Was Jesus a Highwayman?

Some scholars suspect Jesus was a Zealot, even a Sicarii Bandit who took from the rich and gave to the poor – via the sword!

There was a tax rebellion led by holy men kin to king David. Did they found a church system that gathered a tithe in order to care for the poor disenfranchised patriots, and women who were made widows by this Holy War? These saints could have lived a royal life of luxery, but, they recognized God as their soveriegn, and not Caesar the slave master.

That Mitt Romney can not come down on the right side of the Poor after being a missionary for the Mormon church, tells me he is not clear on Jesus being a champion for the poor, and not the middle class – and never the rich!

Jon Presco

Clarifying a statement that quickly went viral on the Internet on Wednesday morning, Mitt Romney said he was concerned about poor Americans but was focused on the problems of the middle class in his quest for the White House.

On CNN on Wednesday morning after his 14-point win in Florida Tuesday night , Romney said he was “not concerned about the very poor” because they have “a safety net there” and “if it needs repair, I’ll fix it.” (Watch video below.)

“You’ve got to take the whole sentence, all right?” he said when reporters asked him what he meant during a chartered flight between Tampa and Minneapolis. “I’ve said throughout the campaign — my focus, my concern, my energy is going to be devoted to helping middle-income people, all right?”

“We have a safety net for the poor in, and if there are holes in it, I will work to repair that,” he said. “If there are people that are falling through the cracks, I want to fix that. Wealthy people are doing fine. But my focus in the campaign is on middle-income people. Of course I’m concerned about all Americans — poor, wealthy, middle class — but the focus of my effort will be on middle-income families who I think have been most hurt by the Obama economy.”

He added that the U.S. government provides “a very ample safety” for low-income Americans through Medicaid, federal housing vouchers, food stamps and the earned income tax credit. “We have a number of ways of helping the poor. . . . The area that I think is the greatest challenge that the country faces right now is not to focus our effort on how we help the poor, as much as to focus our effort on how to help the middle class in America, and get more people in the middle class, and get people out of being poor and becoming middle income.”

Romney’s comments on CNN shifted attention from his victory over former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in Tuesday’s Florida primary. “What a night, huh?” Romney said to reporters on his campaign plane Wednesday morning. “If they all go like that, I’ll feel pretty good.”

“I’d hoped we were able to get back the momentum after a loss in South Carolina,” he said. “But it was a lot more than just getting momentum. It was a huge night and I really appreciate the people of Florida for the support they gave me.”

Name: John ROSAMOND “The Highwayman”·
Surname: Rosamond·
Given Name: John· Suffix: “The Highwayman”·
Sex: M· Birth: ABT. 1710 in County Leitrim, Ireland (?)
“In 1724, my ancestor John ROSAMOND and his friend William Ray were
arrested in Abingdon, Berkshire, England for stealing a hat, periwig,
30 pounds British sterling, five pairs of shoes, and a brown gelding.
They were held in the gaol in Reading, Berkshire, after their trial
where they were sentenced to be exiled to the colonies for 14 years
hard labor.
Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we
forgive our debtors.
“I was a highwayman. Along the coach roads I did ride With sword and
pistol by my side Many a young maid lost her baubles to my trade Many
a soldier shed his lifeblood on my blade The bastards hung me in the
spring of twenty-five But I am still alive.”

The Sicarii were led by descendents of Judas of Galilee, who helped foster revolt against direct Roman rule in 6 CE, when they attempted to carry out a census of the Jews under the rule of Roman governor Quirinius in Syria, so that they could tax them. Judas famously proclaimed that the Jews should be ruled by God alone.

Jewish groups began violent resistance to Roman rule around 50 CE, when the Sicarii and other groups started using guerrilla or terrorist tactics. All out war between the Jews and the Romans broke out in 67, when Romans invaded. The war ended in 70 CE, when Roman forces devastated Jerusalem. Masada, Herod’s famous fortress was conquered by siege in 74.

The Christian Rewriting of History

Especially troubling to church officials is how their savior is so attached to his own people who rejected him and to whom he is so indebted for his teachings and philosophy, including militant philosophies of revolution that have been carefully hidden and glossed over. Modern historical/critical scholarship has shown that Jesus was anything but the meek lamb of God. Especially embarrassing to supporters of church orthodoxy are militant images created by verses such as Matthew 10:14 where Jesus says he has come not to bring peace but a sword, betraying a considerable seditious following and sympathies.

These Jewish, explicitly Zealot roots are the most logical yet seemingly the least recognized part of early Christianity. Certainly, Jesus’ statement in Matthew 10:14 is a blatant contradiction to the Sermon on the Mount. The censorship of militant statements by Jesus and the accentuation of peaceful claims remain a hallmark of Christianity to this day. The purpose of this paper will be to return Jesus to the context of the militant Zealot/terrorist roots that spawned his movement, specifically by examining the uncensored material available in the Gospel of Peter and related Gnostic works.

I believe that the Gospel of Peter represents authentic Zealot traditions that were not yet censored out of the text by the time of its second century authorship where it is likely copied and revised from an autograph document. Surely, it was not meant to be seen again but has fortunately reached us due to efforts of its monk protector who had it buried with him.