The Last Days of Jesus Read online

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  To Madeline and Spencer who are following the path of Jesus

  CONTENTS

  Title page

  Copyright notice

  Dedication

  A Note to Readers: In the Beginning …

  Key Players

  Prologue: A Changing World

  YOUNG JESUS OF NAZARETH

  The Massacre in Bethlehem

  Growing Up in Nazareth

  Archelaus, Heir of Herod the Great

  SPOTLIGHT: Passover Customs in the First Century AD

  Missing

  Jesus Sits with the Rabbis

  SPOTLIGHT: The Temple Mount

  The Carpenter

  JESUS THE PREACHER

  John Baptizes Jesus

  SPOTLIGHT: Baptism in First-Century Jewish Culture

  SPOTLIGHT: Temple Hierarchy

  Turning Out the Moneylenders

  SPOTLIGHT: Ritual Sacrifice

  Nicodemus Questions Jesus

  Preaching from a Fishing Boat

  The Sermon on the Mount

  Mary of Magdala

  John the Baptist Is Murdered

  Defeated

  “Who Do People Say I Am?”

  The Feast of Tabernacles

  SPOTLIGHT: The Jewish Religious Year

  THE LAST WEEK, DAY BY DAY

  The Passover Journey Begins

  The Triumphal Entrance into Jerusalem

  “Hosanna”

  “Render unto Caesar…”

  Judas Iscariot, Betrayer

  The Last Supper

  Jesus Is Arrested

  Caiaphas Judges Jesus

  Herod Judges Jesus

  Pilate Judges Jesus

  Lashed

  Crucified

  Entombed

  Guarded

  The Tomb Is Empty

  Afterword

  The History After Jesus’s Death

  Counting Years

  Jerusalem: Holy City to the World

  How We Know About the Life of Jesus

  The New Testament

  Flavius Josephus

  Tacitus

  Archaeological Evidence

  The Dead Sea Scrolls

  The Purple Cloak

  The Symbol of the Cross

  Thirty Pieces of Silver

  A World of Many Tongues

  Some Facts About the First Century AD

  The Roman Empire in 44 BC

  Roman Government and Citizens

  Roman Religion

  Roman Legionnaires

  Roman Roads

  A Walk Through Twenty-First-Century Jerusalem

  Glossary

  Time Line of Jesus’s Life

  The Author Recommends …

  Bibliography

  Index

  Copyright

  A NOTE TO READERS

  In the Beginning …

  Jesus of Nazareth is certainly one of the most influential men who ever lived. Many people are sure that he is number one on that list. Nearly two thousand years after he was brutally murdered by Roman soldiers, more than 2.2 billion human beings attempt to follow his teachings and believe he is the Son of God. I am one of them, a Roman Catholic who was educated in religious schools all the way through college.

  But I am also an historian who investigates the truth about important people. That is what I have done in this book. I believe that in order to understand what Jesus accomplished and why he paid with his life, we have to understand what was happening around him. It was a time when Rome dominated the western world and allowed no dissent. Human life was worth little. Life expectancy was less than forty years and far less if you happened to anger the Romans.

  For evidence about Jesus’s life, we look to the New Testament gospels, accounts written by four of his friends. Admittedly these narratives concentrate on the evidence that Jesus was God, but we can gather facts about his life and times in them as well. In addition, the Romans kept good records of the time and a few Jewish historians also wrote down the events of the day.

  From these, I have gathered information and written a fact-based book about Jesus the man. I do not address Jesus as the Messiah, but as a man who inspired people in a remote part of the Roman Empire by preaching a philosophy of peace and love and who made very powerful enemies at the same time. This is a violent story about the punishment this man received because he upset the ruling people in government and at his own temple.

  I do not suggest that I know everything about Jesus. There are major gaps in his life, and at times I can only suppose what happened to him based upon best available evidence. The sources I used in researching the life of Jesus, and other books, websites, and DVDs that I think you might be interested in, are listed on the last pages of this book.

  This is a story of the struggle between good and evil. Thank you for reading it.

  New York

  April 2014

  KEY PLAYERS

  THE FAMILY OF JESUS

  JOSEPH: Husband of Mary.

  MARY: Mother of Jesus.

  JESUS

  JESUS’S ORIGINAL DISCIPLES

  MATTHEW: A tax collector.

  SIMON (Whom Jesus renamed Peter): A fisherman and one of Jesus’s inner circle; very active in preaching to the Jews after Jesus’s death.

  ANDREW: Brother of Simon, a disciple of John the Baptist and then of Jesus; also a fisherman.

  JUDAS ISCARIOT: The only disciple from Judea; betrayed Jesus for thirty pieces of silver.

  PHILIP: A fisherman; preached in Samaria after Jesus’s death.

  BARTHOLOMEW (or Nathanael): Watched and listened to Jesus before finally becoming a disciple.

  THOMAS: Sometimes called Doubting Thomas because he questioned Jesus’s divinity.

  JUDE (or Thaddeus): Brother of James the Younger.

  JOHN THE BELOVED: Brother of James the Elder; thought to be the closest to Jesus; lived to an old age.

  SIMON THE ZEALOT: From Cana; thought to be a Zealot, a member of an extreme nationalistic group that hated Roman law.

  JAMES THE ELDER: Brother of John; one of Jesus’s inner circle.

  JAMES THE YOUNGER: Brother of Jude.

  WRITERS OF THE BOOKS OF THE TANAKH, OR HEBREW BIBLE, WHO PROPHESIED THE COMING OF A SAVIOR

  MOSES: Led the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt in about 1440 BC.

  DAVID: King and poet who lived about 1000 BC.

  HOSEA: King who lived about 750 to 715 BC.

  MICAH: Lived about 750 to 686 BC.

  ISAIAH: Lived about 740 to 681 BC.

  ZECHARIAH: Lived about 520 to 480 BC.

  PATRIARCHS OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

  ABRAHAM: According to Jewish tradition, the first to believe in one God.

  DANIEL: A Jewish captive in Babylon who interpreted dreams and made prophecies.

  DAVID: Second king of the Israelites, poet, and ancestor of Jesus.

  ELIJAH: Prophet who foretold the coming of a Messiah.

  ISAAC: The son Abraham was willing to sacrifice to prove his faith.

  JACOB: One of Isaac’s sons; believed to be the father of the Jewish people whose twelve sons founded the twelve tribes of Israel.

  JEREMIAH: A prophet who warned of, and witnessed, the destruction of Jerusalem and the First Temple.

  MOSES: The prophet who received the Ten Commandments from God and led the Jews out of Egypt.

  SAMSON: A man of amazing strength who saved
the Jews from the Philistines.

  SOLOMON: Son of David; third king of the Israelites and builder of the First Temple.

  ROMAN RULERS AND ADMINISTRATORS DURING JESUS’S LIFETIME

  AUGUSTUS CAESAR: Emperor from 27 BC to AD 14.

  TIBERIUS: Succeeded Augustus as emperor and ruled from AD 14 to 37.

  PONTIUS PILATE: Roman prefect, or governor, of Judea from AD 26 to 36.

  HEROD THE GREAT: Reigned as king of the province of Judea from 37 to 4 BC; rebuilt and renovated the Second Temple in Jerusalem.

  HEROD ANTIPAS: One of Herod the Great’s sons; a tetrarch, or administrator, of Galilee from 4 BC to AD 39.

  TEMPLE PRIESTS AND RELIGIOUS GROUPS

  ANNAS: Patriarch high priest; father-in-law of Caiaphas.

  CAIAPHAS: High priest of the temple; one in a family of priests.

  JOSEPH OF ARIMATHEA: Wealthy, influential Sadducee who became a secret disciple of Jesus and gave his tomb for Jesus’s body.

  NICODEMUS: Influential Pharisee who questioned Jesus and became a secret disciple.

  PHARISEES: Less wealthy, more liberal priests.

  SADDUCEES: High-born priests who believed in the letter of the Mosaic Law.

  OTHERS

  ANNA: Pilgrim at the temple who bore witness to the divinity of Jesus.

  BARABBAS: Convicted thief who was freed as the people’s choice over Jesus.

  JOHN THE BAPTIST: Preacher who foretold the coming of the Messiah; baptized Jesus.

  JUDAS OF GAMALA: Jewish revolutionary crucified in the early first century.

  LAZARUS: Resident of Bethany who hosted Jesus and the disciples during their last Passover together.

  MARY AND MARTHA: Sisters of Lazarus.

  MARY OF MAGDALA: A devotee of Jesus; witnessed his death and anointed his body.

  SIMEON: Pilgrim in the temple who declared Jesus to be the Son of God.

  PROLOGUE

  A CHANGING WORLD

  63–6 BC JUDEA AND GALILEE

  The world Jesus was born into was changing. After hundreds of years of living a fairly consistent life under different invading armies, the Jews had been conquered by the Romans, who had altered the day-to-day life in Judea and Galilee. Long before the Romans, the Babylonians had invaded in 598 BC, followed by the Persians, the Egyptians, and the Syrians. In 63 BC, the Romans slowly advanced from their strongholds around the Mediterranean Sea, engulfing lands and peoples as they went.

  And the Romans didn’t take control peacefully. They invaded towns and cities, stealing land by simply occupying it. Soldiers in the Roman emperor’s armies slaughtered anyone who put up a fight or got in their way, even members of groups traditionally considered off limits to civilized invaders—women, the elderly, and children.

  Those conquered people who were captured but not killed during the Roman invasions were kept as slaves. The Roman Empire’s economy depended on slaves to plant and harvest crops for its vast territories and to work producing things like jugs and other pottery. Those who had not fought and who lived in small villages like Nazareth were left to plant their fields and work at the crafts they were trained for. The one big change was that now they had to accumulate money in the form of coins to pay taxes to Rome and temple fees to the Jewish hierarchy in Jerusalem. For hundreds of years before this, a farmer paid a portion of his crop as a tax to his rulers. He bartered food for services such as the repair of his roof, or goods such as a baby goat. Now the economy of Judea and Galilee had changed. The taxes and fees were so steep that some people had to exchange all their crops for coins and did not have enough food to feed themselves. Most people suffered quietly. A few brave—or foolhardy—ones spoke out.

  An antique print of Roman soldiers in battle gear. [North Wind Picture Archives]

  Under Roman rule, a rebellious person or tax avoider was often made an example of, sometimes given the ultimate punishment: crucifixion. Judas of Gamala was one such rebel. Judas was a learned man, and a husband and father, who longed to raise his children in a better world—a Galilee ruled by faithful Jews instead of the Roman puppets who crippled Judas and his people with unbearable taxes. Judas traveled through the farming villages and fishing ports of Galilee, preaching a message of revolt to the impoverished peasants, urging them not to pay taxes to Rome or give a portion of their earnings to the temple in Jerusalem. He compared the taxation to a form of slavery and encouraged his fellow Jews to rise up against their oppressors. And he said that bowing down to Augustus Caesar and Rome instead of the one true God was sinful. The Romans might have overlooked Judas as a religious nut, if he had not raised an army of peasants to attempt a violent overthrow of the Roman-sponsored government in Galilee. That action brought an immediate response: Judas of Gamala must die.

  By order of Herod Antipas, the tetrarch or administrator of Galilee working for the Romans, soldiers captured Judas and began the crucifixion process. To discourage other dissenters, a crowd was encouraged to watch the agony of Judas. Jesus and many other Galileans bore witness to the horror.

  * * *

  The soldiers of Antipas strip Judas of Gamala naked in the palace courtyard. They force him to his knees, facing a low post. He is tied to it with his hands above his head. Two soldiers pick up short-handled whips, whose leather lashes are tipped with lead balls and mutton bones. The soldiers stand ready to take turns striking Judas across his back, leaning into each blow with all their strength. As each lash is inflicted, the leather thongs tear open the skin and muscles, even as the lead and bone create deep bruising.

  Judas cries out in agony as a soldier delivers another blast of leather onto his flesh. But he knows better than to curse his executioners, because that will only mean more blows. So he endures the torture. In moments, Judas is covered with blood.

  As with all aspects of Roman execution, the stripping and lashing has a specific purpose: the public nudity humiliates, while the whip breaks Judas’s will so that he will offer no resistance when nailed to the cross. Crucifixion, Roman-style, is not just a barbarous way to kill, but also a process of mentally and physically destroying the victim—whether it be man, woman, or child. Judas will be nothing but an empty husk by the time he hangs from the cross.

  Judas of Gamala lies limp and bleeding after the whipping. Soldiers then bring out a rough-hewn piece of lumber and hurl it to the ground. Despite the blood pouring down his back, Judas is forced to stand. His executioners lift this splinter-filled board onto his shoulders. This will become the crossbar of his crucifix, and like all condemned men, Judas has to carry it outside the city walls to a spot where a vertical pole in the ground will form the second part. He will be nailed to that cross and left to die. His legs will be broken to make the torturous process even more ghastly. He will hang in full view of thousands. Judas will be dead by nightfall—if he is lucky.

  The story of Judas’s execution will be shared among the Jews of Galilee. But he is not alone. There are countless other would-be prophets who think violence can bring an end to Roman occupation. They will all pay for this conceit with their lives.

  * * *

  The Jews were a conquered people when Jesus was born. Although the Roman emperor had instructed his representatives to respect and not interfere with their religious traditions, all other aspects of their daily lives were under his control.

  What gave them the strength to endure hardship and humiliation under Roman rule was the knowledge that they were a chosen people. In the Torah, the holy book of Jewish scripture, Moses says, “For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession.” This chosenness was matched with the promise from God that he would send a savior to free the people.

  Engraving printed in 1878 of an ancient Palestinian scroll of the Torah. [Mary Evans Picture Library]

  As the Jewish people waited for their savior and king, they maintained their faith in one God among the Romans, who believed in multi
ple gods and even that their emperor was a god. The Jewish people listened to preachers who traveled the lands speaking of prophecies soon to be fulfilled. And they journeyed each year to their birthplace for the census count, so the Roman emperor would know exactly how much money he would make from the people of Judea and Galilee.

  Marble sculpture of Moses by Michelangelo made between 1513 and 1516 for the tomb of Pope Julius II in Rome. [The Bridgeman Art Library]

  BOOK I

  YOUNG JESUS

  of NAZARETH

  Capture of Jerusalem by Herod in 36 BC. An illustration from a 1470 French translation of Flavius Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews. [The Bridgeman Art Library]

  CHAPTER 1

  THE MASSACRE IN BETHLEHEM

  MARCH, 5 BC BETHLEHEM, JUDEA

  Joseph and Mary and their infant son, Jesus, barely get out of Bethlehem alive. Joseph awakes from a terrifying dream and has a vision of what is to come. He rouses Mary and Jesus, and they escape into the night.

  Now soldiers are walking toward Bethlehem. They have come from the capital city of Jerusalem and are approaching this small town, intent on finding and killing a baby boy. The child’s name, unknown to them, is Jesus, and his only crime is that some believe he will be the next king of the Jewish people. The current ruler of the land, a tyrant named Herod the Great, is determined to ensure the baby’s death. None of the soldiers know what the child’s mother and father look like or the precise location of his home, so they plan to kill every baby boy in Bethlehem and the surrounding area. This alone will guarantee that the threat is eliminated.

  The wealthy foreigners travel more than a thousand miles over rugged desert.

  Herod first learns about Jesus from travelers who have come to worship the baby. These men, called Magi, are astronomers and wise men who study the world’s great religious texts. Among these books is the Tanakh, a collection of history, prophecy, poetry, and songs telling the story of the Jewish people. The wealthy foreigners travel almost a thousand miles over rugged desert, following an extraordinarily bright star that shines in the sky each morning before dawn. “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews?” they ask on their arrival in Herod’s court. “We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”