not only that, but they're also pushing him, saying, "Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world."

The word, "so that your disciples may see the miracles you do", seems to tell that James and other younger brothers could help Jesus to do miracles in Jerusalem, where James could perform as the high priest for the Nazirites.

In other words, the brothers called for further acceleration of the plan which would ultimately have crucified Jesus as a sin offering lamb. Jesus' response, the words "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right.'' was a inspiring and meant "The time for my crucifixion has not yet come, but you must have something to do now,'' and Jesus added, "The world cannot hate you, but it hates me''

His performances, such as wielding a rope whip to chase away temple merchants, breaking the ceiling of a crowded meeting hall, and lowering a sick man on a doorboard from the roof to in front of Jesus, had the effect of stirring up some of the public, but caused the disgrace of the religious community in Jerusalem, and Jesus was apparently hated by the priests.

However, the priestly class cannot hate the brothers of Jesus who prepared these stage settings with the approval of High Priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, so Jesus seems to have thought that his brothers could continue to promote their plans on the front stage of Jerusalem, centered around the temple.

Thus Jesus, who had gone up to Jerusalem in secret, not until halfway through the Feast, but did go up to the temple courts and begin to teach. Jesus said, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you will not find me; and where I am, you cannot come."

The Jews said to one another, "Where does this man intend to go that we cannot find him? Will he go where our people live scattered among the Greeks, and teach the Greeks? What did he mean when he said, 'You will look for me, but you will not find me,' and 'Where I am, you cannot come'?" (John 7:33-36)

While the Gospel of John raises the biggest koan (Koans are subjects which Zen masters give their students in the meditation hall) shared by all mankind, that is, "Where is Jesus after the Crucifixion?" through out of the Gospel, after having made clear that the Word (Logos), which penetrates the universe, is the entity of Jesus, saying "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He (Jesus) was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. (John 1:1-3)" at the beginning, Jesus himself answered to the riddle at the Last Supper.

Jesus told the Twelve the true meaning of his crucifixion at the Last Supper. When Jesus told his disciples, " There is more than enough room in my Father's home. If this were not so, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going," Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us." Jesus answered: "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father." (John 14:2-12)

"But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)

"In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father." (John 16:23-28)

After finishing the last preachment, Jesus went a little distance away from his disciples and prayed; I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. (John 17:11) I in them and you in me. May they be brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me. (John 17:23)

Jesus also said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him," (John 6:44) after saying, "All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. (John 6:37) My Father's will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life" (John 6:40) while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. He meant that only ones, who went back to the word which had been with God in the beginning (John 1:1), could certify that "God is truthful."(John 3:33) In other words, They can possess eternal life through being baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Under such preaching style, Jesus might have become the founder of Zen Buddhism which aims to foster one or even a half of true awakened believers and has perhaps worldwide less than 10 million followers, but Christianity would not have become the world religion which has about 2.2 billion believers today. However, since James the Less, who served as the high priest for the Nazirites, a fundamentalist sect, in the temple and won the high honor of the Righteous among the clergy in Jerusalem, was appointed a successor of Jesus' movement, when the first Christian church was born on the day of Pentecost, just seven weeks after the execution of Jesus, at the former meeting place of the Essenes, another fundamentalist sect, next to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, about three thousand new believers including representatives of the Gentile (non-circumcision believers) church around the Mediterranean coast and the Pharisees and the Sadducees were added to the church on that day. (Acts 2:41)

The 3 close aides of Jesus, Peter, James the Great and John, the brother of James, were disciples of John the Baptist at first, and John the Baptist is said to have had close relationship with the Essenes. Therefore these disciples also seem to have tried to rebuild the teachings of Jesus based on the doctrine of the Old Testament. Paul, who never been taught by Jesus, joined the primitive church and injected his own theory of "justification by one's faith" into it. As a result, the primitive church transformed from an elite religion to a popular religion and spread rapidly in the area of the Roman Empire.

When the Jewish feast of Tabernacles, which is observed in the fall, from the 15th to the 22nd of the seventh month in the Hebrew calendar, was near, though Jesus at first declined his brothers' invitation to go up to Jerusalem together with them, he went also after his brothers had left for the Feast, not publicly, but in secret and began to teach in the temple courts. At this point Jesus seems to have already decided to be crucified on the day before the Passover feast which starts on the 15th of the first month of the following year. The Jerusalem church was established by the representatives of the Gentile believers around the Mediterranean coast on the day of Pentecost (the 6th of the 3rd month), just one and half month after the Crucifixion, at the former meeting place of the Essenes, next to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest and Jesus' brother James was appointed to the first bishop. The detailed schedule seems to have been planned up to that time. The rest of time left only a few months for Jesus and he did not return to Galilee anymore after this. Perhaps, Luke and Barnabas are also believed to have been working hard for the finishing touch for the Gentile church headquarters' launch in Macedonia and Cyprus island respectively.

Who on earth designed such grand plan? The High Priest Caiaphas and his father-in-law Annas seem to have welcomed the establishment of Jerusalem Church overseeing Gentile Jews scattered abroad. The Roman governor and the Herod royal family, too, might expect that the revolts by religious leaders would more or less subside through the establishment of Jerusalem Church. However, it is clear that nobody among them had such influence to lead the movement involving the Gentile believers throughout the Mediterranean coast.

Jesus spoke to the people who gathered around him in the temple courts on the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, he cried out, "Yes, you know me, and you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him because I am from him and he sent me." (John 7:28-29)

When they saw a man, who had driven out the sheep and cattle for sacrifice with a whip made of cords and overturned tables of the money changers during the Passover feast, not only entering the temple courts again and even preaching, the crowd and even the clergy must have had a premonition that some anomaly had been occurring.

Although not a few of the temple clergy must have been frustrated on Jesus' preaching and angry with him, they seem to have not been able to lay a hand on the elder brother of James, who served as the high priest for the Nazirites entering into the holy areas of the Temple and won the high honor of the Righteous among the clergy in Jerusalem. And it was also obvious to everyone without mentioning by Jesus that a tacit consent has been given by Annas, the former high priest and his son-in-law Caiaphas, the incumbent high priest.

The Gospel of John describes; "At this they tried to seize him, but no one laid a hand on him, because his time had not yet come." (John 7:30)

Jesus said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."

Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. (John 8:12-14)

He meant, "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So am I born of the Spirit. (John 3:8) However, I know where I came from and where I am going. Thus my testimony is valid."

Jesus positioning himself on the absolute axis as a single one (Autogenes), "the Holy One of God," and testified. But in this way, people in this world, who positioning themselves on the relative axis, could not understand his testimony. Thus, Moses displayed the heavenly law on the stone tablets using earthly words so that people could read and understand it. However the law is no longer absolute.

Therefore, Jesus said to them, "(When I position myself on the absolute axis, ) I (preach nothing and) pass judgment on no one. But even if I (position myself on the relative axis and) do judge, my decisions are still right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me. (John 8:15-18)" He claimed that his testimony was still valid on a basis of Moses' law.

Jesus said to the clergy; "I am telling you what I have seen in the Father's presence, and you do what you have heard from your father. If you were Abraham's children, then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is, you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your own father does." (John 8:38-41)

The Jews, who were outraged to hear this, blurted out, "We are not illegitimate children. The only Father we have is God himself." (John 8:41) This was the very answer that had been sought after by Jesus.

However, Jesus did not allow just verbal answer and continued; "Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:43-44) He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God. (John 8:47) "

Jesus like a Zen master who often asks monks to show the proof of their enlightenment saying "A murderer must see some blood," pronounced on the Jews, "You cannot be baptized with The Holy Spirit (Mahesvara's talisman), unless you discard your stinking pride and arrogance as Abraham's descendants and even prepare to lose your life."

At that point, Jesus pointed out their lineage in terms of the spirit and the flesh separately, saying, "I know you are Abraham's descendants," (John 8:37) at first and then, "You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desire," (John 8:44) and declared, "Everyone in this world is a slave to sin (John 8:34), unless he is without sin. (John 8:7)"

Jesus stripped the Jews of their all nationalistic prides so that let them recognize their intrinsic selves as the supreme entity in human being which have been shared with God since before the creation of the world. (John 15:27) His such drastic measure bore fruit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit appears to have blossomed as the cultures of Zen Buddhism, which regards the spiritual rebirth as one of its fundamental tenets, after being having conveyed to India by Thomas. And Jesus' fate of the crucifixion was stated at that point, too.

The Hindu Gods Shiva Mahesvara, the Lord of the past, present and future, has the third eye, situated in the middle of his forehead, to see things standing on the absolute axis, in addition to the regular two eyes, through which he can see the relative world and also has a talisman to take away one's life under his elbow.

Hakuin Ekaku (1686-1769), known as the ancestor who rejuvenated the Rinzai ("Linji" in Hanyu pinyin) school in Japanese Zen Buddhism, commented a dialogue between the founder of Linji School LinJi YiXuan chanshi(Zen master)'s one of eminent disciple SanSheng HuiRan chanshi and YangShan-HuiJi chanshi (804-890) who is the founder of GuiYang School of Zen Buddhism, which is recorded in "HuaiAnGuoYu" Case 11, as follows; "Growl like a lion crouching on the ground, with Mahesvara's one eye on his forehead and a talisman under his elbow to take away one's life." The comment warns one, who study this koan (Subjects which Zen masters give their students in the meditation hall), that he may lose his life.

One day, SanSheng chanshi visited YangShan chanshi. YangShan asked, "What is your name?" SanSheng replied, "I am HuiJi." YangShan said, "It's my name!" SanSheng said, "Is it? Then I am HuiRan." YangShan bursted into a roar of laughter. (HuaiAnGuoYu Case 11: Who are you?)

Jesus continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. (John 8:23)" He meant that he had spoken to them of heavenly things but they tried to understand them as earthly things. They were just not on the same wavelength. "I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins." (John 8:24) However, "If you (position yourself on the absolute axis and) hold to my teaching, you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free. (John 8:31-32)" In other words, "If you are baptized with the Holy Spirit and receive the spirit of truth, then the truth will set you free from your life of sin." Before this, Jesus had also said to a woman caught in adultery, "Then neither do I condemn you. Go now and leave your life of sin. (John 8:11)"

Jesus also said, "The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him. (John 8:29)"

He declared the extent of such self-confidence as "the Holy One of God." And his teaching at the temple courts in Jerusalem can be described as a true roar of Mahesvara. However Jesus still began to be deeply distressed and troubled at Gethsemane and fell to the ground and prayed, "Abba, Father, everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will. (Mark 14:36／Mat 26:39／Luke 22/42)" He also cried out in a loud voice on the cross, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Mark 15:34／Mat 27:46)"

Jesus, who had gone up to Jerusalem and had pronounced on the Jews, "You cannot be baptized with The Holy Spirit (Mahesvara's talisman) to possess eternal life, unless you discard your stinking pride and arrogance as Abraham's descendants," during the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles, which is celebrated on the seventh month of the Hebrew calendar, continued to stay in the city and performed good works, such as healing a blind from birth and reiterated his determination to be crucified, saying, "The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life--only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father." (John 10:17-18)

When Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon's Colonnade at the time of Hanukkah, the Festival of Dedication, some of the Jews, who had been somewhat impressed with these sermons, surrounded him and asked, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." (John 10:24) These Jews look to have been expecting Jesus to play the role of a Messiah, such as Mattathias, a priest from Modi'in, who had revolted against the rule of the Seleucid King of Syria.

Hanukkah, which is observed for eight nights and days, starting on the 25th day of the ninth month of the Hebrew calendar, is an Jewish feast commemorating the cleansing of the Temple in Jerusalem polluted by Hellenism when Jews won a decisive victory against the Syrian-Greeks in the Maccabean War of 165 BCE.

However, Jesus, who had determined to take the lead in the tidal wave of the church movement of Hellenists (Overseas Jews who were neither familiar with Hebrew or Aramaic but used Greek as intermediate language among them), answered bluntly, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name speak for me, but you do not believe because you are not my sheep." (John 10:25-26)

The enraged Jews picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?" They replied, "You blasphemed God. Because you, a mere man, claim to be God." Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your Law, 'I have said you are gods'? If he called them 'gods,' to whom the word of God came, what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, 'I am God's Son'? The one, who believes the works I do, may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father." (John 10:32-39)

Jesus looks like to have judged that these Jews could not understand the Last Word of him until his crucifixion, even if he preached out of kindness.

The Last Word, in terms of Zen Buddhism, means the word which one, who died once and returned back to life, in other words, who experienced spiritual rebirth, speaks out. According to the dialectic of the Gospel of John, "A man can possess eternal life through accepting testimony of the Son of man and being baptized by him. (John 5:24) But the one who comes from the earth cannot accept the testimony by one from heaven. (John 3:32) Therefore, if you want to be baptized with the Holy Spirit, you can just go back to the word which was with God in the beginning (John 1:1) and certify that God is truthful. (John 3:33)" Thus, 'The Last Word' is entity of 'Baptism of the Holy Spirit.'

Zen master DeShan XuanJian (780-865), who is famous as he produced many disciples using a method to beat them up with a stick during the Tang Dynasty in China, one day went to the dining hall with his bowls in his hand. XueFeng YiCun (822-908), who was on duty of cooking, asked him, "Where are you going with your bowls, Old Man? The bell hasn't rung and the drum hasn't sounded." DeShan went back to his room dejectedly.

No nonsense diligent student XueFeng was confused by his teacher's behavior which he had not seen before, and told his sibling disciple YanTou QuanHuo (828-887) about this. In contrast, a playful but genius student Yantou said, "Big and small DeShan (which means DeShan and XueFeng) do not know the last word." XueFeng was more confused and looks to have asked, of all things, DeShan himself about the comment of YanTou.

So DeShan sent for Yantou and asked, "You rated on my lack of enlightenment to XueFeng, didn't you?" YanTou leaned over and whispered something into DeShan's ear. DeShan looks to have been satisfied with YanTou's explanation.

When Deshan sat before the sangha next day, his dharma talk was really different. Yantou rose from his seat, went to the front of the hall and said loudly, "How wonderful! Our Master's Last Word. Now, no one on earth can despise him! (The Gateless Barrier Case 13)

TianMuShan ZhongFeng MingBen (1263-1323), a Zen Master during the Yuan Dynasty era of China, is warning in his writing, "The one, who preaches that 'The liberation of the flesh while sitting or the entering nirvana while standing is the ultimate expression of enlightenment, that is, 'the Last Word' in Zen Buddhism,' is a kind of the Ninety-six classes of heretics in India." According to him, the words and acts and even inaction are only flexible expedients for guiding people and not absolute or immutable truth.

In this world, all things are in flux and nothing is permanent. A word or an act, is once spoken out or done, it is no longer absolute or immutable, 'Deshan's stick' and 'Linji's shouting' are also only flexible expedients. The Last Word, too, does not exist originally. Thus, the word before sound, which the thousand sages have not transmitted, seems to have to be known by ourselves through going back to the word which was with God in the beginning (John 1:1) and certifying that God is truthful. (John 3:33)

After leaving the temple, Jesus went back with his followers across the Jordan River to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. He and his disciples united with the followers of John the Baptist They stayed there (perhaps Aenon in Perea) and waited for the rehearsal of resurrection in Bethany to become ready. After receiving a message from Mary and her sister Martha, saying that their brother Lazarus was critically sick, Jesus purposely postponed his departure a few days and appeared at the funeral venue of Lazarus and resurrected Lazarus from the grave in front of a large number of mourners. This miracle was reported throughout of Israel by the mourners. The high priest Caiaphas immediately called a meeting of the Sanhedrin and proposed to crucify Jesus as the savior of the Jewish nation. Jesus withdrew temporary to a village called Ephraim, where he stayed with his disciples. (John 11:49-54)

Ephraim is a hilly territory north of Jerusalem and it is regarded as the most fertile land of Palestine. Joseph, one of the twelve tribes, has two branches, that is, Manasseh and Ephraim. Joshua, who was the successor of Moses and conquered Canaan, and Jeroboam I, the first king of the northern kingdom of Israel, both came from Ephraim. Jeroboam I tried to countervail against the Holy Land Jerusalem by "the faith of the Holy Calf" brought back from Egypt where he had been exiled. There is also a tomb of Joshua in Ephraim. Jesus may have gone to report in front of Joshua's grave before being sentenced to the crucifixion. If so, it is possible that Pantera, who is said to be Jesus' real father, was an Ephraim.

Six days before the Passover, Jesus again arrived at Bethany and was poured perfume by Mary. The next day, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey as the king of Israel, led the masses and marched through the streets. (John 12:12-15) However, he suddenly began to waver and be troubled after being paid a visit by some Greeks and he said, "Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour." (John 12:27) Jesus may have been told from the leaders of the Hellenist 's followers, who had come all the way from Greece to attend the inauguration ceremony of Jerusalem Church which should have been held one and a half months later, the contents of final agreement between representatives of domestic and foreign Jewish factions and Sanhedrin including the High Priest. At this time, Jesus also said, "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. I tell you the truth, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just a single grain; but if it dies, it bears much fruit." (John 12:23-24)

Kaiaphas, to whom the Roman prefect entrusted the job of the high priest, and his father-in-law Annas, the ex-high priest, opened the temple for Jesus' preaching. He also allowed him to drive out all merchants who were buying and selling in the temple area and connived for him to enter Jerusalem riding on a donkey, in other word as the king of Israel. Jesus made a sermon in the temple after driving out the merchants from the temple by swinging a whip. These all suggest that the high priest had made special permission. According to the Gospel of John, one of Jesus' disciples, who was known to the high priest, not only went with the arrested Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, but also negotiated to bring Peter in.

At that time, robust walls surrounded the city of Jerusalem and the temple too. Furthermore in this year's Passover Feast, both the Roman Prefect Pilate and the Tetrarch of Galilee Herod Antipas had come to Jerusalem from Caesarea and Tiberias respectively. Caesarea and Tiberias are about 87 km and 116 km away from Jerusalem in a straight line respectively. Therefore the city seems to have been laid with much stricter vigilance.

Jesus chose this exact time to execute his plan. Therefore, he must have had special permission from the High Priest beforehand. Otherwise, it was impossible for him to enter Jerusalem riding a donkey and leading the crowd.

Jesus went to the temple every day and not only told the congregation and his disciples three parables (the Two Sons, the Tenants, and the Wedding Feast) and made a doomsday prophecy, but also responded to five questions from the clergy and Herodians during his final week leading up to His crucifixion after he had marched into Jerusalem as the King of Israel riding a donkey colt and leading the masses and had expelled merchants in the temple on Sunday, the 10th of Ni-San. By the way, though the cleansing of the Temple narrative, which tells of Jesus expelling the merchants and the money changers from the Temple, occurs at the start of his missionary activity in the Gospel of John, the Synoptic Gospels place it at the end of his missionary.

When the chief priests and the elders of the people asked Jesus, "By what authority are you doing these things? And who gave you this authority?" Jesus did not reply but asked, "John's baptism--where did it come from? Was it from heaven, or from men?" They answered, "We don't know." Then Jesus said, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I am doing these things." Of the five questions and answers, only this one, Jesus declined to answer. Nevertheless, it was clear to everyone that Jesus had obtained tacit consent from the High Priest Caiaphas and James the Less, who had been recognized equal to the High Priest as a Nazirite priest. In fact, the high priest and James the Less seem to have carefully prepared the opportunity for Jesus to interact with the clergy and Herodians as the final step of crucifying Jesus as the Savior.

When the Pharisees and the Herodians asked, "Is it right to pay taxes to Caesar or not?" Jesus said "Show me the coin used for paying the tax." And he asked, "Whose picture and title are stamped on it?" "Caesar's," they replied. "Well, then," he said, "give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and give to God what belongs to God."

The Sadducees, who said, "There is no resurrection from the dead," asked Jesus, "Moses told us that if a man dies without having children, his brother must marry the widow and have children for him. At the resurrection, whose wife will she be of seven brothers who were all married to her?" Jesus replied, "At the resurrection people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; they will be like the angels in heaven." So he denied the resurrection in flesh. And he also preached the immortality of the soul, saying "But about the resurrection of the dead--have you not read what God said to you, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' ? He is not the God of the dead but of the living." Some of the teachers of the law, who were standing there, responded, "Well said, teacher! (Luke 20:39)"

When one of the Pharisees asked, "Which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus picked up following two scriptures; 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. (De 6:4-5)' and 'Love your neighbor as yourself. (Nu 19:18)' and said, All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Finally, Jesus threw a question back at the Pharisees, "What do you think about the Christ? Whose son is he?" They replied, "The son of David." Then Jesus denied the notion that the Savior would emerge from David's bloodline, saying, "Why then that David says, 'The Lord said to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet. (Psalm 41: 9)' If then David calls him 'Lord,' how can he be his son? (Mt 22:43-45/ Mr 12:35-37/ Lu 20:41-44)"

By the way, God promises that the kings of Israel will be descendants of David for generations in the Second Book of Samuel and in the Book of Jeremiah. God promises to David through the Prophet Nathan saying, "When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands." (2Sa 7:12-14) He also says, "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, a King who will reign wisely and do what is just and right in the land. In his days Judah will be saved and Israel will live in safety. This is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteous Savior." (Jer 23:5-6)

These answers of Jesus attracts our attention, because they seem to stand apart from not only the folklore, which says that the Savior would emerge from David's bloodline but also Hasidism, which refused to pay taxes to the pagan rulers and Pauline theology, which suggests the physical resurrection of Christ, while emphasize 'Love your neighbor as yourself' just like the Essenes.

However, quoting the scripture; 'He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me. (Ps 41: 9),' Jesus implied that he would be betrayed by Judas, one of the Twelve Apostles. (Joh 13:18) This implication is meaningless unless there is an assumption that the Savior would be a descendant of David.

Jesus was executed on Friday of the 14th Ni-san of the Jewish calendar and it probably happened on Friday, April 1, 33 in the Gregorian calendar or on Friday, April 3, 33 in the Julian calendar. There were a few different types of Jewish calendars at that time. We could not know which calendar was used, when Jesus was crucified or when the Gospel-books were written and also in the legend. Moreover, the gaps between these calendars and the actual seasons were adjusted from time to time. Therefore, it is difficult to find out which year in the modern western calendar Jesus was executed.

The date of Jesus' execution was Friday of the 14th or 15th Ni-san (the first month of the Jewish calendar) in a year when the day before Passover overlapped with the day before the Sabbath.

Pontius Pilatus, who authorized the crucifixion of Jesus, was the fifth Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, from 26–36 AD.

The years to meet the above-mentioned condition in his term of office are said to be 27 AD, 33 AD and 36 AD.

According to chapter 2 of the Gospel of John, Jesus visited the temple of Jerusalem 46 years after King Herod began repair construction of the temple .

If we infer from these points, the year when Jesus was executed should be 27 AD, just one year after Pilatus was inaugurated as the Prefect.

However, according to the Gospel of Luke, John, who baptized Jesus, started baptism activity in the Jordanian river in the 15th year of Roman Emperor Tiberius, which is in 28 or 29 AD. It is impossible for Jesus to be crucified before that. Therefore, 33 AD would be a more reasonable deduction as compared to 27 AD. However, Japanese Wikipedia and Professor James D. Tabor of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina say that it may have been 30 AD.

On Nisan 14, 33 C.E., the Jewish leaders brought a man, that is Jesus, who was accused pretending "the King of the Jews" by them, to Pilate in the early morning and asked him to sentence to death. Jewish court could process normal trial. The Sanhedrin could pass even the death sentence, however they had to obtain the governor's ratification for such sentence by them.

Pilate announced that he found no fault in the accused. (John 18:37-38, Luke 23:4) And upon learning that Jesus was from Galilee, Pilate sent him to Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee. After that he tried to release Jesus in accord with the custom of freeing a prisoner at each Passover festival.

Perhaps Jesus was supposed to be released at this point and to return to Galilee earlier than his disciples in the original scenario. (Mark 14:28,16:7, Mat 28:7,10) A consensus of this seems to have had made among the governor, the Herod royal family and the key leaders of the temple and the Sanhedrin. However an unexpected situation occurred. The crowd clamored for the release of Barabbas, a robber, murderer, and seditionist. (Luke 23:5-19) So he was getting nowhere but acceded to their wishes. He washed his hands with water and said, "I am innocent of this man's blood. It is your responsibility!" (Matthew 27:24)

At the death of Herod the Great, who had replaced the Hasmonean's rule backed by Rome, his kingdom was divided among his three sons. 1) Herod Archelaus, son of Herod and Malthace the Samaritan, was given the main part of the kingdom: Judea, Edom and Samaria; 2) Herod Philip I, son of Herod and his fifth wife Cleopatra of Jerusalem, was given jurisdiction over the northeast part of his father's kingdom; 3) Herod Antipas, another son of Herod and Malthace, was made ruler of the Galilee and Perea.

Roman emperor Augustus made Herod Antipas (Reign:BC4-AD39) marry the daughter of Arabian neighbor Nabataean King Aretas IV in order to maintain peace in the region. However, an intimate relationship between Antipas and his niece Herodeyas. who was wife of Philip I. was exposed and the daughter of King Nabatea resented and went back to her parents.

Antipas divorced her and remarried Herodeyas perhaps after the death of Philip I. John the Baptist condemned Antipas for marrying Herodias in violation of Old Testament Law (Torah). Herod imprisoned John at the fortress Machaerus near the Dead Sea and later executed by beheading. After a while it became a war with Nabatea and suffered a crushing defeat in the vicinity of Machaerus fortress. Thus it was regarded as a retribution of John the Baptist.

The Pharisees were prejudiced against the Herod royal family, who was offspring of Edomite and Pro-Rome, even as the Hasmonean Dynasty which had actively absorbed Hellenistic culture. Incidentally it is said that the Pharisaic opposition to the Hasmonean king Jannaeus was caused by his marriage to his brother's widow.

Joanna, the wife of Antipas' steward Chuza, who secretly took the head of John the Baptist and buried it, later associated with the ministry of Jesus and saw Jesus on The Cross and His burial. (Luke 24:10) It suggests Antipas' careful consideration to the emerging religious groups.

In fact, when the Roman Prefect Pilate sent Jesus to Antipas, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. According to the Gospel of Luke, he plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. (Luke 23:8-9)

At that time, the Roman Empire was extremely unstable. The intrigues, which were involved with the district army corps, the senate, the court and the royal family, were swirling all around the Empire. Therefore, the children and grandchildren of Herod the Great separately tried to build relationships with various groups in Rome in order to survive.

According to Romano-Jewish historian Josephus, when Caligula became the emperor, he granted his friend Agrippa (the grandson of Herod the Great and Hasmonean princess, the brother of Herodias and the nephew of Antipas) the rule of Philip's former tetrarchy, with the title of king. Herodias was jealous of Agrippa's success and persuaded Antipas to ask Caligula for the title of king for himself. However, Agrippa simultaneously presented the emperor with a list of charges against the tetrarch: allegedly, he had conspired against Tiberius and was now plotting against Caligula. As evidence, Agrippa noted that Antipas had a stockpile of weaponry sufficient for 70,000 men. Hearing Antipas' admission to this last charge, Caligula decided to credit the allegations of conspiracy. In the summer of 39 AD, Antipas' money and territory were turned over to Agrippa, while he himself was exiled to Lugdunum (Lyon) in Gaul. After the death of Agrippa, his feudal estates became the Roman province. However his son Agrippa Ⅱ, who grew up in the court of the Emperor Claudius, became the last king of Herod Dynasty under the auspices of Claudius.

Because the next day of Jesus' crucifixion was the Sabbath, the women who had followed him rested on the day in obedience to the commandment. Thus, they went to the tomb early on the first day of the week and saw that Jesus' body had been removed from the tomb.

The descriptions of four Gospel-books regarding the first witness of Jesus' body's disappearance differed.

According to the Gospel of Mark, they are Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome. The Gospel of Luke says, they are Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them. And the Gospel of Matthew says, they are Mary Magdalene and the other Mary. However the Gospel of John says that Mary Magdalene alone was the first witness.

Only Mary Magdalene is common to 4 Gospel-books. The Gospel of Philip, one of the Gnostic Gospels, has hinted the fact that she was the wife of Jesus. She said to accompany Jesus' mother through the rest of her life. The mother of James (James the Just) means the mother of Jesus.

Regarding Salome, in the Gospel of Thomas, another Gnostic Gospel, she said to Jesus "Who are you, mister? You have climbed onto my couch and eaten from my table as if you are from someone."(Thomas 61)

Joanna was the wife of Chuza, King Herod's business manager. It is interesting that the wife of the treasury secretary of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee, who had beheaded John the Baptist, followed the mission of Jesus to end.

According to the Gospel of John, on the Sunday evening two days after Jesus' crucifixion, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked, Jesus stood among them and breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit. As the Father has sent me, I am sending you," encouraging them to work as apostles.(John 20:19-23)

One of the Twelve, Thomas (called Didymus), was not with the disciples when Jesus came. So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!" But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."

Eight days later the disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Jesus came and stood among them and said to Thomas, "Put your finger here and see my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Stop doubting and believe." Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" Then Jesus told him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:24-29)

In this episode, the author of the Gospel of John might have intended to emphasize through Jesus' mouth that it is not something which is visible, but those which are not visible are believed. We believed Jesus' resurrection not because we had seen him but because we were always with him through keeping his teaching.

Because Jesus had often prophesize that he would be raised from the dead in his teaching, the disappearance of Jesus's body led his disciples to believe that Jesus has resurrected. However, Didymus Judas Thomas, who is called "Doubting Thomas," seems to have different faith from other Disciples.

Incidentally, according to the book "The Jesus Family Tomb" written by Simcha Jacobovici and Charles R. Pellegrino (with a Foreword by James Cameron), the burial chamber, which unearthed at a building site in the East Talpiot neighborhood of East Jerusalem in 1980, contained 10 ossuaries with Aramaic inscriptions such as "Joseph," "Jesus son of Joseph," "Mary," another "Mary (perhaps Mary Magdalene or Mary Salome)," "Matthew," and "Judah son of Jesus" etc. Though the names of these biblical characters are very common, probability to be found them in a same tomb at the same time is 1/2,500,000 a simple calculation. Even after taking into account of a variety of negative factors, it is about 1/600, the possibility of being Jesus' family's tomb is still quite high.

On the other hand, Oded Golan, the collector, who lives in Tel Aviv, bought an ossuary, bearing the Aramaic inscription "James son of Joseph brother of Jesus," from an East Jerusalem antiquities dealer in the 1970s. Aryeh Shimron, the geologist, is now trying to make that connection by identifying a well-defined geochemical match between specific elements found in samples collected from the interiors of the Talpiot Tomb ossuaries and of the James ossuary. Mr. Jacobovici and his supporters say that if it could be proved that the James ossuary originated in the Talpiot Tomb would bolster the chances that the tomb belonged to the family of Jesus of Nazareth.

According to the dialectic of the Gospel of John,

How then can a man possess eternal life?

When he said, "You are Huichao," Zen Master Fayan thrusted vivid Self in Huichao in front of his eyes.