Section Nine: Herod and Jesus Judea Under King Herod 9.1 The Biblical “Herods” During the Life of Jesus • Herod the Great - Began the work of restoring the second temple - Met the Three Wise Men - Ordered the slaughter of the innocents • Herod Archelaus - Son of Herod the Great by Malthace and Tetrarch in Jerusalem - The Herod that the Holy Family feared upon their return from Egypt - Herod Archelaus’ incompetence led to his replacement by a Roman procurator one of whom was Pontius Pilate (@26-36 CE) • Herod Antipas - Son of Herod the Great also by Malthace and Tetrarch in Galilee where Jesus lived and of Perea - Ordered the death of John the Baptist - Met Jesus before His execution then passed him on to Pilate • Herod Philip (Herod II) - Son of Herod the Great by Mariamne II - Herod II was fortunate enough not to be too political however… - Herod II is involved in the Christian Scriptures when Herod Antipas divorced his own wife and encouraged the wife of Herod II (Herodias) to divorce Herod II. John the Baptist publicly condemned the union and was beheaded 9.2 A Review the Situation in Judea after the Death of Herod the Great • Herod Archelaus was not given the title of king. He ruled Judea and Samaria as an Ethnarch until 6 CE when he was Phil replaced by Roman procurators and exiled to An Gaul. He died in 18 CE • Herod Antipas was Tetrarch of the Galilee and Perea. He ordered the death of John the An Baptist and participated Arch in the trial of Jesus. He too was exiled to Gaul by Gaius (Caligula). The date of his death is uncertain. • Philip the Tetrarch ruled the lands north of the Note: An ethnarch is a ruler of a people ( ethnos in Decapolis. He died in 34 Greek). A tetrarch, technically speaking, is a ruler CE. He is not the Philip of one fourth of a political region. The term was involved in the Baptist’s often used somewhat loosely death (Mark 6:17) 9.3 • Herod Agrippa was the Judea Under Herod Agrippa grandson of Herod the Great and Mariamne I (via Aristobulus IV and Berenice) • He was named after Marcus Agrippa, a Roman statesman • When Philip the Tetrarch died, Herod was given rule over Ituraea & Trachonitis • When Herod Antipas was banished to Gaul, Agrippa was given rule over Galilee and Perea • In return for his support of Claudius to succeed Caligula as Emperor, Claudius removed the Roman procurator of Idumea, Judea and Samaria and allowed from 41-44 CE, Herod Agrippa was the “King Herod” who ordered the death of Herod Agrippa ruled as the Apostle James in Acts 12. Since Herod Agrippa could claim king from Jerusalem over a both Herodian and Hasmonean lineage, he could be called the territory almost as large as last Jewish King of Judea that of Herod the Great 9.4 The Big Question Concerning Herod Agrippa • The territory ruled by Agrippa I not only included much of the land that was ruled by his grandfather Herod the Great but was also close to the size of the united kingdom of Israel that was ruled by David and Solomon a millennium earlier • Unlike his grandfather, Herod Agrippa was, like his Hasmonean grandmother, Mariamne I, a faithful Jew who honored the Torah and encouraged Jewish customs and rituals. As a result, Herod Agrippa was much loved (too much loved??) by the Jewish during the brief time that he governed them (@37-44 CE, 41-44 CE as king) • It is interesting to note that when Agrippa tried to strengthen the fortifications around Jerusalem, the Romans forced him to stop. When he tried to establish friendly relations with neighboring lands, the Romans suspected him of trying to forge potentially hostile alliances. Agrippa died at age 54 while attending Roman games in Caesaria. Did Herod Agrippa die a natural death or was he killed (poisoned ?) by the Romans who may have feared that a popular king who could claim Hasmonean ancestry ruling a land as large as the ancient Kingdom of Israel might lead to a rise in Jewish nationalism? It wasn’t long after Agrippa’s death that the Romans once again appointed a procurator to govern the province of Judea 9.5 Yet More Members of the Herodian Dynasty • Herod Agrippa II (Agrippa II) - Son of Herod Agrippa I and brother of Berenice and Drusilla and great-grandson of Herod the Great - Named ruler of Chalcis (Lebanon) by Claudius in 50 CE at the age of 22 - The new Roman Emperor, Nero, added Perea to the lands governed by Agrippa II in 54 CE. The fact that Perea was not governed by a Roman procurator during the Jewish wars (@66-70 CE) kept the region out of much of the conflict. This was important for Jewish Christians during those wars. More will be discussed a bout this in a later class - Agrippa II was the “King Agrippa” that Paul spoke with in Acts 25 and 26 - Since Agrippa II sided with Rome in the Jewish wars his political position remained safe until his death in 93/94 CE - Herod Agrippa II was the last prince of the line of Herod to rule in the region 9.6 Can’t Tell the Herods Without a Scorecard • Herod the Great - Began the work of restoring the second temple - Met the Three Wise Men - Ordered the slaughter of the innocents • Herod Archelaus - Son of Herod the Great by Malthace and ruler in Jerusalem - The Herod that the Holy Family feared upon their return from Egypt - Herod Archelaus’ incompetence led to his replacement by a Roman procurator one of whom was Pontius Pilate (@26-36 CE) • Herod Antipas - Son of Herod the Great by Malthace and ruler in Galilee where Jesus lived - Ordered the death of John the Baptist - Judged Jesus Just before His execution • Herod Philip (Herod II) - Son of Herod the Great by Mariamne II - Herod Antipas divorced his wife to marry and wanted to marry his half- brother Herod Philip’s wife. John the Baptist condemned the union • Herod Agrippa (Agrippa I) - Grandson of Herod the Great (by Mariamne I) who imprisoned Peter - He was the “Herod” who executed the Apostle James, the brother of John in Acts 12:1 • Herod Agrippa II (Agrippa II) - Son of Agrippa I, the “King Agrippa” who spoke with Paul in Acts 25-26 9.7 Enter Jesus the Christ Let’s review the situation in Judea at the birth of Jesus; Judea, which, after 400 years of subJugation, managed for a very brief time to re-establish itself as an independent kingdom The Romans, under Pompey, subJected that kingdom to Roman rule Herod, an Idumean with Roman support, managed to wrest power away from the existing Hasmonean royal family while maintaining some degree of legitimacy by marrying a Hasmonean princess (Mariamne I) During Jesus’ lifetime, Judea, Galilee and Samaria When Jesus was born, Herod was near the time of his were full of resentment of death. When Herod finally died (at least 2-3 years after an Idumaean dynasty and Jesus’ birth), his kingdom was divided up by the their Roman overlords. Romans among three of his heirs. Herod Archelaeus There was a desire for a ruled Judea and Samaria from Jerusalem but was new, truly Jewish King, a quickly replaced by a Roman procurator. Herod Messiah from the line of Antipas ruled in Perea as well as Galilee where Jesus David who would end lived. Philip the Tetrarch ruled lands north and east of foreign rule Galilee 9.8 Biblical Transitions We have already seen the last words of the last Book of the Hebrew Scriptures, II Chronicles, and the importance those words had, a continue to have, for the Jewish people “Thus says Cyrus, King of Persia: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given to me all the kingdoms of the earth. He has also charged me to build him a house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. All among you, therefore, who belong to his people, may their God be with them; let them go up.” As was mentioned earlier, the Protestant Christian Old Testament has the same books as the Hebrew Scriptures but orders them in a different sequence. The Old Testament in Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox bibles have several additional books. One thing they have in common is that the last book of the Old Testament in all Christian bibles is the Book of Malachi. It was no accident that this book was chosen. It’s last words are Just as meaningful to Christians as it is seen to reference the events that began with Jesus’ public ministry, his baptism “Now I am sending to you Elijah, the prophet. Before the day of the LORD comes, the great and terrible day; He will turn the heart of fathers to their sons, and the heart of sons to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with utter destruction.” Many of those who saw Jesus as the Messiah considered John the Baptist to be Jesus’ prophet. It was not long after Jesus’ death that the land was indeed struck with utter destruction 9.9 Jesus the Christ (from the Christian Scriptures) Despite some claims to the contrary, almost all of what is known about Jesus comes from the Christian Scriptures (the New Testament) and those scriptures tell us these basic things; • Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea but lived his life in Nazareth in Galilee • His mother’s name was Mary (Miriam) and His father’s name was Joseph (Yosef) • There is very little known about His life as a child and young adult • At some point in His adult life, He was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan River and began to preach, teach and heal in public • He spent most of his public ministry in Galilee, but at some point, he traveled south and entered into the city of Jerusalem • After his entry, He was arrested and convicted by the Romans as a criminal.