The Disciple

The fact that the devil walked up to tempt Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane never quite jelled in my young church-on-every-Sunday-morning mind. It took several years for me to look up the meaning of “satan.” It means “adversary.” The story now makes sense, but I never lost the fascination that many people believe that it was the physical lord-of-the-underworld, Lucifer, who made Jesus his spectacular offer.

Another, far more serious, theological concern is the story of the conversion of Paul (Saul of Tarsus). No New Testament codex, whether in the canon or in other writings of the time, gives any suggestion that such a figure as Paul would rise to spread the Gospel of Jesus. There is no independent support that Paul was visited by Jesus, who had been crucified five years before this miraculous meeting. It is by Paul’s word, and Paul’s word alone, that he is speaking for the risen Jesus. In fact, Jesus himself named his brother James the Just as his (Jesus’) successor. It is established fact that Paul’s teachings were at odds with James' and the Church in Jerusalem. Paul’s most basic concept, “by faith alone are you saved,” was directly rejected by James with “faith without good works is meaningless.” And yet, it is the teachings of Paul that shaped the entire concept of modern Christianity.

With these two thoughts in mind, I wondered -- what if it really WAS Lucifer in the Garden that night?