San Matteo
Il Vangelo

With a good dose of probability, this review will appear unusual or at least curious. It is actually a personal reflection, as a believer and practicing Christian, on the life of Christ as written by Saint Matthew. In every Holy Mass, the "mystery of faith" is announced, and indeed the strength derived from religious faith is a mystery that, at least personally, has enveloped me and leaves me thinking, yet it also fosters doubts arising from some contradictions described by the Saintly tax collector and the other evangelists. In this case, since Saint Matthew's writing seems the most detailed, I attempted to analyze some inconsistencies which, when presented to priests during confession, have yielded nothing but unresolved questions.

Herod would have died when Jesus was a little over two years old (2-19), the time elapsed from the birth to the discovery of the trick planned by the Wise Men (2-16). This resulted in the slaughter of infants in Bethlehem two years old and younger and the death announced in a dream to Joseph while he was in Egypt (2-20). Although the evasive phrase "in those days" frequently appears, there is clearly a temporal inaccuracy. Herod, dead in passage (2-12), heard news of Jesus' fame in passage (14-1), thus when Jesus was already an adult, baptized by John the Baptist in passage (3-16), who was already an adult. Moreover, John the Baptist was beheaded by his order (14-10). Thank God, it's worth saying, we have cinematic visual testimonies, of which I prefer those by Pasolini and Zeffirelli.

Did people of that time really believe the preachings of John the Baptist, (4-4) without labeling him as crazy or heretical? Jesus himself advised to beware of false prophets (7-15), not that John the Baptist was one, but anyone could fit that role without being distinguishable from the real ones. The bigotry of that time, despite the absence of that man who had given credit to the existence of the Kingdom of God with miracles, was rather extreme, violent, almost unshakeable. For nothing, people were indelibly labeled as blasphemers, as sinners, and therefore cautiously ridiculed or worse, eliminated. Jesus, despite various threats, managed to gain the trust of many unbelievers thanks to his wisdom and the incredible miracles he performed.

When John Lennon, in 1965, drew the ire of the bigoted and an improbable Ku-Klux-Klan, declaring: "The Beatles are more popular than Jesus Christ. Jesus was alright (quite reductive) but his disciples were thick and ordinary", probably, he wasn't entirely wrong. At the time, the miracles performed would've been sufficient and more to convert the entire world, but the thickheadedness of the followers pushed him to the sacrifice on the cross. The miracles and mediocrity are described in several passages. The healing of a man always known as a leper (8-3), the recovery of the centurion's servant (8-6), the healing of Peter's mother-in-law from fever (8-14), the storm turned into calm (8-26), the rehabilitation of the paralytic (9-6), the woman suffering from hemorrhages (9-22), the girl resurrected (9-24), the healing of the blind (9-29), the multiplication of loaves and fishes for five thousand people (14-20) and then for four thousand (15-38)...

Similarly for the mediocrity of the disciples. One could understand the joy of the leper or the blind in expressing the healing, despite the recommendation not to mention it to anyone (8-4), but the other miracles, some of great significance, if they can be classified by prowess, were performed before the people or even large crowds. Why did Jesus recommend not spreading what happened if he highlighted it before the eyes of thousands of people? Indeed, he was also aware of the fact that the word had already spread well, as wherever he went, he was besought by the sick or their relatives who invoked miraculous healing. A miracle upon myself, with a good dose of selfishness, I would have kept it well, also because I would have risked being branded as crazy or blasphemous. As for mediocrity, why push Jesus to the sacrifice on the cross despite what he had done? But were those disciples really so thickheaded that after incredible demonstrations, they managed to find the vile courage to deny him (26-75), to mock him, to betray him (26-25) and prefer him for crucifixion over Barabbas (27-20)? Evidently, the persuasion of a priest was worth more than a miracle (!) and results in a heartfelt gratitude of the thickheaded people paid by Christ with the atrocious death on Golgotha!

However, some elements are not lacking that perhaps, fall into contradiction. Premising the passages where Jesus praises peacemakers (5-9), before the disciples he advises not to practice good deeds in front of men to be admired by them (6-1) and brands as hypocrites those who give alms before people (6-2) or pray standing in synagogues for the sole purpose of attracting others' praises (6-5), there are then demonstrations that inevitably clash. Jesus himself, as previously demonstrated, performed works of peace and prayed in front of everyone. I do not dare to consider him hypocritical (despite everything I fear it) but the contradiction exists. Then I ask myself: Did Jesus go against his saying and will to be punished by God? Are these contradictions highlighted to uphold what was already written? If he already knew he should preach, perform miracles, be denied by Peter, betrayed by Judas, preferred over Barabbas, tortured by Romans, and died on the cross to then resurrect, why did he fear being abandoned by God (27-46)?

Perhaps a Christ, like the one depicted in Martin Scorsese's "The Last Temptation", who finds time to turn water into wine for a celebration and even to perform a dance, would have eliminated some actions today called sin and because of us, during every confession, we would have offended him less, facilitating his indescribable work of redemption. Hoping not to undergo a trial by any Inquisition, (after all, Guccini dared more but he is always Guccini) admitting the probabilities, my own, of contradiction, I await an answer and that God's will be done.

Mystery of faith.