DID JESUS FEAR DEATH

UPDATED FOR INCLUSION IN ESTO TWO

the second installment of my Spiritual Autobiography

The foundation of guidance for me, other than always having the capacity to write guidance with a simple prompt, was calling on Abba because he is the one Jesus prayed to. Now I honor both Abba and Jesus as friends and guides, happily aware that they respond to all who seek them

One of the questions I asked Abba as I wrote about him and Jesus was whether Jesus feared death.

Here is his answer:

ABBA:

Yes, Jesus feared death. He feared it before he came to see that no one dies, that earth is the place where souls come to overcome the temptations that create the fund of what we call evil. It’s the drama they use to achieve purposes they forget about (often) as they choose among the options of existence.

Before heaven became the main subject of Jesus’ treasured teaching, he knew his end.

His teachings about heaven were modified in the canonical, world-driven texts of the Bible. They were mixed in with opportunistic, messianic materials that were no part of what he had (or now has) in mind.

The young Jesus wondered about death, even dreamed about it.

As the boy conversed with Abba, he shared his premonitions.

I made it plain that the rebelliousness I saw in Jesus would be a harbinger of danger and finally death itself.

Jesus wondered if he could escape. I doubted it.

I explained why Jesus was unlikely to live to a ripe old age. I told Jesus he had two characteristics that would account for an early doom. Here is what I said.

“Jesus, you love everyone. Every one in all the world. No favorites. And you also know that everyone has the freedom to say yes and no, to stand up for themselves, to make their way.”

It is no mystery that Jesus had a few childhood nightmares.

They were premonitions.

These dreams stopped in a few days. Jesus held to the premises I told him were a danger. When his death became reality, Jesus recalled them.

But by then, of course, he knew death is not the end.