This story concerns the man known as Jesus the Messiah. Having traveled from Caesarea to Dora where his name had become well-known, he failed miserably to cure the blind and the sick, despite his promises to do so. Soon after, he was arrested in Dora by the Romans, tried and found guilty, and sentenced to be executed.
This story was told to the Chosen of God by our brother Judas Iscariot, who while visiting nearby Caesarea in the company of Jesus’ brethren, learned of the Messiah Jesus’ presence in Dora. Yet when he traveled there to see and hear his master Jesus preach, Judas found him to be a false messiah, a usurper who was misusing Jesus’ name. On learning the truth, Judas now believed his master to be a false messiah, and not the true messiah, the one come to change the world. Judas Iscariot confessed that after discussing the matter with his brethren, it was decided that he would betray the false messiah to the Romans in Dora.
Indeed, this false messiah was believed to be a man who traveled the land widely, pretending to be the chosen one. He made use of Jesus the Nazarene’s name and reputation, falsely promising to cure the sick and the possessed, and made claims to be the son of God. He is believed to have traded on the name of Jesus the Nazarene for his own ends, and to have gathered worldly riches in his name. But in truth, Jesus the Nazarene forbade the gathering of such riches. He believed that man should divest himself of all excessive possessions, and give alms to the poor, and help to the ill and the needy. But this false messiah’s greed for eminence was to condemn him.
The text stopped there. As Jack finished reading, he felt an icy chill ripple down his back. He flicked a look at a confused Lela but before either of them could say a word, Fonzi broke the silence.
“What we’ve got here,” he announced, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, “is a story unheard-of before now. It’s also one mountain of a mystery. As always the language used in the scrolls can be a little stilted, but what it seems to be saying is this: about the same time as the figure we know from biblical legend as Jesus the Nazarene—or Jesus Christ, Christ meaning “messiah” in Greek—there was another Jesus, an alter ego, a con man if you like, pretending to be him. It seems this con man traveled the Holy Land while at the same time attempting to carry out miracles and hoping to profit by his pretense, financially, egotistically, or both.”
Fonzi paused to take a breath. “That’s what the text and subtext seem to be saying to me. Does it make sense to everyone so far?”
His excitement rising, Jack nodded his approval. “Go on.”
Lela said, “Hold on a second. Doesn’t the Jewish Talmud claim that Jesus is a false messiah who practiced magic and was rightly condemned to death? Our Bible, the Tanakh, is full of references to false prophets, deranged or not, who all claimed to be the chosen one.”
Fonzi smiled. “True. Jesus even talks about it in Luke, for example. ‘Be not deceived for many shall come in my name, saying I am Christ.’ Except this is different. It’s extremely specific. We’re given details of someone who existed at the same time as Jesus. We’re given exact incidents. And if you think about it, what’s written about here is really a likely scenario.”
“What do you mean?” Lela asked.
