by Adam Winn
Second, my reconstruction undermines the belief that the majority of Jews in Jerusalem rejected Jesus and demanded his execution. This belief has been propagated by the misguided yet often-preached message that goes something like, “The Jews welcomed Jesus as a savior on Palm Sunday, but by Good Friday they rejected him and demanded his execution.” As my narrative (and any responsible historical treatment of Jesus’ death) demonstrates, this belief is grossly misguided. Jesus was apparently highly popular among the people, which in the eyes of the power brokers of Judea made him a threat to the stability of the region that needed to be removed. The crowd that demanded Jesus’ death was not the throngs of supporters that Jesus had throughout the city, but likely a small group of leading Jewish priests that were orchestrated by the high priest and Pilate himself. Thus, the Jews involved in Jesus’ death were an extreme minority of the population (maybe a couple hundred people in a city of three hundred thousand!) and far from representative of Jewish attitudes toward Jesus.
Finally, I reject the theory that the Jewish leaders involved in Jesus’ death knowingly killed an innocent man out of jealousy or hatred. Through my narrative reconstruction of Jesus’ death, I sought to present the complexity of political realities facing the Jewish high priest, Caiaphas. The weight of keeping the peace in Jerusalem as well as maintaining the safety of his Jewish brothers and sisters in the city would have no doubt lain heavily on his shoulders. A figure like Jesus would have greatly threatened that safety. His actions would have been perceived as illegal and seditious by Roman legal standards, which Caiaphas was tasked to uphold as high priest under Roman authority. Jesus’ entrance into Jerusalem and his temple actions would have, from a Roman perspective, made him guilty of capital crimes. If Caiaphas had refused to play a part in Jesus’ execution, he could have been perceived as taking the side of a traitor and rebel, thus aligning himself against Rome. Ultimately, Caiaphas acted in accordance with the legal responsibilities of his office at that time in Jewish history and likely did so out of a motivation to keep the city of Jerusalem at peace and its inhabitants safe. By better explaining the position of Caiaphas and the complicated realities he was negotiating, I hope my readers’ perception of Jewish guilt in the death of Jesus (and the historic charge of deicide) is yet further mitigated.
The historical reconstruction I have offered does include the involvement of the high priest and his administration in the death of Jesus. However, it undermines the teaching that “all Jews” were and are responsible for Jesus’ death. This claim is central to Christian anti-Semitism, the consequences of which, including the Holocaust, are well known. I hope that the reconstruction provided in this book will have an impact on Christian assessments of the role Jews played in the death of Jesus and that it will provide Christians with a more responsible way to both understand and present that role moving forward. My prayer is that such efforts to more responsibly handle the scriptural traditions of Jesus’ death in Christian preaching, teaching, and dramatic depictions will lead to healing and increased trust between Jews and Christians.
QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION
1. Each main character—Judah, Caleb, Eleazar, and Pilate—has his own motivations for his choices. Did you find yourself becoming sympathetic with any of them? If so, did this surprise you?
2. Numerous stereotypes of the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots exist among Christians. How did this book challenge these stereotypes? How did it help you better understand these Jewish sects and their beliefs?
3. If you were a Jewish leader such as Caiaphas or Eleazar, how do you think you would respond to Jesus and his influence among the people?
4. What stood out to you about the way Jesus and his actions are portrayed in this book?
5. Before reading this book, had you ever considered the political implications of the ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus? How has this book informed or challenged how you understand the way both of these figures affected the politics of first-century Judea?
6. How do different characters in the story understand “the kingdom of God”? How do their views compare to what you know about Jesus’ teaching on the kingdom?
7. How does the portrayal of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem (Palm Sunday) in this book compare to the way you have seen it portrayed in Christian teaching and writing?
8. What did you think about Pilate’s reactions to Jesus in the story? How do these two men and their conceptions of power compare?
9. In what ways do anti-Semitic interpretations of Jesus’ death fail to fit the biblical and historical evidence?
10. How does learning about the political, social, and economic realities of first-century Jerusalem shed light on your reading of the Gospels?
11. What aspects of the author’s interpretation of the events surrounding Jesus’ death do you find convincing? What do you find unconvincing?
12. What topics or questions raised by this book would you like to explore further?
NOTES
1 A FRAGILE PEACE
10 upcoming Passover celebration: The Passover celebration commemorated God’s deliverance of the people of Israel from slavery in Egypt.
11 study of Torah: The Torah, or “Instruction,” refers to the first five books of the Hebrew Bible (or Christian Old Testament). These books are Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. For first-century Jews, these books contained the regulations of their covenant relationship with God, and as such were highly valued—though interpretation of their content varied.
19 Among the Sadducees: The Sadducees were a Jewish sect largely composed of Jerusalem’s upper class. Many of Jerusalem’s leading priests, and usually the high priest and his family, were Sadducees.
22 Herod the first: This Herod would later be identified as Herod the Great.
23 Asia Minor: Asia Minor refers to modern-day Turkey.
24 Greek Seleucids: The Seleucids were a Greek dynasty that emerged from Alexander the Great’s empire. They controlled the land of Israel from 198 BC until the Jews revolted against them in 167 BC. This revolt, known as the Maccabean Revolt, resulted in Jewish independence.
2 AN APPROACHING STORM
36 Herod’s unlawful marriage to Herodias: The Roman-appointed ruler in Galilee, Herod Antipas, married the wife of his half-brother, Philip, who ruled for Rome in the neighboring regions of Iturea and Trachonitis. Both were the sons of the client king Herod the Great, though neither bore the title “king” but instead were given the titles of “tetrarch,” meaning “ruler of a quarter” (both Herod Antipas and Philip ruled a quarter of the region previously ruled by their father).
41 fifth commandment of the Decalogue: The Decalogue is more widely known as the Ten Commandments. Here I refer to the fifth commandment according to the Jewish count (and that of most Protestants), but which is fourth in the Catholic count.
46 Jerusalem cohort: A cohort consisted of approximately six hundred soldiers. A Roman legion was generally composed of ten cohorts.
52 client king Herod Archelaus: Herod Archelaeus was the son of Herod the Great, brother to Herod Antipas, and half-brother to Philip. He was granted reign over half of his father’s kingdom, but his failings in this position caused him to be removed and replaced with a Roman governor.
68 150 drachmas: The drachma was a common Greek silver coin, which, like the Roman denarius, was worth approximately a single day’s labor. While many have assumed that Roman denarii were used in Judea during the lifetime of Jesus, recent studies on Roman coinage strongly indicate that they were not. The fruit of this recent research is reflected here.
4 THE CRISIS
101 Simeon Maccabeus, entering the city of Jerusalem: Simon Maccabeus (or Simon Thassi, as he is often called) was the older brother of Judas Maccabeus. Judas led the Jews in revolt against the Seleucid King Antiochus IV, who had outlawed Judaism in Judea and Samaria. In this revolt, Judas had retaken the city of Jerusalem, but he was unable to take the Acra, a Greek military stronghold bu
ilt by Antioch IV that sat in close proximity to Jerusalem. The Acra was occupied by Greek forces, and for over twenty years was a persistent problem for the Jews in Jerusalem and Judea. In 141 BC, Simon Maccabeus finally captured the Acra (historical sources conflict on whether he destroyed it or inhabited it). In celebration of this great accomplishment, Simon was welcomed into the city with songs, praises, and palm branches (see 1 Maccabees 13:51).
114 latrones match: Latrones was a Roman board game quite similar to the game of chess.
THE DEATH OF JESUS AND THE HISTORY OF ANTI-SEMITISM
227 “God killers”: For discussion of this relationship between the Christian passion narratives and anti-Semitism, see Jeremy Cohen, Christ Killers: The Jews and the Passion from the Bible to the Big Screen (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2007).
official teachings: See, for example, Vatican Council II, “Nostra aetate: Declaration of the Relationship of the Church to Non-Christian Religions” (1965), section 4; or more recently, Criteria for Evaluation of Dramatizations of the Passion, produced by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs (1988).
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PRAISE FOR KILLING A MESSIAH
“For centuries, Christians have been taught that the only possible reading of the Gospels was one in which the Jews, the enemies of Christ, are responsible for his death. Winn, using those same sources and informed by the best of contemporary scholarship, has produced a plausible alternate narrative of what might have occurred during that famous Passover week and demonstrates that anti-Jewish interpretations of the New Testament are not inevitable.”
David Fox Sandmel, rabbi, director of interfaith engagement for the Anti-Defamation League
“Killing a Messiah—this is an easy read, but also a highly informative one that displays Adam Winn’s solid grasp of the social, political, and historical realities at work in the complex of events surrounding Jesus’ execution. The Gospel accounts leave so many questions unexplored—sometimes about who did what, but especially about how and why Jewish and Roman leaders acted as they did. What motives led to Jesus’ crucifixion? How was the Jewish council able to determine so quickly that Jesus deserved death? Why weren’t Jesus’ disciples rounded up along with Jesus when he was arrested? How do we explain Judas’s role in these affairs? And so on. Winn’s delightful and well-crafted story imagines what was going on behind the scenes even as it respects the Gospel accounts and the historical issues they raise.”
Joel B. Green, professor of New Testament interpretation and associate dean for the Center for Advanced Theological Studies, Fuller Theological Seminary
“As a filmmaker, I gravitate toward page-turning tales of complex characters caught in high stakes, political intrigue. Adam Winn offers readers a fresh take on the crucifixion of Jesus through rigorous research and astute imagination. Killing a Messiah is a brilliant exploration of the ultimate historical hinge point.”
Craig Detweiler, cofounder of the Windrider Film Forum, author of Into the Dark: Seeing the Sacred in the Top Films of the 21st Century
“With a sure grasp of first-century religious and political realities, Adam Winn brings the events surrounding Jesus’ execution vividly to life. What emerges is a story of manipulative authorities, greedy informers, severed friendships, but ultimately hope in the figure of Jesus himself—all told with the verve and panache of a novelist.”
Helen K. Bond, professor of Christian origins, head of the School of Divinity, University of Edinburgh
“Adam Winn uniquely and subversively contributes to historical Jesus research through this compelling story about the events leading up to Jesus’ death. Through the eyes of a varied cast of characters, Adam illuminates Jesus’ historical, social, and political world and challenges some conventional understandings of the Gospels. If you are interested in engaging your theological students, pastors, or congregations in issues and questions surrounding the study of Jesus and the Gospels, you should get this book.”
Elizabeth E. Shively, senior lecturer in New Testament studies, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
“Killing a Messiah is, first and foremost, an engrossing read. Once I started it, I resented having to put it down for other tasks or for sleep! But it is also a highly informative read. Dr. Winn immerses his readers in a web of plots plausibly driven by the complex political dynamics at work in Judea in 29 CE, dynamics often lost on the casual reader of the Gospels. He advances, in narrative form, a bold hypothesis concerning the backroom maneuverings behind Jesus’ arrest, trial, and condemnation that does justice both to the public view of these events preserved in our Gospels and to the character of the authorities known from other sources. Perhaps his greatest achievement is his stunningly well-rounded and sympathetic portrayal of figures like Caiaphas and Pilate. This novel will certainly enrich, and quite possibly challenge, your understanding of the most critical week in human history.”
David A. deSilva, Trustees’ Distinguished Professor of New Testament and Greek at Ashland Theological Seminary, author of Day of Atonement: A Novel of the Maccabean Revolt
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Adam Winn (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is assistant professor at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor College of Christian Studies. He is the author of Reading Mark’s Christology Under Caesar and The Purpose of Mark’s Gospel and editor of An Introduction to Empire in the New Testament.
Please visit us at ivpress.com for more information about Adam Winn and a list of other titles they’ve published with InterVarsity Press.
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