



New Testament Parallels

to the

Works of Josephus

G. J. Goldberg

Index to the Parallels

Introduction

The New Testament makes references to rulers, priests, religious factions, and politics that would be completely mysterious to modern readers if it were not for the works of Josephus. When one reads discussions about the historical Jesus and the early days of Christianity, most of the Judean social background and the dating of events derive from his books.

In this article I present a list of these New Testament references and place them next to extracts from the works of Josephus on the same subject. To these I have added my own comments, which I hope the reader will find useful. Interested readers will want to study Josephus themselves for fuller extracts. They will also want to read some of the many scholarly works on this subject. An excellent place to start is Steve Mason's Josephus and the New Testament, which discusses more fully the parallels and provides many original observations and analyses.



The Gospel of Luke/The Book of Acts

It is Luke's writings, both the Gospel and the Book of Acts, that have the most points of contact with Josephus, particularly the Antiquities. Most notable are the numerous references in Luke to events and persons that are also discussed, and are explained more fully, by Josephus. Luke is clearly concerned with embedding the story of Jesus in a firm historical context, thus helping not only to date the story but also to persuade the reader of its genuineness. More subtly, the vocabulary of Luke/Acts bears a greater resemblance to Josephus than does any other work in the New Testament (as Steve Mason once pointed out). A study of each author's style seems to indicate that they at least learned Greek from teachers with similar backgrounds. These connections have raised some possibilities that have been the focus of much attention by scholars. The weightiest question has been, did Luke read Josephus' Antiquities and use it as the basis for the historical references in his work? Did Luke, perhaps, even know Josephus in Rome, as Thackeray suggested? But there are discrepancies between Luke and Josephus -- particularly the census of Quirinius -- which suggest Luke used a different source. Was he perhaps genuinely handing down the traditions of some of those who knew Jesus? And the similarities of language -- do they imply the two authors wrote in a similar place at a similar time? The answer to these questions would help to tell us how and when Luke composed his works. If Luke read Josephus' Antiquities, he could not have written his gospel before the 80's CE, when the Antiquities was a work in progress, or the early 90's, when it was published. The same conclusion can be drawn from language similarities. This happens to agree with the dating of Luke most often surmised by scholars; but some think he wrote much earlier, in the 50's and 60's for Acts and perhaps much earlier for the gospel, while others argue that Luke is a very late writer, circa 120 CE. A reliance on the Antiquities would suggest also that Luke's gospel is not constructed solely of authenticate reports about Jesus from the apostles and others who knew him. It would mean Luke combined some information from original Christian sources with other materials. It would thus be left to readers to determine which is which.

King Herod

Luke 1:5

In the days of King Herod of Judea... Matt. 2:1

In the time of King Herod, after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea, wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews?" Ant. 17.7.1 191 (War 1.31.8 665) Having done these things he died, on the fifth day after having his son Antipater killed, having reigned since he had slain Antigonus thirty-four years, and thirty-seven years since he had been declared king by the Romans.

Comment From this reference in Josephus we know that Herod the Great died in 4 BCE. Herod's reign began under appointment by Marc Antony in 40 BCE, a date known from Antiquities 14.14.4 386: "So did Herod take the throne, receiving it in the hundred and eight-fourth Olympiad, the consuls being Gnaeus Domitius Calvinus, for the second time, and Gaius Asinius Pollio." The event is also described by Roman historians. Properly taking into account Josephus' use of partial years when subtracting his stated 37 years gives 4 BCE for the end of Herod's reign (see the note to War 1.665 in the Loeb Edition).

Thus, according to Matthew and Luke, Jesus could not have been born later than 4 BCE. Yet our calendar is numbered taking the year 1 A.D. (= 1 CE) as the year of Jesus' birth, leading to the puzzle of Jesus having been born in 4 B.C., 4 years "Before Christ". This is due to a mistake in calculation by the Roman abbot Dionysus Exiguus in 533, who first began counting years from Jesus' birth. (some say he did not count the first four years of Emperor Augustus, who used his original name of Octavian during this time). As a practical matter, it is worth noting that our calendar does not in fact count from the birth year of Jesus, which is unknown, but from the death year of Herod.

The Slaughter of the Innocents

Matt. 2:2-16

...wise men from the East came to Jerusalem, asking, "Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come to pay him homage." When King Herod heard this, he was frightened, and all Jerusalem with him; and calling together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born. They told him, "In the Bethlehem of Judea, for so it is written by the prophet..."

...When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Antiquities 17.2.4 43 (Speculative)

Now there was a certain sect of Jews who valued themselves highly for the skill they had in the ways of their fathers and who believed they best observed the laws favored by God -- the sect called the Pharisees -- by whom the women of the palace were guided. They were fully able to deal successfully with the king due to their prescience, but often fell into fighting and setting up obstacles to him.

For example, when all the Jewish people pledged their loyalty to Caesar and to the king's government, these men, over six thousand of them, refused to swear; and when the king therefore imposed a fine on them, the wife of Pheroras [the king's brother] paid it. Now to repay this kindness of hers, being believed to have, by Divine inspiration, the foreknowledge of things to come, they foretold that God had decreed that Herod's government would be taken from him and from his descendants, and that the kingdom would come to her and Pheroras and to their children.

These predictions, which did not escape detection by Salome [the king's sister], were reported to the king, and also that they had subverted some others of the palace. So the king killed those of the Pharisees principally involved, as well as Bagoas the eunuch, and a certain Karos, who exceeded all of his peers in beauty and was his favorite boy. He also killed everyone of his own house who had allied themselves to the talk of the Pharisees. Bagoas had been elated by their prediction that he would be hailed as the father and the benefactor of the one who would be their appointed king; for to this king would fall power over all things, and he would provide Bagoas with a marriage and the ability to sire children of his own line.

Comment

There is no story in Josephus matching the nativity stories of Luke and Matthew. But the passage quoted above has some interesting similarities. Here we have wise men, believed to have the gift of prophecy, predicting the next king will end Herod's reign, frightening Herod into committing mass murder. The new king will have "the power over all things." There would be a miraculous birth by someone for whom it is impossible to have children -- in the gospels, the virgin Mary, in the above tale, the eunuch Bagoas.

The story demonstrates at the least that the actions of Herod and the other people in the nativity story was not unheard of for the time, so that something of the sort might have occurred but escaped Josephus' notice. Or, the above story itself might have served as the nucleus of a tale that was elaborated over the years and applied to Jesus by his followers.

Incidentally, in Antiquities 17.6.5 174 there is described a forced mass movement of people just before Herod's death. These people the king had planned to have these murdered so the Jews would be mourning when he died, rather than holding joyful festivities to celebrate his passing. This movement could conceivably have contributed both to the story of the slaughter of the innocents and the census of Quirinius (see below).

Archelaus

Matt 2:22

But when Joseph heard that Archelaus was ruling over Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there.

Ant. 17.8.1 188

Then because of the change of mind Herod had undergone, he once more altered his will and designated Antipas, to whom he had previously left his throne, to be Tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea, while he bestowed the kingdom on Archelaus.

The Census of Quirinius

Lk 2:1

In those days a decree went out from Emperor Augustus that all the world should be registered. This was the first registration and was taken while Quirinius was governor of Syria. All went to their own towns to be registered. Joseph also went from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem. Antiquities 18.1.1 1

Quirinius, a Roman senator who had passed through all the other magistracies until he became consul, and one who in other respects was very distinguished, came at this time into Syria, with a few others, having been sent by Caesar to be governor of that nation and to make an assessment of their property. Coponius, a man of the equestrian order, was sent with him to have supreme authority over the Jews. Quirinius came himself to Judea, which had now been added to the province of Syria, to make an assessment of their property and to dispose of Archelaus's estate. Although the Jews at first took the report of a taxation angrily, they gradually left off any further opposition to it by the persuasion of the high priest Joazar son of Boethus. Persuaded by Joazar's words, they gave an account of their estates without any dissent.

But there was one man, Judas, a Gaulanite from a city named Gamala, who, taking with him Saddok, a Pharisee, became zealous to draw them to revolt. They both said that this taxation was no better than an introduction to slavery, and exhorted the nation to assert their liberty... Comment

The discrepancy between Luke and Josephus on this famous registration, or assessment, has caused many scholarly attempts to reconcile the two. None of these attempts have been accepted as successful. Josephus' story, which is supported by various evidence in Roman historians, clearly places Quirinius' beginning tenure and assessment in 6 CE, ten years after the death of Herod the Great. Yet Luke places this event during the time of Herod. From everything we know, Luke is mistaken.

Then where did Luke find this story? The theory that Luke used Josephus for historical events has difficulty dealing with this discrepancy. Thus it is either proof that Luke worked from a poor summary, or preliminary version, of the Antiquities, or that he had a separate source, possibly an oral tradition among some of the Jesus followers who were not consulted by the other gospel writers.

There is also a peculiar way to look at this story (original with myself, for good or ill). The census of Quirinius was the immediate cause of the rise of Judas the Galilean and the Fourth Philosophy. This philosophy would, sixty years later, lead to the war with Rome that would destroy the Temple and weaken the attraction of Judaism that many non-Jews had throughout the empire. It also contributed to the suspicion the authorities had of popular leaders, particular those with new philosophies and origins in Galilee, and so quite likely was an important factor in Jesus' arrest. In seom sense, then, the census of Quirinius gave birth to the "spirit of the revolution" and the destruction of the Temple. Could it be that certain revolutionaries saw Jesus as their hoped-for leader, and even after his death felt he was the mystical embodiment of the spirit of the revolution? Then the association of Jesus' birth with the birth of the Fourth Philosophy would have come naturally to this strand of the Jesus followers.

For the complete history of Judas the Galilean, see Causes of the War Against Rome.





Jesus at Twelve

Lk 2:42

And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival [of Passover]....After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers. Josephus' Life 1.2 8 (speculative)

I made mighty proficiency in the improvements of my learning, and appeared to have both a great memory and understanding. Moreover, when I was a child, and about fourteen years of age, I was commended by all for the love I had to learning; on which account the high priests and principal men of the city came then frequently to me together, in order to know my opinion about the accurate understanding of points of the law. Comment This parallel is one I have not seen pointed out before. Both passages probably refer to a demonstration of a boy's learning around the time of his bar mitzvah, which in modern traditional takes place when he turns thirteen; here Josephus speaks of "about fourteen years of age" and Jesus is said to be twelve (thus going on thirteen). So both passages may simply be conventional boasts drawn from the memories of the proud Jewish parents.

But there is an odder similarity: both passages imply that the scholars of Jerusalem actually learned things from the boys! This is an extraordinary boast. Was this also part of traditional bar mitzvah kvelling of the time?

Any readers who have an explanation for this -- please let me know.



The Fifteenth Year of Tiberius: Pilate, Herod, Philip, "Lysanius", Annas, and Caiaphas



Lk 3:1

In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness.

Antiquities 18.2.2 35 Tiberius sent Gratus to be procurator of Judea..This man deprived Ananus of the high priesthood, and appointed Ismael...

...Joseph called Caiaphus was made his successor. When Gratus had done those things, he went back to Rome, having tarried in Judea eleven years, and Pontius Pilate came as his successor. War 2.6.3 94 (Ant. 17.11.4 318) Caesar...gave one-half of Herod's kingdom to Archelaus with the title of Ethnarch, and promised to make him king also afterward, if he rendered himself worthy of that dignity. But he divided the other half into two tetrarchies, and gave them to two other sons of Herod, the one of them to Philip, and the other to that Antipas who contested the kingdom with Archelaus. Placed under Antipas were Perea and Galilee, with a revenue of two hundred talents. Batanea, Trachonitis, and Auranitis, and certain parts of Zeno's house about Jamnia, providing a revenue of 100 talents, were made subject to Philip. Antiquities 20.7.1 137 Claudius bestowed upon Agrippa...Abila, which had been the tetrarchy of Lysanius.

Comment These establish the year of the appearance of John the Baptist, and hence of the subsequent public career of Jesus. The 15th year of Tiberius was 28/29, as he reigned for 22 years and some 5 or 6 months, from 14-37. Pontius Pilate was procurator from 26-36, and Caiaphas was high priest over almost the same period, 26-35. Herod Antipas ruled Galilee from 4 BCE to 40 CE, and Philip his assortment of lands from 4 BCE to 34 CE.

As to "Lysanius", Luke is at variance with Josephus.Lysanius was killed by Marc Antony during the reign of Herod the Great. The small territory of Lysanius was leased by Zenodorus (or "Zeno", War 1.20.4 398), and was later given by Caesar to Philip, as quoted above in one of the passages. After Philip's death this little region that had belonged to Lysanius, along with other pieces of Philip's territory, was given to Agrippa by the Emperor Claudius circa 40 CE (also cited above).

This little territory never had a name; it was just referred to familiarly, something like "that piece of land that used to belong to Lysanius." This is the only way Josephus refers to the property throughout his works. There is no evidence of a ruler named Lysanius at the time Luke speaks about. In any case, the land is two small for anyone to bother identifying its ruler as a means of specifying a moment in history.

Two explanations present themselves. The more interesting of these is that Luke worked from a written source he did not quite understand; he could have read about the time "when Herod was tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of the region of Ituraea, and Trachonitis, and Abilene the tetrarchy of Lysanius." He could have misinterpreted the last clause as identifying another ruler of the time, rather than continuing the list of Philip's lands; particularly if the grammar had become a little garbled in transmission, perhaps during translation from the Aramaic. This would indicate Luke did not know enough about Judea to recognize that the "tetrarchy of Lysanius" was the way the local inhabitants referred to a little piece of land.

The second, more mundane explanation is that Luke originally wrote the the version we just surmised, but his text has become slightly corrupted during transmission to us.



John the Baptist

Antiquities 18.5.2, 18.5.3 136 See the John the Baptist page for the extracts and discussion.



Pharisees

Matt 23:1

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat; therefore, do whatever they teach you and follow it; but do not do as they do, for they do not practice what they teach. They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on the shoulders of others; but they themselves are unwilling to lift a finger to move them. They do all their deeds to be seen by others; for they make their tefillin broad and their tallit long. They love to have the place of honor at banquets and the best seats in the synagogues, and to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces, and to have people call them rabbi. But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all students."

Lk 14:1 - 14

On one occasion when Jesus was going to the house of a leader of the Pharisees to eat a meal on the sabbath, they were watching him closely.... He said to the one who had invited him, "When you give a luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or rich neighbors; for they may invite you in return, and you would be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. Then you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous."

One of the dinner guests, on hearing this, said to him, "Blessed is anyone who will eat bread in the kingdom of God!"

Antiquities 18.1.2-3 11-13 (see also War 2.8.14 162-166 and Ant. 13.171-173) The Jews since antiquity have had three sects of philosophy peculiar to themselves, that of the Essenes, of the Sadducees, and the third the philosophy of those called the Pharisees; of which sects, although I have already spoken in the second book of the Jewish War, yet will I touch a little upon them now.

Now the Pharisees simplify their way of life and give in to no sort of softness; and they follow the guidance of what their doctrine has handed down and prescribes as good; and they earnestly strive to observe the commandments it dictates to them. They also show respect to the elders, nor are they so bold as to contradict them in any thing they have introduced. Although they determine that all things are done by fate, they do not take away the freedom from men of acting as they think fit; since it has pleased God to make a combination of his council-chamber and of the people who wish to approach with their virtue and their vice. They also believe that souls have an immortal power in them, and that under the earth there will be rewards or punishments according to whether they showed virtue or vice in this life; the latter are to be detained in an everlasting prison, but the former are allowed an easy passage through and live again. Because of these doctrines they hold great influence among the populace, and all divine worship, prayers, and sacrifices are performed according to their direction. In doing so the cities bear witness to all their virtuous conduct, both in their way of life and in their words. Comment

The Pharisees have a long and varied history. They became influential during the reign of the Hasmoneans and gained considerable power under Queen Alexandra. There are many references to Pharisees both in the New Testament and in Josephus, as well as in the Talmud.

The passages quoted above demonstrate the agreement in the two works that the Pharisees believe in the resurrection of the virtuous. Moreover, we find in Luke that the key term Jesus uses, the "kingdom of God," is used by the Pharisees to mean the time after the resurrection, the World to Come. Whether Jesus means the same thing by this phrase or not is one of the open questions of scholarship. See, for example, Lk 17:20: "Once Jesus was asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God was coming, and he answered, "The kingdom of God is not coming with things that can be observed; nor will they say, 'Look here it is!' or 'There it is!' For, in fact, the kingdom of God is among you."

In agreement also is the dependence the people had on the Pharisees to instruct them in doctrine. Jesus agrees with the majority in saying "do what they teach you and follow it."

But Matthew's Jesus varies from Josephus in saying the Pharisees do not conduct their "way of life" as they teach it, nor do they live with complete simplicity. But note the different versions of this passage in Mark 12:38, where it is only the "scribes," and not the Pharisees, who are castigated for their love of long clothing, honors, and the best seats in the synagogues and at banquets. (Compare this to Luke 20:46 and 11:43.)

Sadducees

Lk 20:27 (Mk 12:18, Matt. 22:23; see also Acts 5:17, Acts 23:8)

Some Sadducees, those who say there is no resurrection, came to him and asked him a question.

Antiquities 18.2.4 16-17 (see also War2.8.14 162-166)

But the doctrine of the Sadducees is that souls die with the bodies. Nor do they perform any observance other than what the Law enjoins them. They think it virtuous to dispute with the teachers of the wisdom they pursue. This doctrine is accepted but by a few, but those are of the highest standing. But they are able to accomplish almost nothing, for when they hold office they are unwillingly and by force obliged to submit to the teachings of the Pharisees, because the multitude would not otherwise tolerate them.

Comment

The quoted passages agree that the Sadducees do not believe in a resurrection. Otherwise, the gospels have little to say about them, usually lumping them in with the Pharisees, which perhaps indicates how little impact they had on daily life, as Josephus explains.

In Acts, however, Sadducees are somewhat more active. Paul takes advantage of the disagreement on the resurrection after his arrest (Acts 23:6-10), by siding with the Pharisees and creating a debate among the council, thus distracting everyone from the charge against him.

All things in common: The Essenes

Matt. 10:5-14 (Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5)

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: "Go nowhere among the Gentiles, and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. As you go, proclaim the good news, 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.' Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. You received without payment; give without payment. Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for laborers deserve their food. Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town." Acts 2:45

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.

War 2.7.4 119-127 (see also Ant.18.2.5 18-22) The Essenes...are despisers of riches, and so very communal as to earn our admiration. There is no one to be found among them who has more than another; for they have a law that those who come to join them must let whatever they have be common to the whole order, so that among them all there is no appearance of either poverty or excessive wealth. Everyone's possessions are intermingled with every other's possessions; as if they were all brothers with a single patrimony...

They have no one city, but in every city dwell many of them; and if any of the sect arrive from elsewhere, all is made available to them as if it were their own; and they go to those they have never seen before as if long acquaintances. Thus they carry nothing at all with them in their journeys, except weapons for defense against thieves. Accordingly, in every city there is one appointed specifically to take care of strangers and to provide them with garments and other necessities.

In their clothing and deportment they resemble children in fear of their teachers. They change neither their garments nor their shoes until they are torn to pieces or worn out by time. They neither buy nor sell anything to one another, but each gives what he has to whomever needs it, and receives in exchange what he needs himself; and even if there is nothing given any return, they are allowed to take anything they want from whomever they please. Comment The Essenes are not mentioned by name in the New Testament. The similarities shown above between their organization and that of the apostles - holding possessions in common, simplicity of clothing, traveling from town to town carrying almost nothing and relying on finding welcome in a sympathetic house - has led scholars to theorize that Jesus had his origins in the Essenes.

Bolstering this idea is Jesus' relationship with John the Baptist. The descriptions of John's preaching in the desert and baptising in the Jordan River suggest to some scholars a connection to the Essene community on the Dead Sea. The Essenes are also thought to be the authors of many of the Dead Sea Scrolls, although not all scholars are convinced of this; in any case, the scrolls have shown many affinities to the messianic concerns of the New Testament.



Samaritans

Lk 9.51

When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. And he sent messengers ahead of him. On their way they entered a village of the Samaritans to make ready for him; but they did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem . When his disciples James and John saw this, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" But he turned and rebuked them. Then they went on to another village. Ant. 20.6.1 118 (also War 2.12.3-4 232-235)



It was the custom of the Galileans, when they came to the Holy City at the festivals, to take their journeys through the country of the Samaritans. On their route lay a village called Ginea, which was situated on the border between Samaria and the Great Plain, and at this time certain persons fought with the Galileans, and killed a great many of them. When the leaders of the Galileans were informed of what had been done they came to Cumanus and desired him to avenge the murders; but he was bribed by the Samaritans to do nothing. The Galileans, indignant at this, urged the Jewish populace to resort to arms and to regain their liberty, saying that while slavery was a bitter thing but that, when it was joined with direct injuries it was completely intolerable....they entreated the assistance of Eleazar son of Dineus, a robber who had for many years made his home in the mountains, and with his assistance they set afire and plundered many villages of the Samaritans.

Comment

The Samaritans had their own Bible and their own Temple. There was an enmity between Samaritans and Jews that sometimes became violent. The forced contact between the groups as Galileans journeyed to festivals appears both in Josephus and the New Testament; in the Luke excerpt, the festival is the Passover at which Jesus planned to make his entrance into the city. The incident described by Josephus took place about 50 CE.

Some other points: In both passages there is a mention of Galileans setting fire to Samaritan villages (or wanting to) as revenge. One of these, Eleazar is a "robber," lêistês, of the sort that recur in Josephus, some of whom were anti-Roman guerillas that followed the revolutionary philosophy of Judas the Galilean. Incidentally, this Eleazar is also mentioned in the Mishna, the Rabbinic work compiled about 100 years after Josephus wrote the Antiquities; describing a time "when murderers became many," Mishnah Sotah 9.9 reads: "When Eleazar son of Dinai came (and he was also called Tehinah son of Parishah) they changed his name to 'son of the Murderer.'"

The particular incident recorded by Josephus was extremely serious, resulting in mass crucifixions and beheadings and eventually in an embassy to the Emperor Claudius. As a result Cumanus was deposed as procurator in favor of Felix, and the latter finally captured Eleazar son of Dineus and sent him in chains to Rome (Ant. 20.8.5 161).

Insurrection in the City under Pilate

Lk 13:1

At that very time there were some present who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices He asked them, "Do you think that because these Galileans suffered in this way they were worse sinners than all other Galileans? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all perish as they did." Lk 23:18

They they all shouted out together..."Release Barabbas for us!" This was a man who had been put in prison for an insurrection (stasis) that had taken place in the city, and for murder. Mark 15:7

And there was one called Barabbas who had been imprisoned with the rebels, who in the insurrection (stasis) had committed murder. Mark 15:27/Matthew 27:38 ( Lk 23:32)

And they crucified two robbers with him, one on the right, and one on the left. Antiquities 18.3.2 60-62 (War 2.9.4 175-177) (speculative) Pilate undertook to bring water to Jerusalem using money from the sacred treasury, and deriving the source of the stream from the distance of two hundred furlongs. However, the Jews were not pleased with what had been done about this, and many ten thousands of people got together and made a clamor against him, insisting that he should leave off that design. Some of them also cried insults and abuse at the man, as crowds of such people usually do. So he clothed a great number of his soldiers in the people's garments, under which they carried clubs, and sent them off where they might surround them, he bid the crowd to withdraw. While they boldly cast abuse upon him, he gave the soldiers a prearranged signal. But the soldiers laid upon them much greater blows than Pilate had commanded, and equally punished those that were tumultuous and those that were not. Showing no softness, the people were caught unarmed by men prepared for the action, a great number of them were slain, and others of them ran away wounded. And thus an end was put to this insurrection (stasis). Comment

The gospels agree that Jesus was crucified along with two thieves; the Greek word for "thieves" used by Mark and Matthew is liêstai (singular lêistês), the same word Josephus uses throughout his works (77 times) to indicate both simple robbers and anti-Roman revolutionaries. There is an implication that these thieves were involved in the recent insurrection in Jerusalem. Barabbas, who was to be crucified at the same time as Jesus, is identified by Mark and Luke as a participant in the insurrection. These suggest that Jesus may have been grouped by the authorities with those involved in an anti-Roman riot.

The quoted passage by Josephus describes one such insurrection in Jerusalem under Pilate. Josephus does not describe an event where the blood of Galileans "is mixed with the sacrifices." Galilee, which wasn't under direct Roman rule, was the origin of the anti-Roman Fourth Philosophy developed by Judas the Galilean, whose descendants were eventually leaders in the revolt against Rome (see The Causes of the War Against Rome). It's a good possibility, then, that in any insurrection, Galileans were involved.

For more on Pilate, see the quotations page.





Render Unto Caesar

Mark 12:13-17 (Matt. 22:15-22, Lk 20:19-26)

Then they sent to him some Pharisees and some Herodians to trap him in what he said. And they came and said to him, "Teacher, we know that you are sincere, and show deference to no one; for you do not regard people with partiality, but teach the way of God in accordance with truth. Is it lawful to pay taxes to the emperor, or not? Should we pay them, or should we not?" But knowing their hypocrisy, he said to them, "Why are you putting me to the test? Bring me a denarius and let me see it." And they brought one. Then he said to them, "Whose head is this, and whose title?" They answered, "The emperor's." Jesus said to them, "Give to the emperor the things that are the emperor's, and to God the things that are God's." And they were utterly amazed at him. War 2.8.1 118 (Antiquities 18.1.1 3)

Under his administration a certain Galilean named Judas prevailed with his countrymen to revolt; and said they were cowards if they would endure to pay a tax to the Romans and submit to mortal men as their lords. This man was a teacher of a peculiar sect of his own that was not at all like the others..

For there are three philosophical sects among the Jews... Comment

It was seen above that an important part of the political background in Jesus' time was the Fourth Philosophy of Judas the Galilean. In the present passage is the clearest indication that Jesus was seen by some of his contemporaries as involved with that group. The originating tenet of the Fourth Philosophy was that one should not pay taxes to Rome, as this was interpreted as a turning away from God. When the people in the cited passage ask Jesus if it is "lawful to pay taxes to the Emperor, or not," they are referring to the Fourth Philosophy's reading of the Law of Moses. The questioners, even if they were hostile to them, can't be seen as setting a devious trap -- they were trying to pin Jesus' philosophy down by asking him his opinion on the central question of the times.

In his answer, Jesus clearly states he is not a member of the Fourth Philosophy. Instead, he graphically advocates the separation of church and state. This answer clearly was not what his questioners expected. It is possible they did not believe him, and the authorities continued to regard him as a revolutionary until he was swept up during the arrests of rebels by Pilate.

For more details on the Fourth Philosophy, see The Causes of the War with Rome.



Jesus

Luke 24:19-27 Antiquities 18.3.3 63-64 For the quotations and discussion, see Josephus' Account of Jesus.

James the Brother of Jesus