IT is the main character that we seldom relate to our age and time and discuss in detail, which gives relevance to whether we believe he lived or not. Instead, if we relate to what this young man—history tells us was named Jesus—stood for, we might tend to have a more in-depth understanding of how the age he lived in had so much more in common with ours, especially in respect of its values and actions, rather than its self-righteous proclamations.

From the very written dawn of his mission, it may not have occurred to us that he didn’t build a church or temple or what the standard of the day was. Nevertheless, he had strong perspectives and engaged disciples as followers of a religious philosophy that contradicted most of what existed back then.

This young man insisted on treating others as favourable to their interest, whether this was the greatest story ever told or was some gifted author’s masterpiece. His portrayed life and experiences do resonate—then as now—in reference to personal values, with a minority who can be referred to as manifest seekers of a better way. It reflected some conduct and practices from the more ancient world, which had declined by the age he stepped into.

For example, the spirit of the dead was ferried across a river—a habit that the Greeks adopted from the lore of Khemet. The difference with this procedure among these ancient peoples was that Charon of the Greeks was rewarded by payment of coins, possibly placed on the eyes of the deceased, to carry the deceased across. With his comparison, Maahaf of the Khemetians (the ancient Egyptians), it was the worth of the deceased’s life that determined whether he would be escorted to the realm of the Gods or be abandoned on Earth.

We must embrace the literature in the discussion, even as we explore its significant content, or have contended that it is much more than a fable—with a tremendous leading character, its full content—and not forget that Jesus, as a child, was brought up in Khemet from his early childhood and was possibly brought up aware of their mystery systems, if not, as I suspect, nurtured by those systems.

But what were the profound teachings that Jesus could have challenged the world with? We must presume that he lived and was not just an ancient revolutionary writer’s dream hero. To me, one of the most profound utterances attributed to Jesus is his reply to the Pharisees is:
“The Kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, lo here! or, lo there! For, behold, the Kingdom of God is within you.”

Whether we interpret these words through the lens of imagination or see them as a direct challenge to our personal responsibility, the message remains powerful: to reject deceit, avoid the pursuit of self-centred glory, and resist seeking power at the expense of the vulnerable—those who can be easily led down a path of hopeless self-destruction.

If he truly lived, this is not the kind of man favourable to our most popular humankind—of any age so far explored. Thus, he was murdered by priests, scribes, and paid thugs. It does make for the substance of deep conversation as we gaze at our diverse worlds through what Jesus is supposed to have said.