Translated and Brought to you by Biblekrps.
Request: Don't Get Decieved by Reading this text. It is Written by Caiaphas but with misunderstandings.
The Report of Ciaphus on the |
1.Epilogue
1.“Caiaphas, the Priest of most high God, to the Masters of Israel, greeting:
2.In obedience for your demands for a cause for my movement(action) inside the case of Jesus of Nazareth,
3.And in protection(defense) of my conduct, i beg depart(leave) to publish the following in your consideration:
4. I would guarantee you that it became now not resulting from non-public malice, envy, or hate, that existed in my own nature, nor for the want of a willingness upon my element(part) to comply to the Jewish regulation in its strictest sense.
5. I had however little knowledge of the Nazarene. The maximum I knew of this guy became from outside knowlede(source).
6. Nor was it because he claimed to be King of the Jews, nor due to the fact he said he was the Son of God—i might that he have been—nor due to the fact he prophesied or omitted the holy temple.
7. No, nor all of these mixed. There's a reason, and a greater weighty matter, back of all these things that managed my movement in the rely. Therefore,
8. i'm hoping you'll look into strictly on felony principles the reasons that I may additionally give.
2. False Accusations of Jesus
1.“In order you'll be able to see and weigh the query completely, and bear in mind the duty that rests upon me in step with the laws of our country,
2. I will ask you to go back with me to the chronicles of our history as a commonwealth.
Beliefs
3. First of all, our faith is pledged to one living and true God[yahweh], this God being indescribable, unchangeable, incomprehensible, and, of course, unnameable.
4. However yet in our day by day communications with, and our packages to Him,
5. He has been pleased to offer us His name, or His several names, in step with His family members to us, and they're located nowhere,
6. Only inside the ark of His holy temple—there in which He affords to us His power and strength.
7. He calls himself Eloi, which means almighty in strength; that He can do what He will without effort;
8. That He does the greatest thing as easy as He does the least. This makes Him different from all beings.
9. In His holy ark He calls Himself Elaah - existence without beginning, and no contingency as to His end. 10.Again, He writes Himself Hhelejon - unchangeable; that is, nothing but His own will can change Him.
11. Again He records His name Jah - knowledge that comprehends without being comprehended.
12. Again He is written Adonai - full and free, and freely full. Combining the several names we have - Jehovah - the Hebrew God.
13. A man never can go wrong while he can pronounce this name in its comprehensive sense.
14. This is where the Zealots, the Sadducees, and Essenes(Godly) had their origin, and it is the want of being able to pronounce this name in it comprehensive sense that causes so much dissension among us Jews.
False Accusations
15. Jesus could pronounce this name, but he stole it out of the temple, as I am creditably informed.
16. “But the object in calling your attention to pronouncing this name, with all its bearings, may be seen
17. If we go to the section 10 of third book of Leviticus,
18. wherein is the special order made by our God to Moses, that we should offer the bullock, the ram, the flour and oil, and the people should fast seven days, and this should be kaphar[Yom Kippur], or atonement for the sins of all the people.
(BASED ON LEVITICUS 4:20-26))
19.Now, unless Moses was deceived, he has deceived us, or Jesus of Nazareth is a false teacher;
3. Accusation On Forgiveness
1. For all he teaches is metanoeite, metanoeite, as though a man’s being sorry for a crime would make restitution to the offended party.
2. A man might repent ever so much, but what good would that do toward healing the man he had injured? None in the least.
3.This mode of making atonement was ordained of God and revealed to Moses; but if man has nothing to do but to repent, the disease carries its own remedy with it.
4. So a man can sin as often as he may wish to. Look at the first book, section 3:
‘And God said to Abraham, by his own mouth, that each and all that were circumcised by the cutting of the prepuce should be saved.’
[Based on Genesis 17:10-17]
5. This should be the seal of the covenant. Now, if this is not true, God must go against His own contract, violate His own promises, as well as deceive the faith and cheat the obedience of His own children.
(We should know that Circumscison is temporary until The Christ's Coming)
The True Teaching of Jesus _ Baptism which is Falsely accused.
6. This is all so, if Jesus’s teaching be true, for he sets up table (baptism) as the seal of God.
7.I refer you to section 10, division first [exodus], where God said to Moses that
8. He had changed the laws, converted the elements for the protection of His people, and with His own arm had delivered them out of a strong compact; and that they might remember, and that the generation to be born might remember and never forget to trust in Him when in danger, He said that once every year we should roast a kid of lamb, and eat it with unleavened bread, and this should be the sign that we would trust in Him in all times of danger.
(Allegedly Based on Exodus 12:8-9)
9. Now Jesus teaches that common bread(Body of christ) and wine(Blood) are to be used instead thereof—a thing unheard of.
10. And not only so, something that is altogether repugnant to God,
11. And something that fosters drunkenness, and is well qualified to excite men’s passions.
12. And oh, ye Masters of Israel, but think once.
Jesus The Son of God Jehovah
13. Jesus calls himself the Son of God; claims to have been born of almah (the Hebrew word for virgin); that he and his Father are one—they are equal.
(NOTE: Prophets like isaiah already Prophesied that Messiah is the Son of God.)
14. These things will establish the following conclusions:
A. If he is right, his Father is false.
B. If they were one, then their teachings would be one;
15. And if his teachings are true, God’s must be wrong, or there are not those perfections in Him that we learn in pronouncing His holy name.
4. Concerning Teachings And False Accusations
Fear of Roman Destruction
1. By tolerating the teachings of Jesus, we say to the Romans that all of our former teachings are false; that the Hebrew’s God is not to be trusted; that He is weak, wanting in forethought; that He is vacillating and not to be trusted, much less to be honored and obeyed.
2. Thus the world will lose confidence in our God, and confidence in us as a religious people.
3. This is impregnating the whole atmosphere with moral pollution.
4. It does not only cut off, but blocks the way of all Jews from heaven; and not only this,
5. it excludes our hope in the salvation of our forefathers,
6. who have obeyed God in His ordinances, believed in His promises, and shouted in the triumphs of a holy life for fourteen hundred years.
Accusations
7. He entirely ignores God’s holy temple - the house God had built by our forefathers under His own supervision,
8. where He promised to dwell with His children, to hear their prayers, and to be pleased with their sacrifices.
9. This temple is the bond of the Jews. Here all men can come and be blessed.
10. It is the earthly home of the souls of men—the place where men may hide from the storms of sin and persecution.
11. This temple is where the foolish may learn wisdom, the place where the naked soul can be clothed, and where the hungry may be fed.
12. This the grandest gift of our Father.
13. Jesus completely ignores this temple; says the priests have made it a den of thieves; and sets up a sneer, and even scoffs at its sacred ordinances, and with a sort of selfish triumph says it shall be destroyed; and from his manner of saying it, I have no doubt he would be glad to see it quickly done.
[Based on John 3]
5. Conditions about People Based on the Prophecy of Destruction of Jerusalem
1. But what would be the condition of our people if this temple was removed?
2. What would be the use of the priesthood if the temple was destroyed?
(Jesus said that our Body is the temple)
3. Where would we find an answer by Urim and Thummim?
(Note: Urim and the Thummim are the elements of the hoshen, It is the breastplate which is worn by the High Priest and is attached to the ephod.)
4. How would the soul of man be purified, if the holy Bathkole, the Euroch of God, should depart?
5. There in that sacred temple of God he has been burning to the consuming of sin and the purifying of the heart since our return from bondage in Babylon[587-538Bc].
6. My argument is, if this temple is destroyed, or even forsaken by the Jews, we as a nation are utterly ruined.
7. We might as well put our necks under the feet of idolatry and give up all hope.
8. “One more subject I place before my Masters of Israel. Is it compatible with our religion, or is it consistent with philosophy, or admitted in His holy Word, that there can be more gods than one?
9. When we pronounce Ele Laah Shaddiai-Hhelyon Adonai (which is Jehovah), there can be but one living God.
10. Based on the reference to section 6 of Number 4,
He says by mouth of Moses, when he was all aglow with the glory of God—and remember He speaks either by mouth or quill; it is He that speaks, and not man
12—He says,
‘The Lord your God is one God; there can be but one. I am and have been with you; I brought you up; I delivered you out of a strong compact; I delivered you out of their hand and kept you dry, while your enemies were drowned in the sea. I will not forsake you. I promised your father I would not. But if you forsake Me, then desolation will come upon you, and have you in swift destruction.’
13. In section 5, three and four of David’s Song of Joy:
‘I am God alone. If I turn to the right or to the left, if I go down into the depths of the sea, or into the centre of the earth, or over the heavens, I should find no companion.’
14. In section 3 He says:
‘I am God alone, and alone I am God; beside Me there is no help for man or angels.’
15. Then in section 13, this command has been given:
‘Thou shall pay to the Lord thy God once a year a half-shekel of silver, that thou and thy children, and all the strangers that are within thy gate, may know that there is no God beside Me, on whom they may call in time of danger.’
16. Now, having all these commands and teachings from the very lips of God himself before my eyes, and being held responsible for the soundness of our doctrine and the proper inculcation of the same among the people of the Jews, what was I to do?
17. Could I stand as the priest of the Most High God, and see your blessed religion perverted by an impostor?
18. Could I stand and see the holy temple of our God deserted and forsaken?
19. Could I stand and see all the holy ordinances, which had been appointed by our God for securing salvation to Israel, perverted by an impostor?
20. All the blessed doctrines that were appointed for the government and instruction of the priesthood,
21. thence to be imparted to the youth of our land, set aside, and that by one that could show no authority, only the authority of John the Baptist, who could give no authority only the one who sent him to baptize, and he could not tell who he was, nor whence he came?
22. Hence you see the responsible position that I as the high priest of God and of the Jewish Temple occupied
23. Based on our laws I was made responsible, and stood between my God and my people, to protect them in doctrine and government.
6. Accusations Concerning Jesus
1. I refer you to the capitulation made by the Sanhedrin and Augustus Caesar in the holy Tosephta of the Talmuds.
2. We submitted to taxation by the Romans, and the Romans are to protect our holy religion from foreign foes, in order that the holy temple or any of its sacred ordinances should never be molested, nor the holy city, Jerusalem, be polluted by Roman idolatry.
3. Now the insinuating plan adopted by Jesus was well qualified to deceive the common people.
4. It had already led many to forsake the temple, and hold her ordinances in derision, as well as to neglect the teachings of the priest or to pay the tithes for their supplies.
5. He had already inculcated into the Jewish mind his pernicious ways of being saved to that extent that the Jewish cause was almost lost.
Caiaphas Speaks Blasphemy against Followers of Messiah Jesus
6. There are two reasons for this:
First, the people to whom he preached were an ignorant set, and knew but very little about doctrine of any kind.
7. They are a restless sort of men, who are always finding fault and wanting something new, and never associate with the more enlightened part of the community in order to learn.
8.Another reason of his having many followers is, his doctrines are congenial to unsanctified flesh.
9. They are so suited to human nature that they require no sacrifices; they need not go to the temple to worship God; they need not fast, and they can when and where they please; they need pay no tithes to keep up the temple or the priesthood, but every man can be his own priest and worship God as he chooses.
10. All this is so compatible with human nature that, although he has not been preaching over three years,
11. he has more followers today than Abraham has, and they have be come perfectly hostile towards the Jews that are faithful to their God;
12. and, if it had not been for the Roman soldiers on the day of his execution we would have had one of the bloodiest insurrections ever known to the Jewish commonwealth.
13. I am told that there was never seen such a concourse of people assembled at Jerusalem as at the cross.
14. One of my guards informs me that there were several hundred thousand, and, although there were two others crucified at the same time, Jesus was the great centre of attraction.
15. They would call out, ‘Who is this Jesus of Nazareth? What is his crime?’
16. Some of his friends would cry out, ‘Nothing; he is being executed because he was a friend to the poor.’
17. ‘Take him down! Take him down,’ they would cry out, and the soldiers would have to use their spears to keep them back.
18. But when he yielded up the ghost he proved to all that he was hypostatical (that is, a human body),
19. And the lodi curios(?? Rare) had come from the iclandic covenant [old covenant?], and his trinitatis unitas[Trinity in Unity ie- father, Son, Holy Spirit] was all a sham [False],
20. For how could this unpronounced name suffer to be captured by men, or die, unless he is the one that is to die for the many?
(This is also recorded in John)
7. Caiaphas Against Jesus( False Accusation)
1. And if so, I was only accomplishing God’s holy purposes, which exonerates me from guilt.
2. “But it seems to me a necessity that he should be removed. That this may be evident to your minds,
3. I ask you to contrast our present condition with the past. Jesus of Nazareth spent two years in Egypt under the instruction of Rabbi Joshua, and learned the art of thaumaturgy to perfection,
4. As has never been taught in any of the schools of necromancy among the heathen.
5. If the healing miracles of Jesus are true, as they must be (for they are so acknowledged by his foes as well as his friends),
6. he must have learned it from Horns and Serapis, as practiced by those heathen priests.
7. He came back to Palestine as a physician, and was by nature an enthusiast as well as a Hebrew patriarch, and when John’s preaching excited idealistic minds,
8. Jesus also went to that teacher, and was inspired by him to inculcate and promulgate his doctrines.
9. Notwithstanding his youth and inexperience, Jesus started out as a public orator and teacher with the doctrines of John, and in that capacity referred exclusively to his authority, as every public teacher in these days has to be ordained by some acknowledged authority.
10. As long as John was at large, Jesus in the capacity of an itinerant teacher and physician roused the people of Galilee to metanoia (repentance of sin), to bring about a restoration of the kingdom of heaven.
11. He met with the same opposition that John did from those who would not admit that they were more sinful than their progenitors were, or that asceticism was the proper means for the restoration of the kingdom of heaven.
12. But he met with the same success among the lower classes, such as foreign harlots, Sodomites, publicans, and other Roman agents, but the intelligent portion remained cold and unmoved by his enthusiasm.
13. The cures which he performed appeared miraculous to his followers, but most ridiculous to the intelligent Jews and the men of sober and reflective minds.
14.“Jesus embraced the humanitarian doctrine of the Hillelites, presenting conspicuously the cosmopolitan spirit of Judaism, and he did it almost in the words of Hillel, who had taught it before.
15. Their faith and doctrine being alike, it was not hard for him to create excitement, or to find plenty of followers.
16. In addition to all this, he taught a system of low morals, and so void of all ritualistic ideas that it was easy for him to get any number of followers.
17. He taught the people that there was but one living and true God, but he taught them that he was that God,
18. And that his father was merged into himself, and could not manifest himself only through him,
[Read Johns Gospel for the Proof that Jesus is Son of God and God and Jesus is one . As Jesus said Iam in God and God is in me]
19. which theory would confute itself if they would only stop to reflect, for as he was hypostatical or corporeal, his assistance was cut off from all that was not immediately in his presence, which is altogether incompatible with the faith of the Jews.
20. Right in the face of this doctrine he would teach that there was a special providence, as well as a general providence, as if there could be a general providence without a God that could be present in all places at all times, as we learn in pronouncing His name.
21. He taught that the dead will rise and live again in a future state of happiness or misery according as they have lived here.
22. Therefore he taught future rewards and punishments; but he being present, how could he reward in the future?
23. He taught the revelation and the prophets, but contradicted all they teach. He taught the election of Israel by the Almighty, but ignored all the doctrines of Israel.
24. He taught the eternity of God’s laws, and promises in the super-importance of the humanitarian over the ritual laws and doctrines,
25. But I do not think he wished to abolish the latter (doctrine), or even the traditional laws, but merely to supersede them by a higher life.
26. The natural result of all this was that he disregarded the laws of Levitical cleanness, which were considered so important by the Shammaites and Essenes, and also by the Hillelites.
8. False Accusation Concerning Jesus is Pagan
1. This is the point where division commenced, and the breach grew wider and wider until an insurrection must have been the result.
2. He so far cut himself loose from the Jews that he ate with unclean sinners, publicans, and lepers, and permitted harlots to touch him, while his disciples went so far as to eat their meals without washing themselves.
3. Furthermore, he looked upon the whole of the Levitical institutions, temples, sacrifices, and priesthood included, as no longer necessary and not worth the life of the animal.
4. This was certainly the opinion of the Hilelites.
5. Jesus, it seems, found in this Hillelite school a party furnished to band, ready to take up with his heresy (and a large party they are, almost sufficient to divide the whole Jewish commonwealth).
6. They taught the repentance of sin, the practice of benevolence and charity, the education of the young, and good-will toward mankind, as possessing much more moral worth than all the Levitical cleanness, or compliance with the whole moral law given to us by our God to govern us.
7. His preaching was of the parabolical style. He would rely on a text of scripture, for he seemed to hold the scriptures in high veneration, so his preaching was on the treasuries style of the scribes—a maxim expressed in the style of Solon or of Sirach’s son.
8. His great object was to come as near the Jewish as possible so as to destroy the Jews’ entirely, and establish his own.
9. Hence he resorted to the allegorical method of the Egyptian Hebrews, uttering many good and wise sayings,
10. which were not new to the learned, but which were taken from the common wisdom of the country, which was known by all who were acquainted with the literature of the rabbis.
11. But they were new to his class of hearers, who were not accustomed to listen, to the wise. He had no education, comparatively speaking.
12. He was full of nervous excitement, all of which went to inspire his hearers with enthusiasm.
13. He took but little care of his health or person; cared not for his own relatives. He traveled mostly on foot in the company of his disciples and some suspicious women, and lived on the charity of his friends.
14. He seemed to take no notice of the political affairs of his country; would as soon be governed by one nation as another.
15. In fact, it seemed if he had any preference it was for the Romans.
16. It seems that he became so infatuated that he really thought he was the head of the kingdom of heaven.
17. This manner of preaching, along with his presumption, aroused his enemies to a powerful pitch, and it was all I could do to keep the zealots from mobbing him in the temple.
18. They had no confidence in a doctrine that set the Jewish laws at naught, and mocked the priesthood of God, and they with the Sadducees and scribes were not willing to submit to a man who acknowledged no authority higher than himself, and was seemingly endeavoring to overturn everything that they held more sacred and dearer than life.
19. Jesus’s mode and manner were well qualified to deceive the unsuspecting.
20. ‘Let us have all things in common,’ said he, ‘and he that would be greatest among you will prove his greatness by rendering the greatest service to all, and if any of the higher powers compel thee to go a mile, let him that is compelled go ten miles.’
21. This caused him to be attacked more in his policy than in his doctrine.
22. The great question with us Jews was, here are the Romans upon us; how can we get rid of them?
23. Jesus’s idea was to let the Romans alone; it matters not who rules and governs the nations; if they abuse you, love them in return, and they cannot be your enemies long; no man can continue to abuse another who returns injuries with love. Keep from them; pray in secret for the return of the kingdom of heaven and God’s grace, and this will soon make all things right. ‘Pay your taxes,’ he would say to them; ‘it is only Caesar’s money you pay, which is unlawful for you to have— unlawful on account of its idolatrous effigies.’
24. Again, he would say to his hearers, ‘You cannot conquer the Romans; better convert them, and they are your enemies no longer.
25. They already have your temple in their possession; their yoke is getting heavier every day, and the more you fight against them the more they will abuse you; therefore, your only chance is to love them, and try to make your yoke easy and your burden light by having them your friends.’
26. Indeed, the conduct of Jesus was so strange and incompatible with the interest of the Jews as a nation, that it seemed to me that he was a subject employed by the Romans to keep the Jews submissive and obedient to all their tyranny and abuse.
27. “This policy was most powerfully attacked by the officiating priest, by the Shammaites and Zealots, and, in fact, the whole Jewish nation was becoming aroused to a war heat.
28. The reprimands of Jesus were so severe against the rich and highly educated that they had turned against him, and brought all the power they had, both of their wealth and talent, so that I saw that a bloody insurrection was brewing fast.
29. The public mind of the Jews was becoming more and more divided and corrupt; heretical doctrines were being diffused all over the land; the temple was forsaken and the holy sacraments neglected; the people were dividing into sects, and these breaches were like a rent in a garment—tearing wider apart continually.
30. As it seemed to me, the whole of the Jewish theocracy was about to be blown away as a bubble on a breaker.
9.
1.“As the Jews became more and more divided and confused, the tyranny of the Romans increased.
2. All they wanted was an excuse to slaughter the Jews and confiscate their property.
3. At this time both the doctrine and religion of the Jews were spreading rapidly all over Rome; which gave the Romans great alarm.
4. Sejane undertook to have an ordinance passed in the Senate, abolishing the Jewish religion from Rome; and when he found it would cause an insurrection, they banished all the Jews from Rome, and back they came to Judea with all their idolatry and heresy, and many other corrupt principles from the Romans, which fitted them to join any party for profit.
5. Up to this time the Roman governors had shown great kindness to the Jews. There never was a better man than Hyrcan.
6. The Jews enjoyed great peace during his administration. But Tiberias has turned against us; Pilate has removed the army from Caesarea to Jerusalem.
7. I say, no nation with any self-respect, or one that had any energy left, would or could stand it without a struggle.
8. “Now, the preaching of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth had brought all these things upon us.
9. When Herod Antipas captured John, it quieted matters in Galilee, so that they had peace until Jesus started it up afresh.
10. I had issued orders to Jesus to desist from preaching, unless he taught as the Jews taught. He sent me the impertinent word that his doctrine was not of this world, but had reference to the world to come; when he was all the time doing all he could to destroy the peace and harmony of this world.
11. Now, according to our law in the Saphra, by Jose B. Talmud, it devolves on me to see that the people have sound doctrine taught them. Hence it is my duty to examine all the midrashim, or sermons, of all the preaching priests, and if any one teach the people wrongly, or if his conduct is not in correspondence with his profession, to cause him to desist; or if any disregard the holy laws of ablution, or in any way defile himself, or if he shall be guilty of misconduct in any way, either in manner of life or doctrine, to adjudge such an one, and pronounce sentence for his crime upon him. This I did upon Jesus of Nazareth, to save the Church from heresy, and to save the cause of the Jewish common wealth from final ruin. But understand that I did not act rashly nor illegally, as I am accused. I only passed sentence under the protest and order of the whole court belonging to the high priest, containing twelve members, or elders, and priests. Thus you will see it was not my voluntary act, but was a legal one and in accordance with law.
After I examined Jesus on the various charges, he said in the presence of all the court that each and all of them were true. I then reasoned with him, and asked him, if the court of the high priest would forgive him of these charges would he desist from these things in all time to come. He answered most emphatically and positively be would not. Under these circumstances I was compelled, according to our law, to sentence him to die; for if he continued to promulgate his pernicious heresies the Jews, as a nation, must perish with their religion. And, as you find in the Toseppta, that the nation has always the right of self-preservation, and as we had conceded the right to the Romans of executing our criminal laws, it became my painful duty to send him to Pontius Pilate, with the following charges:
“Caiaphczs, High Priest of the Most High God, to Pontius Pilate, Governor of the Roman Province:
“Jesus of Nazareth is thus charged by the High Court of the Jews:
“First, with teaching the doctrine that there are more gods than one, which is contrary to the teachings of the Jewish law, which he most positively re fuses to desist from in the presence of this court.
“Second, he teaches that he is a God, which is contrary to the Jewish law, and he is visible and comprehensible; and, after being asked to desist by this court, he most positively affirms that he is the Son of God.
“Third, he teaches and affirms that the Bath kole (Holy Spirit) cannot come until he goes away, which is contrary to the teachings of the Jews; because it was He that brooded over the waters, and has been in the habitual light of the world ever since; from all of which he refuses to desist.
“He teaches baptism as the seal of God, instead of circumcision, which was established by the decrees of God with Abraham as a seal of the Jews; and when abjured to desist by this court declared he would not.
“He teaches asceticism as the means of salvation, contrary to the Jewish custom; and affirmed in the presence of this court he would not desist.
“He teaches that the Levitical ablution is of no service, while we hold that the outward washing is the sign of inward purity; and when abjured to desist he emphatically refused.
“He has abrogated the ordinance given by God to Moses of the pascal supper, wherein we should roast a lamb and eat it with unleavened bread; but Jesus has introduced a custom altogether different— without any authority. He has introduced common bread and wine, which are not only forbidden, but are well qualified to excite men’s passions and make them forget God rather than to remember and trust Him, this feast having been introduced that we should remember to trust Him in the hours of trouble. When asked why he did this, all he would say was:
“Hitherto I work, and my Father works.”
“He has abrogated the priesthood, and set the temple at naught, which is the very life’s blood of the Jewish faith.
“Were it not that God our Father has given us these holy ordinances we would not be so tenacious of them. We know they are the pillars upon which the Jewish theocracy is built, and that we cannot live without them. Although Jesus of Nazareth has been abjured time and again to stop teaching these ways of death, he has as often declared be would not; therefore it devolves on me as the proper and the only officer to pronounce sentence upon him.’
“These charges were written by my scribe, and sent with the officers to Pilate for his consent. Of course, I did not expect him to execute him as he did, but it seems that the mob was so great that Pilate never received them. I expected Pilate to send Jesus back to me, so that I could send him to you for your approval; and if so, then I would proceed to try him with Urim and Thummin, with the regular lacktees on guard, as our law requires; but it seems that Pilate thirsted for his blood. Like all guilty tyrants, he was afraid of his own shadow, and wished to destroy everything that threatened his power.
“With these reasons for my actions, I submit the case which I am sure will be considered favorably by my Masters of Israel.”
The Report of Ciaphus on the |
“Sanhedrim, 89. By Siphri II, 7.:
“To You, Masters of Israel: As I have made a former defense to you, and you have approved the same, I feel in duty bound to communicate to you some facts that have come to my knowledge since that communication. A few days after the execution of Jesus of Nazareth the report of his resurrection from the dead became so common that I found it necessary to investigate it, because the excitement was more intense than before, and my own life as well as that of Pilate was in danger. I sent for Malkus, the captain of the royal city guard, who informed me he knew nothing personally, as he had placed Isham in command of the guard; but from what he could learn from the soldiers the scene was awe-inspiring, and the report was so generally believed that it was useless to deny it. He thought my only chance was to suppress it among the soldiers, and have John and Peter banished to Crete, or arrested and imprisoned, and if they would not be quiet, to treat them as I had treated Jesus.
He said that all the soldiers he had conversed with were convinced that Jesus was resurrected by supernatural power and was still living, and that he was no human being, for the light and the angels and the dead that came out of their graves all went to prove that something had happened that never occurred on earth before. He said that John and Peter were spreading it all over the country, and that if Jesus would appear at the head of a host, and declare for the king of the Jews, he believed all the Jews would fight for him. I sent for the lieutenant, who gave a lengthy account of the occurrence that morning, all of which I suppose you have learned, and will investigate. From this I am convinced that something transcending the laws of nature took place that morning, that cannot be accounted for upon natural laws, and I find it is useless to try to get any of the soldiers to deny it, for they are so excited that they cannot be reasoned with. I regret that I had the soldiers placed at the tomb, for the very things that they were to prevent they have helped to establish.
“After questioning the soldiers and officers to my satisfaction, my mind being so disturbed that I could neither eat nor sleep, I sent for John and Peter. They came and brought Mary and Joanna, who are the women that went to embalm Jesus’s body the morning of the resurrection, as it is called. They were very interesting as they related the circumstances. Mary says that when they went day was just breaking. They met the soldiers returning from the sepulcher, and saw nothing strange until they came to the tomb, and found that it was empty. The stone that covered the sepulcher was rolled to one side, and two men dressed in flowing white were sitting, one at each end of the sepulcher. Mary asked them where was her Lord; they said, ‘He is risen from the dead; did he not tell you he would rise the third day and show himself to the people, to prove that he was the Lord of life?’ Go tell his disciples, said they. Joanna said she saw but one man; but this discrepancy must have been due to their excitement, because they say they were much alarmed. They both say that as they returned they met the Master, who told them that he was the resurrection and the life; all that will accept shall be resurrected from the second death. ‘We fell at his feet, all bathed in tears, and when we rose up he was gone.’ Both these women wept for joy while relating these circumstances, and John shouted aloud, which made me tremble in every limb, for I could not help thinking that something that was the exclusive work of God had occurred, but what it all meant was a great mystery to me. It might be, I said, that God had sent this message by the mouth of this stranger; it might be that he was the seed of the woman, and we his people had executed him.
“I asked John and Peter if they could give me any further evidence in regard to this man; that I wished to be informed of his private history. Peter said that Jesus passed by where he was, and bade him follow him, and he felt attracted to him, but at first it was more through curiosity than anything in the man; that he soon became acquainted with Mary, who told him that he was her son, and related to him the strange circumstances of his birth, and that she was convinced that he was to be the king of the Jews.
She spoke of many strange things concerning his life, which made Peter feel more interested in him than he would have been otherwise. He said that Jesus was a man so pleasant in his character, and so like a child in innocence, that no one could help liking him after he got acquainted with him; that though he seemed to be stern and cold, he was not so in reality; that he was exceedingly kind, especially to the poor; that he would make any sacrifice for the sick and needy, and would spare no effort to impart howl- edge to anyone that would call on him, and that his knowledge was so profound that he had seen him interrogated by the most learned doctors of the law, and he always gave the most perfect satisfaction, and that the sopher or scribes, and the Hillelites, and Shammaites were afraid to open their mouths in his presence. They had attacked him so often and been repelled that they shunned him as they would a wolf; but when he had repelled them he did not enjoy the triumph as they did over others of whom they had gotten the ascendancy.
As to his private life, he seemed not to be a man of pleasure, nor of sorrow. He mingled with society to benefit it, and yet took no part at all in what was going on. ‘I had heard many tell of what occurred when he was baptized, and from what his mother told me I was watching for a display of his divine power, if he had any, for I knew he could never be king of the Jews unless he did have help from on high. Once when we were attending a marriage-feast the wine gave out, and his mother told him of it, and he said to the men to fill up some water-pots that were sitting near, and they put in nothing but water, for I watched them, but when they poured it out it was wine, for it was tasted by all at the feast, and when the master found it out he called for Jesus to honor him, but he had disappeared. It seemed that he did not want to be popular, and this spirit displeased us, for we knew if he was to be king of the Jews he must become popular with the Jews. His behavior angered his mother, for she was doing all she could to bring him into notice, and to make him popular among the people, and the people could not help liking him when they saw him. Another peculiarity was that in his presence everyone felt safe. There seemed to be an almighty power pervading the air wherever he went so that everyone felt secure, and believed that no harm could befall them if Jesus were present. As we were in our fishing-boat I saw Jesus coming out toward us, w on the water. I knew that if he could make the waves support him, he could me also. I asked him if I might come to him; he said to me to come, but when I saw the waves gathering around me I began to sink, and asked him to help me. He lifted me up, and told me to have faith in God. On another occasion we were sailing on the sea, and there was a great storm. It blew at a fearful rate, and all on board thought they would be lost; we awakened the master, and when he saw the raging of the storm he stretched out his hand and said, “Peace, be still!” and the wind ceased to blow, the thunder stopped, the lightning's withdrew, and the billowing sea seemed as quiet as a babe in its mother’s arms—all done in one moment of time.
This I saw with my own eyes, and from that time I was convinced that he was not a common man. Neither did he work by enchantment like the Egyptian thaumaturgists, for in all their tricks they never attack the laws of nature. In vain might they order the thunder to hush, or the winds to abate, or the lightning's to cease their flashing. Again, I saw this man while we were passing from Jericho. There was a blind man, who cried out to him for mercy, and Jesus said to me, “Go, bring him near,” and when I brought him near Jesus asked him what he wanted. He said he wanted to see him. Jesus said, “Receive thy sight,” when he was not near enough for Jesus to lay his hands upon him or use any art. Thus were all his miracles performed. He did not act as the Egyptian necromancers. They use vessels, such as cups, bags, and jugs, and many other things to deceive. Jesus used nothing but his simple speech in such a way that all could understand him, and it seemed as if the laws of nature were his main instruments of action, and that nature was as obedient to him as a slave is to his master. I recall another occasion when a young man was dead, and Jesus loved his sisters. One of them went with Jesus to the tomb. He commanded it to be uncovered. The sister said, “Master, by this time he is offensive; be has been dead four days.” Jesus said, “Only have faith,” and he called the young man by name, and be came forth out of the tomb, and is living to-day,’ and Peter proposed that I should see him for myself.
“Thus argue Peter and John. If Jesus had such power over nature and nature’s laws, and power over death in others, he would have such power over death that he could lay down his life and take it up again, as he said he would do. As he proposes to bring hundreds of witnesses to prove all he says, and much more—witnesses whose veracity cannot be doubted— and as I had heard many of these things before from different men, both friends and foes (and although these things are related by his friends—that is, the friends of Jesus—yet these men talk like men of truth, and their testimony corroborates other evidence that I have from other sources, that convinces me that this is something that should not be rashly dealt with), and seeing the humble trust and confidence of these men and women, besides, as John says, thou sands of others equally strong in their belief, it throws me into great agitation.
I feel some dreadful foreboding—a weight upon my heart. I cannot feel as a criminal from the fact that I was acting according to my best judgment with the evidence before me. I feel that I was acting in defense of God and my country, which I love better than my life, and if I was mistaken, I was honest in my mistake. And as we teach that honesty of purpose gives character to the action, on this basis I shall try to clear myself of any charge, yet there is a conscious fear about my heart, so that I have no rest day or night. I feel sure that if I should meet Jesus I would fall dead at his feet; and it seemed to me if I went out I should be sure to meet him.
“In this state of conscious dread I remained investigating the Scriptures to know more about the prophecies concerning this man, but found nothing to satisfy my mind. I locked my door and gave the guards orders to let no one in without first giving me notice. While thus engaged, with no one in the room but my wife and Annas, her father, when I lifted up my eyes, behold Jesus of Nazareth stood before me. My breath stopped, my blood ran cold, and I was in the act of falling, when he spoke and said, ‘Be not afraid, it is I. You condemned me that you might go free. This is the work of my Father. Your only wrong is, you have a wicked heart; this you must repent of. This last lamb you have slain is the one that was appointed before the foundation; this sacrifice is made for all men. Your other lambs were for those who offered them; this is for all, this is the last; it is for you if you will accept it. I died that you and all mankind might be saved.’ At this he looked at me with such melting tenderness that it seemed to me I was nothing but tears, and my strength was all gone. I fell on my face at his feet as one that was dead. When Annas lifted me up Jesus was gone, and the door still locked. No one could tell when or where he went.
“So noble Masters, I do not feel that I can officiate as priest any more. If this strange personage is from God, and should prove to be the Saviour we have looked for so long, and I have been the means of crucifying him, I have no further offerings to make for sin; but I will wait and see how these thin will develop. And if he proves to be the ruler -that we are looking for, they will soon develop into something more grand in the future. His glory will increase; his influence will spread wider and wider until the whole earth shall be full of his glory, and all the kingdoms of the world shall be his dominion. Such are the teachings of the prophets on this subject. Therefore you will appoint Jonathan, or so one, to fill the holy place.”
[ found that, soon after, Jonathan became high priest though history teaches us differently.— MAH& N.]
No comments:
Post a Comment