Deflection

For this assay, it will be about the lives of Jesus; the Pharisees, a Jewish sect; and Pontus Pilate. As for typical narcissists, they play the part of Pharisees, since the Pharisees were unable to listen and learn from Jesus’s teachings. Jesus plays the part of the a person surviving the wrath of the narcissists. And, as for Pontus Pilate, he is the general public trying to understand what is going on with all of the drama surround the narcissist. As will be shown, the analogy fits perfectly.

Narcissist need to have people that they feel are people of value to bring down to their level, otherwise, there is no need to attack that person. The same can be stated about Jesus, as described the following verses: John 3:1 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.” If the Pharisees saw Jesus as a teacher from God, then Jesus was a person of value that they need to bring down to their level. It made no sense that anyone would be from God. Just as a narcissist has to being a person of value down to their level, even a highly insecure person would want a person to be crucified and nailed to a cross.

It was not long in Jesus teaching and the Pharisees was not understand Jesus, so they began to prosecute him. John 5:16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. 17In his defense Jesus said to them, “My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I too am working.” 18For this reason they tried all the more to kill him; not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God. As these verses clearly shows, the Pharisees were not going to take the time to listen or learn where Jesus was coming from. This is just like a narcissist that unwilling to listen and learn what is going on around them. As with both the Pharisees and the narcissist, there insecurities will not allow them to learn, since they cannot be in control of the situation if they understand where others are coming from on any given topic, and they are so insecure that they have to be number one in front of everyone.

The Pharisees tried to prove that Jesus was not following the Jewish law in his teaching, although that would be hard to prove with Jesus teaching from his father’s guidance. Nicodemus rose to the occasion by asking the question in the following two verses. John 7:50Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51“Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?” It is clear that the Pharisees were not going to abide by the Jewish Laws to sentence Jesus. This the something that narcissists do to those of value in their eyes, especially when they are feeling totally insecure. They will lie, steal, cheat, manufacture statements, and pay no attention to any law.

When it comes to the narcissist behavior, the is a term called, “Word Salad.” This means that the narcissist will came at you from all directions making life for the person being attacked totally impossible. Jesus faced the same issues with the Pharisees, as described in the following verses: John 8:6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. Narcissist will trap the ones that they are attacking, as the Pharisees attacked Jesus. Since it does no good for the one being attacked to defend themselves, it is best to divert from them, as Jesus bent down and wrote on the ground. Otherwise, as Jesus know, they would take his words and use against him. But, in Verse 7, Jesus got up and spoke to the crowd. His statement was direct, meaningful, factual and to the point in a formate that the Pharisees could not use against him. This holds true with a narcissist. All statements must be lead with the with the term, “I feel,” or the narcissist will feel that if they do not feel deeply about a topic it is open game to ridicule the ones that they are attacking. Then the statements have to be factual, to the point, and without a change for a narcissist to use against the ones that they are attacking, as read in Jesus’s statement. As Jesus bent down the second time, he was ignoring the Pharisees and they went home, just like the narcissist cannot stand silence coming from those that they are attacking. Jesus looked up and only saw the woman, since the Pharisees lost interest in him, just like a narcissist will lose interest in attacking others.

By taking a look at family dynamics, the narcissist does not want their family too far away from them, since they know that they have not treated their family members correctly. This can also be found in John 11 when the Pharisees plan to kill Jesus: 48 If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and then the Romans will come and take away both our temple and our nation.” If a narcissist lets his family members go out in to the public, then everyone will know the behavior of the narcissist, and the narcissist will try to prevent this from happening just as described in Verse 48. It is hard to believe that a narcissist can hold this amount of weight on their shoulders, and it is hard to believe that pressure that the children are under not to spend time with their friends.

Avoidance is the best way to deal with narcissists, since they come at you from all different directions. Jesus faced this same issue with Pontus Pilate. For this passages of verses, the book of Mark will be uses: 15:2“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3The chief priests accused him of many things. 4So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” 5But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. When a person that a narcissist considerers a person of value stops communicating, the narcissist will look amazed in disbelief, since it is human behavior to stand up to their rights. It is good human behavior for a person to stand up for their rights; otherwise, holding aggression in by not applying a response, does lead to poor mental health. But, with silence being noise to the narcissist, the narcissist does not know what the person that they are attacking is thinking. Even if the person that is being attacked is totally upset, it is best to act stoic giving the narcissist no indication that they have been hurt. For, it the one being attacked shows any indication of the attack, they will use it against the one that they are attacking. Therefore, regarding the one being attacked, it is best to move away from the narcissist without drawing any attention to the narcissist. Actually, if a person is in a relationship with a narcissist, it is best to leave the community of the narcissist and allow for good mental health to grow.

Jesus suffered due to the insecurities of the Pharisees, since they were not going to listen to or understand Jesus’s teaching, except Nicodemus. They were in fear that Jesus was teach outside the Jewish Law. As stated in John 5:16 So, because Jesus was doing these things on the Sabbath, the Jewish leaders began to persecute him. Therefore, instead learning why Jesus took an exception to heal a blind man on the sabbath, they were willing to persecute him. The same can be stated about the narcissist, since they are not willing to listen and learn, and this leads to total turmoil around them. As with the life that we live everyday, it is important to listen and learn from what a person is saying, since they are taking the time to put their thoughts together. Just as it was with Jesus, once a persons throughs are known, then it is up to the person receiving the information to use it, think about it, or reject it. With Jesus being crucified and nailed to the cross, narcissists do the same thing with the people of value that they are, and they make the people that they are attacking feel they have been crucified and nailed them to the cross. Once again, the Jews and the narcissists are bring down Jesus and others down to their level. In conclusion, it is far better to listen and learn the other person’s feelings, instead of taking dramatic actions against others.