Israel’s Greater Sin

 Caiaphas Sets the Stage for the Rejection of Jesus

“So Pilate said to Him, ‘You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?’

Journal,

In the time of Jesus, the Jerusalem Sanhedrin represented the supreme leadership of world Judaism. When the chief priests and elders delivered Jesus over to the Roman authorities to be crucified, they set in motion a chain of events that would have negative effects on the Jewish people throughout their generations.

We see this taking form in 70 AD, with the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem. Was the destruction a judgment from God? According to the gospels, yes. Even according to the Talmudic writings, also a yes. While the reasons given may differ, that it was a judgment from God was accepted early on.

However, it was Caiaphas who set things into motion. Caiaphas was the high priest and as such had the defining role in having Jesus crucified.

“The high priest stood up and said to Him, ‘Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You?’

“But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest said to Him, ‘I adjure You by the living God, that You tell us whether You are the Christ, the Son of God.’

“Jesus said to him, ‘You have said it yourself; nevertheless I tell you, hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN.’

“Then the high priest tore his robes and said, ‘He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?’

“They answered, ‘He deserves death!'” (Mat 26:62-66)

The response that Jesus gave is very important to understand. Two things stand out –

1. Jesus responded to Caiaphas, with, ‘You have said it yourself’. This meant that Caiaphas had identified who Jesus really was. Why is this important? Keep in mind that Jesus gave a parable to set forth that the Jewish leadership knew He was the Messiah. The parable puts in place the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Take time to read Matthew 21:33-46.)

2. When Jesus said, ‘hereafter you will see THE SON OF MAN SITTING AT THE RIGHT HAND OF POWER, and COMING ON THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN,’ this term is an expression of deity. It is rooted in the very writings of Moses.

Listen to part of the song that Moses and Israel sang, after Israel’s deliverance through the Red Sea.

“Pharaoh’s chariots and his army He has cast into the sea; and the choicest of his officers are drowned in the Red Sea.The deeps cover them; they went down into the depths like a stone.

“Your right hand, O LORD, is majestic in power, Your right hand, O LORD, shatters the enemy.

“And in the greatness of Your excellence You overthrow those who rise up against You; You send forth Your burning anger, and it consumes them as chaff.” (Exo 15:4-7)

Caiaphas had set in place the official rejection of Jesus as God’s Messiah. Yet God would allow forty more years of grace so that the gospel could be preached as a testimony to Israel, before a judgement would come. Out of the judgement in 70 AD, the Sanhedrin and the high priest would be no more.

From 70 AD until May 14, 1948, there would be no nation of Israel found on planet earth. Rather than being a nation-state, the Jewish people would become regulated to a religion and a culture.

Do you recall the tears that Jesus shed over Jerusalem? Listen –

“So you testify against yourselves, that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. Fill up, then, the measure of the guilt of your fathers. You serpents, you brood of vipers, how will you escape the sentence of hell?

“Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city, so that upon you may fall the guilt of all the righteous blood shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, the son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.

“Truly I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling.

“Behold, your house is being left to you desolate! For I say to you, from now on you will not see Me until you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'” (Mat 23:29-39) [/note]

What happened after 70 a.d.?

Out of the Ashes Came a Religion

Sadly enough, out of the ashes of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 a.d., would evolve a new Judaism that would have no likeness to the ancient worship of Moses and David. The rabbis set about to fashion a Judaism where they would become raised figures.

This new Judaism would become known as Rabbinical Judaism or Talmudic Judaism. It would become an expanded continuation of the Pharisees. (The Sadducee and the priestly temple ministry had disappeared.)

The rabbi who carried the greater responsibility for the reinvention of Judaism was Rabbi Jochanan ben Zaccai. According to John Lightfoot, Rabbi Jochanan ben Zaccai knew Jesus and most certainly had encounters with the apostles. He was likely one of the Sanhedrin members who held responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus.

Zaccai escaped the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. He afterwards determined that the blood sacrifices were no longer needed, and that prayer, good deeds, and fasting were all that was needed to get God’s forgiveness.

It is important to understand the time line of Rabbi Jochanan ben Zaccai. He was one of the top religious figures in Jerusalem during the time of Christ and up to and after the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

Zaccai lived to be 120 years old. He held such a honored role in Judaism that he became known as, ‘The Light of Israel, Pillar of the Right Hand, Strong Hammer.’ Zaccai was well acquainted with the Christian movement.

The sad note in all this comes from the Talmudic writings themselves where the death of Rabbi Jochanan ben Zaccai is recorded.

“When R. Jochanan ben Zaccai was taken ill, his disciples went to visit him. As soon as he beheld them, he began to weep. His disciples said unto him, ‘O Light of Israel, Pillar of the Right Hand, Strong Hammer, why dost thou weep?’ He answered and said unto them… ‘Now when I am to be led into the presence of the King of kings, the Holy One, blessed be He, who lives and is through all eternities, whose anger — if He is angry with me — is an eternal anger; whose fetters — if He will bind me — are everlasting fetters; and whose death — if He put me to death — is an eternal death; whom I cannot appease with words, nor bribe with money; and not only so, …

” … but two ways open before me — the one leading to Paradise and the other to hell (Gehenna), and I do not know upon which of these two ways I shall be led, shall I not weep?‘”

Self honoring

The Judaism that Zaccai helped create, held great responsibility that sallied forth with all kinds of strange notions about God. But the prophets said this would happen. The strangest notion of all had to do with the self-honor that the rabbis placed upon themselves. In honor of Zaccai, we hear in Bava Bathra that this Rabbi was said to understand the language of devils, of trees, and of angels. Of course this is pure fabrication.

It should be noted, however, that the Talmud sets precedence for necromancy. (The belief in magical spells that harness occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world; conjuring up the dead, especially for prophesying.)

But there was a purpose in this new Judaism. The new Judaism had to have its own power structure and authority. The rabbis set themselves up as the last voice of God. This is why the new Judaism is often called Rabbinic Judaism. They even went so far as to tell the story of how they outwitted God Himself.

Now back to a bit of history on Rabbi Jochanan ben Zaccai. Does the Bible itself ever call attention to this rabbi? Perhaps so. According to Lightfoot, a preeminent Christian scholar on the Talmuds, Rabbi Zaccai was most likely the ‘John’ that sat on the council who commanded Peter and John to stop preaching in the name of Jesus. The gathered rulers included,

“Annas the high priest was there, and Caiaphas and John and Alexander, and all who were of high-priestly descent.” (Cf. Acts 4)

The reason that the name John is mentioned without further identification is because Rabbi Jochanan ben Zaccai was so well-known among the Jews that no other term was required. Note how this John is placed right in the center of Annas, Caiaphas, and Alexander. It says they were all of high-priestly descent. This would include John.

As I mention earlier, it is quite likely that Rabbi Zaccai knew Jesus and was involved in His being turned over to Pilate. Notice carefully what happens when the apostles are brought before these men. It says,

“Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed, and began to recognize them as having been with Jesus.” (v13)

OK, let’s move on.

What About Those Who Accepted Jesus

First a comparison.

Would you like to see what distinguishes the death of Rabbi Zaccai, and another  rabbi who accepted Jesus as the Messiah of Israel? Whether we can apply the term ‘rabbi’ to Paul before he became a believer is not known. Rabbis were simply teachers.

We do know that Paul was a disciple of Gamaliel and a persecutor of the church. When this apostle was facing death, this is what we read about him:

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (Cf. 2Ti 4:7,8)

Do you see the difference? Rabbi Zaccai was terrified. The apostle Paul was ready for his journey home. What made the difference? It all comes back to the atonement sacrifice.

To reject the cross is to reject any hope of salvation. And it is not as though Zaccai had no warning. A special letter was sent to Jewish people by an apostolic writer not long before the destruction of the temple. In it we read:

“For if we go on sinning [the sin of rejection of Jesus] willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

“How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Cf. Heb 10:26- 29)

And yet…

There is More to the Story

As a minister of well over 45 years, I’ve attended the last hours of various believers. These were precious moments. There was no fear. And when it neared the time of passage, there was a special anointing that came upon the child of God. It was as though they were already experiencing the heaven side of their passage. As for others — I’ll leave that unsaid.

What about Israel that became a nation in 1948?

This is the story yet to be told. But it is recorded in the writings of Moses and the prophets, and of Jesus and the apostles. One day the Jewish people will realize that they’ve been duped and misled in their Talmudic religion about Jesus.

God spoke through the prophet, saying,

“Therefore behold, I will once again deal marvelously with this people, wondrously marvelous; and the wisdom of their wise men will perish, and the discernment of their discerning men will be concealed.” (Isa 29:14)

It seems to me that day is not too far removed from where we are today.

Here are some other studies that I recommend for my readers, beginning with the study just prior to this entey –

1. The old Rabbi reveals the name of Messiah –

http://buddymartin.net/blog/rabbi-yitzhack-kaduri-reveals-name-messiah/

2. What Are We Doing Wrong –

http://buddymartin.net/blog/wrong/

3. Will Israel Turn to Jesus –

http://buddymartin.net/blog/will-israel-turn-to-jesus/

You may wish to take time for video. You will hear some amazing revelations taking place among the Jews, especially concerning Jesus.

May the Lord bless you,. 

Buddy

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