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Time passed more than 30 years since Joseph and Mary had brought a baby Jesus to Egypt, the representatives of priests and Levites sent by Sanhedrin to listen to the testimony of John the Baptist assembled in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem in the eleventh month of Jewish calendar around the year 28 AD. (John 1:19)Part 3: Torrent

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In the days of Alexander Jannaeus, who promoted a policy of modernization absorbing Hellenistic culture in a big way although he had been the great-grandson of the rebel priest Mattathias who had expelled the Hellenized Seleucid Syrian rule and had cleansed the temple, Antipas was appointed governor of Edom. Julius Caesar, who had conquered Israel in 63 BCE, appointed his son Antipater as procurator of Judea in 47 BCE. Antipater appointed his sons Phasael and Herod to be governors of Jerusalem and Galilee respectively. Antipater was murdered in 43 BCE; however, his sons managed to hold the reins of power and were elevated to the rank of tetrarch in 41 BCE by Mark Anthony.

In 40 BCE, Antigonus II Mattathias, last Hasmonean king of Judea, invaded land and rule of Phasael and Herod with the help of the Parthians. Antigonus killed Phasael and officially proclaimed himself king and high priest. Herod managed to escape to Rome and was elected King of the Jews by the Roman Senate. With the help of Anthony, Herod marched into Jerusalem, toppled Antigonus and established the Herod dynasty in 37 BCE.

When Herod the Great was still governor of Galilee, a man called Hezekiah led a revolt. Although this rebellion was put down by Herod, Hezekiah was praised as the righteous by Sanhedrin and Herod was stymied.

Herod the Great ruled Israel until 4 BC; at his death his kingdom was divided among his three sons. In Galilee, a man named Judas, son of Hezekiah, proclaimed himself as a descendant of the Hasmoneans and sparked the uprising at Sepphoris but was suppressed by Syrian Governor Publius Quinctilius Varus and Judas fled.

When Judea became a direct jurisdiction of Rome after Herod Archelaos' misgovernment and downfall in the year 6 AD, Judas of Galilee once again uprose breaking into the royal armory at Sepphoris and seizing the arms in 7 AD. But he eventually was crushed and crucified with 2000 fellows.

According to Flavius Josephus, author of "The Jewish War," at that time, a fiery figure known as Judas the Galilean urged his fellow countrymen to refuse to pay the Roman taxes and founded a secret society that took the name "Zealots." Judas is also said to have been a law scholar of Pharisees, Josephus identified Zealots, an offshoot of Hassidim, as the Fourth Philosophy of Judaism that was different from the Sadducees, the Pharisees, and the Essenes. A group which is said to have had close relationship with John the Baptist and was based at Qumran, near the shore of the Dead Sea, also seems to have been a religious and political association descended from Hassidim.

When Judas the Galilean and his sons, James and Simon revolted, Jesus was about 10 years old. Mary, mother of Jesus, named her three sons Judas, James and Simon, too. These names came from the Maccabean family that had successfully thrown out the Greeks, purified and re-dedicated the Temple in the 2nd century BC. Farther one of Jesus' brothers was a member of Zealot. And the name Jesus is nothing other than the Greek translation of Joshua, who led the Israelites against Canaan, and means 'Jah is redemption.'

Pontius Pilate, who became governor of Judea, frequently invited the high priest Caiaphas to the governor's office to discuss the trends of Gentile Jews in various parts of the Roman Empire and countermeasures against anti-Roman movements within the country by various Jewish sects.

Therefore, Caiaphas entrusted Saul (later being called Paul), the leader of the Synagogue of the Freedmen-Jews, with gathering information on the Gentile Jews, and also asked James (Jesus' younger brother), a Nazirite priest to investigate the movements of the various Jewish sects in the country. James had as a descendant of David perform rituals for the community to which he belonged at the holy place of the temple, where only the high priest being allowed to enter.

Pontius Pilate, who was appointed to the governor of the Roman province of Judaea by Emperor Tiberius in AD 26, is said to have been born in Samnite knight class lower-ranking noble Ponti family of southern Italy. He was enlisted as a vice commander (a military officer attached to consulate) and was promoted and appointed to the governor before 30 years old. Therefore he must have been quite excellent as both a consul and a military officer.

Consuls belonged to Knight class, like Pilate, were mostly sent to the backward territories and engaged jobs, such as maintenance peace and order and collection of indirect taxes and the poll tax.

In accordance with convention, Pilate led Roman soldiers bearing standards with images of the emperor on them and entered Jerusalem. However, this move provoked great resentment among the Jews who denied the idolatry; a delegation of Jews traveled to Caesarea, where the official residence of the Roman ruler was, to protest the presence of the standards and call for their removal. After five days, Pilate sought to frighten the petitioners with the threat of execution by his soldiers, but eventually acceded to their request and removed the standards after seeing their determined refusal.

Some of the donations to the Temple in Jerusalem could be used legally in public works. Therefore, Pilate actively carried out irrigation project in Jerusalem with cooperation of the clergy. However the Jews clamored against this act, saying that he stole money from the temple treasury to construct an aqueduct to bring water into Jerusalem from a distance of about 40 km. Pilate ordered soldiers to put down the mob using sticks instead of swords.

At that time, riots and rebellions had occurred frequently in Judea. When a large-scale revolt occurred, he could ask the superior consul, the governor of Syria, who had the right to command a number of corps, to help. However, during the considerable period of Pilate's tenure of office, Syrian governor was absent. Therefore, he had to quickly handle multiple riots on his limited own troop.

He had to report to the emperor the issues related to the prestige of emperor and incidents threatened the authority of emperor. He also had to clarify the incidents that occurred in the provinces under his jurisdiction before the complaints were filed by others. Anxiety of Pilate, who had to manage these very difficult and sensitive issues just as a low class noble, is more than one can imagine.

After a while, Pilate, who had obtained an information that a large number of Samaritans had gathered at Mount Gerizim, dispatched soldiers to prevent riot. Pilate was later removal from office resulted from complaints lodged by the Samaritans with Pilate's immediate superior, the governor of Syria, Lucius Vitellius Veteris. The complaint was about Pilate's slaughter of a number of Samaritans who were deluded by an impostor into assembling at Mount Gerizim in hopes of uncovering sacred treasures supposedly hidden there by Moses. Vitellius ordered Pilate to Rome to appear before Tiberius. However, Tiberius died in 37 C.E. while Pilate was still on his way to Rome. History gives no reliable data regarding his fate after his resignation of the governor. Pilate is said to have been obliged to commit suicide, have become a Christian or have spent the rest of his life returning home in southern Italy.

It all started with a tidal wave of the church movement by Overseas Gentile Jews, that had explosively increased, finally reached Jerusalem, the headquarters of Judaism. In addition, with the hope that the Savior would come soon based on Daniel's 'Seventy Weeks prophecy' in the Old Testament, activities of political associations and religious factions aiming for rebuilding Israel also became active. Backed by these trends, a plan to create a new organization to oversee the Jewish people both inside and outside the country seems to have been fostered.

The plan to launch the new organization at the meeting place of the Essenes, next to the house of Caiaphas, the High Priest, on the day of Pentecost in 32 A.D. must have been agreed well before the Crucifixion among the different Jewish factions in the country including the Essenes and overseas gentile believers. Otherwise it was impossible for the Gentile Jews of various parts of the Mediterranean coast to attend the launch of the new organization.

High Priest Caiaphas, who had been aware of these trends in the early stages, might have thought of putting Jesus' younger brother James (James the Less), who had been the legitimate lineage of the High Priest representing both the Davidic royal family as well as a priestly Aaronic Lineage, served as the high priest for the Nazirites entering into the holy areas of the Temple, at the top of the new organization.

According to Mr. Shlomo Sand, Professor of history at Tel Aviv University, at its high point there, Judaism was professed by 7 to 8 percent of all the Roman empire's inhabitants. Salo Baron suggested that there were 8 million Jews in the 1st century CE. This is obviously exaggerated estimate. Half that number - 4 million, as suggested by Arthur Ruppin and Adolf von Harnack - seems more reasonable, says Professor Sand.

On the other hand,Census under the reign of Augustus seems to have been done three times in 28 BC, 8 BC, and 14 AD according to the funerary inscription of the first Roman emperor, Augustus. If the description of the Gospel of Luke is based on historical facts, the most likely one is the census of 8 BC, in which case the year of Jesus' birth will be a little earlier. Because of the vast Roman Empire, the second survey that began in 8 BC may have been delayed until 4 BC in the Palestinian territory. It may be mentioned that these Census were only concerned with Roman Citizens and the results were as follows; 28 BC: 4,063,000/ 8 BC: 4,333,000/ 14 AD: 4,937,000

Thus if they succeeded in incorporating the church movement under their umbrella, numerically, the high priest might have held influence comparable to the Roman Emperor.

At that time, based on the so-called "70 Weeks Prophecy'' in the Old Testament , it was the 483rd year counting from 445 B.C. when Artaxerxes I of Achaemenid Persia ordered the rebuilding of Jerusalem, and therefore around 33-34 A.D. expectations were high that a Messiah would appear and rebuild Israel. Taking advantage of this opportunity, a plan was developed to establish a new organization in Jerusalem to oversee the church movement of Gentile Jews.

Caiaphas, the high priest, wanted to place this new organization under the umbrella of the Sanhedrin, which he chaired, and while negotiating with Pilate, the governor of Judea, and the Herod royal family, he also instructed James, a Nazarite priest, and Saul, a leader of Synagogue of Freed Slaves, to lay the ground work to build consensus of various Jewish sects and Gentile Jewish sects. It appears that the testimony of John the Baptist at Bethany was arranged in this way.

Time passed more than 30 years since Joseph and Mary had brought a baby Jesus to Egypt, the representatives of priests and Levites sent by Sanhedrin to listen to the testimony of John the Baptist assembled in Bethany, a suburb of Jerusalem in the eleventh month of Jewish calendar around the year 28 AD. (John 1:19) John told them, "I baptize with water, but right here in the crowd is someone you do not recognize. He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie." (John 1:26-27) From this description Jesus seems to have been included in the delegation of the priests and the Levites dispatched by Sanhedrin. Jesus, who had made a debut to the religious society of Jerusalem with testimony of John the Baptist, a month later, at the Passover Feast, went to the temple with his disciples and drove away merchants from the temple. (John 2:13-25) Afterwards, he stayed in the Judean countryside with his disciples, and started the activity of baptizing with the Holy Spirit. (John 3:22)

From the above description of the Gospel of John, we can see that the act of Jesus, that is, 'driving away merchants from the temple,' was clearly planned with the ancestor of Hanukkah, which their ancestors had recaptured the temple of Jerusalem from the Greeks and purified it and re-dedicated in the Maccabean Revolt, in mind and reflected the thought and beliefs of the group of former disciples of John the Baptist such as Peter, Andrew, James the Greater and his brother John and the leader of Nazirites James the Less and his younger brothers. But, it is far from the teaching of Jesus in Q Sayings Gospel, which denies Creator God of the Old Testament and could lead people to ultimate salvation through awareness of the original Self.

However, Jesus seems to have had decided to act as a symbol of the movement of restoration of Israel when he made a debut to the religious society of Jerusalem with testimony of John the Baptist in Bethany. And the description of the Gospel of John implies that this plan was approved by Sanghrin chaired by the High Priest.

On the third day, Jesus, who had made a debut to the religious society of Jerusalem, participated the wedding in a village called Cana that was about 20 km west of the Lake Galilee together with his mother Mary and his brothers and performed the first of his miraculous signs. He turned the water in six stone water jars, each holding from twenty to thirty gallons, into wine. (John 2:1-11) The bridegroom of this wedding is said to have been Simon the Zealot, who is said to be Jesus' younger brother. It can be seen that Jesus' family also cooperated on Jesus' religious debut. According to the Gospel of John, a month later, at the Passover Feast, Jesus went to the temple with his disciples and drove away merchants from the temple. (John 2:13-25) Afterwards, he stayed in the Judean countryside with his disciples, and started the activity of baptizing the Holy Spirit. (John 3:22)

From the above description of the Gospel of John, we can see that the act of Jesus, that is, 'driving away merchants from the temple,' was clearly planned after the story of Hanukkah, which their ancestors had recaptured the temple of Jerusalem from the Greeks and purified it and re-dedicated in the Maccabean Revolt, in mind and reflected the thought and beliefs of the group of former disciples of John the Baptist such as Peter, Andrew, James the Greater and his brother John and the leader of Nazirites James the Less and his younger brothers. But, it is far from the teaching of Jesus in Q Sayings Gospel (the Gospel of Thomas), which denies Creator God of the Old Testament and could lead people to ultimate salvation through awareness of the original Self.

However, Jesus seems to have had decided not only to act as a symbol of the movement of restoration of Israel but also to be crucified as a lamb of sin offering when he made a debut to the religious society of Jerusalem with testimony of John the Baptist in Bethany.

The Gospel of John introduces the following incidents; An argument developed between some of John's disciples and a certain Jew over the matter of ceremonial washing. (John 3:25) The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John. When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee. (John 4:1-3) And it has the following additional remarks, saying "in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples." (John 4:2) Wasn't it John himself, the author of the Gospel of John, that the Gospel mentions as a certain Jew who argued with some disciples of John the Baptist. Orthodox Gospels place Peter and the brothers of Zebedee, that is, James the Greater and John, as three close aides of Jesus.

Jesus then revealed the essence of "The Baptism of the Holy Spirit" in the synagogue of Capernaum, a town on the north bank of the Sea of Galilee, as follows. "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." Many of his disciples who heard this said, "This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?" and left Jesus and no longer followed him. (John 6:53-66)

The high priest Caiaphas appears to have engaged James the Less, the leader of Nazirite, and Saul (later Paul), one of leaders of 'the Synagogue of the Freedmen-Jews,' as the two wheels of a cart and envisaged to set up a church organization mainly composed of Hebraists and is believed to have obtained the consent of the Sanhedrin, Roman Governor and Herod royal family.

According to the English version of Wikipedia, the Synagogue of the Libertines (the Synagogue of the Freedmen-Jews) was the assembly of the Freedmen from Rome, descendants of the Jews enslaved by Gnaeus Pompeius after his conquest of Judea in 63 BC. There is some doubt in this explanation. Because it seems to have taken a few hundreds of years for the Freedmen-Jews to create their own organization and extend its force in Asia and Mediterranean coastal areas. In contrast, from 63 BC to the time when Paul started his third missionary journey daring to focus on evangelism in Asia province where he had been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word, there is at most only a 100 - year interval. According to Wikipedia, the Roman nobles and the emperors seem to have been eager to emancipate slaves in order to increase their clientes (vassal) or to give incentives to their servants who managed their farms, other businesses or properties. In other words, the freedmen were talented elite class at that time and could even get Roman citizenship.

On the other hand, if Joseph, the father of Jesus, registered himself and the baby Jesus at Bethlehem Ephrata for census, which only obliged Roman citizens, as written in the Gospel of Luke, Jesus also should have held Roman citizenship. But not only Matthew, who is considered a child of Mary's second husband Alpheus' just like James the Less and served as a tax collector for Romans, but also other younger brothers of Jesus may have had Roman citizenship as well. If so, it is no wonder that Jerusalem Church had close relationship with "the Synagogue of the Freedmen-Jews" from its inception.

According to Mr. Shlomo Sand, Professor of history at Tel Aviv University, Galilee, where Jesus grew up, was populated and governed predominantly by the Itureans. The origin of Iturean, who is called Ismaelite (the descendants of the eldest son of Abraham and His Egyptian mistress Hagar), is probably Phoenician or possibly tribal Arab. The disciples of Jesus, who were mostly native Galilean or from Decapolis (currently located in Jordan), Greek colonial cities, did not know many of the rules and precepts of Judaism. They were blamed for their behavior not only by the Pharisees but also by the disciples of John the Baptist. As a result, Jesus criticized the most of the fundamental rules of Judaism from the dining etiquette to fasting, prayer, alms and the Sabbath, sometimes violently and sometimes with humor and irony. Therefore, we can see that Jesus' religious activity had an aspect of religious reform movement by newcomers who mass-converted to Judaism under the Hasmonean Dynasty.

According to four Gospels under the canon of the New Testament, while all the twelve apostles became disciples after Jesus had been baptized by John the baptist in the Jordan River, the circumstances that they became disciples of Jesus are recorded only for the brothers of Zebedee, the brothers of Peter and Andre, who seem to have had been disciples of John the Baptist, and Matthew, the tax collector, and Philip and Nathanael (maybe the same person as Bartholomew of the synoptic gospels), The names of the four Gospels' twelve apostles also do not match each other.

The Gospels place Peter and the brothers of Zebedee, that is, James the Greater and John, as three close aides of Jesus. It seems that including Peter's younger brother Andrew, these four people actively participated in Jesus' missionary activities.

On the other hand, James the son of Alpheus (James the Less), Matthew, the tax collector and Simon the Zealot, according to Professor James D. Tabor, Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina, seem to have been younger brothers of Jesus. They, including Judas, the son of James (maybe the same person as Thaddaeus), seem to have based their activities in the temple as the legitimate lineage of priests representing both the Davidic royal family as well as a priestly Aaronic Lineage.

According to Professor Tabor, James the Righteous is the same as James the son of Alpheus. Matthew, known as the author of The Gospel of Matthew, is also recorded as 'Levi son of Alphaeus' in The Gospel of Mark. Simon the Zealot and Jesus' youngest brother Simon, son of Clopas, who took over as Bishop of the Jerusalem Church after the martyrdom of James the Righteous, are the same person. Because Alphaeus and Clophas both mean the second in Greek and in Aramaic respectively and these words are presumed to refer to the second husband of Mary. He was probably the younger brother of her first husband Joseph.

The rest of the Twelve, Philip, Nathanael, Thomas and Judas Iscariot are not given active roles in the biblical canon gospels. All of them have in common that the Gospels bearing the name of these four disciples were stigmatized as Gnosticism by Orthodox Church. As for Philip and Nathanael, the depiction of the Gospel of John implies that Jesus knew them from before. Perhaps these four had established a relationship with Jesus before Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist. The time when they established a relationship with Jesus seems to have been the same period with the contents of the Gospel of Thomas.

Judas Iscariot is synonymous with 'betrayal' that he handed Jesus over to the Romans and crucified him, but there are many mysterious points about his treachery. Typical examples are the following three points.