The Last Days of Jesus Read online

  Amazingly, the Magi carry treasure chests filled with gold, as well as the sweet-smelling tree resins myrrh and frankincense. These are learned, studious men. Herod can only conclude that the Magi are either foolhardy for risking the theft of such a great fortune by carrying it across the vast desert to get to Jerusalem, or that they truly believe this child will be the new king.

  An illustration of frankincense from a book on medicinal plants published in1887. The resin from this tree was used to make incense and perfume. [The Bridgeman Art Library]

  After the Magi ask their question, a furious Herod summons his religious advisers. He insists that these teachers of religious law and temple high priests tell him exactly where to find this new king.

  The teachers whom Herod first interrogates are humble men. They wear simple white linen caps and robes. Then he moves on to the bearded temple high priests. They dress elaborately, in white and blue linen caps and turbans with gold bands on the brows, and blue robes adorned in bright tassels and bells. Over this they wear capes and purses decorated with gold and precious stones. Their clothing signifies their stature as high-level temple leaders. Herod demands of the teachers and priests, “Where is this so-called king of the Jews?”

  “Bethlehem, in the land of Judah.” They quote verbatim from the prophet Micah, whose words are recorded in the Tanakh. Some seven centuries earlier, Micah said that the person who would save the Jewish people would be born in Bethlehem. “Out of you [Bethlehem] will come … one who will be ruler over Israel.…”

  Herod sends the Magi on their way. His parting royal instruction is that they locate the infant, then return to Jerusalem and tell Herod the child’s precise location so that he can visit this new king himself.

  The Magi see through this deceit. They never go back to Jerusalem.

  * * *

  For centuries, Jewish prophets have predicted the coming of a new king to rule their people. They have prophesied five specific occurrences that would take place to confirm the Messiah’s birth.

  The first is that a great star will rise in the east.

  The second is that the baby will be born in Bethlehem, the small town where the great King David was born a thousand years ago.

  The third prophecy is that the child will also be a direct descendant of David, a fact that can easily be confirmed by the temple’s meticulous genealogical records.

  Fourth, powerful men will travel from afar to worship him.

  And finally, the child’s mother will be a virgin.

  What troubles Herod most deeply is knowing that three of these events have occurred. He would be even more distressed to learn that the remaining two are also true. The child is from the line of David, and his teenage mother, Mary, attests that she is a virgin, despite her pregnancy.

  Herod gazes out of his palace window, waiting to hear that all the baby boys in Bethlehem have been killed. He is afraid of what will happen if a king rises up to save the Jewish people. One result is likely: it will mean the end of his good life. Even though he is half Jewish, Herod’s allegiance is to Rome.

  Judea is part, though only a small part, of the vast Roman Empire—a sprawling kingdom stretching the length of Europe, across Asia Minor, and including almost the entire Mediterranean rim. But Herod’s kingdom is different from any other under Rome’s iron fist: it is the only Jewish territory. The Jewish people are an ancient civilization founded on a belief system that is at odds with Rome’s. The Jewish people believe in one true God; the rest of the empire worships many pagan deities and even considers its emperor divine. Herod stands between the Jews and the Roman emperor Augustus Caesar in their uneasy relationship. Rome will leave the Jews alone as long as Herod keeps his people productive so they can pay the high taxes that Rome demands.

  * * *

  Herod doesn’t know it, but Jesus and his parents have already traveled to Jerusalem twice before to pay visits to the great temple, the most important and sacred building in all Judea. Perched atop a massive stone platform that gives it the appearance of a fortress rather than a place of worship, the temple is a physical embodiment of the Jewish people and their ancient faith. The temple was first built by Solomon in the tenth century BC. It was leveled by the Babylonians in 586 BC and then rebuilt nearly fifty years later. Herod recently renovated the entire complex and increased the temple’s size. Now it is not just a symbol of Judaism, but of the king himself.

  Eight days after Jesus’s birth, his parents made their first visit to the temple so that he might be circumcised. There the child was formally named Jesus. The second visit came when he was forty days old. The baby boy was brought to the temple and presented to God, in keeping with the laws of the Jewish faith. His father, Joseph, a carpenter, dutifully purchased a pair of young turtledoves to be sacrificed in honor of this solemn occasion.

  Something very strange occurred as Jesus and his parents entered the temple on that day, something that hinted he might truly be a very special child. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus were traveling quietly, not doing anything that would draw attention. Even so, two complete strangers—an old man and an old woman, both of whom knew nothing about this baby called Jesus or his fulfillment of the prophecy—saw him from across the crowded temple and came to him.

  Jerusalem as an artist imagined it may have looked in AD 65, drawn in 1887. [Mary Evans Picture Library]

  The approaching old man’s name was Simeon, and he was of the belief that he would not die until he laid eyes upon the new king of the Jews. Simeon asked if he might hold the baby. Mary and Joseph agreed. As Simeon took Jesus into his arms, he offered a prayer to God, thanking him for the chance to see this new king with his own eyes. Then Simeon handed Jesus back to Mary with these words: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

  At that very moment, a woman named Anna approached. She was an eighty-four-year-old widowed prophetess, who spent her waking hours in the temple, fasting and praying. Simeon’s words were still ringing in Mary’s and Joseph’s ears as Anna stepped forward and also praised Jesus. She loudly thanked God for bringing this special baby boy into the world. Then she made a most unusual claim, predicting to Mary and Joseph that their son would free Jerusalem from Roman rule.

  Mary and Joseph marveled at Simeon’s and Anna’s words, flattered for the attention, as all new parents would be, but also unsure what this talk about swords and redemption truly meant. They finished their business and departed into the bustling city of Jerusalem, both elated and fearful for the life their son might be destined to lead.

  * * *

  There are many more prophecies about the life of Jesus outlined in Scripture. Slowly but surely, as this child grows to manhood, those predictions will also come true. Jesus’s behavior will brand him as a revolutionary, known throughout Judea for his startling speeches and teachings. He will be adored by the Jewish people but become a threat to those who profit from the populace: the high priests, the temple elders, the puppet rulers of Judea, and most of all, the Roman Empire.

  And Rome does not tolerate a threat. The Romans have learned and mastered the arts of torture and persecution. Revolutionaries and troublemakers are dealt with in harsh and horrific fashion in order that others won’t be tempted to copy their ways.

  So it will be with Jesus. This, too, will fulfill prophecy.

  All of that is to come. For now Jesus is still an infant, cared for and loved by Mary and Joseph. He was born in a stable, visited by the Magi, presented with their lavish gifts, and is now being pursued by Herod and the Roman Empire.

  And it is Joseph who will train the boy to be obedient and strong, to follow Jewish ways and obey Jewish laws.

  CHAPTER 2

  GROWING UP IN NAZARETH

  5 BC–AD 7 NAZARETH

  Jesus spends his youth and young adulthood in the village of Nazareth in the region of G
alilee. His father, Joseph, is a tradesman, building with stone and making furniture with wood.

  Joseph is a direct descendant of Abraham, the patriarch of the Jewish faith, and David, the greatest king Judea has ever known. Twenty-seven generations separate Joseph from Abraham, and at least fifteen separate him from David. But while Abraham was extremely wealthy, and David and his son Solomon even more so, their lineage has fallen on hard times. The quiet and humble backdrop of Nazareth is a far cry from the great kingdoms enjoyed by those prior generations. It is a village of less than four hundred residents situated in a hollow between the rolling hills of southern Galilee. The roads are unpaved, and the village is not protected from invaders by walls or other fortifications. An ancient caravan route passes within six miles, but no major highways go directly through Nazareth. It is a small town that is destined to remain that way, thanks not just to its location, but also to the fact that the sole water source is a single spring that can support only a small number of people.

  Various families share dwellings, sometimes separated by small courtyards. The tiny houses are built from the soft limestone and other rocks that litter the nearby hills.

  The typical home in Nazareth is one or two stories, built into the side of the hills. The floors are made of dirt tamped down with ash and clay, while the walls are made of stone. Mud is smeared in the joints between the stones to keep out the wind and rain. The roof is flat, made of wood, straw, mud, and lime. The bottom floor is reserved for storage, housing for the animals at night, and a cooking fire, while the upper floor is used for sleeping on thin mattresses stuffed with wool. A ladder leads from one floor to the other. There are no indoor bathing or bathroom facilities.

  Mary is in charge of the home, feeding and clothing her family. She grinds barley and wheat into flour, cards wool from sheep and spins it into thread to weave cloth, carries water from the well in a large jar every day for washing and cooking. When the rains come on time, the hills around Nazareth produce ample crops for meals: beans, vegetables, fruits such as grapes and pomegranates, and nuts. Mary feeds the chickens, collects eggs, and takes care of the family donkey. And in a village where people are close and supportive, she will watch other women’s children, take care of the sick and elderly, and share any surplus her family has with others less fortunate.

  As a builder, Joseph works with both foundation stone and oak from nearby forests to construct buildings and furniture. When work is scarce in Nazareth, there are always jobs to be found in the city of Sepphoris, just an hour’s walk away.

  Like his father before him, Joseph trains his son to follow in his craft, teaching the boy not only how to build, but also other vital skills such as pressing grapes to make wine, and olives to make olive oil; terracing a hillside to grow the crops that will feed the family; and rerouting the local spring for irrigation. But most important of all, Joseph raises Jesus in the Jewish faith. For though the Greek, Arab, and Roman cultures have all made their marks on Nazareth over the centuries, those in Joseph’s lineage have not changed in their devotion to the one true God. It has been the core of their belief since Abraham walked the earth two thousand years before.

  A modern photograph of the remains of an olive press. The beam, weighed down by stones, crushed the olives in the baskets. The olive juice that was squeezed out collected in the carved trough and dripped through the hole into storage cisterns that were buried in the ground. [Kurt Prescott]

  Text of the Shema, the Hebrew prayer that is the centerpiece of Jewish morning and evening prayers. An 18th-century watercolor on paper. [The Bridgeman Art Library]

  Nazareth is a wonderful place for a young boy to grow up. There are hills to climb, caves to explore, and fields through which to run. In the summer, when the air is so hot that Jesus sleeps on the flat roof of the family home, it is time to harvest figs and olives. Spring is a time for planting the wheat that will provide their daily bread. Nazareth is only twenty miles from the Mediterranean Sea, but it might as well be a thousand, because fish is almost as rare as red meat in young Jesus’s diet. So while it is not a life of excess, there is always enough: the trees and fields produce olives, wheat, onions, and lentils; there is an occasional piece of lamb and eggs that can be cooked in that most precious of all staples, olive oil. The oil is also used for fueling lamps and rubbing into chapped skin.

  Mary and Joseph are devout and have gone to great lengths to pass their faith on to Jesus. A small wooden box containing a parchment scroll hangs on their doorpost. On it is written the Shema, that most elemental of Jewish prayers: “Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” It is a prayer that the family recites on rising in the morning and after bringing the animals into the house at bedtime each night. Jesus’s clothing is adorned with tassels, in accordance with the writings in Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Hebrew Scripture, and he attends synagogue every week. There, in the small square room, Jesus wears a prayer shawl while sitting on a bench with his back against the wall, reading from the sacred scrolls and singing the psalms. It is in the synagogue that he learns to read and write, because during this time of Roman occupation, holding on to tradition has become a priority for the Jewish people. A group of pious teachers known as the Pharisees helps support schools in synagogues that teach children Hebrew and instruct them in the Jewish law.

  CHAPTER 3

  ARCHELAUS, HEIR OF HEROD THE GREAT

  4 BC–AD 6 JERUSALEM

  King Herod the Great is dead. He died shortly after the massacre of male babies in Bethlehem, without knowing whether he had succeeded in killing the infant king of the Jews. But the Jewish people are no better off. Rioting takes place in Jerusalem when it becomes clear that Herod’s heir, his son Archelaus, is just like his father. He shows that he can be as cruel as Herod the Great.

  It happens during Passover, the celebration that symbolizes the freedom from slavery achieved when Moses led the people out of Egypt in search of the homeland God had promised them.

  Passover is a time when Jerusalem is packed with hundreds of thousands of worshippers from all over the world, so it is a shock when Archelaus boldly asserts his authority by ordering his cavalry to charge their horses into the thick crowds filling the temple courts. Wielding javelins and long, straight steel and bronze swords, Archelaus’s soldiers massacre three thousand innocent pilgrims. Mary, Joseph, and Jesus see the bloodbath firsthand and are lucky to escape with their lives. They are also eyewitnesses to the crucifixion of more than two thousand Jewish rebels outside Jerusalem’s city walls when Roman soldiers move in to quell further riots. The horrible deaths are examples of what happens to those who defy the Roman Empire.

  * * *

  Passover Customs in the First Century AD

  Passover, the festival of celebration, was and still is one of the most important times of the year for people of the Jewish faith. It recalls the time when the Israelites, ancestors of the Jews, were captives in Egypt. God sent Moses to the Egyptian pharaoh with the demand that the pharaoh release his people. When the pharaoh refused, God sent plagues and other torments to the land. Finally, God killed all the first-born sons of Egypt, but “passed over” Jewish households. Pharaoh was defeated; he released Moses and his people that day. The story is that the people had to leave so quickly that they could not wait for their bread dough to rise and so packed it flat and unrisen. That is why unleavened bread is eaten during Passover.

  During Jesus’s lifetime, this is what might have happened in a household as Passover approached and at the meal. These customs were maintained even if a family traveled to Jerusalem and stayed with friends or camped on the hillsides surrounding the city.

  • Selection or purchase of an animal for sacrifice

  • Searching the home, courtyards, and campsites for leaven, any food that has been made with yeast

  • Foot washing, performed by a servant or slave for anyone who visited the family

  The Passover meal might consist of olives or pickled vegetables, roast lam
b, unleavened bread, and wine. The head of the family and the guests would have parts of Scripture to read and responses to make, and children would be assigned questions to elicit answers telling the story of the original Passover.

  * * *

  An illustration of Caesar sending Senator Cyrenius to collect taxes in Syria and Judea. From a 1503 edition of a 4th-century Latin translation of Flavius Josephus’s Antiquities of the Jews. [The Bridgeman Art Library]

  Engraving of the Great Sanhedrin, the high court of the Jews of Jerusalem; no date. [Mary Evans Picture Library]

  Rome soon inserts itself completely into Judean politics. In AD 6, Augustus Caesar deems Archelaus unfit to rule and exiles him to Gaul. Herod’s fifth son, Antipas, takes the reins with the title of tetrarch.

  Caesar Augustus, first emperor of the Roman Empire. An illustration from Crabb’s Historical Dictionary, 1835. [Universal Images Group/SuperStock]

  The city of Jerusalem is controlled by the local aristocracy and temple high priests, who mete out justice through the Great Sanhedrin, a court composed of seventy-one judges with absolute authority to enforce Jewish religious law. People involved in religious disputes must travel to Jerusalem to present their cases. The Sanhedrin determine all punishments except the death sentence; that must get the approval of the Roman governor.