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Jesus' plan to be crucified (4)

Jesus was executed on Friday of the 14th or 15th Ni-san of the Jewish calendar and it probably happened in AD 33.
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.
14th Ni-san
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.
Disappearance of Jesus' body

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.
Faith of Resurrection
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.
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.
Thomas the Believer

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."
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.
Thomas criticizes Eschatology and Resurrection Theory
Didymus Judas Thomas, who was called "Doubting Thomas" because of this episode in the Gospel of John, was honored as the twin of Jesus (Both Didymus and Thomas mean twin in Greek and in Aramaic respectively.) by some parts of Gnostic church and seemed to have different faith from other Disciples.
The followers said to Jesus, "Tell us how our end will be."
Jesus said, "Have you discovered the beginning, then, so that you are seeking the end? For where the beginning is the end will be. Blessings on the one who stands at the beginning. That one will know the end and will not taste death." (The Gospel of Thomas Chapter 18)
Thomas intended to explain that where the beginning is, the end will be. The one who stands at the beginning will know the end and get eternal life. One who binds start in his life with its end and makes steps forward is a man who lives in heaven while staying in this world. He criticized Orthodox Churches' eschatology and resurrection theory through these Jesus' words.
Gnosticism
Gnosis group considers the primary Self, which transcends from the material world and the flesh, as the highest and ultimate entity called "Propater" and puts it higher than God of the Old Testament. People can get salvation through recognizing this primary Self. They can keep recognizing the primary Self through keeping the laws of the Old Testament but cannot get salvation from the laws themselves.
These doctrines are similar to the teaching of Paul who taught that only the faith in Christ could save people and the laws could not save people and to the teaching of the Gospel of John which says people can be one with God and Jesus through the spirit. But Gnostic Church were declared Heresy by the Catholic Church because they did not recognize any temporal authority especially the rank system of the Catholic Church.
However Jesus also did not recognize temporal authorities and he said "I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven."(Mat12:31/Mark3:28-29/Luke12:10) From this, Jesus himself might be a typical Gnosist.
Tomas' mission to India
Teaching of the Gospel of Thomas is very close to Buddhism. Thomas was said to mission to the east and be martyred in India. At that time, Mahayana Buddhism was flourished under the dynasty of Andora in India. He could meet Naagaarjuna, the author of "Fundamental Verses on the Middle Way" and discuss philosophy with him if later was born little earlier. The churches said to be built by Thomas still remain in India.

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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[Reference]
Saint Thomas Christian churches
The Saint Thomas Christians are an ancient body of Christians from Kerala, India, who trace their origins to the evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" because they are followers of "Jesus of Nazareth". The term "Nasrani" is still used by St. Thomas Christians in Kerala.
They are also called Syrian Christians because of their use of Syriac in liturgy. Their original liturgical language was Aramaic which was later changed to Syriac. They are also known as Malabar / Malankara Mar Thoma Nasranis, because these Christians are from Kerala that was also known as Malabar or Malankara. Their language is Malayalam, the language of Kerala. (wikipedia)

<1>The Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (Kodungaloor, Kerala)
Believed to be one of the seven churches in India built by St. Thomas.









<2>The St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (Palayur, Kerala)
Believed to be one of the seven churches said to be built by Thomas.








<3>The St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (Kottakayal, North Paravur, Kerala)
Believed to be one of the seven churches said to be built by Thomas.









<4>The St. Mary's Orthodox Church (Niranam, Kerala)
Believed to be one of the seven churches said to be built by Thomas.








<5>The St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (Kokkamangalam, Kerala)
Believed to be one of the seven churches said to be built by Thomas.









<6>St. Mary's Orthodox Church (Thiruvithamcode Arappally = Royal Church)
Believed to be founded by Thomas in 63. It is known as Arapalli, short form of Arachan Palli (King’s Church).









<7>St Mary's Syro-Malabar Catholic Church (Kudamaloor)
It was built by the king of Chempakassery in AD 1125









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