The greatest question in the universe is the question: What is the ultimate reality? The next most important question, closely related to the first one, is this: Who is entitled to the highest authority in the universe—the power to make laws and to rule over the beings endowed with intelligence and moral judgment—and what should be one’s response to that authority? Different worldviews have offered different answers to these questions.

According to the Christian worldview, as revealed in the Bible, the ultimate reality in the universe is God, the Creator and Sustainer of everything that has come into existence—except sin. God is an omniscient and personal Being who makes both moral and natural laws, and sovereignly rules over His entire creation. This sovereign God delegates some of the governing authority to human legislative and judicial bodies but reserves the matter of religious worship to His exclusive jurisdiction.

That same God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to this world to save the fallen human race. Jesus came to His own people, the Jews, as Israel’s Messiah. The main purpose of His coming was to reveal the character of His Father, to preach the good news that the kingdom of God was at hand, and to save His people from their sins.

When Jesus was born, His nation and their land were occupied by the most powerful empire the world had ever seen—the Roman Empire. Most Jews bitterly resented the occupying force—along with its military and its civil servants. The greatest tragedy in the history of Jewish people was not the Roman occupation, but rather the failure to recognize in the humble Galilean teacher their long-expected Messiah. During the few years of Jesus’ public ministry, the tension between Jesus and the Jewish religious and civil establishment grew to the breaking point: The national leaders saw in Jesus’ life an imminent threat to their national existence and in Jesus’ death the only means of preserving the Jewish nation.

Since the Jews at the time of Jesus did not have the power to pass and execute a death sentence, they delivered Jesus to the Roman governor, requesting that He be condemned and executed under the Roman law. The charges laid against Christ were blasphemy and sedition (or treason) against the Roman Empire, the capital offences under the Jewish and Roman law, respectively. The judicial treatment of Jesus and of His crimes, as alleged by Sanhedrin and confirmed by the Roman governor, are the subject matter of this article. In the first part, we will provide some background information about the Jewish state and society in the time of Christ. In the second part we will reflect on the trial of Jesus from both a religious and a legal viewpoint, and warn of the dire consequences that occur when a civil authority acts on behalf of a religious authority and enforces the laws that violate religious and civil liberties.

For a proper understanding of the relations between the religious and civil authorities and Jesus of Nazareth, here is a brief historical survey of the Jewish state and religion in the time of Jesus. The opening chapters in the synoptic gospels (the first three gospels) introduce to us the Herodian rulers. As we read more about them in the Gospel narratives, we might be puzzled about their identity and their relationships. It is helpful, therefore, to trace the origin of the Herodian rule in Palestine and to distinguish several rulers in that dynasty. Yet, to understand the origin of the Herodian dynasty, it is appropriate to say a few words about their predecessors, the Hasmonean royal family, which served as a springboard for the emergence of Herodian rule in Palestine.

The kingdom of Judah was dissolved through several Babylonian invasions, the final one being the siege and destruction of Jerusalem in 587/586 B.C. Following the Babylonian captivity, a good number of Jews, led by Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah, returned to their homeland under the Persian king Cyrus and his successors. The Persian Empire came to its end in 331 B.C. when the Macedonian (Greek) king, Alexander the Great, defeated the Persian king Darius III in the Battle of Gaugamela (Arbela). However, shortly after Alexander’s death (323 B.C.), his kingdom was divided among Alexander’s four generals. Ultimately, the territories governed by the four rulers consolidated in two major kingdoms – the Ptolemaic Kingdom governed from Egypt, and the Seleucid Kingdom with the seat of government in Syria. In the Hellenistic period, the Palestine was first under the reign of the Ptolemaic kings, and from about 198 B.C. it came under the control of the Seleucid (Syrian) Kingdom.

“One of these sons, Judah Macca-beus (or Maccabee), a brave and suc-cessful warrior, led the revolt. Judah died in a later battle, and was succeeded by his brother Jonathan. However, the Seleucid king, Diodotus Tryphon, soon tricked Jonathan into attending a conference where he was subsequently captured and executed. Simon, the fifth and last of Mattathias’ sons, then became the new ruler of Judea, two decades after the initial revolt from the Seleucid kingdom. This marked the beginning of the Hasmonean dynasty. Under the Hasmonean ruler John Hyrcanus, Judea conquered Edom (Idumea) and forced the Edomites to convert to Judaism. Eventually, Antipas, an Edomite, was appointed ruler over Idumea and his son, Antipater, became chief advisor to the Hasmonean king. Antipater managed to establish a good relationship with the Roman Republic, which had grown in influence in the region. It was during this time that the kingdom of Judea became a Roman protectorate (63 BCE). When Antipater later led the Jewish forces to the help of Julius Caesar in his struggles against Pompey, he in turn was rewarded with Roman citizenship, freedom from taxes, and an appointment as the first Roman procurator in Judea. The high office enabled Antipater to promote the in-terests of his own house. Antipater appointed his own sons to positions of influence: PhasaelHerod became Gover-nor of Jerusalem, and was ap-pointed Governor of Galilee.”

Herod the Great (74/73–4 B.C.) ruled in Palestine as basileusrex socius (“king”) of the Jews and a Roman allied king (). His reign commenced nominally from 40 B.C., effectively from 37 B.C., and lasted until his death in 4 B.C., which is the span of 33 years. Herod ended the previous dynasty and ushered in his own Herodian dynasty. By terminating the royal line of Jewish blood and by inaugurating his own royal authority of Idumean (Edomite) ancestry, and further, by his unorthodox adherence to the Jewish religion and yet an unswerving loyalty to the Roman eagle, Herod created an enduring animosity among his Jewish subjects. From the day he became a king until his death, Herod was the Roman puppet king—both installed and closely supervised by the Roman Empire. He faithfully served the interests of that Empire and balanced those interests against the interests of various Jewish classes and his personal interests.

Historians are somewhat divided in their assessment of Herod the Great. Most scholars agree that Herod as a character was ruthless and unscrupulous. But they also acknowledge that he was an exceptionally successful builder of Judea, an efficient statesman and administrator, and a capable military commander whom Augustus Caesar regarded as an associate king. During most of his reign Judea experienced prosperity and her boundaries extended further than they did during the reigns of David and Solomon (including the western part of today’s state of Jordan and southern Lebanon and Syria belonged to Herod’s kingdom).

Herod’s fame as a builder of Judea in the times of Greeks and Romans, is unsurpassed. Some of his buildings were designed for defence (like massive fortresses Antonia, Masada, Herodeion, Alexandreion). He also built several splendid new cities, notably Caesarea, Sebaste, Agrippias. As a patron of Greek culture, Herod built monuments, public buildings, even temples to pagan gods in foreign countries. His greatest building enterprise was the reconstruction and expansion of the temple in Jerusalem. The work began early in 19 B.C. and the finishing touches were put A.D. 63, only seven years before its destruction.

Herod’s long rule was marked by tensions arising from two main sources—his own family, and to some extent from uncertain political winds blowing from Rome (particularly in the earlier period of his reign). He never lost a firm grip on power and never hesitated to use any means to eliminate every real or perceived threat to his supremacy. The governor earned an infamous distinction for ruthlessly murdering even his closest family members—after accusing some of high treason. For example, Herod’s eldest son, Antipater III (the son of his first Jewish wife, Doris), who incriminated his two half-brothers a few years ago, was charged with fratricide and with a conspiracy to murder his father. While lying on his deathbed Herod ordered Antipater’s execution and immediately rewrote his will. Three of his sons—in addition to the many others—were killed under his command. Herod’s infamy for murdering his closest relatives is attested by Macrobius, a pagan writer in late Antiquity.

The secular historians’ assessment of King Herod agrees with the testimony of the sacred historians. In the opening chapters of the Gospel of Matthew, Herod appears as a ruthless and bloodthirsty villain. In chapter 2 of Matthew, we learn of an unspeakable tragedy that befell the inhabitants of Bethlehem of Judea. The wise men from the east ask of Herod the king the question: Where was the newborn King of the Jews? (v. 2). When Herod learned from the chief priests and scribes that the prophesied King of the Jews, the Messiah, would be born in Bethlehem, he sent the wise men there with an instruction to advise him of their findings. Since the honorable visitors did not return to Herod, in his paranoid fury the king issued an order that all male children “from two years and under” in Bethlehem and its vicinity be killed (v. 16). Through divine intervention, the child Jesus was to escape the murderous intent of the cruel tyrant. Following the “Massacre of the Innocent” in Bethlehem, Herod did not live much longer. He died in Jericho after an extremely painful, putrefying illness of uncertain cause, known to posterity to “Herod’s Evil.” He was buried in a castle palace, Herodium, in the Judean Desert, about 12 km south of Jerusalem.

During his lifetime, Herod was married to ten wives with whom he had fourteen children—hence plotting Herod’s family tree, and taking account of all his descendants, is not an easy task. This matter is further complicated by the custom of some Herodians to marry their relatives (consanguine marriage). It should come as no surprise to us, therefore, to encounter in the biblical records several rulers by the name “Herod.”

Due to Herod’s constantly changing sentiments toward his wives and children, his last will and testament was changed at least three times. In his final will that was ratified by Caesar Augustus, the territory over which Herod ruled was divided among his three sons. Two of Herod’s heirs, Antipas and Archelaus, had the same mother, Malthace, a Samaritan woman. The third heir, Philip II, was born of Cleopatra of Jerusalem. It should be noted that on Herod’s death, a deputation of aristocrats from Judea asked for the abolition of the Herodian rule in favor of a Roman governor, yet Augustus chose to honor Herod’s will. Augustus was to grant roughly one half of the kingdom to Archelaus, giving him the title of an ethnarch (a ruler, lesser than king, of a common ethnic group) and the other half was divided between Antipas and Philip II as tetrarchs.

In Herod’s last will, ArchelausJudea obtained the status of a Roman province governed by a prefect (praefectus), later know as procurator, appointed by the emperor (in power from 4 b.c. to a.d. 6), was designated as a king, but Augustus recognized him as an ethnarch (a ruler, lesser than king, of a common ethnic group). His territory consisted of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea (biblical Edom). Archelaus is said to have had all his father’s defects of character, but little of his administrative and diplomatic ability. Apart from being an energetic builder, little else had distinguished Archelaus except his tyrannical rule of about nine years. Archelaus was so oppressive that in a.d. 6, two embassies, one from Judea and one from Samaria, lodged serious complaints against him in Rome. To avoid popular revolt, Augustus deposed Archelaus and sent him into exile (Vienne, Rhône valley). . The prefect exercised jurisdiction in capital offences (ius gladii) and commanded a body of auxiliary troops (Roman, non-citizen military units, typically made of locally recruited soldiers). This fact was to be of significance for the trial and execution of Jesus Christ.

Archelaus is explicitly mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew 2:13–23 in the story about Jesus’ parents’ flight to Egypt and their return and settlement in Nazareth: “But when he heard that Archelaus did reign in Judaea in the room of his father Herod, he was afraid to go thither: notwithstanding, being warned of God in a dream, he turned aside into the parts of Galilee: And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth. . . .” (vv. 22, 23a). Archelaus’ journey to Rome to be acknowledged as a ruler by Augustus, while opposed by his countrymen, might have been alluded to in Jesus’ parable of the talents in Luke 19 (particularly in verses 12, 14, 27).

Philip II, also known as Philip the Tetrarch, is identified in the Gospel of Luke 3:1 as a “brother of Herod” (Antipas) and a “tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis.” Josephus provides more details about the territory of Philip’s tetrarchy, including in it Auranitis, Gaulanitis (today’s Golan), Batanea, and the district around Paneas. This was the land which Herod the Great received from Augustus, the least prosperous part of Herod’s kingdom, east and north-east of the Sea of Galilee (today’s Golan and Hauran—northern Jordan, southeast Lebanon, and southwest Syria). Philip’s territory was populated for the most part by Gentiles. The word “tetrarchy” in the Greek language literally means “the rule of four,” or one government divided in four parts, with a different person ruling each part. The kingdom of Herod the Great was divided among his three sons, and the fourth part (toparchy of Jamnia) was given to Herod’s sister, Salome (following Salome’s death in A.D. 10, her part was incorporated into the Roman province of Judea).

Philip rebuilt and enlarged the Hellenistic city of Paneas, named after the nearby grotto and shrines dedicated to the Greek god, Pan. The city became the administrative capital of his realm and was renamed Caesarea in honor of the Emperor Augustus. This city is known in the Bible as Caesarea Philippi (to distinguish it from Caesarea Maritima, built by his father, Herod). At the outskirts of Caesarea of Philippi Peter professed Jesus as the Messiah (Matthew 16:13–20).

East of the point where the Jordan River enters the Sea of Galilee, Philip rebuilt another well-known city from the time of Jesus—Bethsaida (“Fishertown” or “House of Hunting”). Philip was a moderate and tolerant ruler, unlike his other two ruling half-brothers. He married his niece Salome, daughter of his half-brother Philip by Herodias. This Salome was the one who was to dance at the feast of her other uncle, Herod Antipas, and there, on the advice of her mother, Herodias, ask for the head of John the Baptist (Matthew 14:6–10; Mark 6:21–28). Other than that atrocity, Philip led a relatively peaceful rule for 37 years.

Herod’s son who features most prominently in the gospel accounts is Herod Antipas(Antipater) . Antipas ruled as tetrarch over two provinces of his father’s kingdom—Galilee (western side of the Lake of Galilee) and Perea (the eastern bank of Jordan and northeast of Dead Sea). He stayed in power the longest of all Herodian rulers—42 years (4 b.c. – a.d. 39). His subjects informally called him “king” (basileus). This practice is reflected in the gospels. Mark, and to some extent Matthew, call him “King Herod” (Mark 6:14, 22, 25, 26, 27; Matthew 14:9; but in Matthew 14:1, Antipas is call “Herod the tetrarch”).

Antipas proved to be the most accomplished of Herod’s sons. He was a reliable ally of the Roman emperors, first of Augustus, then of his successor, Tiberius. Like his father, he was a patron of Hellenistic culture and a great builder. His signature accomplishment was Tiberias, a predominantly Gentile city built on the west shore of the Lake of Galilee. Antipas married the daughter of the Nabatean king Aretas IV (9 b.c. – a.d. 40), but after about twenty years of marriage, he became attracted to his niece and sister-in-law Herodias. Herodias was daughter of his executed half-brother Aristobulus, and the wife of his other half-brother, Philip (known as Herod Philip I, prince, but not a ruler). Herodias agreed to marry Antipas on the condition that he divorce his first wife, the Nabatean princess. Antipas’ wife returned to her father, King Aretas IV, but her departure seriously damaged Antipas’ relations with his southern neighbors, precipitating several military engagements. Further, for marrying the wife of his half-brother, Antipas received a stern rebuke from John the Baptist, whom he afterward placed in prison. As mentioned earlier, through a tragic chain of circumstances and the diabolical malice of Herodias, the great prophet of God lost his life.

Thereafter, Herod Antipas was soon to learn of the mighty works of a great prophet in Galilee. This news would make him fear that John the Baptist had resurrected from the dead (Matthew 14:1, 2; Mark 6:16–18; Luke 9:7–9). Some Pharisees warned Jesus that Antipas, the ruler of Galilee, sought to kill him: “At that very hour some Pharisees came, and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’  And he said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.’ ” (Luke 13:31, 32, ESV). Herod Antipas’ desire to meet the great Galilean prophet will be fulfilled. Antipas was in Jerusalem for the great feast, and Jesus was there to “finish” His course. The Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, was to deliver to Herod Antipas the Galilean preacher who claimed to be the King of the Jews. Jesus stood trial before Herod Antipas as a judge, and the ruler made every effort to induce the Son of God to perform some miracle or at least to say something in His defense. Yet Jesus remained silent. Antipas did not condemn Jesus to death, but he humiliated and abused Him. And he reconciled with the Roman governor for some past grievances through Jesus’ suffering and death.

Yet he ultimately reaped the grim harvest of his dishonesty and treachery. As the saying goes, the mills of God grind slowly. In a.d. 36, Herod Antipas sustained a crushing defeat at the hand of the Nabatean king for shame he had inflicted upon the Nabatean royal family. But his judgment day was not yet over. Agrippa, the brother of his wife Herodias, soon became Antipas’ nemesis, a close friend and confidante of the future Roman emperor Caligula. Following the death of Philip II, Caligula made Agrippa the king (King Agrippa I) over the Philip’s tetrarchy, causing jealousy in Agrippa’s own sister: Herodias later induced her husband, Herod Antipas, to ask of the emperor the title of king for himself. But King Agrippa was a step ahead of them. He had already laid charges with Caligula against Herod Antipas for the acts of conspiracy to commit treason. Agrippa produced evidence: Antipas amassed a stockpile of weapons sufficient to arm 70,000 men. Caligula was convinced of Antipas guilt and sent him into exile in Spain. All Antipas’ funds were confiscated, and all his territories turned over to King Agrippa I. Herod Antipas and his wife Herodias ultimately died in ignominy—dispossessed and dishonored.

In this article we have provided a brief overview of the history of Jewish government in Palestine leading into the time of Christ. Our objective was to provide the reader with a solid grasp of the Jewish governing authorities in the time of Jesus—the reign of King Herod the Great and his successors. In the second part we propose to throw some light on the Jewish religious authorities and on the Roman government in Judea under the reign of Emperor Tiberius. This will prepare the way for the reflection on the greatest trial of all times—the trial of Jesus Christ. (To be continued.)

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