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Tag: caesar

Kings, Governors, Politicians & Priests – Power in the Palaces of Justice
Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.
John 18:28 KJV

the Praetorium – in the Palace of Power

Herod’s Palace – Salome presents head of John the Baptist to Herod

I don’t know about you, but the rapid-fire events of the conviction of the Messiah Jesus in so brief a time in the early hours of the day confuses me concerning the places these trials took place.
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If you have a comment of clarification please add it to this post.
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IF, unlike those present at the Lord’s first century trials you do not understand who is in charge, the venues of Jesus’ trials can get a little confusing.

You may ask, ‘What does this banquet hall of Herod..’ (where King Herod had been presented the head of John the Baptist) ‘.. have to do with the Messiah Jesus on this morning following the betrayal of Judas?’

The Praetorium is a semi-public place where Jesus has been sent — this place is on the grounds of the palace of King Herod.

Let’s look back briefly at the history of the keys players in this developing drama which convicts the Messiah Jesus at night.

King Herod

Briefly, the history of the Herod’s gets complicated at times, but remember here that we are not talking about Herod the Great who navigated the complex politics of Rome with great agility.

After Herod’s death, Augustus Caesar ratified the wishes of his client king, Herod, to divide this eastern territory of Rome into three parts.
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Source: Herodian Tetrarchy
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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1. Herod Archelaus was appointed Ethnarch (a governor & not king) of Idumaea, Judea (including Jerusalem) and Samaria.
2. Herod Antipas (simply, Antipas to the Romans & his subjects, but described as ‘Herod‘ in the Gospels) became Tetrarch of Galilee (including Nazareth and Capernaum) and Perea.
3. Philip I, son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra of Jerusalem, became Tetrarch of the northern part of Herod’s kingdom (area in modern Lebanon & Syria).
‘Governor Herod‘
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You've never heard Herod called that, have you?
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This is no longer the Jerusalem of Herod the Great! Jews are now considered merely as an ethnic people and Judeans an ‘ethnic group’ similar to nearby client Roman states. They are now governed as a regional people rather than as a small kingdom allied to Rome for mutual military advantage.
- Herod Archelaus – Ethnarch
- Herod Antipas – Tetrarch
- (Herod) Philip II – Tetrarch
Ethnarch (technically) is a Roman rank just a little higher than Tetrarch. (Kind of like Arch-Bishop is to Bishop in the church.)

Judean Governors (like Herod) sometimes appear politically and practically to be more Roman than like traditional sons of David.

IF these Herod’s were officially governors of their respective Roman regions, i.e. Judea, Galilee, Ituria, etc., — who then governed the governors?

Who governs these Jews?

John now addresses the question of who’s in charge in Jerusalem, who’s in charge of Judea, which Tetrarch governor of which ethnic region has authority in what was once the Kingdom of Israel.

As Jesus is dragged from place to place for trial the quiestions mount:

Is He a Judean? A Galilean? A Jew with authority in Jerusalem? A would-be King? Who IS this Man?

Other Gospel writers have hinted earlier how this delicate duality of rule in first century Jerusalem provided opportunity of great hypocrisy among the rulers of the Jews and their religious political parties, i.e. Sadducees, Pharisees, etc..

The scribes and the chief priests tried to lay hands on Him…
So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, in order that they might catch Him in some statement, so that they could deliver Him to the rule and the authority of the governor.
Luke 20:19a,20 NASB

“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?”

But He detected their trickery and said to them,

“Show Me a denarius. Whose likeness and inscription does it have?”

They said, “Caesar’s.” – Luke 20:22-24 NASB

John 18:

28 Then they led Jesus from Caiaphas into the Praetorium, and it was early; and they themselves did not enter into the Praetorium so that they would not be defiled, but might eat the Passover.

29 Therefore Pilate went out to them and said,

“What accusation do you bring against this Man?”

the Praetorium – palace of the Governor

WAIT! Even knowing something of the political intrigue and complexity of the Herod’s, I’m still confused.
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Again, please comment if you can help or have a question.
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Note that the King James Version {at beginning of this post} states:

‘Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment…’

I get that a hall of judgment could be a large room in the palace.

Note now in the NASB translation,

‘.. into the [a]Praetorium..’

AND by definition:

πραιτώριον = Praetorium [note a]

‘John 18:28 i.e. governor’s official residence’

Why is Pilate there?

Why does Pilate emerge from the Governor’s palace to greet the religious police who have taken the Messiah Jesus into custody?
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The CSB clearly calls it 'the governor’s headquarters.'
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Wasn’t Pilate’s headquarters outside Jerusalem’s walls with the Roman Legion he commanded?

NO!

When Rome moved into a captured land they ‘civilized’ its remaining residents to become supporting (taxed) residents (not citizens) under Roman rule. As long as they paid their taxes and did not rebel against Roman authority these local Jews could do what they want with their own ethnic people.

What accusation?

Roman custom is such that some public judgments are made from the court of the Governor in charge. Pilate asks the local Jewish leaders who have led a prisoner to him the reasonable question of a Governor and Judge:

https://www.blueletterbible.org/nasb/jhn/18/1/t_concf_1015029Τίνα κατηγορίαν φέρετε κατὰ τοῦ ἀνθρώπου τούτου
“Tis katēgoria pherō kata ho anthrōpos hoytos?
John 18:29 – question of Pilate to the Jews who brought Jesus before him

These Jewish leaders of Jerusalem have brought a prisoner to Pilate in the earliest hours of the morning. Pilatos, the sixth Roman procurator of Judah and Samaria, addresses them in the universal language of the vast Empire, Greek — not his native Latin, the religious Hebrew tongue of these Jews or a local Aramaic language.

Their prisoner bound for trial appears to be Jesus, who had led thousands of followers to Jerusalem’s gates just a few days ago. Pilate would already know that the Man has not caused any trouble, except one minor incident within the courts of the Jews own Temple.

The Governor has plenty to be concerned about for the upcoming day in monitoring the massive multitudes here for the Jewish holiday Pesach.

Imagine the thoughts of Pilatos:

You’ve brought a prisoner to the governor in these early hours of this busy day?

What does your warrant accuse that I should imprison the Man now?

I have more important things to do than trifle with such matters of your religious concern.

So Pilate, the governor, went out to them and asked,
“What is your charge against this man?”
John 18:29 NLT
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To be continued...
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September 28, 2020
Emmanuel -2
Christmas according to the Gospel

Yesterday, in part one of this 3-part Christmas series, I mentioned that ‘Emmanuel’ is a Latin or romanized spelling of “Immanuel” from the Hebrew. I also remind us that Christmas was a minor celebration, actually banned at times by the church.

We began discussion of the Nativity (the birth of Jesus) with an introduction of the Gospels of Mark and John, discovering that the prophets had already predicted the coming of a Messiah, God With Us, Immanuel.

Today we continue with the Gospel of Matthew, Disciple to Jesus and a Jew familiar with the Bible (Old Testament).

The Genealogy of Jesus Christ

Matthew 1: KJV

The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.

Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat…

Wait! Why start the story of Jesus with a history of ancestry? It reads a little bit like Genesis 5 to me. Adam begat Seth, who begat Enoch, who begat... (you get the idea). We tend to skip over those little details anyway.

We see Abraham in there and David on the list.

And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon: a clear connection of this Jewish genealogy from Adam through David, then Kings of a divided, defeated and deported Israel.

If we look at Mathew’s list of the genealogy of Jesus more closely, another question may even come to mind.

and Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary,
who gave birth to Jesus who is called the Christ.
Matthew 1:16 CSB

Immediately following, Matthew mentions the controversy of the time:

Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise [in this way]:

When as his mother Mary was espoused [betrothed] to Joseph, before they came together [physically {or sexually, if we may be so bold}], she was found with child of the Holy Ghost [pregnant, by the Holy Spirit of God the Father!].
Matthew 1:18 KJV [with comment]

Before we address the controversies of verse 18, let’s address the obvious question about Joseph first.

If Joseph was not the father of Jesus, why include Joseph’s family in the genealogy of Jesus?

Here we must first remove the blinders of our twenty-first century biases against practices of other cultures in distant places and former times we do not understand.

Glance at a First Century Woman

Our misunderstanding of the place and role of Mary may be helped by this brief glance at life at the time of Jesus’ birth.

Make no mistake about it, first century life from Rome to Jerusalem and the hills of Syria was hierarchical. Caesar Augustus sought to build a civilized ‘Roman’ culture throughout the captive states of his reign.

In Rome some women were freeborn citizens, but did not vote. Slaves had no inheritance rights and under Roman law a slave had no father. I mention this because Rome was highly dependent on slaves, including physicians, accountants, along with common laborers. Nearly four of every ten Romans were slaves of a citizen. Romans could actually sell their own children as slaves, property of the buyer with no family association. A woman belonged to her father or husband.

Captive Israel and Judah were client states of Rome. Kings and others held some authority over the men of these captive states. Romans and Jews held similar views about the value of marriage, stability of families and value of the relationship of a virgin daughter joining herself to a husband and new family (betrothal).

The light regulation of marriage by the law with regards to minimum age (12) and consent to marriage was designed to leave families, primarily fathers, with much freedom to propel girls into marriage whenever and with whomever they saw fit. [source]

Mary is no queen, just a common girl, most likely age 13-16, promised to an older man of somewhat better standing.

Two controversies

Joseph, a carpenter born to a family from very rural Bethlehem near Jerusalem, by order of Rome, must register (in person) for a census in the city of his family. This, the reason for the genealogies of men in historical documents. Matthew 1:1-17 details Joseph’s ancestry. We will examine more of the details of the event in tomorrow’s concluding story of the Nativity from the Gospel of Luke.

Mary, a virgin pledged to him as a wife, returns from an extended visit to her relatives – pregnant!

Matthew clearly states that this is the Child of the Holy Spirit [ἐκ ἅγιος hagios πνεῦμα pneuma].

Clearly, Joseph knows that the child in the womb of his betrothed is not his – he is not the father, suggesting divorce (rather than stoning her to death), which brings us to our second, even larger controversy.

An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream revealing both the identity and Holy conception of the Child.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
Matthew 1:21 CSB

Ἰησοῦς Iēsous יְהוֹשׁוּעַ JESUS – THE LORD SAVES
bLUElETTERbIBLE.ORG http://blb.sc/000q28

Immanuel

Prophesy

Joseph and faithful Jews of first Century Judea and other captive Roman provinces would know predictions of a Messiah. Herod, vassal tenant king or tetrarch (one of four local Jewish governors) would have also known or learned the prophesy.
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Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God? Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: 
See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.
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24 When Joseph woke up, he did as the Lord’s angel had commanded him. He married her 25 but did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son. And he named him Jesus.

One other prophesy

5:2 וְאַתָּה בֵּֽית־לֶחֶם אֶפְרָתָה צָעִיר לִֽהְיֹות בְּאַלְפֵי יְהוּדָה מִמְּךָ לִי יֵצֵא לִֽהְיֹות מֹושֵׁל בְּיִשְׂרָאֵל וּמֹוצָאֹתָיו מִקֶּדֶם מִימֵי עֹולָֽם׃

But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah,
are only a small village among all the people of Judah.
Yet a ruler of Israel will come from you,
one whose origins are from the distant past.
Micah 5:2 – Hebrew Bible & NLT

Matthew 2:

This familiar scene (of Kings following a star to worship Jesus takes place some time after His birth).

After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, 2 saying,

“Where is he who has been born king of the Jews?

For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.”

Herod the Great

Traveling kings ask about one born ‘king of the Jews.’ And by protocol they ask the so-called king ruling in Jerusalem under Rome.

The Herod’s have have held the captive thrones of Judea and surrounding Roman states for just a few decades.

Where is this new King of the Jews?

3 When King Herod heard this, he was deeply disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ would be born.

5 “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet:

6 And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah:
Because out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.”

9 After hearing the king, they went on their way. And there it was—the star they had seen at its rising. It led them until it came and stopped above the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overwhelmed with joy.

11 Entering the house, they saw the child with Mary his mother, and falling to their knees, they worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.

12 And being warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their own country by another route.

Joseph and Mary take Jesus to Jerusalem, then escape Herod to live in Egypt during the early childhood of Jesus.
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To be continued... (tomorrow, Christmas Day)
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December 24, 2018
Judea of Herod
(Just a bit more Roman history before we continue in Luke 7)

Prior to Roman Rule:

• Judah in path of invading armies crossing eastern Mediterranean shores
– Judah controlled by Syrians, Greeks, Romans, others over the years
• Syrians took over in 198 B.C., introduced Greek culture to Jews
– Jews allowed to keep religion, but some adopted Greek culture, gods
• In 175 B.C., Syrians insisted Jews worship Greek gods; Jews refused
– Jewish religion was outlawed; some ﬂed to hills, prepared to ﬁght
Rebels Fight Syria
• Jewish priest and ﬁve sons led ﬁght to drive out Syrians
– son Judah Maccabeus led revolt with his force, the Maccabees
• Tiny Jewish force faced larger, better equipped Syrian army
– rebels knew countryside and defeated Syrians in many battles
• Maccabees regained Jerusalem by 164 B.C.

Rome Conquers Judea
• Romans conquered Judah (Judea) in 63 B.C.
• Roman rulers kept strict control over Judea
• Jewish kings, religious leaders appointed by Rome

Leader(s) of the Maccabees Timeline
167 BC: Mattathias, the Hasmonean
166 – 161 BC: Judas Maccabaeus, the Hammer of the LORD
161 – 143 BC: Jonathan Apphus, the Wary
143 – 135 BC: Simon Thassi, the Zealous Guide

Although the Maccabees, and later their descendants, the Hasmoneans, managed to keep Israel free from foreign oppression for almost 150 years, this abruptly ended with King Herod who was not a Hasmonean at all.

The Hasmonean dynasty, which leaped onto the stage of history with such dramatic heroism, disappeared from that same stage with cruel suddenness. The despot Herod, whose régime was forced upon the unwilling Jewish populace by his Romans overlords, was fully aware that the aura of Hasmonean charisma would constitute a continual threat to his power, and hence he undertook to ruthlessly murder all the remaining descendants of that family, including his beloved wife Mariamne, granddaughter of the Hasmonean ruler Hyrcanus II. Herod executed her on trumped-up charges of disloyalty, as he did afterwards to the two sons she had borne him, Alexander and Aristobulus. – Wikipedia

Herod builds another Temple in Jerusalem and many buildings throughout Judea with the support of Rome.

Herod the First of Judaea, known to history as Herod the Great
- Alexander died in 76 B.C. and Salome ruled alone until her death in 67 B.C. Upon the death of the queen a civil war broke out between her two sons. Herod’s father Antipater II sided with Hyrcanus…
- Rome had intervened in Syria and ousted their King and posted Legions in Syria.
- Caesar and Pompey were also in a Roman civil war for power. Herod’s father had supported Caesar and was made Procurator of Judea.
- Herod loyally supported Antony against Octavian until 31 B.C. Octavian defeated Antony, but had no one to replace Herod and gave him some of Antony’s territories given by Antony of Rome to Cleopatra of Egypt.
- Near the time of Herod’s death (just prior to the birth of Jesus) Herod feared a coup from his own sons as more civil unrest broke out in his Kingdom of Judea (given to his family as political compromise by Rome).
HEROD’S PERSECUTIONS

Herod’s persecutions were infamous and they even extended to his own family.

Herod, knowing that his Jewish credentials were suspect, had married Miriam—the granddaughter of Hyrcanus and therefore a Hasmonean princess—largely to gain legitimacy among the Jewish people. But he also loved her madly. As Josephus relates:

Of the five children which Herod had by Miriam, two of them were daughters and three were sons. The youngest of these sons was educated in Rome and died there but the two eldest he treated as those of royal blood on account of the nobility of their mother and because they were not born until he was king. But what was stronger than all this was his love he bore for Miriam which inflamed him every day to a great degree.

The problem was that Miriam hated him as much as he loved her, largely because of what he had done to her brother, Aristobulus.

Herod had made Aristobulus High Priest at the age of 17, and watched with trepidation as the young man became hugely popular. This was not surprising as Aristobulus was a Hasmonean with a legitimate right to be High Priest – a genuine Jew and a genuine cohen.

But this threatened Herod too much and he had him drowned.
- Luke does not retell the story of Joseph and Mary fleeing from Bethlehem to Egypt before returning to Nazareth after Herod’s death. We do, however get a flavor of the controversy of the Herod’s vs. the Jews in the story of John the Baptist.
Although we have looked past the calls of John the Baptist to the people and the King for repentance to the call of Jesus to the multitudes for repentance, Luke also reports more of John’s relationship with Jesus in chapter 7.

To be continued in Luke 7.
February 22, 2014