What If You Saved Jesus? | Unveiled

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What If You Saved Jesus?</h4>

There are some moments in history that truly serve to shape the future from that point forward. It’s certainly the case with the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, an execution that would go on to be remembered like no other. It’s a key moment, perhaps the key moment in the world’s most followed religion - Christianity - and a massive before-and-after point in the timeline of modern humans. But what if it had never happened? What would the world be like now if Jesus had survived?

This is Unveiled, and today we’re answering the extraordinary question; what if you saved Jesus?

Of all the types of time travel that could exist, backwards travel is easily the most difficult to make work. In both a physical and a logical sense. Technically, if we could only travel fast enough - as in, close to (or beyond) the speed of light - then forward travel should be relatively simple. Getting to the future quicker than everyone else should be possible. But reversing back through time that’s already passed, and stopping off at some place (or moment) that no longer exists? The majority believe that it will always be impossible. 

And then, even if you could find a way, traveling back in time is, ultimately, a paradoxical nightmare. The butterfly effect argues that even the smallest action could serve to dramatically alter the future. The grandfather paradox reveals how you could quite easily erase your own existence while time traveling, thereby making it impossible for you to have traveled in the first place. There are just so many possible problems to be had.

For today’s video, though, we’re taking a leap, and imagining that all of that has been solved. Backwards time travel is possible; it can be done without plunging us all into an illogical pit of paradox hell; and, why not, it can even be done without the need to split timelines. Backwards time travel is real, and for anyone embarking on it then whatever they do in the past directly alters history as we know it. So, again, what specifically would happen if you saved Jesus?

First off, it might take a little trial and error to get back to precisely the right moment in time. The Bible doesn’t provide a specific date or hour for when Jesus was crucified, although most estimations take us to probably early April, in probably AD 33. It’s thought his cross was risen at around 9am and that he had died by about 3pm. The exact location might take a little finding as well, though, as again the historical records are not clear. The site at which Jesus’ cross stood - alongside that of two others who had been sentenced to death, as well - is known as Golgotha. It’s likely found somewhere just outside the boundaries of the Old City of Jerusalem, although exactly where is unknown and still debated. 

Of course, if you were to travel back to the actual time of Jesus’ death, then it perhaps wouldn’t be too difficult to get your bearings. Jesus is said to have carried his cross through the streets before arriving at Golgotha, in part helped by one Simon of Cyrene - who’s usually mentioned as having been “compelled” by the Roman guards to share the load. The entire event amounted to quite a spectacle. It’s unclear precisely how many people witnessed Jesus’ last journey to his place of death, or how many witnessed the crucifixion itself, but it was a known and high profile killing. For a backwards time traveler, then, as long as you had found the right time and place, it would surely take only a little scouting out to find exactly where you needed to be.

Although, that said, if you really wanted to save Jesus, then would it be the day of his death that you’d go back to? Probably not. With Romans keeping watch all around, it likely wouldn’t have been possible to prevent his death once it was ordered. Instead, you might travel back to Jesus’ final trial before Pontius Pilate, who ultimately condemned him to his fate. The historical depictions of Pilate are, again, inconsistent. Sometimes he’s quite simply painted as a cruel and single-minded figure, who never once considered that Jesus shouldn’t be executed. However, Pilate is at other times remembered as having constantly wavered over his decision; as a fairly weak and uncertain figure who, in the end, just bowed before public pressure. If that second version of Pilate is the more accurate one, then perhaps it would be with him that you would have the best chance of saving Jesus… maybe by somehow positioning yourself as a trusted advisor, and then advising against the crucifixion.

Alternatively, you might travel slightly further back, to arguably the most crucial moment in the entire story of how Jesus died; the betrayal by Judas Iscariot. Again, accounts differ, but it’s generally told that Judas betrayed Jesus by covertly revealing him to secretly assembled Roman guards, by kissing his cheek in the Garden of Gethsemane. It’s said that Judas received thirty pieces of silver for the act, but was immediately wracked with guilt and regret afterwards - to the point that he would eventually take his own life. As for why he did it - beyond pocketing the silver - it’s never truly known. So perhaps a Jesus-saving time traveler’s mission would actually center on Judas; on either persuading him against the betrayal, or on somehow scuppering it - perhaps by diverting Jesus away from the Garden of Gethsemane at that precise, fateful moment.

But here, more than ever, the true magnitude of this particular “what if” scenario comes into view. The life, death and actions of Judas have, over the years, come to be viewed as a point of philosophical debate - and for good reason. If, for example, Judas had never been born, then he’d of course never be there to betray Jesus. A good thing, it would seem. However, Judas’ story is so tightly woven into what Jesus’ would eventually become, that to remove him would effectively rewrite religion. What’s more, it’s variously said that Jesus foresaw the betrayal that would eventually be dealt to him, and perhaps even knew beforehand that it would be Judas who delivered it. Here, then, philosophers have before viewed Judas’ role from the perspective of whether or not he had free will. Was Judas acting for himself, or was what he did part of some higher plan - and that’s why Jesus knew it was going to (perhaps even had to) happen?

These are huge considerations, but are also integral to this particular time travel scenario. In the world as we know it, Jesus is said to have died for our sins. There’s an implication that, Son of God or not, he had to die on the cross. It was a terrible moment, but also a pivotal part of all that came afterwards. So, where does that leave a hypothetical attempt to save Jesus? Would his followers want that to happen? Without Jesus’ death, would Christianity exist? How would all religious ideas be changed without the figure of Jesus, whether or not he’s significant or insignificant in the here-and-now? Could the prospect of saving Jesus even be considered blasphemy? The potential repercussions can again be understood as something like the famed butterfly effect, but to a truly extreme degree. With the whole timeline of religion itself altered or even halted, what do you think the world would be like now? How do you think the past might’ve unfolded differently? Let us know your opinions in the comments!

For now, clearly this is a thought experiment only. In reality, we do not yet have the technology needed to even attempt such an outlandish rehashing of history. And, arguably, the fact that Jesus did die, the realization that he wasn’t saved, is reason enough to believe that backwards time travel really might never be possible… because, if it were possible, then surely many will have tried it by now, and someone will have succeeded. 

Ultimately, it’s a question that at first seems as though it should simply involve quite a straightforward reimagining of the last two thousand years or so. But, before long, it becomes a hugely complex and intriguing prospect. Because that’s what would happen if you saved Jesus.