Jesus was Christ, the messiah

There were many ‘messiahs’ around the year zero. Jesus was only one of them.

 

Right after Jesus died, another messiah got very popular: Simon Magus. This messiah got so famous, even the New Testament discusses him, in Acts of the Apostles:

Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, "This man is the divine power known as the Great Power." They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his magic. (Acts 8:9-11)

The early Christian text ‘Acts of Peter’ vividly describes how the apostle Peter gets stiff competition from Simon. Simon’s fans call him the Christ and believe Simon can fly, raise the dead, heal the sick and do many other miracles (Acts of Peter IV).

But in the end, Simon Magus sadly dropped from the sky during one of his miracle flights. According to Acts of Peter, the apostle Peter had gunned him down with a prayer. Simon broke his leg and was abandoned by his worshippers.

In the bible, we read how in the end, Simon converts to Christianity himself (Acts 8:12). But given the sturbornness of the man, this doesn’t seem too likely.

Meanwhile, Roman and Greek people had their own 1^st century messiah: Apollonius of Tyana.

This follower of Pythagoras taught in Europa and Asia and performed many ‘messiah-like’ miracles and healings. On one occasion, Apollonius was said to have brought a dead girl back to life. Worshippers believed that after Apollonius died in 95, angels carried him to heaven, much like Jesus.

For several centuries, Roman emperors tried to present Apollonius as the ‘alternative to Christ’, when trying to push back Christianity. Well: they failed, obviously.

		Christs Gone Bad
	Some of the other 'messiahs'.From left to right: Simon Bar Kochba, Simon Magus, John the Baptist

A little while later, around 125, Israeli Jews suddenly embraced yet another, new messiah: Simon Bar Kochba.

This charismatic was a rebel leader who kicked out the Romans in the blink of a eye, and so liberated Israel. Not surprisingly, this convinced many Jews that not Jesus, but Simon was the savior.

Simon himself denounced Jesus, and persuaded his flock to do the same. ‘Bar Kochba’ means ‘son of the star’, a reference to Numbers 24:17 – “A star will come out of Jacob”.

But after three years, Roman soldiers overran Israel and killed Simon Bar Kohba. It’s one of those history-altering events! Who knows which messiah we would have worshipped today, if it hadn’t happened.

There were many more, less well-known 'messiahs' around when Jesus lived.

Jesus himself met at least one of them: John the Baptist. The Baptist had many followers himself, who believed he was the savior.

Amazingly, several ten thousands of these so-called Mandaeans still exist today around the Iran-Iraqi border. Mandaeans denounce Jesus, but worship... John the Baptist.

Secret bible: Rivals of Jesus (NGC 2006)