The Mistakes of Jesus | Page 6

if Jesus taught that doctrine, he was in error, was he not?
The sacrifice of Jesus was not so great as often made by men. Jesus was sustained with the thought that he was saving the world; his physical suffering was not long continued; on the night of his crucifixion he was in paradise.[34] He endured a few hours of pain compared to weeks of suffering by wounded soldiers, or years spent in prison by the proponents of an ideal.
Jesus not only claimed the power to remit sins but also said to his disciples: "Whosoever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosoever sins ye retain, they are retained."[35]
Is that true? Surely it is proper to ask that blunt question. Here is a definite statement concerning the power of certain men to remit sins. If those men did not have the power deputed to them, must we not doubt the accuracy of Jesus?
Jesus made a distinction between himself and the Comforter: "It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you ... And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever."[36]
It must surprise some Christians that the Comforter could not be present at the same time with Jesus.
Angels and Devils
Jesus believed in angels and devils, often referring to these imaginary supernatural beings as if they existed. "Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?"[37] "So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth."[38]
The devils were among the first to recognize Christ's divinity: "What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?"[39] "Let us alone, thou Jesus of Nazareth; art thou come to destroy us? I know thee, who thou art, the Holy One of God."[40] "And unclean spirits when they saw him, fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God."[41]
Jesus believed in demoniacal possession, casting out devils on several occasions.
Jesus frequently referred to heaven as a place above the earth: "And then shall they see the Son of man coming in the clouds with great power and glory."[42] "And ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."[43] "Verily, verily, I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of man."[44]
When Jesus was transfigured and talked with Moses and Elias, he charged his disciples, saying, "Tell the vision to no man, until the Son of man be risen again from the dead."[45]
According to the creeds based upon the Bible, Jesus rose from the dead, descended into hell, and ascended bodily into heaven. According to the gospels he stilled the storm, walked on the water and told Peter to do so and to find money in a fish's mouth and catch a large draught of fishes. These and other miracles connected Jesus with God and were part of his theology.
Every fair-minded person should re-read the gospels and refresh his memory regarding the theology of Jesus. Then a decision must be reached as to the correctness of the views expressed. Either conditions on earth were different in the first century from those of the twentieth, or Jesus was mistaken in his conception of God, heaven, hell, angels, devils and himself.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Matt. i; Luke iii.
[2] Luke ii, 22.
[3] John x, 30.
[4] Matt. xi, 27.
[5] Ezek. xiv, 9; Num. xiv, 30-34.
[6] Ex. iii, 21-22.
[7] Deut. xiv, 21.
[8] Num. xxxi et al.
[9] Ex. xxxii, 27.
[10] Deut. vii, 16 et al.
[11] Jer. xix, 9 et al.
[12] Ex. xxii, 18.
[13] Lev. xxv, 44-46.
[14] Deut. xxi, 18-21; xiii, 6-9.
[15] Lev. i, 14-15.
[16] See the Old Testament.
[17] Luke iv, 16.
[18] Matt. xxvi, 63-64.
[19] Mark xv, 61-62.
[20] Luke xxii, 70.
[21] John iv, 25-26.
[22] John iii, 16.
[23] John viii, 24.
[24] Matt. xxv, 31-46.
[25] Mark iii, 29.
[26] Luke xiii, 3.
[27] Mark ix, 43.
[28] Matt. xxiii, 33.
[29] Mark xvi, 16.
[30] Matt. xxvi, 28.
[31] Matt. xxii, 14.
[32] Matt. vii, 14.
[33] Luke xiii, 24.
[34] Luke xxiii, 43.
[35] John xx, 23.
[36] John xiv, 16.
[37] Matt. xxvi, 53.
[38] Matt. xiii, 49.
[39] Matt. viii, 29.
[40] Luke iv, 34.
[41] Mark iii, 11.
[42] Mark xiii, 26.
[43] Mark xiv, 62.
[44] John i, 51.
[45] Matt. xvii, 9.

FALSE IMPRESSIONS
Jesus not only held mistaken ideas about theology, as anyone but a Fundamentalist must admit, but he often gave impressions about earthly affairs that were unreliable to say the least. Occasionally his statements were actual misrepresentations of fact.
Jonah and the Whale
"For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man