Hunting the Nazarene by John Koerner

Mind Body & Soul Book Review! Hunting the Nazarene - The Second Resurrection of Christ by John Koerner, published by Chronos Books, paperback 106 pages £8.99

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book with its strange title. The author, Professor of American History, is well qualified to write a fascinating and well researched examination of the controversial 21st chapter of John's gospel. This last chapter has had a great deal of exegesis over the years. This is the first time, to my knowledge, that anyone has suggested that Jesus died and was resurrected twice. Historians have suggested this chapter was possibly added to an already completed gospel.



We remember Good Friday for the cruel torture and death, and celebrate the resurrection, 3 days later on Easter Sunday. Of course, in those days in Jerusalem, this would have been the time of the Jewish Passover which recalls the oppression in Egypt when the Jews slaughtered a spring lamb and placed its blood upon the doorposts so the angel of death passed over their homes, enabling Moses to plan their escape through the desert to the Promised Land. 

St John's is the most independent of the four gospels and is the most spiritually inspired. It was said to have been written by the one called the 'beloved disciple' whom Jesus requested as he was dying on the cross to care for his mother, and the only disciple not to flee when the crucifixion occurred. Did this gospel writer refer to himself as 'the beloved disciple' out of humility, or why did he choose not to give his proper name? What happened following the resurrection, and before the ascension on the day of Pentecost, 50 days later? What is apostacy, and were the apostles guilty of this? Did the early church manipulate most vital information? John appears to duplicate some events in his Gospel and is this a typical duplication or is it something more? The end of this book expands into a possible scenario, written in imaginary form about the last chapter of John's Gospel and what the author thinks it implies. The Gospel of John was written prior to the Book of Revelation, though thought by some to be by the same writer.

Is there a strategic numerical code hidden within the Gospel of John? Did the catch of 153 fish have a numerical meaning? It is thought that Jesus would have been approximately 30 years of age at the beginning of his ministry which continued for an estimated 3 years, though we have no evidence of this, and his age is not given in any of the gospels. Neither is the strange and ancient doctrine of the trinity, three persons in one god - the Father, Son and Holy Ghost given in any of the New Testament Gospels. This was created as a christian doctrine long after their writing. My mind easily wonders to thoughts about this idea of the trinity. Firstly, if there was a Father, a Mother was required to produce a son but the 'Mother' aspect has been removed and the words 'Holy Ghost' substituted. This 'mother' would have been a goddess, just as the Father and Son were Gods, hence the three aspects of the one God. Jesus would have been expected to be married, so did he have a wife, making a fourth person, and maybe children and grandchildren, making many more? Who knows, but because we don't know for sure, it is a creative space to wonder, come up with ideas, to surmise, assume and enjoy possibilities. Look up 'pesharim' as this type of intentional duplication might explain it! 

I am also reading alongside the above, 'The Second Messiah' by Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas which has researched the Turin Shroud and has come up with, amongst other wonderful findings, that the shroud depicts the image of Jacques de Molay, last of the Knights Templar Grand Masters, who was certainly tortured to extract confessions before retracting them and being roasted alive. If the crucified man on the shroud is Molay, he survived a crucifixion and was imprisoned prior to his final horrendous demise. This would have similarities to a peshar and also of the death of Jesus as described by Koerner.

Read for yourself and make your own decision by reading the chapter on this hyperlink: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+21&version=KJV

The author, John Koerner has appeared on America's Book of Secrets', on William Shatner's 'Weird or What' and on the History Channel. He lives in Buffalo, New York. He has an MA in American History from the State University of New York, College at Brockport, and a BA in Communications/Journalism from St. John Fisher College, Summa Cum Laude, Honors Program as well as being adjunct professor of American History at Erie Community College and the founder of Paranormal Walks, LLC (www.paranormalwalks.com). 

Books by the same author:
The Secret Plot to Kill McKinley 
The Mysteries of Father Baker 
Supernatural Power 
The Father Baker Code 
He is a co-author of Haunted Rochester and Lackawanna
Review (and additional thoughts) by Wendy Stokes for the Mind, Body Spirit Blog reviews pages.