Mishnah blasphemy

Paradox of the Trial

Possibly the greatest paradox in history occurred when Jesus of Nazareth was tried for the offense of blasphemy under God’s Law. The open question is whether or not Jesus was telling the truth…

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, a definition of “paradox” is “a statement or situation that may be true but seems impossible or difficult to understand because it contains two opposite facts or characteristics.”^[1]

Blasphemy is defined in God’s Law in Leviticus where the consequences of being guilty of the offense was the death penalty.^[2] Jewish sages in a Talmud Mishna and Gemara written during the era of Jesus expounded that blasphemy is uttering the name of God and also may include cursing, piercing or incorrectly blessing His name.^[3]

Once Jesus said “the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”^[4] On another occasion, Jesus said “…unless you believe that I AM, you’ll die in your sins.”^[5] Practically every Hebrew knew that “I AM” is another name for God.

At the height of the trial, High Priest Caiaphas asked Jesus very specifically, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?” Under oath Jesus answered, “I AM.”^[6] Caiaphas immediately recognized the answer of Jesus and declared it to be blasphemy.

No doubt, Jesus believed and said he is the Son of God. As a result, Jesus of Nazareth was charged with blasphemy and found guilty by the Jewish leadership.

Previously, Jesus challenged people who didn’t believe he is the Son of God should, instead, believe in the miraculous deeds he performed. Nicodemus was one of those people who believed first in the miracles that Jesus performed.^[7] The miracles; however, didn’t seem to matter to those judging Jesus.

Undercurrents of the aberrant trial were hugely significant. Promises made at Mt. Sinai two thousand years earlier had implications to the location and timing of the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. Those prophetic promises and their fulfillment laid the ironic groundwork for a paradox.^[8]

Scroll back even farther to the book of Genesis during the time when Abraham had moved to a new land after leaving the Ur of the Chaldees with his father and family.^[9] In that new land, Mt. Moriah became the place where Abraham took his miraculously born son, Isaac, to be sacrificed to God, then saved at the last moment.^[10]

Centuries later, the Hebrews escaped the slavery of Egypt and arrived at Mt. Sinai where God handed down the Law to Moses. God also made promises about the place He had chosen for their future home. The place included Mt. Moriah.^[11]

In the promised land of Abraham, a city called Salem had been already built. In the process of conquering enemies in the land of Abraham, Salem was overtaken by Israel’s army and came to be known as Jerusalem encompassing Mt. Moriah.

God promised a kingdom in the land of Abraham. It was established under King David and became the kingdom of Israel.

Another of those promises by God at the place was to provide “the permanent place for His Name to dwell.”^[12] In a most unusual twist, King David offered an atonement sacrifice for a grave lack of faith in God. The location of the sacrifice happened to be a threshing floor on Mt. Moriah.

Fire came down from Heaven to burn the atonement sacrifice. King David was so moved by the circumstances surrounding the sacrifice, he chose that spot to be the location for the Temple, “the permanent place for His Name to dwell.”^[13]

Matthew and Luke record that Jesus was in the Temple when he referred to Isaiah 56:7 saying “My House will be called a house of prayer.”^[14] Jesus claimed the Temple as his house, the place where God’s name dwells, a statement with implications to the blasphemy trial.

God promised at Mt. Sinai that the most complicated cases in the land were to be litigated in the place He chose. Jerusalem became the place, the Judgement Seat of Israel.^[15] Jesus was judged in that city by the Jewish leaders of the Sanhedrin.^[16]

Sanhedrin, among other responsibilities, served as the supreme court of Israel. Sanhedrin membership consisted of priests, including the High Priest, and members of influential families.^[17]

Priests of God themselves were charged with standing before God to serve as judges to honor and preserve the Law.^[18] Indeed, even the High Priest Caiaphas was among those who judged Jesus in the Temple, the House where God’s Name dwells.^[19]

Passover, since the deliverance from the 10^th plague in Egypt, is stipulated by God to occur at an appointed time, Nisan (Abib) 15^th. The observance date was codified in the Law at Mt. Sinai and God promised to provide the place to observe the Passover at its appointed time.^[20] The Temple in Jerusalem became the only place to offer the Passover sacrifices.^[21]

If Jesus is the Son of God, the trial and crucifixion became the ultimate, multifaceted paradox. Jesus was judged at God’s appointed time for the Passover; he was tried in God’s chosen Judgement Seat of Israel in God’s chosen holy city of Jerusalem; in the Temple where God’s name is to dwell; and the judges of the trial included God’s own top-level priests in defense of God’s own Law.^[22]

Was the trial of Jesus a paradox – was Jesus the Son of God or a heretic?

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

REFERENCES:

[1] “paradox.” Cambridge Dictionary. 2023. <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/paradox> “The Paradox.” YouTube.com. image. 2015. <https://i.ytimg.com/vi/hRCedoRPyyo/maxresdefault.jpg>
[2] Exodus 22:28; Leviticus 24:15-16.
[3] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Isidore Epstein. Sanhedrin 55b-56a. <https://israelect.com/Come-and-Hear/sanhedrin/sanhedrin_55.html>
[4] John 10:38.
[5] John 8:24. ISV.
[6] Mark 14:61. ISV, NLT, NRSV. CR Matthew 9:6, 26.64; Mark 2:10-11, 8:31, 14.62; Luke 5:24, 9:22, 22:69.
[7] John 3:1-2.
[8] “irony.” Cambridge Dictionary. 2023. <https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/irony>
[9] Genesis 11:31.
[10] Genesis 22:1.
[11] II Chronicles 3:1; II Samuel 5:6-11. Josephus. Antiquities. Book VII, Chapter III. Ryrie Study Bible. Ed. Ryrie Charles C. “Laws relating to conquests” ref. Ex. 23:20-33.
[12] Exodus 23; 29:43-46; 33; Deuteronomy 12:11-14, 16: 11,18-20, 17:8-10; Numbers 34:1-15; I Chronicles 17:3-10. CR Exodus 30:36, 40:2-11, 34-38; Leviticus 16:2; II Samuel 7:12-13.
[13] Deuteronomy 16:1,6. I Chronicles 21:18-26. CR Exodus 12:14-15; Leviticus 23:4-8. CR Deuteronomy 16:1-8; II Chronicles 8:12-14, chapter 29, 35:1-6.
[14] Matthew 21:13; Luke 19:46.
[15] Deuteronomy 17:8. CR Exodus 19:6.
[16] Ariel, Yisrael. “The Chamber of the Hewn Stone.” The Temple Institute. 2019. <https://www.templeinstitute.org/illustrated/hewn_stone_description.htm> Ariel. “Blueprints for the Holy Temple.” <http://www.templeinstitute.org/blueprints-for-the-holy-temple.htm>
[17] “Sanhedrin.” JewishEncyclopedia.com. 2011. <https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13178-sanhedrin>
[18] Leviticus 19:15-18; Deuteronomy 1:16-17, 17:8-13, 19:15-21, 25:1. CR Exodus 18; 28:1; Numbers 8:14, Deuteronomy 16:18-19, 18:1-6, 21:5; II Chronicles 8:14; 19:8-11; Nehemiah 11:10-18. “Priest.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011.. <https://jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/12358-priest>
[19] “Sanhedrin.” JewishEncyclopedia.com. 2007. <https://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/13178-sanhedrin> Schoenberg, Shira. JewishVirtualLibrary.org. “Ancient Jewish History: The Sanhedrin.” n.d. <https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-sanhedrin> Shurpin, Yehuda. Chadad.org. “The Sanhedrin: The Jewish Court System.” n.d. <https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/4100306/jewish/The-Sanhedrin-The-Jewish-Court-System.htm>
[20] Exodus 12:14-15; Leviticus 23:4-8. CR Deuteronomy 16:1-8.
[21] Deuteronomy 16:1-6. II Chronicles chapters 8, 29, 34-35:19; Ezra 6:16-22. CR Leviticus 23:4-6; Numbers 9:2, 28:16-17. Edersheim, Alfred. The Temple – Its Ministry and Services. 1826 -1889. <https://ccel.org/ccel/edersheim/temple/temple.i.html> Coulter, Fred R. cbcg.org. The Christian Passover. “Chapters 12-13, Part 1. n.d. <https://www.cbcg.org/booklets/the-christian-passover/chapter-twelve-when-and-why-the-temple-sacrifice-of-the-passover-was-instituted-part-one.html>
[22] Exodus 26:31-37. Deuteronomy 12:11-14, 16:18-20; 17:8-10; 18:1-8, 19:15-18.

Blasphemy or the Truth – “I AM”?

High Priest Caiaphas asked Jesus of Nazareth a direct question, “’Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?’ Under oath, Jesus answered ‘I Am.’”^[1] To Caiaphas and other Jewish leaders, it was self-incriminating prima facie evidence – standalone proof – of blasphemy, a capital offense punishable by stoning:

^{LV 24:16} “Moreover, the one who blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death; all the congregation shall certainly stone him. The alien as well as the native, when he blasphemes the Name, shall be put to death.” _(NASB)

In the Biblical backdrop, the son of an Egyptian father and Israelite mother had been apprehended for the offense of blasphemy. In the first and only documented judgement for blasphemy in the Old Testament, the Tanakh, the son was judged by God Himself through Moses:

^{LV 24:13-15} Then the LORD said to Moses: “Take the blasphemer outside the camp. All those who heard him are to lay their hands on his head, and the entire assembly is to stone him.

^{LV 24:23} “… and they took the blasphemer outside the camp and stoned him. The Israelites did as the LORD commanded Moses. _(NIV)

What exactly constituted the act of blasphemy? It was not until centuries later that the legal question was addressed in the Babylonian Talmud.

MISHNAH: “The blasphemer is punished only if he utters the [The Divine] Name.”_{(Soncino Talmud)}^[2]

Jewish Rabbi sages discussed the act of blasphemy in a Gemara. According to the Talmud, the illicit act could also include cursing, piercing or incorrectly blessing His Name.^[3]

Special rules in a blasphemy trial prohibited witnesses from quoting the blasphemy; instead, the court was to use the substitute name of “Jose.”^[4] Only one witness was allowed to quote the blasphemy and all others were to simply say if they agreed with what they heard. In the case of Jesus, it wasn’t necessary.

Upon hearing a blasphemy, judges were to rend their garments, a Jewish sign of displaying heart-rending anguish or mourning.^[5] It was exactly the reaction of Caiaphas when he heard Jesus answer “I Am” in response to his question asking if he is the Messiah.

Great Hebrew significance of “I AM” goes all the way back to Moses and the unconsumed, burning bush. Curiosity had drawn Moses closer to the bush when a Voice called him by name. Moses asked who was speaking and the Voice responded:

^{EX 3:6} “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” _{(The Complete Jewish Bible, NASB)}

The Voice identified Himself as “God,” translated from ‘elohiym, the Hebrew plural masculine word meaning “God, divine ones, rulers, judges.”^[6] (Translators added the preceding “I am” only as a clarifying literary aide.)

Commanded to return to Egypt and confront Pharaoh, Moses asked what he should say if anyone asked who sent him? Resoundingly, the booming Voice declared:

^{EX 3:14-15} “I AM WHO I AM” [hayah/havah]; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM’ [hayah/havah] has sent me to you.” God [‘elohiym] furthermore, said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘The LORD [YWVH], the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name to all generations. _(NASB)

God emphatically identified Himself with the name hayah or havah, according to Jewish sage Rabbi Rashi, meaning “I will be” – no beginning or end. Translated into English as “I AM,” hayah is an on-going action verb defined as “to exist i.e. to be or become, come to pass (always emphatic).” ^[7]

Exodus 3:15, God specifically sais His proper name is YHVH, the four letter ineffable Hebrew name of God or “Tetragrammaton.” Rashi expounded that the 4-letter Hebrew Name is not intended to be spoken.^[8]

YHVH in Exodus is translated into English as “The LORD” in place of the unspeakable Divine Name. In other Biblical references, the name is translated as Jehovah, God (‘elohiym), or Adonai.^[9]

Jewish translators of the Hebrew-to-Greek Septuagint LXX completed in 247 BC translated the Exodus text of both “I AM” and “The LORD” into Greek as “ego eimi.”^[10] Jesus answered Caiaphas using these very same two Greek words, ego eimi.

Ego is a primary first person pronoun to be pronounced emphatically.^[11] Eimi, also to be said emphatically, is “the first person singular present indicative meaning “exist’” with characteristics of present and future tenses.^[12]

When Jesus answered Caiaphas’ question saying “ego eimi,” in essence by definition, he declared emphatically and authoritatively a statement of fact: “[Yes], I Am [presently and into the future, the Messiah, the Son of God].”

A year earlier, Pharisees also believed they had heard Jesus commit blasphemy. While teaching at the Temple, Jesus several times referred to himself as ego eimi:

^{JN 8:12} “…I AM the light of the world…” _(Jubliee)^[13]

^{JN 8:24} “…unless you believe that I AM, you’ll die in your sins.”_(ISV)^[14]

^{JN 8:28} “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I AM…”_(ISV)^[15]

Continuing, the Pharisees accused Jesus of being possessed by a demon after he said, “If anyone keeps My word, he will never taste of death.”^[16] They aptly pointed out that Abraham and the prophets had surely kept God’s word yet they were dead.^[17] Jesus responded to the reference of Abraham:

^{JN 8:56-58} “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?” Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”_(NKJV)^[18]

Incredibly, Jesus explicitly said, “Before Abraham was, I AM” – ego eimi. In one of the most astonishing statements in all the Gospels, Jesus said he saw and heard Abraham rejoice when the day of Jesus had arrived.

Believing they had undoubtedly heard a blasphemy, the Pharisees picked up stones to kill Jesus. According to John, it was not yet his time and Jesus escaped unharmed.^[19]

Facts of the case are undisputed – under oath Jesus identified himself as I Am, the Son of God. What remains is the open question: did Jesus speak a blasphemy or the truth?

If Jesus spoke blasphemy, his death sentence was truly justified according to God’s own Law pursuant to the law of blasphemy. If Jesus is the Son of God, he could not have spoken a blasphemy and was unjustly judged in the place.

Perhaps the greatest paradox of all time, at the Passover in the House of God Jesus declared himself to be the Son of God – a blasphemy or the truth?

Updated December 29, 2023.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License .

REFERENCES:

NASB = New American Standard Bible translation
ISV = International Standard Version translation
NIV = New International Version translation
NKJV = New King James Version translation

[1] NASB. Luke 22:67-71. CR Matthew 26:63-65; Mark 14-63-65;
[2] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Ed. Isidore Epstein. Sanhedrin 55b (continues through 56a) <http://come-and-hear.com/tcontents.html> CR Deuteronomy 5:11.
[3] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Sanhedrin 56a, 66a. The Babylonian Talmud. Rodkinson translation. Book 8, Tract Sanhedrin, Chapter VII, Mishna VI. <http://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/talmud.htm>
[4] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Sanhedrin 56a, 66a.
[5] Lamm, Maurice. “Keriah – The Rending of Garments.” Chabad.org. 2018. <http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/281558/jewish/Keriah-The-Rending-of-Garments.htm>
[6] “<H0430>”Lexicon-Concordance Online Bible. n.d. <http://lexiconcordance.com>
[7] Net.bible.org. Hebrew text. Strong, James. The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. 1990.“hayah <1961>.” The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary. 2018. Shemot – Exodus 3:14 translation & commentary. <http://www.chabad.org/library/bible_cdo/aid/9864#showrashi=true> “exist;” “be/” “become,” “transitive.” Merriam-Webster. 2018. <http://www.merriam-webster.com> “<H1961>”Lexicon-Concordance Online Bible. n.d. <http://lexiconcordance.com>
[8] Rashi. The Complete Jewish Bible with Rashi Commentary. Shemot – Exodus 3:15 commentary. Benner, Jeff, The Ancient Hebrew Alphabet. 2017. “vav.” <http://www.ancient-hebrew.org/alphabet_letters_vav.html> Exodus 3:15. BibleHub.com. lexicon. n.d. <https://biblehub.com/lexicon/exodus/3-15.htm>
[9] Soncino Babylonian Talmud. Sanhedrin 55b & footnote #20, 56a. Martincic, Tom. “The Meaning of the Tetragrammaton.” Eliyah.com. n.d. <http://www.eliyah.com/tetragrm.html> “Tetragrammaton.” Dictionary.com. <http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/tetragrammaton?s=t> Marlowe, Michael. The Translation of the Tetragrammaton.” Bible Research. 2011. <http://www.bible-researcher.com/tetragrammaton.html> “Tetragrammation.” Jewish Encyclopedia. 2011. <http://www.jewishencyclopedia.com/articles/14346-tetragrammaton> Singer, Isidore; Adler, Cyrus, et. al. The Jewish Encyclopedia. Volume 9. 1912. “The Seven Names.” p 163. <https://books.google.com/books?id=lfoOtGOcIBYC&lpg=PA594&ots=6qoCfVVUz7&dq=wave+sheaf+encyclopedia&pg=PA594&hl=en#v=onepage&q=seven&f=false>
[10] NetBible.com. Exodus 3:6 – Septuagint text; Hebrew text Myhlah <403>, ‘elohiym, the plural form of ‘elowahh <0433>. Biblehub.com. Exodus 3:6 Hebrew ’ĕ-lō-hê <403>, plural form of eloah. Josephus, Flavius. Antiquities of the Jews. Book XII, Chapter II.1-6, 13-1. Trans. William Whitson. The Complete Works of Josephus. 1850. <http://books.google.com/books?id=e0dAAAAAMAAJ&printsec=frontcover&source=gbs_ge_summary_r&cad=0#v=onepage&q&f=false> “I AM.” Names For God. n.d. <https://namesforgod.net/i-am>
[11] Net.bible.org. Luke 22:70, Greek text. Strong. “ego <1473> The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.
[12] Net.bible.org. Luke 22:70, Greek text. Strong. “eimi <1510>” The New Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible.
[13] Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary. John 8:12. BibleHub.com. <http://biblehub.com/commentaries/jfb/john/8.htm>
[14] Gill’s Exposition. John 8:24. BibleHub.com. <http://biblehub.com/commentaries/gill/john/8.htm> Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. John 8:24. BibleHub.com. <http://biblehub.com/commentaries/cambridge/john/8.htm> Wesley’s Notes on the Bible. John 8:24. BibleHub.com. <http://biblehub.com/commentaries/wes/john/8.htm>
[15] Wesley’s Notes on the Bible. John 8:28. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. John 8:28.
[16] NASB. John 8:52.
[17] John 8:52-55.
[18] Gill’s Exposition. John 8:58. Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges. John 8:58. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary. John 8:58. Wesley’s Notes on the Bible. John 8:58.
[19] John 8:59.