This Inner Reality Is Why Jesus Was an Apocalyptic Guru

Deconstructing Christianity: Jesus was 'apocalyptic' because he revealed something new. He was a guru because he taught meditation.

To understand what I mean by “apocalyptic,” read my post Why Apocalypse Is Not the End of the World, and What It Means. Jesus was not apocalyptic because he predicted the end of the world. He was apocalyptic because he disclosed and described an ever-emerging, parallel spiritual reality within us, using a lot of symbolic language. That is what an apocalypse is. Don’t take my word for it.

Jesus was a guru because—while certainly not Hindu or Buddhist—he was a spiritual teacher who initiated a core of disciples, had a body of devotees, and had large, curious crowds following him around. He was also a guru because he systematically engaged in meditative spiritual practice and taught his disciples about it. That second set of facts has been lost to us for half a millennium or so.

Parallel Spiritual Reality

Jesus spoke Aramaic, the vernacular of his people. Hebrew was the language of the law and the prophets, sort of like Latin used to be for Catholics. But the gospels—written to explain Jesus and codify his teachings—were written in Greek, because most adherents of the spreading Christian movement spoke it, including Jewish people who heard or read their Hebrew scriptures in Greek translation.

Jesus is always using this one particular word translated into Greek by the gospel writers. The only word concept early English translators had for it—the imperial political order of the gospels—was the one they knew and used for an independent state ruled by a monarch: kingdom. This falls woefully short of the connotation carried by the Greek word βασιλεία (basileía) in the context of the Roman Empire in the Levant (eastern Mediterranean) in the first century CE.

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The Latin term for empire is imperium. In Greek-speaking parts of the Roman empire, imperium was translated as βασιλεία. In non-biblical Greek texts from the era, βασιλεία is always translated into English as empire.

So, gospel writers—in a region that was rebelling against Roman imperial occupation—depicted Jesus speaking in Greek of the “empire of God,” the “empire of the sky,” an “empire not of this world.” Jesus and the authors of the gospels and epistles appropriated the political language of the imperial order to connote the spiritual realities indicated by Jesus’ teachings. This includes the New Testament language of empire, gospel, savior, lord, faith, and son of god. The political connotations could not have been more obvious.

This is lost to modern comprehension. If Christian converts in the United States were expected to declare that they “pledge allegiance to Jesus,” the obviousness of that as an alternative to the flag would be impossible to miss. If they had to swear that they would “protect and defend the Bible,” the alternative to preserving the Constitution would be similarly obvious. These would unavoidably be politically tinged statements. And that is how it was with the language of the gospels and epistles.

Bottom line: Jesus and the apostles, using the language of empire, describe an inward spiritual reality based on the observance of his teachings that transcends the oppressive realities of temporal empire. To disclose and describe such a parallel reality in symbolic terms was inherently apocalyptic, having nothing to do with a cataclysmic end of the world.

Meditation Practice

The gospels make a clear distinction between Jesus having said (εἶπεν) something aloud to address the Father (sometimes looking up to the sky) and Jesus having gone somewhere to pray (προσεύξασθαι). In the instances when Jesus has said something aloud to the Father, he is always observed by a group of people, and the words he is speaking are for their benefit. His words are heard, remembered, and recorded in the gospels. They are part of his public proclamation. When he is said to pray, he prays alone.

Jesus speaks a lengthy discourse aloud to the Father in front of, and on behalf of, his disciples in John 17. This is still part of his proclamation to them. Modern editions of the Bible might add a heading like “Jesus Prays for His Disciples” or “The High Priestly Prayer,” but this is still an instance where Jesus is described as saying something in front of a group rather than praying.

Jesus’ sayings about telling a mountain to be removed and cast into the sea, or his disciples receiving whatever they ask in his name are in the context of encouraging them in their faith and persistence in the practice of prayer when they faced challenges, he would not be with them, and temple worship would be no more. Jesus’ teaching on prayer includes that it should be done in secret or without any public show, that it be sparing of words (words are unimportant because your Abba already knows what you need; see my post Why Prayer Has Nothing to Do with Asking God for Things), and that it be conducted with an attitude of humility.

Mark chapters 1 and 6, Matthew 14, and Luke 5 and 6 all mention Jesus going away somewhere to pray. If these accounts are any indication, to engage in prayer Jesus felt it necessary to escape the crowds, ditch his disciples, and get alone. This is consistent with his teaching that prayer be a practice carried out—and rewarded by the Father—in a secret place. His disciples want him to teach them to pray, so he offers a model prayer. With careful analysis, its text is better understood as a set of affirmative wishes rather than a collection of things for which God is being asked. For more on that, see my post The Lord's Prayer Doesn't Ask for Stuff - It's a Guided Meditation.

The fact that Jesus sought to get away from the noise and bustle of crowds and the distraction of his disciples is a strong indication that he was engaging in a contemplative practice requiring quiet stillness, and calm, disciplined focus. The may-it-be-so statements of the model prayer were a meditative practice to cultivate equanimity, peace, and compassion in the face of spiritual and material poverty and indifference; the violent empires of this world; concern over one’s own needs; guilt over one’s regrettable thoughts, words, and misdeeds; mistreatment by others; and fears over what the future may hold.

Jesus was apocalyptic because he disclosed and described a parallel spiritual reality within us that he called the “empire of God,” the “empire of the sky,” or an “empire not of this world.” He was a guru because he engaged in a practice of meditation and taught his disciples to do the same. Jesus was an apocalyptic guru. See also Why the Apostles Were Meditating, Not Begging for Things.