Killing Jesus: A History

stunned as Jesus sets forth his own interpretation of religious law. What begins as a message designed to remind the men and women of Galilee that their current circumstances will not last forever soon becomes a lengthy poetic dissertation on adultery, murder, false oaths, alms to the poor, loving one’s enemies, and even, most shockingly, defying the powers that be.
    Jesus is telling the crowd that they should defer to God in all matters. And the words he speaks are like an emotional rejuvenation in the hearts of these Galileans, who feel oppressed and hopeless.
    “This, then, is how you should pray,” Jesus tells them. No one speaks. The crowd leans forward, straining to listen.
    “Our Father, who are in heaven, hallowed be your name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.”
    It’s all there. Everything that a peasant in Galilee can relate to as a part of life under Roman rule: the need to rely on God, the worry about daily nourishment, the constant struggle to stay out of debt, and, finally, a reminder that in the midst of this cruel life, succumbing to the temptation to lie, cheat, steal, or sleep with another man’s wife is a false act that will only lead people farther and farther away from God.
    The crowd is stunned as Jesus finishes. The speech is less than two thousand words long. Yet there is great power in its brevity. “The Sermon on the Mount,” as it will come to be known, may be the most important speech in history.
    The crowds follow Jesus down the mountain that day, through the tall spring grass and around small limestone boulders, past the fields of new wheat, trailing him all the way back to Capernaum.
    There, soon after entering the city, a most amazing thing happens: the Roman military officer in charge of Capernaum declares himself to be a follower of Jesus.
    Jesus is astonished. This admission could end the man’s career or even get him killed. But Jesus turns to the centurion. “I tell you the truth,” he says with emotion. “I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.”
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    Three months after the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus is in the home of a local Pharisee. He has been invited to dinner to discuss his teachings. The Pharisee, Simon, does not like Jesus. And even though Simon invited Jesus to dinner, he is demonstrating his contempt for him by not playing the role of a good host. Though Jesus walked the four dusty miles from Capernaum to Magdala in sandals to be here, Simon has not provided him with water to wash the dust from his feet, as per custom. Simon did not offer him a respectful kiss of greeting on the cheek or anoint him with olive oil upon his arrival.
    The Pharisees number some six thousand members throughout all of Judea, and their name means “separated ones,” in reference to the way they hold themselves apart from other Jews. There is no middle class that falls in between the royalty of the state and the religious teachers. Farmers, artisans, and merchants all constitute the lower class. The Pharisees, who have appointed themselves guardians of Jewish religious law, believe that their interpretations of Scripture are authoritative. Wherever they go to teach in synagogues, this is considered to be true. But now Jesus has chosen to interpret the Scriptures himself. And that is threatening to the establishment, as the people of Galilee are eagerly listening to Jesus. So Simon the Pharisee has invited the Nazarene to a gathering of friends, to see if he can trap him into saying something blasphemous.
    A young woman enters the room silently. She is a prostitute who has heard Jesus speak. She has been invited by Simon as part of his elaborate plan to test the Nazarene. The moment is obviously awkward, for rarely does a woman of ill repute enter the home of a holy Pharisee. Nevertheless, Mary of Magdala 5 —or Mary Magdalene, as she will go down in history—now stands behind Jesus. In her hands, she holds a very expensive alabaster jar of perfume. Where she got the money to buy it is left unasked.
    It is well known how Mary makes her living, for there are few secrets in the small villages and towns of Galilee. But Mary has come to believe in the love and acceptance preached by Jesus. Now, overcome with emotion, she bends down to pour the aromatic