No one on the Council could have anticipated that Caiaphas would utilize references to tradition as it related to matters not specifically covered in the Torah. This meant that he could argue by extension, something the Sadducees loathed doing. The tactic would appeal to the legalistic thinking of the Pharisees and thus allow him to argue that there was in fact legislation covering his behavior, an argument arising from analogy or inference.
This line of reasoning would give a much broader scope to the High Priest’s already extensive reach of power. Doras, like the other members of the Council, had clearly been caught by surprise. Such a frontal attack, coming from one so thoroughly entrenched in the aristocratic concept of the social and religious hierarchy, meant that Doras would have to revise his own plan of attack.
The High Priest continued as if he had said nothing unusual, ignoring the questions forming on the lips of his surprised audience. “First and foremost we believe in one living and true God. Our God never changes. Not only is He beyond our comprehension, but also He, with one exception, is indescribable and unnamable. That exception, of course, is that it pleases Him to allow us to define our relationship to Him in our daily communication with Him in terms of His several names, according to His relationship to us. These are found nowhere except within His Holy Temple—the Ark of the Covenant. And no one may approach Him in this earthly place of strength and power, save those who have been sanctified according to the Law.
“Each of the several names He gives us is a complete element of His divine presence unto itself, and the combined grouping presents us with the majesty of the Hebrew God, Elohim.”
“Eloi means ‘mighty in strength.’ He accomplishes the most difficult of tasks with the same ease He does the least. Elaah signifies eternal existence; He has no beginning, and no end—He simply is. Hhelejon demonstrates His unchangeable character; His will is perfect and therefore no contradiction exists with His purpose. Jah is knowledge that understands without being understandable. Adonai stands for His sovereignty—His supreme rulership exercised as a prerogative rather than being an attribute.”
“Individually and together they are JEHOVAH. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the Hebrew God.
“My point in reciting what is well known to all of you is threefold. First, God spoke to the Father of our nation, Abraham, and made covenant with him that all who are circumcised by the cutting of the foreskin and the shedding of blood shall be saved. We do not merely view the act of circumcision as ritualistic. Each act of cutting binds us to our God. Circumcision is the seal of our covenant.
“If this is false, then God has violated Himself by annulling the contract. The Nazarene taught that baptism, and not circumcision, is the seal of God, and that all, regardless of their lack of physical circumcision, could receive the blessings of Abraham. He even went so far as to associate with the unclean—the lepers, the prostitutes, the poor and wretched souls—that segment of humanity who do not fast and who pay no tithes in support of the Temple and the priesthood.
“It is no wonder that His teaching appealed to their unsanctified flesh. His teaching led them to believe that every man could be his own priest, worshiping as he chooses.
“There is further evidence that His teachings appealed to the very weaknesses of human nature which our strict adherence to religious custom seeks to overcome. Though He preached for less than three years, He had more followers at his death than Abraham has today. Indeed, had it not been for the Roman soldiers keeping the multitude contained on the day of His execution, we very likely would have had a bloodbath to contend with.”
There were nods of agreement and grunts of assent from the audience. However, Caiaphas noted with satisfaction that Doras was growing increasingly agitated.
“Second, according to the book of Leviticus, God told Moses that we should offer the bullock, the ram, the oil, and flour after having fasted seven days in order that the sins of the people would be atoned. Every year, in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, the High Priest must select two unblemished goats, one for the Lord and one for Azazel, the scapegoat. After casting lots upon the goats, the one for the Lord is to be offered up to Him for a sin offering, the blood taken within the holy Tabernacle and sprinkled upon the mercy seat.
“The goat upon which the lot falls to be the scapegoat must be presented to the Lord. The High Priest must lay both hands upon the head of the live goat confessing over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their transgressions, putting them on the goat. Then he sends the goat into the wilderness.”
Now Caiaphas looked straight at Doras and smiled confidently. His next words were chosen with the care a sicari chooses a dagger.
“Either Moses was deceived, and being thus, deceived us, or Jesus of Nazareth was a false teacher. He taught that repentance of sin is sufficient restitution for the commission of sin. Were this the case a man could sin as he wished. Remorse for his crimes would be sufficient restitution unto the offended party. This teaching contradicts the mode of making atonement as ordained by God and revealed by Moses.”
He gradually raised his voice as he spoke. The deep, bass resonance of echoed off the polished marble walls of the hall. He raised his right hand dramatically. His palm faced the Council and his index finger pointed to the heavens, as if it were an adder poised to strike. At the same time, he moved his great bulk to and fro, gliding almost hypnotically over the dulled luster of the dust-covered, pinkish-white marble floor.
“Who was this man?” he asked deprecatingly, his molten, ebony eyes seeking out dissent in his audience. “Who was He that He should so perniciously refute fourteen hundred years of tradition?”
The stillness of the hall was marred only by the raspy breathing of old men seeking to fill burning lungs with much needed oxygen, as quietly as possible, lest the High Priest turn his attention to them.
Abruptly, Caiaphas turned his back on the Council and facing Annas, addressed his last point to his father-in-law. “Thirdly, Jesus claimed that He was almah, born of a virgin, and that He and His Father were one—that is, that they were one in the same. That being so, where is He today? Why doesn’t He stand before us and repudiate all that I have said?”
He paused dramatically for effect, turned to stare at the semi-circle of faces once again, and answered, “Because, my learned brethren, He is dead! His body was hung from a cross so that all might witness the payment for blasphemy. As it is written: ‘Cursed is he who hangs upon the tree.’
“The Galilean was no more the Son of God than you or I—perhaps less, considering all his heresies. Indeed, if he were what he claimed to be, then why were his teachings not of God? If His teachings were true, then God’s must be wrong. At the very least, absent are those perfections in Him that are evidenced by the names that comprise the holy name of JEHOVAH.
“Had we allowed the man to continue teaching his falsehoods, we would have, in effect, been saying to the Romans—indeed to all the world—that the Hebrew God is without any power but that which his subjects allow him to exercise.
“We would render Him incapable of the perfection that is worthy of our honor and obedience, demonstrating to the world that we are not a people to be taken seriously. In effect, we say to the world: ‘Our religion has no authority behind it, or power in it.’”
Here he sighed heavily, as if purging himself of a terrible burden. “It would not have been long before our nation’s bulwark against the rampant moral pollution infecting the world would have deteriorated into nothingness. We would be left unprotected against the madness and decadence of the heathen population engulfing us. More importantly, not only would the way to heaven be blocked off for all Jews, but we would also be cut off from the very God who has delivered us from our captivity in the past. Who then, would deliver us from our present enslavement?
“Had we followed the teachings of Jesus, we would be required to love our enemies and accept the domination of our people.” Caiaphas became incredulo
us. “Is it not enough that we are required against our will to support their wretched conquest and enslavement of the world with the taxes we give like blood to Caesar? The man would have had us believe it matters not who rules or governs, saying that it is better to convert the Romans than have them as enemies. It would not be hard to imagine His being an agent of the Romans, employed to keep the Jews in submission to their tyrannical rule, were it not that the Romans, too, feared His seditious behavior.
“Most assuredly, you men of the priesthood must realize that the more divided we become, the more the Romans see an excuse to slaughter us and confiscate our property and possessions. If we become cut off from our God, so too are our forefathers—who obeyed God in all His ordinances, who had faith in His promises, and praised the triumphs of holy living for more than three hundred and fifty generations—are cutoff.”
Caiaphas paused. The hall was silent, but he was not quite finished with his audience. “I give you one final thought to ponder. What will become of our children. . .and our children’s children. . .and their children, if we do not keep the hedge in good repair?”
At the far back corner of the hall, deep in the shadows, a pair of gray-blue eyes watched the proceedings in fascination. No one in the huge room had seen him. He willed the shadows to wrap themselves about him and held his breath. He had come too far to steal away now. No, he must watch the drama below him play out, knowing full well that if he was caught, he would die on the spot.
CHAPTER NINE
Doras looked around the Great Hall.
The Council had steadily warmed up to the High Priest’s presentation.
If he were going to maintain the support of those he had so meticulously courted these past few weeks, he would have to act soon and with decisiveness. He was walking a taut rope. If he were going to defeat Caiaphas, and block Annas from filling the void left by his son-in-law’s demise, he would have to be every bit as strong as David and act with the wisdom of Solomon. Otherwise, he might end up just like Saul—a crazed madman, bereft of power, dignity, and his God.
When one risks as much as I am risking, it is wise to wait for the perfect moment to strike, he thought smugly. After all, David slew Goliath with but one stone. As he concentrated on what Caiaphas was saying, his eyes narrowed with cunning.
“Perhaps the greatest insult Jesus indulged in was his attack upon the holy Temple of God,” said the High Priest pointedly, following up his earlier train of thought. “He ignored the holy Temple as a place of worship, and even went so far as to accuse the priests, who diligently serve God on a daily basis, of being a ‘den of thieves.’”
There were rumblings of assent from the audience.
“Is there a man here today who doesn’t believe that the holy Temple was built under the direction of God himself? I think not. We in the priesthood understand all too well that the house of God is a place of refuge—a haven where men can hide from the turbulence of persecution and sin. All men may come and be blessed, clothe their naked souls, feed their hungry bodies, and learn the wisdom of Almighty God.”
“In short, my brothers, the holy Temple is the focus of our entire relationship with our God. It is the cement that binds Jews together. It is the grandest of all the grand gifts from our Father. Yet, the Nazarene scoffed at the Temple. And with a pettiness common to those who would seek to usurp rightful authority to gain favor for their own personal beliefs and doctrines, He insisted that the Temple would be destroyed—almost as if He would be glad to see such an occurrence and raised up by Himself in three days.”
Caiaphas smiled. The looks he saw on the faces before him made it clear that he had not lost his skills of persuasion. I am like the great Leviathan of the ocean, he thought. I have no fear of my enemies; they are impotent against me.
His moment of private, prideful exaltation was cut short, however, as the memory of his dream intruded into his thoughts. Suddenly his mouth was as dry as the sand of the Negev. In the space of a heartbeat, it was as if a blistering summer wind swept through his spirit, like a Syrian sirocco sweeping in off the desert, scalding his soul.
He gasped as a quiet, firm Voice inside him said, “Remember Job. . .and be not deceived.” He scrutinized the faces staring at him expectantly and realized that no one but himself had heard the rebuke. Flustered, he gathered the bulk of his priestly apparel about him, like a shepherd gathering together his flock, and regained his composure.
Until this moment he had directed his statements to the Council in general. Now, it was time to reach down deep into the hearts of the Pharisees and, like Gideon, strike a decisive and conclusive blow in the heart of the enemy camp where Doras had found succor and encouragement.
The Pharisees, being primarily merchants and tradesmen in the business community, had no formal education in the interpretation of the Scripture. They relied heavily upon professional scholars, the scribes, for their information regarding legal tradition. This led to an attitude of excessive rigidity and intolerance especially where the practical application of the Law was concerned. To the Pharisees, the orthodoxy of the Sadducees was a cumbersome weight inhibiting spiritual growth. Consequently, the emphasis of their teaching was the ethical rather than the theological aspects of the Scriptures.
He intended to pluck at that ethical cord by appealing to that side of their personalities which led them to champion human equality. At the same time he intended to portray Jesus as a man who would have eliminated their oral tradition—destroying the “hedge” against unbelief—and as one who viewed them as “vipers,” unfit for salvation.
“Who among you would deny the fact that should the Temple be removed or forsaken by the Jews our nation would be destroyed utterly, disappearing in the blink of an historical eye?” he asked as he lifted both arms and spread them wide. The resplendent colors of his robe shimmered in the subdued, dusty light of the hall.
Annas’ eyes darted back and forth between Simon, Caiaphas, and Doras.
Caiaphas saw the looks and realized that his father-in-law was fascinated by his unorthodox approach. Even though Annas’ face remained stolid, his mind was no doubt racing as he tried to unravel the mystery his son-in-law had set before the Council.
“We have endured hardship and slavery our entire lives,” continued Caiaphas, “but we have never been alone, without God as our guide. I ask you, if there were no Temple, what then of the priesthood? How would our people know that which is right in the sight of God? It is only our religious tradition that separates us from the idolatrous worship of the unrighteous.
“Is there one among you who would advocate returning to the idolatry of the time of Noah? No, I think not,” he answered and shook his head balefully, inwardly, congratulating himself. As a silkworm weaves silk from ingesting dead and decaying mulberry leaves, he too had constructed his own silken net of rhetoric from the mulch of information he had gathered on the Galilean. And now it was time to draw tight his finely woven web of logic and reason around the minds and hearts of the Council.
“Before I conclude, I offer one final point. Scripture tells us that there can be but one God. The Nazarene’s contention that He, too, was God, that He was the Son of the Most High God, not only is incompatible with reason, but with our religion as well. God’s Holy Word tells us unequivocally that He is the One Living God: ‘I am the Lord your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. . .The Lord your God is one God; there can be no other.’”
“Whenever Israel has turned away from her God, the people have suffered. As long as we have kept His commandments and have not given ourselves over to idolatrous worship, we have not succumbed to the pollutions of the world. God, through the mouth of Moses and now, I might humbly add, through my mouth as High Priest, has warned us what would happen if we did not abide under the protection of the Law: utter desolation. Who among you would deny that the history of our people has borne witness to the words that Moses spoke so long ago?”
Silence fil
led the great hall, punctuating his point.
“In summary, let me remind you that as priest of the Most High God I am charged by God Himself with the upholding of the holy ordinances of our blessed religion. God gave the Law to us that Israel might secure salvation and escape the penalty of spiritual death reserved for those who forsake Him, the One who created all. I could not stand by idly while an imposter sought to pervert all that is good, pure, and righteous before God, having only the authority of John the Baptist, who himself could give no authority, save the One who sent him to baptize.
“It was I who stood between our God and our people, being made responsible for the protection of our blessed doctrines and the preservation of our government. If I have erred, it is for God to judge. Not man. If Jesus was who He claimed to be, then I accomplished God’s holy purpose and cannot be held accountable for His death.”
The recitation was finished. The meeting had been called to order in mid-afternoon, but by now the sun had set and candles had been lit in the great hall by the scribes in order that they might continue recording all that transpired. Three of these specially educated men were present. One was seated on the right of where Caiaphas had positioned himself, and it was his responsibility to record the arguments upon which acquittal was grounded, as well as those judges who voted for the same. On the left sat the scribe who was responsible for recording those arguments in favor of condemnation and the judges who supported such a position. The third scribe sat in the center of the hall, keeping an account of the entire proceeding, with his record serving as a check and balance for the other two. In case of dispute or a contention of error, his record overrode the independent records of the other two.
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