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Jesus' plan to be crucified (2)
"I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me."(John 14:30-31)
John and Jesus

After the death of his father Joseph, Jesus may have worked as a day laborer on farms, wine factories and construction sites, etc to support the life of his mother and younger brothers and sisters until their mother's remarriage and later joined the religious reform movement of John the Baptist.
John was a maternal cousin of Jesus. The two young men both had deep religious knowledge and ideas. However their styles and personalities were completely different.
John lived in seclusion eating locusts and honey in the wilderness. But there were always many youths and religious leaders who yearned his virtues around him.
In contrast, Jesus liked to take part in banquets and was said "Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners".(Mat 11:19)
He was said to not only perform attractions such as turning water into wine in the jars at the banquets(John 2:3-11) but also do many miracles and through his such performing the blind received sight, the lame walked, those who had leprosy were cured, the deaf heard, the dead were raised.(Mat 11:5)
Miracles, Jesus performed, mobilized the mass, but also antagonized religious leaders and intellectuals. And in the later case John always stood by him and played the role to soften opposition.
Herod Dynasty

At that time, Herod Archelaus, Herod Philip and Herod Antipas, three sons of Herod the Great who had replaced the Hasmonean's rule backed by Rome, ruled Israel.
Herod the Great won fame to build more magnificent temple than the age of Solomon but had been neglected from native-born Jews, especially religious community because he was born in Edom (Idomaya) where the people had been forced to convert to Judaism by the Hasmonean.
In addition, Herod the Great oppressed the tribe of Levi which had governed the religious matters and the Hasmonean lineage. Therefore the relation between Royal family and religious community had been deteriorated.
Later Rome sacked Archelaus, the eldest son of Herod the Great, who had repeated mismanagement, and sent a governor to directly rule the territory of Judah.
Under such backgrounds, the relationship between Herod royal family and religious community led by Levi were like oil and water, while the suspicions between the royal family, which had gradually lost governing capability, and the Roman Governor's Office, which wanted to shift to direct rule, were raising bogies.
John's capture

Under these circumstances John and Jesus may have aimed at reconstruction of Israel as King Josiah had done. With the collaboration of John, who had many supporters in intellectuals, and Jesus, who had ability to mobilize the mass, their religious movement rapidly grew initially but later John was captured by Herod Antipas and executed.
Revelation of John
Jesus, who rallied dispersed disciples of John and rebuilt the new church ater John had captured, took over the Reformation. But he faced difficulties as he had to antagonize religious leaders and intellectuals without John's support. When John heard in prison that Jesus faced difficulties, he sent his disciples to ask him, "Are you the one who was to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Mat 11:2-3) With this revelation by John, Jesus may have determined to take the cross as the Messiah.
Atonement and the Second Coming
John, who predicted that the sin of Israel was redeemed through the execution of the Messiah and Israel would be revived with the Second Coming of the Messiah, originally may have intended to act as the Messiah by himself. However John later thought that Jesus was the best person to do this role because Jesus was from the tribe of Levi like he himself (Jesus' mother Mary was John's mother Elizabeth's cousin, according to Luke 1:36) and was known to the high priest (When Jesus was arrested, Simon Peter and another disciple who was known to the high priest, went with Jesus into the high priest's courtyard, according to John18:15) and had some Roman followers too. So John may have entrusted future affairs to Jesus.
The day before Passover
Jesus' plan to be crucified on the day before Passover was executed almost perfectly with gaining the supports of not only prominent members of the Sanhedrin and the Pharisees, but also the high priest, the king and the Roman governor.
According to the description of the gospel of John, Jesus had carefully prepared the plan several months before he was crucified. High priest Caiaphas explained Jesus' plan at a meeting of the Sanhedrin and call the members of Sanhedrin to support the plan. He said, "You know nothing at all! You do not realize that it is better for you that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. He will die for the Jewish nation, and not only for the nation but also for the scattered children of God, to bring them together and make them one." (John 11:49-52)
Collaboration with King, High Priest, the Roman governor

It is obvious that there were prior coordination among the high priest, a key member of the Sanhedrin, King and the Roman governor because Jesus was questioned by the high priest, the Sanhedrin, King and the Roman governor and put on trial in less than two days after he was arrested.
Even there were prior coordination, it was very difficult to convene the members of the Sanhedrin late night especially before telephone-era and to complete all procedures of investigation, trial and execution in charged by the high priest, King and the Roman governor during only net one day and to bury before sunset because the law prohibited to work after sunset on the day before Passover.
The criminal investigation for a mere sinner is impossible to be conducted by Roman governor and king in midnight even though there were the high priest and Sanhedrin's requests.
Besides Jesus' superhuman ability and Jesus church's broad connections, we can see there were political and diplomatic considerations betting on the survival of the nation behind such miraculous collaboration as we can see behind King Josiah's Reformation.
Spirit and Truth
Even if one of them, the high priest, king and Roman governor had refused to cooperate, his plan would not realize. Jesus succeeded to convince each of them that his plan (or the plan prepared by John with Caiaphas etc.) had merit and was very convenient for them. The key to succeed was that Jesus had consolidated the Jewish doctrine into the words, "spirit and truth". Jesus asserted, "God is spirit".(John 4:24) So you can freely call it Jehovah, Yahveh, Allah or Buddha nature in your own word. Because of this, in the formation process of the New Testament, the editors may have carefully avoided to use Jewish name, Jehovah or Yahveh and to use general nouns such as God or Lord instead.
At the Last Supper Jesus preached; "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you."(John 14:16-17)
We can never grasp the truth in this world. Truth is living and changing every moment. Even if you grab it, it is a residual shadow and not living truth. Then how can we get a truth? The only way to get a truth is to be one with the Spirit of truth. In other words, you become one with God (or Jesus) through doing God's will (or Jesus' teaching), according to Jesus' preaching at the Last Supper.
Great revolt broke out

After the execution of Jesus, because the great rebellion to resist Roman rule broke out, the original plan was completely destroyed. However the group led by the Twelve Apostles (except Judas Iscariot) in Israel and another group led by Paul and Barnabas etc. outside of Israel continued the campaign. Then Jesus' teaching became the official religion of Rome and was introduced to the world.
Jesus summed up his preaching at the Last Supper and said, "I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me."(John 14:30-31)
These words, which Jesus predicted coming an era dominated by Satan after his leaving, reflect the thoughts of author of the Gospel of John who witnessed the fully destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem by the Roman army after the rebellion and he himself was boiled in oil and yet miraculously survived.
Israel, which Jesus tried to rescue through sacrificing himself to redeem its sins, disappeared completely. Was his redemption vain? No, it was not. Because Jesus loved God and did exactly what he had commanded him.
Jesus said, "God is spirit." Although spirit has another faice, Satan., Jesus had no hold on him. So Jesus also did not know how long the rule of Satan last. However Jesus preached us, "The world must trust in me, who love God and do God's will, and tide over the soon coming period of hardship." (Eko-an Hensho: 2010-06-12)

What is "Baptism with The Holy Spirit"?
According to the dialectic of the Gospel of John,
【thesis】 "A man can possess eternal life through accepting testimony of the Son of man and being baptized by him." (John 5:24)
【anti-thesis】 But "The one who comes from the earth cannot accept the testimony by one from heaven."(John 3:32)
How then can a man possess eternal life?
【synthesis】 "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)"
When he said, "You are Huichao," Zen Master Fayan thrusted vivid Self in Huichao in front of his eyes. (The Origin of Christianity P.171)
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