Killing a Messiah

by Adam Winn

  His father greeted him with a kiss, then quickly called the meeting to order. “My thanks to you all for meeting with me tonight. As you know, the Passover is coming, and as usual, preparations cannot begin too soon. Discussion of priestly responsibilities during the days of preparation for the festival itself can wait. We have well-established practices and routines that we can review in the coming months. What is most pressing is the issue of keeping the peace throughout the week. Passover always raises concerns for the peace and stability of Jerusalem and the entire region of Judea. We try our best to focus the celebration on the faithfulness of God, our sacred traditions, and ways of life that resulted from Moses leading our people out of Egypt. But such efforts are often futile against the populist desire for deliverance from Roman power. Our brothers in the Pharisaic party continue to take the Passover celebration as an opportunity to remind people of prophets who promised a second deliverance from foreign oppression, and a time of the prosperous reign of a sovereign and fully restored Israel. Of course, they reject all violent opposition to Rome. But they fail to see the danger in their talk of Israel’s glorious future. Impostor prophets or zealous revolutionaries may water those seeds with thoughts of violent revolt.”

  Eleazar had heard this speech many times. While the priestly party, the Sadducees, were regularly at odds with the Pharisees on many other issues, they were both by and large opposed to violently resisting Roman power. But despite the Pharisees’ commitment to nonviolence, his father saw them as dangerous because of their talk of a glorious future for Israel—a future that implied the destruction of Rome. For Caiaphas, there was little difference between ideological resistance to Rome and physical resistance: the former would always be the fuel that fired the latter.

  The speech continued in its usual pattern: “Every Passover we must deal with a blind and foolish people who, at the slightest provocation, might be led to engage in hopeless violence, never considering the greater violence that would no doubt crush them. Thus, we must be eyes for the blind and help to protect them from themselves. We must do our best to promote this sacred celebration and to keep it pure from political unrest. As with every Passover, my deepest desire is for our people to forget about their perceived political plight and focus on their identity as God’s chosen people—people granted the gift of Torah, a divine covenant that shows them the way to walk before the God of creation. Walking in such a manner is the only way to reveal this God to our Roman overlords. This is what it means to live out the Torah’s call that all of Israel be a nation of priests. But of course, I am preaching to the righteous here! Tonight, we must discuss strategies for addressing any known threats of civil unrest and keeping the peace. No doubt the proverb is true that ‘plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed.’ What counsel might you, my most trusted advisors, provide?”

  The first to speak was Aaron, Caiaphas’s older brother: “Regarding impostor prophets, we certainly have some good news. The troublemaker John, styled as a prophet by the people, has finally met his just end. Last year at this time, he posed a serious threat. His call for people to receive forgiveness of their sins through some wilderness baptism challenged not only our priestly authority but also the authority of the temple itself. How could a true prophet of God undermine God’s very dwelling?”

  Ezra, Caiaphas’s cousin, interrupted: “While we doubted he had political ambitions, he certainly made Pilate nervous. His proclamation of the coming kingdom of God, along with the massive crowds that went out to him, had Pilate making preparations to send soldiers to arrest him and disband his followers.”

  Aaron continued, “Yes, and if that fanatic hadn’t gone back to Galilee to harass Herod Antipas, it is likely we would have had another violent outbreak on our hands. The arrest of a popular prophet is all the zealots need to whip the people into a frenzy and engage in armed resistance.”

  Though Eleazar’s father had a good relationship with Pilate, neither Aaron nor Ezra had forgiven his early mistakes. They were dubious of Caiaphas’s claim that the governor had indeed learned from his brash and reckless behavior. Any time they felt they saw evidence for their beliefs, they were quick to point it out.

  His father calmly interrupted, “Indeed, such risks were real, my brothers, but let us not detract from our esteemed governor. I acknowledge that in the past, he has too often reacted with haste rather than wisdom. And these violent reactions have had a negative impact on our cause for peace. But as you know, over the last several years, my relationship with the governor has grown quite strong. I have been given opportunities to educate him on the intricacies of our delicate situation here in Jerusalem and Judea. He is learning that wisdom, and dare I say, cunning, is needed to keep the peace. While John certainly made Pilate anxious, he was not as close to violent suppression of the prophet as you suppose—though he did consider it.”

  At this concession from Caiaphas, Ezra exchanged a smug look with Aaron. Caiaphas ignored it and continued.

  “But at my guidance, Pilate opted for a different strategy, namely, covert observation of the potential threat, along with various strategies for neutralizing the threat without the risk of violence. I convinced him that the clever use of spies can be quite helpful in these situations, as they can provide information regarding the true nature of a threat. A well-placed spy might even be able to redirect the potential threat in a more favorable direction. I can’t say with certainty why John moved to Galilee, but there is a rumor that a Roman spy within his inner circle was quite vocal about Herod’s unlawful marriage to Herodias, his sister in-law. Whether that spy was the reason John turned his attention to Galilee, who can say—but his attention was turned nonetheless, and our secured peace was the result.”

  He gave a knowing look to Aaron and Ezra, both of whom shook their heads to show they remained unconvinced. Persuading them that Pilate had become a capable ruler and trusted ally was a hard sell indeed.

  With a minor look of frustration, Caiaphas continued. “Thankfully, Herod has solved the problem of this fanatical prophet for us. As disgusting as his debauched life might be to us, we can occasionally rely on him to serve the cause of peace. Apparently, he is not happy that Pilate did not deal with John when he was in Judea. He suspects that Pilate somehow pushed the problem his way, making him the scapegoat for the prophet’s death. Thus, what was a strained relationship between the tetrarch of Galilee and our governor seems to have grown worse. Regardless, we will not have to worry about this so-called prophet causing a disturbance during the coming Passover.”

  Even Ezra and Aaron had to acknowledge this was true.

  JUDAH

  The bravado and confidence of Judah’s men emerged as they formulated a plan for how to deal with Lazarus’s new protection detail. Several thought grabbing three men wouldn’t be much more difficult than grabbing one. Simeon and Joseph were confident they could execute choke holds to incapacitate the men. Judah was far less confident. These men were big—bigger than anyone in their group. And they were likely assigned to their task because they had skill and experience at fighting—far more than any of Judah’s men. Much could go wrong in hand-to-hand combat, and victory was never certain. Such combat was also likely to draw attention.

  In the end, Judah’s argument for the bow won the day. Arrows involved far less risk and far less noise. Additionally, Judah felt that use of the bow created a sort of calling card for his group of freedom fighters, one that would strike fear and uncertainty in the hearts of any Roman or Roman sympathizer. Judah wanted all such people to know that in his city they were never safe, and deadly arrows could find them at any time.

  Though more complicated than simply grabbing a drunk man off the street late at night, the plan was quite simple. Six bowmen would eliminate the two guards. Three men would grab Lazarus and drag him to a vacant shop that sat close to the man’s route home. One would serve as a lookout and watch for possible problems.

  That evening, Lazarus entered the tavern
as usual, and his protection followed. Judah knew that he would be there for at least an hour, perhaps more. He departed and traveled three blocks to meet his men in the vacant shop where they would question Lazarus. They were all present when he arrived. Though it might have simply been Judah’s imagination, it seemed that to a man they seemed more confident than they had been prior to their attack on the Roman soldiers. Instead of wide-eyed anticipation, he saw resolute composure. This time there was no speech from Judah. It didn’t seem necessary. They all knew why they were there and what they had to do. They quickly rehearsed the plan and each man departed to his station.

  The hour passed slowly, but finally Lazarus exited the tavern. His inebriation was clear, but he didn’t seem to be as bad off as he was most nights. Taking it a bit easy tonight, are we? thought Judah. Not even a minute after the man had entered the street, his protection followed. As usual, they remained about twenty yards behind him. Lazarus never once took any notice of them. Judah followed at a distance. The streets were quiet and empty this late at night, just as Judah had anticipated. All was going as planned.

  Lazarus passed the first block. After he passed the second, the archers would take out his protection. Judah heard a low whistle, the signal from the lookout that Lazarus had passed the second block and was approaching the third. Judah heard the twang of bowstrings. Almost instantly three arrows hit one of the targets: two in the chest and one in the throat. He slumped to the ground without making a sound.

  They were not so lucky with the second target. One arrow missed him completely, one struck him in the shoulder, and one in the thigh. He cried out loudly in pain and fell to the ground. Hearing the cry, Lazarus spun around and froze as he saw one of his guards dying on the ground, and another stuck with arrows, trying to regain his feet. The surviving guard yelled, “Run!”

  Suddenly recognizing the danger he was in, Lazarus turned to run. As he did, Simeon and Joseph emerged from the alley and wrestled him to the ground as he yelled and fought for his life. In a tremendous show of strength and determination, the surviving guard got to his feet and was stumbling forward in order to protect Lazarus. With another volley of arrows, he was struck twice but continued to advance.

  Judah decided it was time to take matters into his own hands. He drew his dagger and sprinted toward the guard. An arrow whizzed above his head, making him alert to the danger of friendly fire, but he charged forward. He reached the guard, and with one move he grabbed the back of his head and plunged his dagger into the man’s neck. As warm blood sprayed over his hand, he felt the life drain from the man’s body and let it fall limp to the ground.

  He looked up and saw Simeon and Joseph struggling with Lazarus. Simeon had Lazarus in a choke hold and was trying to drag him into the alley, but he was still fighting wildly. Lights were starting to appear in surrounding houses, and Judah realized they need to get this man into the vacant shop before anyone started to investigate. He ran to help Joseph restrain Lazarus’s kicking feet. Together they subdued him and carried him down the alley and into the shop. There they bound and gagged him and tied him to a chair. Quickly sobered by the ambush, Lazarus looked at his captors with wide and panicked eyes. He clearly feared for his life, and Judah knew he would do anything to save it.

  ELEAZAR

  While all were thankful to be rid of the troublemaking prophet John, Ezra’s words quickly sobered the room. “I share in thanksgiving at the removal of John but remind you that these prophets are like cockroaches. As soon as you kill one, another appears. I am afraid such is our current plight. Since the death of John, a man named Jesus has become incredibly popular with the people. Many report that he heals the sick and drives out demons. I have even heard a story of him feeding a massive crowd of Galilean peasants through some sort of miraculous production of food. People are comparing him to the storied prophets Elijah and Elisha. From what I understand, he has limited his movements to the region of Galilee, and to this point has posed no threat to Jerusalem. My sources tell me that Herod is quite nervous about this Jesus and is watching him closely. But because Herod has already killed one popular prophet, he is reluctant to shed the blood of a second.”

  Eleazar had yet to speak, but the mention of the prophet Jesus triggered a memory. “I believe I have seen this Jesus before. The man I am thinking of was certainly a Galilean. It was a year or two ago, at a festival. Perhaps Purim? But from my memory he was nothing more than a self-appointed Torah expert who had gained a small following. He would teach in the outer courtyards of the temple or at a popular gathering place such as the pools of Bethesda—I think it was at the pools that I saw him. From what I heard, he seemed innocent enough, though the prophetic tradition strongly influenced his interpretation of Torah. He had much to say about the treatment of the poor, if I remember correctly, and he was haranguing some Pharisees about their meticulous tithing but failure to care for their own parents—or something of that nature.” A slight smile spread across Eleazar’s face as he remembered the incredulous look on one Pharisee’s face after this peasant-turned-teacher had accused him of violating the fifth commandment of the Decalogue.

  “Yes,” Caiaphas responded, “he has been in Jerusalem before, numerous times from what I understand, usually for festivals. And in all past visits, he has drawn relatively little attention to himself. Your description of him as a self-appointed teacher accurately describes his persona on his visits to Jerusalem—at best drawing small crowds, interpreting Torah for them through a prophetic lens, and squabbling with low-level Pharisees or scribes. I believe on one visit there was a rumor that he had healed a blind man, but it gained little attention, and many regarded it a stunt to grow his audience. But it seems in the last year, things have changed significantly. Ezra’s assessment is closer to the present reality, though I am afraid not close enough. While some indeed view this Jesus as a prophet, the rumor is quickly spreading that he is presenting himself as a messianic figure. He proclaims that the kingdom of God has drawn near or is indeed present in his own activity. Many now interpret his so-called powerful and miraculous deeds as signs that the long-awaited inbreaking of God has come, and that the glorious future of Israel is right around the corner. Apparently, this Galilean peasant is going to bring it about. Of all the damned foolish beliefs!” Caiaphas shook his head in disgust and frustration. “Apparently, he has even appointed twelve among his group of followers to be leaders, a symbolic restoration of the twelve tribes of Israel!”

  “What is the source of this information on the prophet Jesus?” asked Simeon, Caiaphas’s youngest and overly cautious brother. “We often hear odd rumors from Galilee that are without substantiation. You know how the imaginations of those uneducated villagers can run wild. Could it be that rumor and speculation have grown up around a simple peasant teacher, and that he remains no more than what was witnessed in Jerusalem on his previous visits?”

  “At first I wondered the same thing, Simeon, as the only information I heard about Jesus came second- or third-hand from Galileans visiting the city,” replied Caiaphas. “But as the rumors grew, I sent some of my informants to gather what news they could. I could not spare many, as most are involved in important duties here in the city. But I sent three to different parts of Galilee: one to Capernaum, which is supposedly the current home of this man; one to Sepphoris, by way of nearby Nazareth, which is presumably his place of origin; and lastly to Tiberias, the capital city. The latter two were largely unsuccessful, as it seems this Jesus never visits these large cities. Instead, he prefers to teach in the countryside around the lake of Galilee, only entering small villages.”

  At these words, Simeon raised his hands to the rest of the table, as if this information confirmed his suspicions about the uneducated villagers of Galilee. Eleazar gave his uncle an affirming nod.

  Ignoring the exchange, Caiaphas continued, “These informants would often hear rumors of where Jesus might be, but when they tried to find him at such locations, it turned out he had already moved
on. None of them saw Jesus, but they heard from virtually all of the local population exactly what I have reported to you. Many said they had seen Jesus, but stories about the nature of what he taught conflicted. Some said he presented himself as a powerful prophet, others as a humble teacher of Torah, and others as the deliverer of Israel.

  “However, the informant sent to Capernaum had better luck. He saw Jesus on one occasion and listened to him teach. He was charismatic, and the people were hanging on his every word. His preaching certainly focused on a coming kingdom of God, but much of what he said was in parables, making it hard to fully comprehend his meaning. The informant claimed he even witnessed Jesus exorcise a demon from a homeless villager, though little can be drawn from such testimony. The informant is a man given to believe in such absurdities.”

  Another look of vindication from Simeon, which Caiaphas again ignored as he continued.

  “He tried to follow Jesus, but he and his followers got into boats and sailed across the lake. After this, he never saw Jesus in Capernaum again. He questioned many in the city about him, and many there were convinced that Jesus was the indeed the Messiah whom God has raised up to deliver Israel. But others also reported that Jesus remained ambivalent about such an identity—neither explicitly discouraging nor encouraging such an identification.”