WAS THERE EVER DECEIT IN HIS MOUTH?

Gerald Sigal et al

Question: Is it true that in conformity with Isaiah 53:9, "neither was there any deceit in his mouth," Jesus never lied?

Answer: The portrayal of God's suffering servant as one who had no deceit in his mouth contradicts Jesus' confusing behavior. He deceived his disciples promising a hundredfold of material possessions in this life to all who left everything to follow him (Mark 10:28-30). Yet, it is obvious from Acts and subsequent Christian history that this is not so.

 According to the Gospel of John, when Jesus appeared before the high priest and the elders of Israel he declared that he was never secretive, but had always been open about his mission and its meaning: "I have spoken openly to the world; I always taught in a synagogue and in the Temple, where all the Jews come together; and I spoke nothing in secret. Why do you question me? Question those who have heard what I spoke to them; behold, these know what I said" (John 18:20-21). Really?

 A study of the Gospels reveals that this statement was a falsehood. Jesus lied! The fact is that Jesus did not want the masses to understand him.

 The Gospels indicate that few, if any, people understood the true meaning of Jesus' teachings. What is more, the Gospels state that Jesus deliberately planned that his message be secretive. On a number of occasions Jesus is alleged to have specifically demanded secrecy.

 The New Testament's Jesus demanded that his purported messianic identity and or ability to cure ailments be kept secret by demons (Mark 1:34, 3:11-12; Luke 4:41), his followers (Matthew 16:20, Mark 8:30, Luke 9:21), and those healed (Matthew 8:3-4, 12:15-16; Mark 1:44 5:43 ,7:36; Luke 5:14, 8:56).

 Jesus uttered parables whose meanings were deliberately hidden from those who heard them. The Gospels quote Jesus as saying that he did not want everyone who heard him to understand his message and be saved. He is said to have taught his disciples that: "To you has been given the mystery of the kingdom of God; but those who are outside get every thing in parables, in order that while seeing, they may see and not perceive; and while hearing, they may hear and not understand lest they return again and be forgiven" (Mark 4:11-12; see also Matthew 13:13-15). Salvation was reserved for the select few.

 The Gospels state that Jesus claimed that he always spoke openly, yet, he never proclaimed himself publicly as Messiah. According to the Gospel of John, he made a private statement concerning his messianic pretensions to a Samaritan woman (John 4:25-26). But, such news from a Samaritan would not be of any consequence to the Jewish people. When he spoke to Jews his claims were in the form of mysterious presentations which involved apparent paradoxes regarding the nature and identity of the Messiah; yet they were given without providing a solution (Matthew 24:41-45; Mark 12:35, 36).

 At the inquiry into his actions allegedly conducted before the Sanhedrin he only intimated at a messianic identity, in response to a direct question by the High Priest (Mark 14:61-62). On a visit to the Temple it is alleged that Jesus was asked to tell "plainly" if he was the Messiah.

Jesus parried the question by an ambiguous answer--"I told you but you do not believe" (John 10:24-25). Actually, the Gospels show that he had only given them hints in parables, knowing in advance they would not understand:

He said [to his disciples] "The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you but to others I speak in parables, so that though seeing, they may not see; though hearing, they may not understand." (Luke 8:10)

When Peter declared "You are the Christ," Jesus gave specific instructions to his disciples that they were to refrain from disclosing his messianic identity; they were to keep it secret (Mark 8:29).

Then he [Jesus] warned the disciples that they should tell no one that he is the Christ. From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (Matthew 16:20-21; see also Mark 8:30-31, Luke 9:21-22) - AND

Now as Jesus was going to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death, and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life." (Matthew 20:17-19; see also Mark 10:32-34, Luke 18:31-33)

Why the secrecy? Why not a public proclamation instead? Matthew 12:15-21 attempts to show that Jesus' appeal to secrecy was a fulfillment of a prophetic utterance found in a passage in Isaiah (Isaiah 42:1-4). However, the passage can only relate to what Matthew infers by the most farfetched analogy. He implies that by Israel's being denied the knowledge of who Jesus was the Gentiles will be saved.

Accordingly, the Jewish people's so-called "spiritual blindness" was divinely ordained in order to allow for the Gentile's to be "saved." "I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous" (Romans 11:11). This is as if God could not provide salvation for both Jew and Gentile without deliberately withholding knowledge so that only some Jews are "saved."

According to the evangelists, Jesus strictly warned the disciples not to tell that he was the Messiah to anyone. But, why there was need for secrecy is never addressed by Jesus. Was it to assure rejection?

The proclamation of messiahship need not have been followed by acceptance. Jesus claimed that he revealed the meaning of his esoteric declarations (the parables) only to his disciples (Matthew 13:10-11; Mark 4:10-12, 34; Luke 8:9-10). Yet even that was untrue.

http://www.jewsforjudaism.org/web/faq/faq015.html

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