Mistakes of Jesus' Early Followers
Early followers misunderstood Jesus' teachings due to awe-inspiring events. They focused on his resurrection and expected his imminent return. The concept of sacrificial atonement overshadowed Jesus' message of God's love. Eventually, his true teachings will prevail.
Summary
The mistakes made by Jesus’ early followers were not intentional. They were only misunderstandings of his teachings and the impact of the awe-inspiring events that occurred during and after his extraordinary life. It was natural that these early teachers proclaim the resurrected Jesus, a God-man who died yet lived. And they mistook what he said about his "second coming," thinking he would return during their lifetime. The idea that God demanded Jesus’ life as a ransom for humanity’s alleged sin fit well with the long-established sacrificial beliefs of the times in which he lived. Little did his early followers realize such a concept made God appear to subsequent generations as a heartless and blood-thirsty tyrant. And that belief would become a great stumbling block for many deep-thinking men and women. Many truth-seekers cannot conceive of a good God who would demand that his son submit to such a cruel ordeal to appease his Father’s presumed wrath for humans’ supposed sinfulness. Beliefs about the sacrificial and resurrected Jesus displaced the Master’s sublime teachings that God is a loving Father of a universal family of sisters and brothers. The religion about Jesus, which evolved after his death, often overshadows the religion of Jesus – his actual teachings and living example – but in time, his true message will prevail.