62~More About “High and Unmighty”

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BACKGROUND FOR THIS EPISODE

(In Order of Appearance)

NEW TESTAMENT OF THE BIBLE:

• John 11:49 – One of them was Caiaphas. He was the high priest that year. He said to them, “You know nothing!
• In 1990, a burial chamber was discovered from the first century.  Inside, archaeologists found 12 limestone ossuaries.  One contained the bones of a 60-year-old man and bore the inscription “Yehosef bar Qayafa” – Joseph, son of Caiaphas.  Experts believe these remains are probably those of Caiaphas the high priest of Jerusalem who orchestrated the execution of Jesus.
• Acts 1:6 – The apostles were all together. They asked Jesus, “Lord, is this the time for you to rebuild the kingdom for Israel?”
• Matthew 23:33 – “You snakes! You are from a family of poisonous snakes! How will you escape the judgment of hell!? 
• Matthew 19:8-9 – Jesus said to them, “Your hearts were hard, so Moses allowed you to divorce your wives, but it was not like that from the very beginning. ⁹I am telling you, unless sexual sin is the reason, if a man divorces his wife and marries another woman, he commits adultery.”
• John 6:53-55 – Jesus said to them, “I am telling you the truth: If you don’t eat my^c flesh and you don’t drink my blood, you do not have life in you! ⁵⁴The person who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life. I will raise him from death on the last day. ⁵⁵My flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶The person who eats my flesh and drinks my blood stays in me and I stay in him. 
• John 18:19-23 – The high priest asked Jesus about his followers and about his doctrine. ²⁰Jesus answered him, “I have spoken plainly to the world. I always taught where Jewish people gather—in the synagogues and in the temple courtyard. I have said nothing secretly. ²¹Why ask me? Ask those who heard me. Look, they know what I said.” ²²When Jesus said this, one of the guards who was standing there struck Jesus. This man asked, “Is that the way to answer the high priest?” ²³Jesus answered him, “If I said something wrong, show me what it was. If it was good, then why did you hit me?”
• “Slap” in the original Greek manuscript is “dero” from the word derma or skin, and primarily means to flay or skin something.
• Matthew 26:3 – Then the most important priests and the Jewish elders of the people gathered together at the high priest’s house. His name was Caiaphas. 
• John 18:24 – Then Hannas sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas, the high priest.
• Luke 22:60-62 – But Peter said, “Man, I don’t know what you are talking about!” Immediately, while Peter was still speaking, a rooster crowed. ⁶¹Then the Lord Jesus turned and looked into Peter’s eyes. And, Peter remembered what the Lord had said to him: “Before the rooster crows in the morning, you will say that you don’t even know me three times.” ⁶²Then Peter went outside the courtyard, and cried bitterly.
• Professor Ory N. Mazar discovered a “first-century, majestic mansion which once stood in a posh residential neighborhood of Jerusalem called Mt. Zion.”  Only a short walking distance from Jerusalem’s Temple Mount, this mansion, approached with a massive staircase and into the courtyard, is believed to be the home of High Priest Caiaphas.  It is an impressive multi-structured complex.
• Matthew 6:28, 34 – And why worry about clothes? Learn from the way the wild flowers grow. They do not work hard or make threads for clothes… ³⁴Don’t worry about tomorrow, because tomorrow will have its own worries. There is enough trouble in just one day.”
• Luke 12:18 – Then the rich man said, ‘I know what I will do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones! I will consolidate all of my wheat and my goods in my new barns. 
• Mark 10:21, 30 – Jesus loved the man. He looked into his eyes and said to him, “But there is still one more thing you need to do: Go, sell everything you have, and give the money to the poor people. Then you will have a treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me!”…³⁰will surely be rewarded 100 times more now, in this time, with houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, fields—with persecutions! However, he will get eternal life in the next age. 
• Mark 14:55-59 – The most important priests and the whole Jewish Council wanted to find some men who would give evidence against Jesus, so that they could kill him. But, they did not find any real proof. ⁵⁶Many people were telling lies against Jesus, but their testimony did not match. ⁵⁷Some men stood up and told this lie against Jesus: ⁵⁸“We heard this man say: ‘I will destroy this temple sanctuary built by men and build another one in three days—without human hands!’ ” ⁵⁹Their testimony still did not agree. 
• Mark 14:61 – Jesus continued to be silent; he gave no answers. Again, the high priest asked Jesus, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”
• Mark 14:63-65 – Then the high priest ripped his own clothes.^m He said, “Why do we need any more witnesses? ⁶⁴You heard the evil thing that Jesus said! How does it look to you?”  They all condemned him, saying, “He is guilty! He should be killed!” ⁶⁵Some of them began to spit on Jesus. They covered his face and hit him with their fists. They said to him, “Prophesy!” And when the guards took charge of him, they started beating up on him.
• Matthew 5:29 – If your right eye is causing you to sin, pluck it out and throw it away from you! You would be better off to destroy one part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell. 
• Matthew 21:10-11 – ¹⁰When Jesus came into Jerusalem, the whole city was excited, asking, “Who is this man!?” ¹¹The crowds continued to say, “He is Jesus, the Prophet from the town of Nazareth in Galilee.”

OLD TESTAMENT OF THE BIBLE:

• Leviticus 14:2 – “Tell the people of Israel this: ‘A person might sin unintentionally.^a
• Genesis 3:15 – I will put hostility between you and the woman, between your  children and her child.^k Although her child will crush your head, you will bite his heel.”^l
• Numbers 35:30 – “ ‘A killer may be put to death only if he is a murderer. And, there must be witnesses. No one may be put to death with only one witness.ⁿ
• Isaiah 9:6 – Why? Because a special Child^q will be born to us. God will give us^r a Son.^s He will be responsible for leading the people.^t He will be called:^u“Wonderful”;^v “Counselor;”^w “Powerful God”;^x “Father of Eternity”;^y “Prince of Peace”.^{z [Self-Existent]}
• Exodus 3:14-15 – God answered Moses, “I AM WHO I AM.”^h God continued, “This is what you will tell the sons of Israel: ‘I AMⁱ has sent me to you.’ ¹⁵God also said to Moses, “Tell the sons of Israel: ‘The Always-Present One,^j the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob—has sent me to you.’ This is My Name forever. I will be remembered by this Name from generation to generation.
• Deuteronomy 17:2-7 – “Suppose a man or a woman is found among you doing something evil in the sight of the Always-Present One, your God, in one of the towns which Yahweh, your God, is giving to you. That man or that woman is breaking His covenant. ³That person might have gone off and served other gods.^b He might have bowed down to them, or to the sun, or to the moon, or to the stars of the sky. I have forbidden idolatry. ⁴Suppose someone has told you about this. Then you must investigate this matter very carefully. Look, it might be true! Such a disgusting thing may have happened in Israel! ⁵If so, then you must take that man or that woman who has done this evil thing out to the town gate.^c Throw stones at that person until he or she dies! ⁶There must be two or three witnesses who say that they saw him or her actually do it. Then that person should be put to death! But, if there is only one witness who testifies, then the accused person should not be put to death! ⁷The witnesses must be the first ones to throw stones at the person. Then, everyone else will follow their lead. You must get rid of that evil among you!
• Psalm 9:13 – O Yahweh, be kind to me. See how my enemies hurt me. Don’t let me go through the gates of death.^h
• Psalm 16:2 – I say to Yahweh: “You are my Lord. Every good thing I have comes from You.”
• Psalm 17:8 – Guard me as You would protect Your own eye.^f Shelter me as a bird hides her young ones under her wings.^g
• Psalm 25:2 – My God, I trust in You. Do not let me be disgraced. Don’t let my enemies laugh at me.
• Psalm 27:3 – If an army surrounds me, I won’t be afraid. If war breaks out,I will trust in Yahweh.
• Psalm 28:9 – Save Your people and bless those who belong to You. Be their Shepherd^e and carry them forever.
• Psalm 34:1 – <A psalm of David. When he dramatically changed his behavior^a in front of Abimelech,^b and he drove David away, and David left.> I will praise Yahweh at all times.^c His praise is always on my lips.
• Psalm 36:11 – Don’t let proud people trample me.^h Don’t let the evil people force me away.
• Psalm 48:14 – Why? Because this God is our God forever and ever.He will guide us from now on.

OTHER JESUS QUOTES IN THIS EPISODE

FLAVIUS JOSEPHUS:

• ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, BK. 18, 2:1 – Cyrenius…in the thirty-seventh year of Caesar’s victory over Antony…appointed Ananus…high priest….The third emperor sent Balerius Gratus…deprived Ananus of the high priesthood….ordained Eleazar, the son of Ananus who had been high priest before, to be high priest….Caiaphus was made his successor.  When Gratus had done those things, he went back to Rome, after he had tarried in Judea eleven years, when Pontius Pilate came as his successor.
• ANTIQUITIES OF THE JEWS, Bk XVII, 9:3 –Now, upon the approach of that feast of unleavened bread…called the Passover….Archelaus thought there was no way to preserve the entire government but by cutting off those who made this attempt upon it; so he sent out the whole army upon them, and sent the horsemen to prevent those that had their tents without the Temple from assisting those that were within the Temple, and to kill such as ran away from the footmen when they thought themselves out of danger; which horsemen slew three thousand men….