Killing Jesus: A History

Temple grows stronger, even as the chasm between the high priest and the working-class Jews grows wider.
    It helps that Pilate and Caiaphas are more alike than they are different. Pilate was born into the wealthy equestrian class of Romans, 5 and Caiaphas was born into a centuries-long lineage of wealthy Temple priests. Both men are middle-aged and married. Each likely enjoys a glass of imported wine at the end of the day. When Pilate is in Jerusalem, the two men live just a few hundred yards apart, in the posh Upper City, in palaces staffed by male and female slaves. And they consider themselves devout men, though they worship far different deities.
    The last thing Pilate or Caiaphas needs is a messianic figure to upset this careful balance of power—which is precisely why Caiaphas and the religious authorities plan to arrest Jesus the minute he sets foot inside the Holy City.
    The Pharisees have done their due diligence and have reported back a litany of transgressions against religious law by the Nazarene. The plot to kill Jesus is about to unfold.
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    But Jesus has other plans.
    He has returned from his brief time in Caesarea Philippi and now remains in Galilee, even as the disciples travel to Jerusalem for the festival. The disciples are so eager for Jesus to come with them and publicly announce that he is the Christ that they try to give him a piece of advice, something they’ve never done before.
    “Go to Jerusalem,” they beg before setting out. “No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” 6
    “The right time for me has not yet come,” Jesus answers. “For you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the feast. I am not going, because for me the right time has not yet come.”
    The religious leaders in Jerusalem remember the disciples’ faces from their mission to Galilee in the spring. So when they see the disciples enter the city without Jesus, they are immediately frustrated. Once again, Jesus appears to be getting the best of them.
    “Where is that man?” the Pharisees ask one another, studying faces in the crowds filling the Temple courts. “Where is that man?”
    Rumors about Jesus swirl as the feast begins. The people in the villages and towns surrounding Jerusalem know little about him, other than from rumor. Many believe the innuendo is being spread by the religious authorities in an attempt to portray Jesus as a demon and a charlatan. Pilgrims from Galilee, however, rave about Jesus’s goodness. Others, meanwhile, gossip that Jesus is now being hunted.
    For days, speculation spreads through the city. No one has an answer about where Jesus is, not even his own disciples.
    The Feast of the Tabernacles is eight days long, and it is halfway through the celebration that Jesus slips quietly into the Temple courts. He has traveled in secret to Jerusalem. Jesus fearlessly begins to teach. There has been an aura of sadness about him in recent months, a greater need to be alone. He speaks more and more in parables when he teaches, knowing that such stories are far more memorable and provide more context than merely quoting Scripture. Above all, he seems to be coming to terms with the imminent death of which he told his disciples.
    But that time has not yet come, so now, within earshot of the sanctuary, easily heard and seen by any passing Pharisee or Sadducee, Jesus boldly preaches about truth and justice. Within moments, a circle of pilgrims stands before him, listening in amazement as Jesus shares his insights about God.
    “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill?” ask some in the crowd.
    “Have the authorities really concluded that he is the Christ?” ask others.
    This idea is met with skepticism. For it is hard to imagine that the Christ would come from a backwater province such as Galilee. Instead, he would be from Bethlehem, the city of David, as told by the prophets. “We know where this one is from.”
    “Yes, you know me,” Jesus answers, hearing their words. “And you know where I am from. I am not here on my own, but he who sent me is true. You do not know him, but I know him, because I am from him and he sent me.”
    Jesus is on the verge of admitting that he is the Christ. The Pharisees and high priests send the Temple guards to arrest him for blasphemy. But the guards return empty-handed and then