Did Herod Want to Kill Jesus?

"Go and Tell That Fox..."

Herod the Great did indeed want to kill the infant Jesus, and failed because Jesus' family fled to Egypt. But did his son Herod Antipas "the tetrarch" say he wanted to kill the thirty-something Jesus?

Yes?  You say that's in the Bible?

Let's Look Again...

Some Pharisees approached Jesus, saying, "Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill you." And he said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach my goal.' Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside Jerusalem" (Luke 13:31-33).

Ah. It was the Pharisees who said that. But can we trust these Pharisees? Let's dig some more...

Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, and said to his servants, "This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him" (Matthew 14:1-2).

But when Herod heard [the news], he kept saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen!" (Mark 6:16). 

Now Herod the tetrarch heard of all that was happening; and he was greatly perplexed, because it was said by some that John had risen from the dead, and by some that Elijah had appeared, and by others that one of the prophets of old had risen again. Herod said, "I myself had John beheaded, but who is this man about whom I hear such things?" And he kept trying to see him (Luke 9:7-9).

When Pilate learned that Jesus belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was in Jerusalem at that time, Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see him for a long time, because he had been hearing about him and was hoping to see some sign performed by him. He questioned Jesus at some length, but Jesus answered him nothing. And the chief priests and the scribes were standing there accusing him vehemently. And Herod with his soldiers, after treating him with contempt and mocking him, dressed him in a gorgeous robe and sent him back to Pilate (Luke 23:7-11).

Herod Antipas had wanted to see Jesus for a long time. Now He with his soldiers had Jesus in his custody, and could do anything he wanted with Jesus. But instead, Herod sent him back to governor Pilate. It doesn't seem as if Herod had wanted to kill Jesus. We must also remember that Herod never wanted to kill John the Baptist, but was maneuvered into doing so by Herod's wife.

Was the Pharisee lying when he said that to Jesus? Or was he just repeating an unfounded rumor that he had heard? We cannot tell. But we can be sure that he had a malicious intent to disrupt Jesus' ministry. He was taking advantage of a time when Jesus had crossed the Jordan River into Perea, which was the second of two kingdoms (along with Galilee) over which Herod Antipas reigned.

Who's Guarding the Hen House?

Jesus had a word for those Pharisees from Jerusalem, turning their murderous threat back against them in a prophecy.

"O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! Behold, your house is left to you desolate, and I say to you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!' " (Luke 13:34-35).

A SIGN I say, Not Feeding 5,000!

Why do Pharisees seek a sign?

In all four of the Gospels (twice in Matthew) we see Pharisees, Sadducees, and teachers of the Law (scribes) coming to Jesus and asking, "Show us a sign." or "What do you do for a sign, that we may believe you?"

If we had someone among us today that did all the kinds of powerful miracles that Jesus was doing, we might be justified in saying, "These things must be a sign from heaven! Surely God is with this person!" But for the Pharisees etc., "a sign" had a special and technical meaning that Jesus was not fulfilling for them.

The most prominent of these occasions lies in Matthew, right after Jesus had fed 5,000 men from five loaves of bread, followed a few weeks later by him feeding 4,000 men from seven loaves of bread. Wasn't that a sign?

Technically, no it wasn't. The technical meaning of "a sign" requested here is derived from Deuteronomy 18:21-22.

You may say in your heart, "How will we know the word which the LORD has not spoken?" When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the thing does not come about or come true, that is the thing which the LORD has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.

For this occasion Matthew switches from his usual "Pharisees and scribes" to "Pharisees and Sadducees" to show that the request for a sign had special importance to the officials that controlled the temple and the Sanhedrin--the Supreme Court of the Jews. 

If Jesus had said, "such-and-such will happen next week," the Sanhedrin could take up the question of whether Jesus was a prophet or not. They were the men who "sat in Moses' seat" to take up great questions of the Law and who was a prophet or not. In First Kings 17:1, Elijah said, "As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word." Elijah said it, and it happened just as he said. Elijah was a proven prophet.

But we can go deeper here. The Pharisees and Sadducees wanted to exert their authority over Jesus, to determine whether he was a prophet or not. But Jesus was not only a prophet, but also the Son of God. If he had acceded to their request and gave some trivial sign to prove himself, he would be granting their authority over him.

So he resisted. But for the benefit of all Israel, and all his future followers, he gave the single sign, the sign of Jonah: "As Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish, so will the Son of Man be in the belly of the earth." And this came true: Jesus resurrected from the dead some three days after he had been killed.

You and I still have this tool for recognizing a prophet today. Many claim to know what is going to happen, but few are proven correct. The "Late Great Planet Earth" did not produce the second coming of Jesus when the writer of that book said it would. Therefore, we know not to trust the writer of that book. He is no prophet.

What Was Young Jesus' Employment?

What Did Jesus Do Before he was 30?

Was Jesus a Carpenter?

The Gospel of Mark, in the words of one of Jesus' detractors, calls Jesus a tekton: "Is this not the tekton, the son of Mary?" (Mark 6:3). The Gospel of Matthew is more precise: "Is  this not the tekton's son?" (Mark 13:55). A third  century church father wrote that Joseph was a maker of plows and yokes, so Joseph's customers would have been farmers. Jesus would have learned Joseph's trade at the side of his adopted father.

The King James Version translates this word as "carpenter," but a more literal translation is "builder." Tektons were construction technicians working in stone and wood. Jesus shows familiarity with the principles of construction in one of his parables (Matthew  7:24-27). If you build a house on the sand, you are just waiting for the first storm to come along and knock it down. But if you give it a good foundation with rock, it will withstand the storm.

Was Jesus a Farmer?

Around small villages the like of Nazareth, the residents would own fields they would work part time to grow crops. This was dry farming, and almost all the work was done around planting time and harvesting time. There is evidence that the family of Joseph did indeed own a plot of farmland outside Nazareth, and if so, Jesus would have certainly helped with the planting and harvesting.

The church historian Eusebius includes a story from his sources of a confrontation between Zoker and James, and the dominion of the realm of Roman emperor Domitian. These two men are the grandsons of Jude, who was the youngest brother of Jesus. They had been accused of plotting the overthrow of the Roman Empire by the little-known sect of Christians.

Zoker and James pleaded with the government representative that they were poor farmers who had but little money and what they had consisted of the value of 29 acres of land, which can safely be assumed to be located in Palestine. Scholar and Professor Richard Bauckham says, "Their farm was no doubt the inherited family property, which may have remained in possession of the family," and is probably a good indicator of "Jesus' own socio-economic background."

Zoker and James admitted that Jesus was coming back to take over the world, but that it would not happen until Jesus returned with the clouds of heaven. The two men were highly regarded by the church after this incident, for the way in which they had stood up to the Roman Empire and had been acquitted as guiltless.

Jesus shows extensive familiarity with dry farming in his Parable of the Sower and the Soils. He uses it to show what happens when seed is sown into less-than-ideal soil and compares that with the word of the Gospel told to less-than-ready hearers of the word (Mark 4:1-20).

Was Jesus a Shepherd?

If the family of Jesus were construction workers, their best income sources would be the many building projects going on in Galilee, especially the growing city of Sepphoris quite near to Nazareth. Rather than keep animals such as goats for milk, they may have traded services for their milk with other residents of the town. They would certainly not have a large herd of sheep.

However, it was traditional for young boys to help with tending flocks of sheep, and it is quite possible that young Jesus spent a  summer or two hired out to one of the local shepherds. By observation he would have learned that the sheep in the flock knew the voice of their own shepherd, and would have little regard for the voice of a stranger (John 10:2-5).

If Jesus took up any of these trades, they gained him little acclaim or notoriety in the annals of history. But there is one incident when young Jesus did indeed gain both acclaim and notoriety:

Was Jesus a Student of Scripture? 

At the age of Twelve, Jesus stayed behind in the Jerusalem temple talking with the teachers of Scripture, and they were amazed at his understanding and his answers, as he both listened and asked questions. This need not have been the same lessons that Jesus preached at the age of Thirty, but they were certainly beyond what was expected from a twelve-year-old.

If Jesus' mother had told him about the astounding events surrounding his birth, and the prophecies that had been given over him, this would have aroused his curiosity to learn even more from the Scriptures. If he indeed was the one who would bring salvation, what did the Scriptures say about this salvation-bringer?

Jesus' occupation, whenever he had the time, was to dive into the Scriptures and learn. Although he attended no recognized school for Scripture, Joseph must have provided him with important scrolls, such as the Book of Isaiah. Or perhaps the little synagogue in Nazareth had a rich library of scrolls, and he was allowed access to them.

Jesus' job was to know and proclaim the Gospel of the salvation he was to bring.

Did Jesus Get His Feet Wet?

I'm Back!

Had some distractions last week, like, root canals and totaling the car.

So, let's have some fun!

When there was a plot to kidnap Jesus and make him king (John 6:15), Jesus sent his disciples away by boat, perhaps to protect them from harm. The disciples were battling adverse winds, when they looked back and said, "WHAT'S THAT? It's a ghost!"

No, not a ghost. It was Jesus, walking on water. But did Jesus get his feet wet when he was walking on water? I say no, but some paintings of this event (and some movies) show his feet IN the water, not ON the water. Let's look into this.

Here's some grebes doing their famous "water-walking" courtship dance, They're moving their feet 14 times a second to stay upright, and they're definitely getting wet. I suppose Jesus could have moved his feet 14 times per second, but I don't think he did.

And here's some porpoises doing their own "walter-walking" trick, and getting wet in the process. Anyway, they don't have feet to walk with so they don't count.

Here's the so-called "Jesus Lizard" who can apparently walk on water. He's splashy, but a lot less wet than the grebes. Perhaps he's taking advantage of the surface tension of the  water?

And here's some kind of insect, definitely using surface tension to stay above the water, but he needs to flap his wings to provide locomotion. He's not walking, he's skating. Para-sailing?

A wasp can sit motionless upon the water--definitely using surface tension--while she takes a drink. But can she propel herself, or does she have to start flying to move?

Here's a spider that can sit on the water. I don't know if he can propel himself. The spiders I know have a really tough time with water.

Here's a beetle at rest using surface tension.

And here's the familiar Water Strider. We see them in droves on standing water and in the eddies of flowing streams. This is her native habitat, and she can propel herself across the water with a flick of a leg or two.

So here's my conception of Jesus walking on water. He does not sink into the water, and he does not do any 14-per-second thrashings.

My take is that Jesus used the natural surface tension of the water to catch up with the disciples. In fact, he was planning on passing them by and getting to land before them.

Surface Tension, huh? Does that mean that just anybody should be able to walk on water?

The answer is no, unless you are Jesus or you were Peter and had more faith and confidence than Peter had.

So, one would wonder, did Mother Mary have any problems with Jesus when it came to bath time?

Gerasa, Gadara, Gergesa: Where did Jesus Land?

ANSWER: NONE OF THE ABOVE.

Matthew 8:28 (KJV): "region of the Gergesenes"
Mark 5:1 (NASB): "region of the Gerasenes"
Luke 8:26 (KJV): "region of the Gadarenes
But there's more to it than that: See below.

Fanciful Conception of  the Swine Stampede

DITCH THE CLIFF:

First of all, there is not and never was a cliff overhanging the Sea of Galilee. The Greek word kremnou does stem from a root that means "overhang," but it is used in Greek just as often for a "steep hill" or "steep bank."

Nevertheless, one of the earliest church scholars and theologians, Origen Adamantius, toured the Holy Land in the Third Century using the Bible as an atlas, intending to walk in the footsteps of Jesus. There are plentiful hints in both Mark and Luke as to where Jesus might have landed when he was confronted by the two demonized men. (Mark and Luke are interested in only one of them, the one who wanted to follow Jesus.) 

But Origen was dissatisfied with the locations he found in the gospels, and stayed tightly focused on the supposed overhanging cliff. The best he could find was a location near the almost unknown village of Gergesa. This is the first clue that Origen had a hand in the confusion of scholars over the place where Jesus landed. Here's what the banks above the Sea of Galilee look like:

A Steep Bank Above the Sea of Galilee

DITCH THE TOWN

Starting with Origen and down through the ages--even today--scholars have made the same mistake. They think that the writers of the Gospel are trying to teach us geography, when they had something much bigger in mind. The Gospels are about the coming of the Son of God to bring salvation to the world.

GERASA: Mark was probably the first to write about this in the Greek language, and his version of the locality was followed also by Luke's Gospel. They wrote, "They came to land in the region of the Gerasenes." Notice that they are talking about people not places. These people are fans of Roman rule, benefiting from the Pax Romana which brought peace, order, and dependable laws. Each of the towns of the region were granted the status of a polis, sort of a Roman city-state with its own people in charge of the laws.

Gerasa was the most notable of the Ten Towns, in recognition of their steadfast loyalty to Rome. One hundred years after Jesus passed through here, Gerasa's citizens supported the Romans in their many wars and enforcement actions against the Jews of Galilee and Jerusalem. After the victory of Rome, the visit of emperor Hadrian to Gerasa was preceded by the building of a commemorative Arch, which never fell down completely and now has  been restored. It stood well outside the city, perhaps in hopes that the city would be expanded to reach it.

The Arch of Hadrian at Gerasa

Where is Gerasa?

But there's a problem for these scholars that I mentioned: Gerasa is south and east of the Sea of Galilee, THIRTY MILES AWAY! This was especially a problem for Origen, who found it referenced in the Gospel but thought it the least likely of the three places for the miracle of the swine. He complained, "Gerasa did not border on either sea or lake."

But for the two evangelists--Mark and Luke--the important point to make was that Jesus' ministry even extended  to hard-core Roman-loving peoples, and highlights their focus on the demonized man that was not only freed from a legion of demons but also carried the salvation message of Jesus back to his home town and his own people.

GADARA

The Gospel of Matthew, whose focus was on evangelizing Jews and showing the Old Testament support for Jesus as the great Messiah, expands his story to include both of the demonized men who rushed Jesus, but then drops many details which applied to the man featured in the other two Gospels. And instead of identifying the people of the area as being "of the region of the Gerasenes," he changes it to "Gadarenes."

Referring to Gadara, Matthew highlights the Old Testament background for the area. Gad was one of the twelve tribes of Israel, and the city of Gad (later Gadara) was the northernmost reach of land assigned to this tribe by Moses. Instead of sending in an evangelist to the local residents, Matthew reminds his Jewish readers that the land already belongs to them, as assigned by Moses.

Where is Gadara?

Good news: Gadara is not thirty miles from the Sea of Galilee. Bad news: Gadara is six miles from the Sea of Galilee. It's not like Jesus and his disciples would be immediately noticed by a city six miles away.

However, the historian Josephus refers to Gadara as possessing territory which lay on the border of the Sea of Galilee. Also, ancient coins bearing the name "Gadara" will often portray a ship on the coin, unlikely if there were no seashore within Gadara's territory.

This was not good enough for Origen, who found "Gadarenes" in some of the Gospel manuscripts he had access to. Here's what Origen said about this:

Having  been "on the spot to trace the footprints of Jesus," argued Origen, "the Evangelists, men who had a careful knowledge of the Geography of Judea, would not have uttered a lie that is so evident and easy to refute."

Note: If you guessed Gadara as the correct location, you get a half point. If you selected Gadara because you were familiar with Josephus' description of it, you get two points. But again, Gadarenes are mentioned by Matthew for their theological import, not for the geographical curiosity of his readers.

GERGESA

This obscure village is too small to be a Roman polis, so it would have to be in the general Decapolis territory to accommodate Mark and Luke's stories. The nearest polis is Hippos, many miles south. Today's Bible maps often show the northern border of Decapolis extending to Gergesa, but this may be influenced by the mention of Gergesa in some Bible versions. It is just as likely, and much more administratively logical, that Gergesa was within the territory of Herod Philip, who had charge over nearby Bethsaida.

But Origen thought that Gergesa was the best fit, primarily for the steep banks he found, but also for the meaning of the word Gergesa itself, "the dwelling of those that have been driven away." Origen wrote that the name "contains a prophetic reference to the conduct shown the Savior by the citizens... who besought him to depart out of their territory."

So, how did "Gergesa" end up in some of our Bibles? Scholars have been pointing a finger at Origen himself. With the encouragement of Origen, some manuscripts were transcribed with Origen's "correction" to the most likely locale (in his opinion), and the descendants of these manuscripts, copied by others, corrupted many more documents over the centuries.

To add to the confusion, many of the ancient copyists were uncomfortable with having three different Gospels pointing to two or three different "regions," and tried to harmonize on a single name rather than several. Thus we have ancient manuscripts which show all three locations variously contained in all three synoptic Gospels.

The science of "Lower Criticism" is the name of the methods used by scholars today to sort through such variants in ancient manuscripts, using a set of simple tools. One tool, that may seem to be contra-indicated, is to favor the "most difficult reading." This stems from the habits of copyists, who are more likely to smooth out a "difficult" reading than they are to take an "easy" reading and make it more difficult. Another, applicable to this case, is the tendency of copyists (intentionally or unintentionally) to "harmonize" readings found in more than one Gospel.

DITCH GERGESA

However well-intentioned the third-century Origen may have been, he did much damage to the handing down of the Gospels. Not only did he add to the confusion of multiple location-names for a single event, he obscured the original lessons included by the writers of the Gospels.

Pigs Don't Fly

WHERE DID JESUS LAND?

We don't know the answer, but as I mentioned above, there are some clues that favor a particular location, namely the Roman polis of HIPPOS (Latin for "horses"). The Aramaic name is Sussita.  Let's look at Mark's story, beginning at Mark 5:1.

1. The man with the unclean spirit "had his dwelling among the tombs." While it is possible that this is an ancient and unused graveyard, it is more likely that it serves as the active graveyard for a nearby town--or at least it did so before this violent man took it up as his dwelling.

2. The people of the area know this demonized man well. He had "often been bound with shackles and chains." Again, why would the people be going far into the wilderness to seek out a dangerous individual? It is more likely that these tombs were near to the dwellings of the people involved--a village or city--perhaps even a polis.

3. "Constantly night and day he was screaming among the tombs and in the mountains, and gashing himself with stones." Someone is hearing these screams. There is mountainous territory nearby.

4. The herdsmen of the swine "ran away and reported it in the polis and in the country." Ah. It is a polis  that is nearby to the location. Although the use of this Greek word does not require that the town is an official Roman polis, the likelihood is there.

5. The people came to see what happened. The nearness of a town is suspected here.

6. Jesus said to the man, "Go home to your people and report to them what great things the Lord has done for you." This man had a home. He had relatives. He may have been a resident of Hippos.

Hippos/Sussita was situated on a small mountain-top near the Sea of Galilee, in the southern part of the eastern shore. The only other polis by the Sea of Galilee was Philoteria neat the southern tip of the lake near its outlet into the Jordan, but there are doubts as to whether it was still inhabited during the time of Jesus.

The shoreline below the mountain-top polis of Hippos is the most likely location for the landing-point of Jesus, when he encountered two demonized men rushing towards him. However, I do not recommend changing any of your Bibles to reflect this.

Hippos