The simplistic story of the life of Jesus, as it is presented in the New Testament accounts, is well known. He was supposedly a poor carpenter born in a stable, a disadvantaged child who rose to become a great leader and teacher. However, there is more than enough evidence within the Gospels and Talmud to demonstrate that Jesus’ family were actually wealthy, educated and influential characters within Judaean society. But since these texts have obviously been manipulated and amended, one must look beyond this deliberate obfuscation to uncover the truth.
Revisiting Historical Jesus
The first thing to note is that Jesus himself was not a carpenter but a tekton or an ‘architect’. In fact, in the Greek an archo-tekton can refer to a Master Mason, and so Jesus' trade probably refers more to the speculative side of the Masonic Craft than the construction profession. Which is why the ‘Raising of Lazarus’ is exactly the same as a Masonic Third Degree initiation. So, Jesus was a Mason, from a Judaean Lodge.
The romanticized woodcut engraving of Flavius Josephus appearing in William Whiston's translation of his works. (Public Domain)
Reading further, one finds that Jesus was visited by the three of the Persian Magi priesthood; he received a good education in Egypt, at a time when the majority of the population were illiterate; his friends, Zacharias and Nicodemus, were very rich; while another supporter, Joanna, was the wife of Herod’s vizier or prime minister. By carefully reading the accounts of Josephus Flavius and aligning the biblical Jesus with his Jesus of Gamala, one can conclude that Jesus was governor of Tiberias, owned a castle in that region, and controlled a private militia some 600 strong.
