A few months ago, I found in my father's library
his copy of Albert Schweitzer's biographical sketch
of Jesus, written in 1901,
entitled "Das Messianitaets- und Leidensgeheimnis"
literally translated "The Messiahship- and Passionsecret".
The monograph of 104 pages was written in 1901.
An English translation was published in New York
in 1914 as "The Mystery of the Kingdom of God."
Schweitzer makes no reference to Kierkegaard,
and presents a very different theology based on 
a thoughtful reading of the Gospels as historical
chronicle.

Schweitzer's thesis is, in brief, that in the early
part of his ministry, Jesus himself expected an
imminent apocalypse, with the destruction of humanity
and the establishment of the heavenly kingdom on
earth; that this expectation was disappointed, and
that on the occasion of his own baptism by John, 
Jesus became conscious of his messianic mission,
and of the need of himself becoming a sacrifice for all
humanity, making possible, subsequent to his death
the advent of the Kingdom of God without man's
destruction. According to Schweitzer's interpretation
of the Gospels, Jesus kept his consciousness of his
Messiahship and of his impeding Passion, a secret
from all but his disciples. Correspondingly, Judas'
betrayal of Jesus was not, as superficial reading
of the scripture might suggest, the superfluous
identification in the Garden of Gethsemane,
of a well known and readily recognizable public figure.
Judas' betrayel was nothing less than the disclosure
to the high priests of Jesus consciousness of himself
as the Messiah, laying the groundwork for Caiphas' fateful
question: "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou
tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God."
(Matt, 27:63). It was this admission, or claim, on the
part of Jesus which Caiphas construed as evidence
prima facie of Jesus criminality and on the basis of
which Caiphas persuaded the crowd to demand that
Jesus be crucified.

I find it difficult to reconcile Schweitzer's careful
historical analysis with Kierkegaard's mystical account
of original, authentic Christianity. I would be 
grateful for the help with this task which any Listmembers
who have read this far might choose to give me. But there
is little doubt in my mind that the criminalization of Jesus,
as prescribed by Isaiah (Chapter 53), is the essence of the
social experience of all who succeed, even in the slightest
measure, of following in Christ's footsteps.  To be called
a criminal, to be despised and rejected of men, to be made
to appear so vile that "we hid as it were our faces from him",
is in fact the greatest honor which ones fellow men
or ones fellow Listmembers can bestow.

Ernst Meyer