Archenemies of Jesus May Be the Best Witnesses
In-spite-of being archenemies of Jesus of Nazareth, Jewish leaders are some of the best witnesses to his birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection. Although they were often cited by the Gospels in a negative context, the flip side is they bore witness to events involving Jesus. As a consequence they inadvertently acknowledged that Jesus possessed many of the qualities of the Messiah as foretold in the prophecies.
One prophetic requirement undisputed by Judaism is the Messiah must be born in the lineage of King David. Among them, Branch prophecies by Isaiah, Jeremiah and Zachariah, concurred by some Rabbi sages, foretell that the Messiah would be born in the House of David.[1]
Neither Jewish leadership nor Judaism to this day challenge that Jesus was born in the royal lineage of the House of David. A factor rarely considered is that Joseph and Mary, who was almost 9 months pregnant, willingly traveled about 90-miles to Bethlehem at the behest of a decree by Caesar Augustus. It demonstrates common knowledge in the Jewish community with a strong influences by Rabbi’s that Mary’s baby was in the lineage of King David…or else the couple would not have made the trek to Bethlehem.[2]
According to Jewish Law, a month after the birth of a first-born son he was to be redeemed at the Temple, known as the Redemption of the First-born ceremony.[3] One of its purposes was to affirm the right of inheritance of the firstborn. The process involved a priest of the Temple after payment of a nominal price.[4]
Customary practice of the Jews was for the father to pronounce a blessing on his son at the ceremony to be followed by a feast. A Jewish priest attended the feast and had a dialog with the father to make an impression upon the attendees.
All four Gospels contain accounts of Jewish religious leaders wanting retribution for Jesus when he performed miracles on a Sabbath. To level the accusations, the Jewish leadership first had to acknowledge miracles had occurred in order to criticize the activity.
One Sabbath, Jesus healed a man with a withered hand in a synagogue, a place of prayer and worship headed by a Rabbi.[5] The Pharisees didn’t like that he had performed a miracle on a Sabbath and reacted by plotting against Jesus.[6]
Again in a synagogue on a Sabbath, Jesus saw a woman who had not been able to straighten up for 18 years.[7] When Jesus instantly healed her infirmity, the leader of the synagogue and other critics became indignant, but the crowd’s rejoicing humiliated them compelling them to take no action.[8]
Near the Sheep’s Gate at the Pool of Bethzatha on a Sabbath, Jesus saw a man who had been disabled for 38 years. Jesus simply commanded the man to get up, grab his mat, and walk away which the man did immediately.
Jewish leaders accused the healed man of carrying his mat on a Sabbath in violation of the Law. The man pointed out that the person who healed him told him to do it. Jewish leaders then accused Jesus for working on the Sabbath.[9]
Passing by on another Sabbath, Jesus noticed a man who had been blind since birth. Jesus smeared mud on the man’s eyes and had him wash it off in the pool of Siloam. The man was then able to see for the first time in his life.
Doggedly the Pharisees questioned the man, then his parents who confirmed his blindness since birth. Questioning the healed man again, he replied by saying that he had already answered the questions, but they obviously didn’t listen. The Pharisees then heaped insults on the man accusing him of not knowing where such a man, Jesus, came from. The man’s response:
JN 9:30-33 “Why, this is a marvelous thing, that you do not know where He is from; yet He has opened my eyes! We know that God does not hear sinners; but if anyone is God-fearing and does His will, He hears him. Since the beginning of time it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of a person born blind. If this man were not from God, He could do nothing.”NASB
Now infuriated, the Pharisees accused the man of being a sinner who had no place to lecture them. They were so upset, they threw him out of the place where they were questioning him.[10]
During a very raucous day Jairus, a synagogue leader, begged Jesus to heal his 12-year old daughter who was dying. Before Jesus could reach his house, friends arrived informing them that the daughter of Jairus had died. Jesus still went to Jairus’ house where he encountered people who were loudly crying and wailing.
Asking everyone to leave excepting Jairus, his wife and some followers, Jesus went into the room and said, “Talitha koum,” get up and walk. The girl immediately stood up and walked around the room astonishing those who were present.11]
Bethany was the town where Lazarus lived, died and was buried. Arriving four days after Lazarus died, Jesus raised him from the tomb where he was laid to rest.[12] When the Pharisees heard of what had happened and fearing the Romans if the people followed Jesus, they called a council meeting with the chief priests to devise a plan to deal with him. High Priest Caiaphas was at the meeting and proposed that Jesus as one man be killed for the entire nation prompting them to make plans accordingly.[13]
Judaism agrees with the Gospels in that Jesus was executed by crucifixion.[14] Just the opposite of the Gospels is the assertion by Judaism that crucifixion is the reason why Jesus could not be the Messiah:[15]
“The very form of his punishment would disprove those claims in Jewish eyes. No Messiah that Jews could recognize could suffer such a death…” (Deut. xxi. 23), ‘an insult to God’ (Targum, Rashi).” – JewishEnclopedia.com
After the crucifixion of Jesus, Chief priests and the Pharisees approached Rome’s jurisdictional authority of Judea, Pilate, acknowledging Jesus was dead and buried in a tomb, after all he was buried by two members of their own Jewish Council.[16] The Jewish leaders then requested Pilate to secure the tomb to prevent the body from being stolen.
As a consequence of their testimony, the tomb was sealed and guarded by a Roman-Jewish contingent called a koustodia. The security was breached supernaturally only from inside the tomb, the scenario terrified everyone who witnessed it and they ran away.
According to Matthew, the Jewish Council responded to the report by some of the koustodia that the tomb security was breached and the tomb was now empty. The guards were worried about being punished for dereliction of duty; however, the Jewish Council paid the guards money and promised to take care of Pilate if it became an issue.[17]
Do the acknowledgments by various Jewish leaders to the birth, life, crucifixion and resurrection strengthen the Gospels?
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REFERENCES:
[1] Isaiah 11:1-2; Jerimiah 23:5, 33:15, Zechariah 3.8, 6:12-13. Maimonides, “Letter to the South (Yemen)”. p374. Neubauer, Adolf, and Driver, Samuel Rolles. The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters. <https://books.google.com/books?id=YxdbAAAAQAAJ&pg=PP1&hl=en#v=onepage&q=advent&f=false> Crispin, Moshe Kohen ibn. “Sefer ha-Musar.” Neubauer, Driver, et. al. The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters. pp 99-101. Marlowe, Michael. Editions of the Hebrew Text of the Bible. Bible Research. “The Incunabula.” 2012. <http://www.bible-researcher.com/hebrew-editions.html> Rosenau, William. Jewish Biblical Commentators. pp 87-91 n.d. <http://www.archive.org/stream/jewishbiblicalco00rose/jewishbiblicalco00rose_djvu.txt> The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters. pp 99-100. Niles, Randall. DrivethruHistory.com. “Caiaphas the High Priest.” 2017. Image. https://i0.wp.com/www.drivethruhistory.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/caiphas-the-high-priest.png?ssl=1> Last accessed 23 Mar. 2023.
[2] Nehemiah 12:23. Josephus, Flavius. The Life of Flavius Josephus. Trans. and Commentary. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. #1, footnote t. n.d. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> Maimon, Moshe ben (Maimonides). “Melachim uMilchamot.” Chabad.org. Chapter 11, #4. <https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/1188356/jewish/Melachim-uMilchamot-Chapter-11.htm> Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Isidore Epstein based on the Wilna Romm Edition. Sanhedrin Chapter VI, Folio 43a. 1935-1948. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/talmud/index.html> Shachter, J. and Freedman, H. “Sanhedrin.” Soncino Babylonian Talmud. “Introduction.” Greenberg, Eric J. “Jesus’ Death Now Debated by Jews.” Jewish Journal. 2003. Reprinted from The Jewish Week. <http://jewishjournal.com/news/world/8546>
[3] Luke 2:21-24.
[4] Exodus 18:25-26; Deuteronomy 1:15-17, 16:18-20; Leviticus 12:6-7; Numbers 18:15-16; Matthew 12:9; Mark 11:18; Luke 6:6-11; John 11:46-48. CR Exodus 13:2; Numbers 3:46-49, Deuteronomy 21:17. Edersheim, Alfred. The Temple – Its Ministry and Service. 1826 -1889. “The Offering for the First-born.” <https://www.ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/temple/temple.xx.html#fna_xx-p4.1> “First-born, Redemption of.” Jewish Encyclopedia. <https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/6138-first-born-redemption-of> “First Born, Redemption of.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. Sanhedrin 49b. Soncino Babylonian Talmud. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_49.html> “Chief Priests.” Encyclopedia.com. 2019. <https://www.encyclopedia.com/religion/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/chief-priests>
[5] John 12:42-43. “What Is a Synagogue?” Chabad.org. n.d. <https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/365930/jewish/What-Is-a-Synagogue.htm>
[6] Matthew 12:9-14; Mark 3:1-6; Luke 6:6-11.
[7] “Kyphosis.” Mayo Clinic. n.d. <https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/kyphosis/symptoms-causes/syc-20374205> “What Causes a Hunchback (Kyphosis)? Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Treatment Tips.” Doctors Health Press. 2017. < https://www.doctorshealthpress.com/causes-symptoms-hunchback-kyphosis-treatment-tips/>
[8] Luke 13:10-17.
[9] John 5:3-18.
[10] John 9:1-34.
[11] Mark 5:21-43.
[12] John 11:38-44.
[13] John 11:46-53.
[14] Melachim uMilchamot.” Chabad.org. n.d. Chapter 11.4.
[15] Tacitus, Gaius Cornelius. The Annals. 109 AD. Trans. Alfred John Church and William Jackson Brodribb. Internet Classic Archive. 2009. Book XV. <http://classics.mit.edu/Tacitus/annals.html> Suetonius (C. Suetonius Tranquillus or C. Tranquillus Suetonius). The Lives of the Twelve Caesars. Book VI “Nero.” #16. University of Chicago|Bill Thayer. <http://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Suetonius/12Caesars/home.html> Lucian of Samosata. “The Death of Peregrine.” The Works of Lucian of Samosata. Volume IV. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/luc/wl4/wAXl420.htm> “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/8616-jesus-of-nazareth> “God Cannot die!” TorahOfMessiah.com. 2012. <https://web.archive.org/web/20140331233206/http://www.torahofmessiah.com/godcantdie.html> Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Epstein, Isidor. “Introduction to the Seder Nezikin.” Sanhedrin Chapter VI, Folio 43a. Shachter & Freedman. “Introduction to Sanhedrin.” Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Greenberg, Eric J. “Jesus’ Death Now Debated by Jews.” Jewish Journal. 2003. Reprinted from The Jewish Week. <http://jewishjournal.com/news/world/8546>
[16] Matthew 27:57, Mark 15:43, Luke 23:50-52, John 19:38. Mark 15:43. Net.Bible.org. Footnote #1. <http://classic.net.bible.org/verse.php?book=Mar&chapter=15&verse=43#> Luke 23:50. Net.Bible.org. Footnote #2. <http://classic.net.bible.org/verse.php?book=Luk&chapter=23&verse=50>
[17] Matthew 28: 11-15.
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