Killing Jesus: A History

surrounded by men, Jesus has no allies right now. His disciples have disappeared into the night. And those who arrested him would happily beat him into unconsciousness if he tried to flee.
    Yet, despite his hopeless situation, Jesus of Nazareth keeps his composure. He will be questioned extensively, and what he says will be written for the ages. His interrogators will be the same men whom he verbally humiliated two days ago in the Temple courts. He saw the hatred in their eyes then.
    They pass the houses of the Upper City, which are larger and more regal than dwellings anywhere else in Jerusalem. Jesus is soon led into the palace of the high priest. Only he is not greeted by Joseph Caiaphas but by the true religious power in Jerusalem. Jesus now stands before the aging and regal leader of a priestly dynasty dating back a thousand years. The man before him has great wealth and is so skilled a politician that his sons and the husbands of his daughters are continuing the family lineage of priesthood and power. The man’s name is Ananus, son of Sethi—or, as this elderly religious titan is known throughout Jerusalem, Annas.
    The courtyard is still. Inside, the interrogation of Jesus commences. Moments later, he is surprised by a sudden and hard blow to the face.
    The end has begun.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
    JERUSALEM
FRIDAY, APRIL 7, A.D. 30
EARLY MORNING/DAY
    The assault comes out of nowhere, a hard punch to the head delivered by a short-fused Temple guard. “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”
    Jesus staggers, unable to answer. The opulent palace room reels. His hands are still bound, and he can neither protect himself nor fight back. But even as the Nazarene absorbs the blow, he speaks without fear. “If I said something wrong, testify as to what is wrong,” he finally tells the guard. “But if I spoke the truth, why did you strike me?”
    A bleary-eyed Annas stands before Jesus. It is closer to dawn than midnight. The high priest is in his midfifties, a man whose entire life has revolved around procuring wealth and power. Normally, men such as Jesus bow to him, pleading for mercy rather than trying to bend his mind with logic at this awful hour. “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus said just moments ago. “I always taught in synagogues or at the Temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.”
    Those were the fearless and articulate words that spurred the guard to strike Jesus. They now echo in Annas’s skull as he tries to figure out his next move.
    The patriarch is a Zadokite, descended from a line of priests dating back to King David. Like his sons and son-in-law Caiaphas, he is also a Sadducee, a member of a wealthy Jewish sect that believes only in the Pentateuch, as the five books of Moses are known. Annas has made many compromises with Rome in order to maneuver his way into power. The job of high priest was passed down through the Zadokite lineage for centuries, but Alexander the Great’s conquest of the Jewish homeland three centuries ago led to an attempt to Hellenize the region. This is why Annas is fluent in Greek as well as Hebrew, for his family long ago learned the importance of pleasing its conquerors. A group of Jews known as the Hasmoneans put an end to overt Hellenization in 142 B.C. but also stripped the Zadokites of the high priesthood. This became a blessing of sorts when the Romans conquered Jerusalem eighty years later. Non-Zadokite priests were singled out for massacre when Pompey and his troops looted the city after a three-month siege. It was Herod the Great who finally restored the Zadokites to the high priesthood.
    But with that power came compromise, for Herod made sure that these new priests served at his favor—and that meant bowing down to Rome. No longer are the high priests autonomous. It is a lesson Annas learned when he was removed from his position by Pontius Pilate’s predecessor, Gratus, for imposing and executing capital sentences, which had been forbidden by the imperial government. Making the same mistake twice—or allowing Caiaphas to make this mistake—could be catastrophic. As patriarch, Annas sees that the future of the family dynasty might just rest on how he handles the Jesus situation.
    But the title of high priest is one that a man carries for life. Rome likes it that way because it ensures that the money pipeline flows uninterrupted. Annas; his