the Pharisees, the orthodoxy of the Sadducees was
a cumbersome weight inhibiting spiritual growth. Consequently, the
emphasis of their teaching was the ethical rather than the
theological aspects of the Scriptures.
He intended to pluck at that ethical cord by
appealing to that side of their personalities which led them to
champion human equality. At the same time he intended to portray
Jesus as a man who would have eliminated their oral
tradition—destroying the “hedge” against unbelief—and as one who
viewed them as “vipers,” unfit for salvation.
“Who among you would deny the fact that
should the Temple be removed or forsaken by the Jews our nation
would be destroyed utterly, disappearing in the blink of an
historical eye?” he asked as he lifted both arms and spread them
wide. The resplendent colors of his robe shimmered in the subdued,
dusty light of the hall.
Annas’ eyes darted back and forth between
Simon, Caiaphas, and Doras.
Caiaphas saw the looks and realized that his
father-in-law was fascinated by his unorthodox approach. Even
though Annas’ face remained stolid, his mind was no doubt racing as
he tried to unravel the mystery his son-in-law had set before the
Council.
“We have endured hardship and slavery our
entire lives,” continued Caiaphas, “but we have never been alone,
without God as our guide. I ask you, if there were no Temple, what
then of the priesthood? How would our people know that which is
right in the sight of God? It is only our religious tradition that
separates us from the idolatrous worship of the unrighteous.
“Is there one among you who would advocate
returning to the idolatry of the time of Noah? No, I think not,” he
answered and shook his head balefully, inwardly, congratulating
himself. As a silkworm weaves silk from ingesting dead and decaying
mulberry leaves, he too had constructed his own silken net of
rhetoric from the mulch of information he had gathered on the
Galilean. And now it was time to draw tight his finely woven web of
logic and reason around the minds and hearts of the Council.
“Before I conclude, I offer one final point.
Scripture tells us that there can be but one God. The Nazarene’s
contention that He, too, was God, that He was the Son of the Most
High God, not only is incompatible with reason, but with our
religion as well. God’s Holy Word tells us unequivocally that He is
the One Living God: ‘I am the Lord your God, which have brought you
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. . .The Lord
your God is one God; there can be no other.’”
“Whenever Israel has turned away from her
God, the people have suffered. As long as we have kept His
commandments and have not given ourselves over to idolatrous
worship, we have not succumbed to the pollutions of the world. God,
through the mouth of Moses and now, I might humbly add, through my
mouth as High Priest, has warned us what would happen if we did not
abide under the protection of the Law: utter desolation. Who among
you would deny that the history of our people has borne witness to
the words that Moses spoke so long ago?”
Silence filled the great hall, punctuating
his point.
“In summary, let me remind you that as priest
of the Most High God I am charged by God Himself with the upholding
of the holy ordinances of our blessed religion. God gave the Law to
us that Israel might secure salvation and escape the penalty of
spiritual death reserved for those who forsake Him, the One who
created all. I could not stand by idly while an imposter sought to
pervert all that is good, pure, and righteous before God, having
only the authority of John the Baptist, who himself could give no
authority, save the One who sent him to baptize.
“It was I who stood between our God and our
people, being made responsible for the protection of our blessed
doctrines and the preservation of our government. If I have erred,
it is for God to judge. Not man. If Jesus was who He claimed to
a cumbersome weight inhibiting spiritual growth. Consequently, the
emphasis of their teaching was the ethical rather than the
theological aspects of the Scriptures.
He intended to pluck at that ethical cord by
appealing to that side of their personalities which led them to
champion human equality. At the same time he intended to portray
Jesus as a man who would have eliminated their oral
tradition—destroying the “hedge” against unbelief—and as one who
viewed them as “vipers,” unfit for salvation.
“Who among you would deny the fact that
should the Temple be removed or forsaken by the Jews our nation
would be destroyed utterly, disappearing in the blink of an
historical eye?” he asked as he lifted both arms and spread them
wide. The resplendent colors of his robe shimmered in the subdued,
dusty light of the hall.
Annas’ eyes darted back and forth between
Simon, Caiaphas, and Doras.
Caiaphas saw the looks and realized that his
father-in-law was fascinated by his unorthodox approach. Even
though Annas’ face remained stolid, his mind was no doubt racing as
he tried to unravel the mystery his son-in-law had set before the
Council.
“We have endured hardship and slavery our
entire lives,” continued Caiaphas, “but we have never been alone,
without God as our guide. I ask you, if there were no Temple, what
then of the priesthood? How would our people know that which is
right in the sight of God? It is only our religious tradition that
separates us from the idolatrous worship of the unrighteous.
“Is there one among you who would advocate
returning to the idolatry of the time of Noah? No, I think not,” he
answered and shook his head balefully, inwardly, congratulating
himself. As a silkworm weaves silk from ingesting dead and decaying
mulberry leaves, he too had constructed his own silken net of
rhetoric from the mulch of information he had gathered on the
Galilean. And now it was time to draw tight his finely woven web of
logic and reason around the minds and hearts of the Council.
“Before I conclude, I offer one final point.
Scripture tells us that there can be but one God. The Nazarene’s
contention that He, too, was God, that He was the Son of the Most
High God, not only is incompatible with reason, but with our
religion as well. God’s Holy Word tells us unequivocally that He is
the One Living God: ‘I am the Lord your God, which have brought you
out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. . .The Lord
your God is one God; there can be no other.’”
“Whenever Israel has turned away from her
God, the people have suffered. As long as we have kept His
commandments and have not given ourselves over to idolatrous
worship, we have not succumbed to the pollutions of the world. God,
through the mouth of Moses and now, I might humbly add, through my
mouth as High Priest, has warned us what would happen if we did not
abide under the protection of the Law: utter desolation. Who among
you would deny that the history of our people has borne witness to
the words that Moses spoke so long ago?”
Silence filled the great hall, punctuating
his point.
“In summary, let me remind you that as priest
of the Most High God I am charged by God Himself with the upholding
of the holy ordinances of our blessed religion. God gave the Law to
us that Israel might secure salvation and escape the penalty of
spiritual death reserved for those who forsake Him, the One who
created all. I could not stand by idly while an imposter sought to
pervert all that is good, pure, and righteous before God, having
only the authority of John the Baptist, who himself could give no
authority, save the One who sent him to baptize.
“It was I who stood between our God and our
people, being made responsible for the protection of our blessed
doctrines and the preservation of our government. If I have erred,
it is for God to judge. Not man. If Jesus was who He claimed to
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