The Cult of Paul

In quite marked contrast, Jesus Christ relayed his own very different Gospel (contrast Paul's Jesusbased
gospel in Romans 10:9 & 1 Corinthians 15:1-4 with Jesus' Love-based Gospel in Matthew 10:7 &
Matthew 24:12-14) with an air of calm authority – and this, even though his message was just as
challenging as Paul's. Firstly, while Paul is frequently seen “arguing” in synagogues (a la Acts 17:2,
Acts 17:17, Acts 18:4, & Acts 19:8-9 – and also 1 Corinthians 11:19's “There must be factions among you, for
only so can it become clear who is genuine” and 2 Corinthians 10:4-5's “We destroy [others'] arguments … and
take [their] every thought captive”), Jesus is seen calmly teaching “with authority” in those same places
of worship (see Matthew 21:23-27, Matthew 21:45-46, Mark 1:21-22, & Luke 4:31-32 – also Matthew 9:35,
Matthew 13:54, Mark 1:39, Mark 6:2, Mark 11:18, Mark 12:12, Mark 12:35-37, Luke 2:43-47, Luke 4:15-22,
Luke 4:44, Luke 19:47-48, Luke 20:1-8, Luke 20:20-26, Luke 21:37-38, John 6:22-59, John 7:30-46, John 8:2,
& John 8:20) &/or serving others by healing them there (see Matthew 4:23, Matthew 12:9-13, Matthew
21:14, Mark 1:23-27, Mark 3:1-5, Luke 4:33-35, Luke 6:6-11, & Luke 13:10-16 – also Luke 14:1-5 & John
5:14) … Secondly, note that while Paul is most often seen to seek out his listeners and then speak with
them in private gatherings, Jesus is by far most often seen speaking to larger crowds in public – “with
authority, not like the scribes” (i.e. not like Paul – see Matthew 7:29 & Mark 1:22); crowds who had over
& over & over again sought him out, not vice versa (see Matthew 4:25, the Sermon on the Mount in
Matthew 5-7, Matthew 8:1-5, Matthew 8:18, Matthew 9:9, Matthew 9:27-32, Matthew 11:7, Matthew 12:15,
Matthew 13:1-3, Matthew 14:13, Matthew 14:34-36, Matthew 15:10, Matthew 15:30, Matthew 19:2, Matthew
19:16, Matthew 20:29, Mark 1:32-33, Mark 2:1-2, Mark 2:13, Mark 3:7-8, Mark 3:20, Mark 4:1, Mark 5:21-24,
Mark 6:33-34, Mark 6:54-55, Mark 7:24, Mark 8:1, Mark 8:22, Mark 9:15, Mark 10:1, Mark 10:13-17, Mark
10:46, Luke 4:42, Luke 5:1-3, Luke 5:11, Luke 5:15-19, Luke 6:17-18, Luke 7:11, Luke 8:4, Luke 8:40, Luke
9:11, Luke 9:37, Luke 12:1, Luke 14:25, Luke 15:1-2, Luke 17:11-12, Luke 18:15, John 4:45, John 6:2-5, John
6:24-25, John 10:41, & John 12:9-12) … Thirdly, while Paul almost without exception attacked his
religious opponents to the point of instigating violent conflict with them, we often see those same
opponents (Pharisees & Sadducees & scribes – see Matthew 15:1, Matthew 16:1, Matthew 19:3, Matthew
22:15-23, Mark 7:1, Mark 8:11, Mark 12:13, Mark 12:18, Luke 7:14, Luke 13:31, Luke 17:20-21, Luke 20:27,
& John 10:22-24, and even the occasional “leader of the [local] synagogue” – see Matthew 9:18, Mark 5:22,
Mark 11:27, Luke 8:41, & John 8:1-9) seeking out Jesus to ask questions or seek his counsel … Fourthly,
while it is true that Jesus' ministry was a troubling one to the powers that were 15 ; inspiring those
authorities to regularly show him hostility (Luke 11:53-54) or ridicule (Luke 16:14) &/or persecution
(John 5:16), it is crucial to note that Jesus just as often went out of his way to deescalate those
moments of tension 16 – telling his disciples to “shake the dust from [their] feet” and “flee” similar
conflicts (see Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, & Matthew 10:23) and himself flowing smoothly away from the
same (see him easily “passing through” an angry mob in Luke 4:24-30, removing himself from other aggressive
gangs in John 8:59 & John 12:36, quietly leaving when asked to do so in Luke 8:34-37, “sighing deeply” and
departing peacefully after being confronted by the Pharisees in Mark 8:11-13, calmly defusing yet another
hostile band in John 10:31-40, avoiding Judea in John 7:1 when the Jews there were still angry with him, and
later in John 11:53-54 taking a break from preaching entirely when tensions were at a peak) … In conclusion,
while Paul believed that Jesus “must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet” (1
Corinthians 15:25) and preached accordingly, Jesus consistently shared a Gospel of Love that was ever
in harmony with his deepest sermons (here most notably Matthew 5:9's “Blessed are the peacemakers”).
15 And this, despite the fact that Jesus' openly professed mission was to “perfect the Law” – admittedly by radically
amending it and thereby bring it to “completion” (the more accurate translation for the Greek word plerosai – Strong's
#4137, most often read as “fulfilled” in Matthew 5:17-18).
16 NOTE that, whereas Paul was clearly interested in converting others to his ministry, Jesus was only interested in
awakening others to his Way. Paul ran from aggression and sought new audiences for himself, while Jesus pre-planned
his ministry solely for the benefit of others – solely to awaken as many as possible to the wonders of his brand of
selfless Love. And proof of this is found quite readily in the Scriptures – with Jesus only twice provoking others to the
point of aggression; once in the very beginning of his ministry (Luke 4:24-30) and once near that ministry's end (via
turning over the money-changers tables in the Temple, in all probability to purposefully draw attention to his
subsequently self-organized crucifixion – see Matthew 21:12-17, Mark 11:15, & Luke 19:45). This explains why he is
repeatedly shown to so easily avoid injury or arrest; why “no one laid hands on him, because his hour had not yet
come.” (see John 7:30-44 – also John 2:4, John 7:6, & John 8:20)
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