[Note - 2/9/08: A revised version of this two-part story will be posted soon, hopefully by March.]
I'm trying to tie together the big picture of Volume II before I begin hammering out each individual year book. Here's a summary of what I'm working on. I'd LOVE to get feedback on it...
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If anyone other than Tiberius Caesar had been Emperor in those days, the Lord Jesus Christ might not have been crucified! He might have been beheaded.
Here’s why...
[We have to back up a bit first, to 4 years before the cross.]
In May of 29 AD, Jesus was in Judea, preaching and watching his disciples baptize people. At that same time, John the Baptizer was not too far away, in someplace with a lot of water, baptizing and preaching to others. John’s ministry was just over one year old. Jesus’ ministry had just begun. People were flocking to both men.
And the Jewish authorities were powerless to stop it.
In Judea, Pontius Pilate would not let the Sanhedrin execute anyone. They could have arrested Jesus, but what then? If they held him for no good reason, people might start to protest. They didn’t want to make him MORE popular. So they left him alone.
Until John popped off at the mouth.
John the Baptizer accused Herod Antipas of adultery – which was true. But Herod’s fling (his cousin, Herodias) had become Herod’s new wife, and she was furious! So Herodias got Herod to arrest John… which gave the Sanhedrin an idea!
Herod Antipas DID have the power to execute prisoners – in Galilee!
The Sanhedrin figured out that if they arrested Jesus, they could give him to Herod. And then (as long as there was a justifiable charge) Herod could kill him. The Romans wouldn’t know or care.
Jesus, of course, knew this was a danger. So he got out of Judea, fast.
From June of 29 AD until September of 31 AD, Jesus stayed around Lake Galilee. The Judean Jews couldn’t get him there. He became very popular with the Galileans. And somehow, Herod Antipas didn’t even know who he was!
Still – just to be safe – Jesus spent most of his time close to the border of Philip’s tetrarchy. It wasn’t just a safety/exit plan. Making lots of trips across the sea was one more way to stay beneath Herod’s notice.
In all that time, a few Pharisees came around. But mostly, the Sanhedrin was happy enough to see Jesus staying in Galilee. The Judean Jews were especially happy that Jesus skipped every Jerusalem festival for two whole years…
That is, until John died.
That night came in March, 31. Herod threw a party. His stepdaughter danced. And somehow, John got beheaded. Herodias had her revenge. And then, the news got out.
People everywhere were outraged.
Over the rest of spring and summer, that outrage spread. All of the common people thought John was a Prophet. Even in Judea, most Jews were upset with Herod Antipas for killing the Baptizer. And the Sanhedrin couldn’t say anything about it.
For Jesus, this was an opening.
John’s death was fresh on people’s minds. The Sanhderin didn’t want to give the people a second martyr in less than a year. So, Jesus waited until the Fall Festival of Tabernacles, in September. Then he finally got down to Jerusalem again.
Jesus stayed around Jerusalem until Chanukah, in early December. More than once, he was almost stoned or arrested. (John’s death made that less likely, but not impossible!) Still, each time, Jesus escaped. And when tempers died down, the arrest plans were cancelled again.
Jesus made one more trip to North Galilee, and then spent most of his time after that in Judea – from May 32 until April 33, when they crucified him.
But that cross was almost a beheading. The Jews first option SHOULD have been Herod Antipas. And that’s where we (finally) come back to Tiberius Caesar, again.
In 31 AD, things were happening in Italy that made it impossible for Antipas to execute Jesus...
(To be continued... when I post "Part Two" on Thursday!)
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2 comments:
FOOTNOTE – on the years 29 to 31 in Galilee:
At first, Herod and his administration (“the Herodians”, presumably; Mk.3) didn’t have any reason to worry about Jesus. Sure, he drew crowds. But he didn’t cause problems. He was visiting the synagogues, but he wasn’t causing problems there (except in Nazareth). Jesus was teaching people, but he wasn’t organizing them. Sure, he kept talking about an upcoming kingdom… but it was the “Kingdom of the Skies”.
To the Herodians, Jesus was talking about ideas and about Heaven – not earthly rebellion. So there was no immediate threat to Herod’s Tetrarchy. Actually, Herod himself never paid any attention at all until after John was dead. (The Pharisees met with Herod’s people in Jesus’ first year of activity, but evidently not with Antipas himself.)
After John died, things changed. Herod finally started asking, “Who is this Jesus?” Somehow, Jesus had stayed beneath Antipas’ notice for two whole years! But that same month, when John died, a well-fed mob of several thousand people tried to make Jesus declare himself King. Of course, Jesus rebuked them and went away, but reports of that brief movement may have been what finally drew the Tetrarch’s personal attention. That was in March of 31 AD, right around Passover.
The scripture says Antipas tried to see Jesus, after that. He probably wanted to talk to him, maybe even threaten him a little bit. We don’t know. But either way, Antipas wasn’t going to do anything serious.
After Sejanus died, he just couldn’t afford to.
(Who’s Sejanus? Details next week!)
It's taking longer than I'd thought to get to the rewrite. (It always does!) So here's the scoop. Just TWO points:
Point One: Agrippina was in exile when Sejanus died so her rivalry was weak, although potentially revivable. But no, Agrippina versus Macro wasn't what kept Antipas cautious for 32 & 33 AD. It had to be Tiberius himself, plus the period of rooting out friends of Sejanus, plus the period of watching to see what Macro would be like as a subordinate administrator.
Point Two: I forgot to mention that Jesus actually did sneak up to Jerusalem one time while John was in Prison. It happened in John chapter 5, which is the Feast of Tabernacles in 30 AD. (So Jesus got to Jerusalem at least once each year he ministered.) But the episode John records is so brief, I often forget about it. It still goes to show that he got in and out of there quickly, that time, and that Judea wasn't safe for Jesus after John's arrest until John became a Martyr.
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