The Antonia Fortress
The Antonia Fortress was a large building that formed at least one half of the north wall of the Temple Mount. It was built by Herod the Great and named in honor of Marc Antony. It served as a garrison for the Roman troops and occasionally, during high holy days, the residence for the prefect when he was in Jerusalem. The fortress would serve as the
praetorium
(barracks) for the Roman legionnaires stationed in the city. It is in this building that Pilate would determine the fate of Jesus and any other non-citizen prisoners under his jurisdiction. The
Ecce Homo
arch in modern Jerusalem marks the site of the fortress and the place where Pilate is said to have announced, “Behold, the Man.”
Some contest the fort as the site of Jesus’ trial, insisting that he would have been taken to the palace instead. They further assert that the trial must have been held in public with the rules of evidence found in the Roman codes of justice. That this was not done is evidenced by the description of the events in the gospels. Furthermore, Roman law was not codified until well after the first century and applied only to Roman citizens. Other races and nationalities received only that portion allowed them by the emperor and interpreted by the local governor or legate.
Barabbas
One of the more ironic coincidences in the Gospel narrative involves the person of Barabbas, the bandit, robber, and possibly one of the forerunners of the
Siccori
or assassins. The gospel tells us his full name was Yeshua Barabbas, that is, Jesus Barabbas. In Hebrew the word
bar
means son of, and
abba
means father. Therefore, Yeshua Barabbas could easily be translated, or heard as, Jesus, son of (the) Father, particularly if enunciated by a non-Hebrew speaker.
Caesarea Maritima
Caesarea Maritima served as the seat of the occupying Roman government and later as the capitol for Agrippa. It is one of Herod the Great’s most ambitious and successful building projects. Desiring to rival Alexandria, he built a magnificent port on the site of Strato’s Tower. The harbor was formed by huge jetties which extended out into the Mediterranean. It is thought to be one of the earliest examples of the use of poured concrete on any grand scale.
Chronology
Most scholars date Jesus’ birth prior to the first day of the first millennium. Therefore, the use of the older B.C. and A.D. to designate years becomes problematical. Obviously, Jesus could not have been born four years “before Christ.” Thus, the usage of the newer and probably more informative B.C.E.—before (the) Common Era and C.E.—Common Era.
The chronology used follows the now generally accepted idea that Jesus was born between 5 and 3 B.C.E. Using that as a starting point, it is then possible to date the events of the crucifixion at 30 C.E. The remaining dates then follow logically from that.
The Jesus Years
Corinth
Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaea. Located on an isthmus that separated mainland Greece to form the Pelopennisos Peninsula, it was a major shipping hub and transfer point for ships and their cargo. Attempts at digging a canal fell short and were replaced by the construction of the Diolkos, a paved tramway that led from Cenchrea on the southeast to Corinth and then on to Lechaeum on the northwest. At one time Corinth was considered so corrupt that the verb (in Greek)
to corinthianize
meant to indulge in sexual immorality. It was destroyed by the Roman Republic in 143 B.C.E. and rebuilt by Julius Caesar a hundred years later.
Crucifixion
Crucifixion was a punishment peculiar to Rome and it was only applied to noncitizens. The several variations described in the text are authentic. Some authors doubt the placement of the nails in the palms of the hand. There is a very tough membrane in the palm, the
palmar fascia
that is quite capable of supporting the weight of a man for some time.
It is unlikely that Roman guards would be involved, as some suggest, in a conspiracy to spare Jesus’ life or allow his body to be stolen. The Gospel of Matthew (27:62 ff) says that Pilate, at the suggestion of the temple party, placed a guard on the tomb soon after the second day. In the following chapter, we are told the guards went to the high priest to report the body missing and Caiaphas, after bribing the guards, invented the story of the body being stolen. He promised to “keep them out of trouble” if they did so.
It is highly unlikely that any Roman soldier would report to the high priest under any circumstance and even less likely that the latter could in any way affect the punishment they might receive for their dereliction of duty. If we accept Matthew 28:12 ff., then 27:64 may not be true. The guards would have to be from the temple. Similarly, if we accept the former, then we must ignore the latter. In either case, anyone familiar with the circumstances would assume that the guards would “hot-foot” it out of town when confronted with an empty tomb.
Feeding the Multitude
There are several versions of this miracle in the New Testament, including a repetition for different audiences. The numbers of people in attendance and how often the event occurred is secondary to the message implicit in the act. The Messianic expectations held by the Israelites in the first century varied widely but, common to them all was an expectation of a Messianic feast. This would signal the declaration by the principal of his claim as Messiah. For some this was the replication or an anamnesis of Moses calling down the manna from heaven. For others it represented leadership that could figuratively provide sustenance for the nation.
Infancy Gospel
There are many stories relating to Jesus’ childhood. Only the brief mention of his lingering in the temple to speak to the learned rabbis and his parents’ subsequent frantic search for him is in the canon. The story of the clay birds related in this narrative is the most often repeated, in noncanonical gospels and elsewhere. Because it is so widespread, both in “gospels” and in some traditions, it is tempting to believe it to be true.
Judas Iscariot
Judas, like Jesus (Yeshua) was a common name in the first century Israel/Judea. One tradition holds that the Apostle Thomas’ full name was Judas Thomas Didymus, which would mean the two had at least that in common. Iscariot, on the other hand, has been variously translated. The traditional treatment assumed Judas was from a village named Kerioth, presumed to be in the southern part of Judea. No satisfactory location for the town has ever been established, however. An alternative translation for
kerioth
is “neighborhood” intimating that Judas was from the suburbs (of Jerusalem, presumably). Other scholars assume Iscariot is an adulteration of
siccori—
the assassins. In John 6:71 Judas is clearly designated as son of Simon Iscariot, which could make Iscariot a patronymic.
This book’s interpretation assumes Iscariot is a variant on the Aramaic word
skyr
, which is roughly translated as red or ruddy. Thus, the plausible notion the reference is to the color of Judas’ hair—Judas the Red, as in Erik the Red and so on. Or as John writes, Judas son of Simon the Red.
A mixture of the Aramaic and a Greek suffix –ote (like, -ish) would yield: η σκι ρι οτ ε and pronounced as eh-skiri-ote, Iscariot, Judas the Red [ish]. Early Byzantine icons commonly depict Judas with red hair.
Judas of the Galilee
Little is known about Judas of the Galilee except he is mentioned in Josephus with regard to the raid on the armory in Sepphoris. This insurrection resulted in the crucifixion of many men and the town itself being razed. There is an additional reference in the New Testament (Acts 5:36 ff.), which reports Gamaliel, the teacher of Saul, later to be Paul, and a great rabbinic figure of the day, describes Judas of the Galilee as a false Messiah.
His uprising in 6 C.E. is thought by some scholars to be the opening battle of what would culminate in the Jewish Wars in 66-67 C.E. and finally the destruction of the temple and the leveling of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.
Judas’ Death
Judas is reported to have died in one of three ways. Two are found in the Gospels: He committed suicide by hanging (Matt. 27:5) or he swelled up and burst (Acts 1:18). The Apostles all assumed he was dead, and in order for the number of Apostles to remain at twelve, Mathias was chosen by lot to replace him. Peter spoke of Judas in far less damning terms than the other evangelists, in particular, John, who seemed to hate him. Peter says:
…Judas who served as a guide for them that arrested Jesus, he was one of our number, and had his place in this ministry…
Of course, Peter’s own betrayal of Jesus by denying him three times may have something to do with his more generous assessment of Judas.
The third is recorded in a fragment of Papias (an early church father) identified as III, and reads as follows:
Judas walked about in this world a sad example of impiety; for his body having swollen to such an extent that he could not pass where a chariot could pass easily, he was crushed by the chariot, so that his bowels gushed out.
An unlovely image but deemed an appropriate one, apparently, by those who remained with Jesus and needed to assure their listeners of the dire consequences attendant on anyone who would betray God’s anointed.
The Kingdom of God
In the first century, the phrase, “The Kingdom of God” meant different things to different people. For the contemporaries of Jesus, a Messiah, the anointed one, was a growing expectation. But the nature of the Messiah was hotly disputed. One group looked for a prophet to announce it, a second Elijah. Others looked for someone who would lead them to it, a second Moses, and still others expected someone who would rule it, a second David. It is fair to say that few were looking for the kingdom Jesus proposed, a kingdom God would create by changing the hearts and minds of his creation.
Little People
One of the most persistent legends of Northern Europe and of the British Isles, in particular, concerns the Little People—gnomes, dwarfs, elves, fairies, and leprechauns. For many, the Little People were believed to be the imaginings of a superstitious era fed by the occasional appearance of genetic midgets, pygmies, and dwarfs. But their stories persist even today. The recent finding in Indonesia of a race of little people suggests the possibility that similar beings might have existed in the environs of Europe and offer some substance to the myths.
Mary Magdalene
Next to Judas, Mary Magdalene is one of the more intriguing characters in the Gospel stories. She was the first to see Jesus after his resurrection. She stood with Mary the Mother of Jesus at the foot of the cross as Jesus’ life ebbed away. Contemporary thought assigns her the role of a “fallen” woman, perhaps confusing her with the prostitute who poured oil on Jesus’ feet at the home of Simon the Pharisee. It has become a popular pastime to speculate on the possibility she was married to, or bore children by, Jesus. There is no credible evidence or tradition to support this view. Matthew simply describes her as a woman from whom seven spirits were exorcised.
Masad Hasidim—Qumran
Masad Hasidim, or the community at Qumran, that of the Dead Sea Scrolls, was a group of dissident Jews—a denomination not unlike the Pharisees. Commonly identified as the Essenes, their theology seemed to incorporate some Zoroastrian characteristics, an influence acquired, no doubt, during the Exile. They were as fiercely nationalistic as the Zealots and looked for the coming of the Messiah at the end times when the forces of darkness and light would clash. They viewed themselves as an elite group, the remnant of God’s covenanted people. They were known to use an older calendar to calculate Holy Days and Feasts. Thus, they would have celebrated Passover on Tuesday rather than Thursday of the week now referred to as Holy Week or Passover. That would explain the textual differences between John’s Gospel and the Synoptics. It also allows ample time for the events described in the Passion Narratives to take place. One major criticism of those narratives hinges on the time and the process guaranteed Jews accused of serious crimes, as Jesus was. It is highly unlikely that his “trial” and condemnation could have happened in one twenty-four hour period.