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JESUS AND CANNABIS |
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Cannabis and Early Christian History:
Did Jesus Christ make use of Medical Cannabis in his healing ministry?
SUMMATION:
My summation (one museum curators personal viewpoint) is that -- While Jesus in all certainty was aware of both the recreational as well as medical uses of Cannabis. That he/they (Jesus was both man and God) made NO use of it, either in his personal life or in his healing ministry.
Let’s look at the controversial issues, one by one.
DID Jesus CHRIST himself use Medical Cannabis (oils) to his healing ministry to treat the ill?
As the author sees it, here we are dealing with only one of three possible possibilities.
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1 - That Jesus Christ is the Son of God (the authors own point of view): In which case, he would have the power to heal the sick (even resurrect the dead), and so why on this greens earth would he need to use Cannabis or any other sort of medicines for that matter?
- Matthew 8:1-4 - cures Leprosy
- Matthew 8:5-8 - cures paralyzed stroke victim
- Matthew 8:14-15 - cures a high fever
- Matthew 8:16 - mental illness
And the list (raising the dead, restoring sight to the blind, etc.), goes on and on --- Thus we can only conclude that Jesus did not make use of Medical Cannabis.
2 - That some sort of mis-understanding took place and Jesus Christ was NOT the Son of God. OK, given that situation, than Jesus, would have had a legitimate reason to use Medical Cannabis, BUT from ALL written accounts on the matter, his medical treatments were nothing less than miraculous (the only word that I can use to describe his medical treatments). Cannabis, while being a wonderful medicine, simply would not work as described in the New Testament. Just look at what the book of Matthew says:
3 - That Jesus Christ was a total fake, a charlatan; and that ALL his miracles were staged etc, etc. But, in this case, once more, the question must be asked; Why would anyone need Medical Cannabis to perform a fake miracle?
The anointment of Jesus at Bethany:
Some claim that it was Cannabis Oil that was used to anoint Jesus, preparing him for his upcoming death and burial. Is this true? First let’s look at what the Bible has to say:
Mark 14Here are the facts as the author sees them:
1- Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.
2- "But not during the Feast," they said, "or the people may riot."
3- While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4- Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume?
5- It could have been sold for more than a year's wages[a] and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly.
6- "Leave her alone," said Jesus. "Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me.
7- The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me.
8- She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial.
9- I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her."
10- Then Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, went to the chief priests to betray Jesus to them.
John 12:
3- Then Mary took about a pint [about half a liter] of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus' feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume.
4- But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected,
5- "Why wasn't this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year's wages."
Matthew 26:
6- While Jesus was in Bethany in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper,
7- a woman came to him with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, which she poured on his head as he was reclining at the table.
8- When the disciples saw this, they were indignant. "Why this waste?" they asked.
9- "This perfume could have been sold at a high price and the money given to the poor."
10- Aware of this, Jesus said to them, "Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a beautiful thing to me. [etc.]
About the Jar Itself:
About the oil itself:
About the Woman:
According to the Jehovah’s Witnesses (The Watchtower --- May 1, 2008), the women in question was Mary (the sister of Lazarus), and thus had a very good reason for taking the stated actions. [hey, if your brother had been resurrected by Jesus, you too would be grateful]
Ok, so what does all this mean? Here are my interpretations.
Question: Is Hemp Oil expensive or cheap? The answer is so obvious, that it of-and-by itself indicates that Hemp oil was definitely NOT the stated oil in use.
Song of Solomon:4:13-16Stuff sounds like super-duper perfume to me. Now, here I don’t mean to be offensive; I’m not saying the Medical Hemp Oil, (ah, how shall I say it) has a negative odor. No, in fact many find the smell of burning Hemp seeds (kind of like walnuts to me) as pleasant. HOWEVER, can we really use the term “Fragrance of Perfume”. Also does Hemp oil have the power to ‘Fill a house with fragrance.’ This factor (along with the one above) also leads me to me to believe that it was NOT hemp oil.
13- Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, with henna and nard.
14- nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with every kind of incense tree, with myrrh and aloes and all the finest spices.
16- [the wind] Blow on my garden, that its fragrance may spread abroad.
CONCLUSION:
In fact all the factors above led me to believe that Hemp Oil was NOT the anointing oil spoken about in the bible. However, there-is one small, fly in the ointment. Most archeological types interpret “Nard” and Spikenard as being one and the same plant. According to one website:
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“Nard oil is used as a perfume, an incense, a sedative, and an herbal medicine said to fight insomnia, birth difficulties, and other minor ailments.”
Did Jesus use recreational Cannabis?
Leaving the Healing ministry of Jesus aside for now ---- the question here now becomes --- Did he make personal (recreational) use of the substance? The very nature of this question brings out some very emotional responses among Christians. One side states that:
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Jesus was no druggie - That the Bible makes no mention of marijuana and Jesus being the son of God, would not have done anything that had the appearance of evil. . . . Additionally, several other scriptures tell us that Jesus body was uncorrupted. (Acts 2:27, Acts 13:35, Psalms 16:10) So Jesus uncorrupted body would not have been exposed to such substances such as Medical Marihuana.
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Jesus (the man) was a very spiritual being -- that many religions past and present have made use of Cannabis for ceremonial purposes. That historically the Hebrews themselves had made use of the Hemp plant for their religious meditations, burned as incense etc.
According to the Gospel of John (see below), as a juvenile he was said to have changed water into wine. Which aside from making him a must at any party, also shows us something about the society that he was living in and his personal character.
John 2 JESUS CHANGES WATER TO WINEWhile according to the gospel of Matthew, in his later life:
1- On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus' mother was there,
2- and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
3- When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to him, "They have no more wine."
4- "Dear woman, why do you involve me?" Jesus replied, "My time has not yet come."
5- His mother said to the servants, "Do whatever he tells you."
6- Nearby stood six stone water jars, the kind used by the Jews for ceremonial washing, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons.
7- Jesus said to the servants, "Fill the jars with water"; so they filled them to the brim.
8- Then he told them, "Now draw some out and take it to the master of the banquet." They did so,
9- and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside
10- and said, "Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now."
[Jesus Christ] ‘The Son of Man came eating and drinking and they said, 'Look, he is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners (sex industry workers etc).' --- Matthew 11:19:This being a family book, maybe it would be best to skip some of the other stuff that has been said about him. Here it is enough to say that Jesus, the man (ah, let us say), was a man of the world, one who enjoyed other sorts of recreational pleasures. Additionally it is impossible not to note, that the scriptures, while vividly describing many of his activates say absolutely nothing about the subject. NO mention is made that he was smoking it, drinking it, eating it, nor breathing its vapors.
A LAST DRINK OF WINE VINEGAR:
There are some who claim that the wine given to Jesus during his last hours on the cross contained Cannabis. Mention of this is made
Matthew 27:According to David Terasaka ---
34- they offered him a drink of wine mixed with gall. But when he tasted it, he refused to drink it.
47- When some of the people standing there heard this, they said, “He's calling for Elijah.”
48- So one of the men ran off at once, took a sponge, and soaked it in some sour wine. Then he put it on a stick and offered Jesus a drink.
Luke 23:
36- The soldiers also made fun of Jesus by coming up and offering him sour wine,
John 19:
29- Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put [it] upon hyssop, and put [it] to his mouth.
30- When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost
"A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips." When he had received the drink, Jesus said, `It is finished'. "With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit." -- John 19:29-30
'Having suffered severe blood losses from His numerous beatings and thus in a dehydrated state, Jesus, in one of His final statements, said "I thirst." He was offered two drinks on the cross. The first, which He refused, was a drugged wine (mixed with myrrh). He chose to face death without a clouded mind. Edersheim writes:
"It was a merciful Jewish practice to give to those led to execution a draught of strong wine mixed with myrrh so as to deaden consciousness". This charitable office was performed at the cost of, if not by, an association of women in Jerusalem. The draught was offered to Jesus when He reached Golgotha. But having tasted it....He would not drink it. ....He would meet Death, even in his sternest and fiercest mood, and conquer by submitting to the full.. -- Edersheim, A. "The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah" 1993 (p.880)'The second drink, which He accepts moments before His death, is described as a wine vinegar. Two points are important to note. The drink was given on the "stalk of a hyssop plant". Remember that these events occurred at the Feast of the Passover. During this feast, (Exod 12:22) hyssop was used to apply the blood of the Passover lamb to the wooden doorposts of the Jews. It is interesting the end of this hyssop stalk pointed to the blood of the Perfect Lamb which was applied to the wooden cross for the salvation of all mankind. In addition, the wine vinegar is a product of fermentation, which is made from grape juice and yeast. The word literally means "that which is soured" and is related to the Hebrew term for "that which is leavened". Yeast or leaven, is a Biblical symbol of sin. When Jesus took this drink, (i.e. a drink which was "leavened") it is thus symbolic of His taking the sins of the world into His body. - [David Terasaka - Medical Aspects of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ]'
Our problem is that no actual mention of Cannabis is made one way or the other. Here are the facts that way we see them:
- Cannabis: - By the early Christian Era, in all probability (given geographical and historical medical factors), the pain killing qualities of Cannabis would have been known.
- MYRRH: - While no actual mention is made in the scriptures about its actual use. Cultural anthropologists believe that small qualities of myrrh were added (for flavor) to wines at that time. Thus it can be assumed that the wine being offered to Jesus may have contained myrrh, BUT myrrh is NOT a pain killer and it isn’t Cannabis.
Also it should be noted that in any case Christ rejected the wine. This seems to have taken place mostly to fulfill prophecy. [Man, what a bummer, I wouldn’t have put up with it]
- Sponge Vinegar: - It is interesting to note that while rejecting the first offer of wine, he did accept the second offer. But again this seems to have also have taken place in order to fulfill prophecy. Note that it was handed to him on a sponge mounted on top of a hyssop plant stalk. But again, there is no direct mention of any form of Cannabis.
What Did Jesus Look like
First, our apologies for using (European type Christ) pictures, we hope that you will understand. This museum simple doesn’t have too much money and must make use of whatever pictures we can get our hands on for free.
For whatever reason the scriptures never physically described what Jesus actually looked like and thus no one really knows for sure. Thus anyone’s guess is as good as another. However, we can safely make some assumptions: He had the power give a speech in front of a crowd of thousands, and a few minutes later, be able to walk right through that crowd with no one recognizing him. Thus we can say that he looked pretty average. Not too tall, not too short, no tattoos etc.
We can also assume that he had a light-brown skin, brown-hair, etc., and that having worked as a carpenter for his first 30 years, was probably a physically strong man.
WANT TO KNOW MORE:
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