THE MEN WHO TRIED JESUS: PONTIUS PILATE

The Famous Painting by Antonio Ciseri Ecce Homo - Behold the Man

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

Our series of posts on The Men Who Tried Jesus now turns to the fourth, and arguably most famous, judge of Jesus, Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate. He is immortalized in the phrase from both the Apostles and Nicene Creeds, “…suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried." 

There are several points about Pilate that require clarification. First, as the fifth Prefect to Judea, he is sometimes referred to as the Roman Procurator. Pilate was not a Procurator; his title was Prefect. Cuspius Fadus was the first Procurator of Judea in AD 44 …eight years and two Prefects after Pilate. This confusion derives from Tacitus who, in Annals, 15.44, called him by that title.  

WRITTEN IN STONE

Some critics of Christianity have claimed Pilate is an imaginary figure created by the Gospel writers. Though limited, there are historic records of Pontius Pilate outside of the Bible. He is referred to by Josephus, Philo, and Church historian Eusebius as well as other Church Fathers and, as mentioned above, by Tacitus. This nonsense was finally put to rest in 1961 when archaeologists discovered a block of limestone that had once been the cornerstone of a Roman theatre at Caesarea Maritima, the capital of the Province of Judaea. One could say the proof of Pilate’s existence is now carved in stone. Reconstructing the missing portions of the inscription, it becomes: S TIBERIEVM (Dedicated to the Emperor Tiberius) by PONTIVS PILATVS (Pontius Pilate) PRAECTVS IVDAEAE (Prefect of Judaea).

Pilate Cornerstone In Caesarea Maritima

A name in ancient Rome consisted of three parts, a praenomen, or given name, a nomen, or name of the gens or clan, and a cognomen, which is the family line within the gens. History never tells us what his praenomen was. The cognomen Pilatus is derived from the word pilum and means one skilled with the javelin. This should not be taken to mean that Pontius Pilate was a soldier, any more than your neighbor Mr. Smith earns his living as a blacksmith, or the father of your friend Mr. Johnson is named John. The family name, Pontius, signifies he was from the tribe of the Pontii. It is an ancient Samnite name. Tradition places Pilate’s birthplace in the small village of Bisenti, in Samnite territory…today's Abruzzo region of Central Italy. 

THE LADY CLAUDIA PROCULA

Pilate’s wife, Claudia Procula, has an interesting history of her own. She is said to have been the illegitimate daughter of Julia, Octavian’s only biological child. Julia married Marcus Claudius Marcellus (the son of Octavian’s sister Octavia) at the age of fourteen. He died two years later. She led a promiscuous life and had many lovers while married to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. When Agrippa died, she married Tiberius who would later become Emperor. Her father eventually gave Tiberius permission to divorce her due to her scandalous behavior and then banished her from Rome. She was pregnant when she arrived in Gaul and no one knows who fathered the child. Julia died shortly after giving birth to her daughter Claudia. This makes Claudia Procula the granddaughter of Octavian, later known as Caesar Augustus. Tiberius eventually adopted her as his daughter. She grew up in the Roman Province of Narbonensis in what is now known as the French Riviera. Her connection to the ruling elite may very well have been the reason Pilate got his position in Judea. 

Claudia Procula is best remembered for the dream she had. “Besides, while he (Pontius Pilate) was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, ‘Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered much over him today in a dream.’” Matthew 27:19. Many people in the ancient Church considered her to be a secret follower of Jesus. The Eastern Orthodox Church lists her among their saints and celebrates her feast day on October 27th. 

PILATE'S ACTIONS DURING THE TRIAL

There are varying interpretations to Pilate’s actions in the trial of Jesus. Properly read, it is easy to find evidence he was doing everything possible to avoid convicting Jesus. He told the Chief Priests who’d brought Jesus to him, “I find no crime in this man.” Luke 24:4. Then, upon learning Jesus was a Galilean, he passed him off to Herod in the hopes of avoiding responsibility. 

When Herod sent Jesus back, Pilate again insisted, “You brought me this man as one who was perverting the people; and after examining him before you, behold, I did not find this man guilty of any of your charges against him; neither did Herod, for he sent him back to us. Behold, nothing deserving death has been done by him; I will therefore chastise him and release him.” Luke 23:14-17 

When they continued screaming for his death, Pilate played his last bargaining chip by bringing out Barabbas. When this ploy backfired, he said, “‘Why, what evil has he done?’” Matthew 27:23. Then in a symbol that has resonated through the ages, “he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, ‘I am innocent of this man's blood…’” Matthew 27:24. 

Clearly, Annas, Caiaphas and their cronies outfoxed Pilate. Rather than do what he knew to be right, he acquiesced when they threatened to accuse him of being disloyal to Caesar. When a person was crucified, a titulus —a plaque which listed the prisoner’s name and offense — was nailed to the palus, the upright stake of the cross, for everyone to see when they reached the place of execution. Many crucifixes have the image of a scroll at the top with the letters INRI on it. These letters stand for Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum Latin for Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. 

Pilate made no mistake when he wrote those words on the <em>titulus</em>. Whatever slight comfort it may have provided, Pilate managed to get in the last word in his confrontation with Annas and Caiaphas. The Priests complained in outrage and he responded, “What I have written I have written.” John 19:22, thus ending one of the worst days in the life of Pontius Pilate.

Coins Minted Under Pontius Pilate

PILATE REMOVED FROM OFFICE

Pilate remained in office for several years after Jesus was executed. He was removed from office in AD 36 by the Syrian governor, Vitellius, for ordering troops into Samaria to attack a peaceful assembly of Samaritans. Pilate left Judea heading for Rome and an official review of his conduct before Caesar. However, by the time he arrived in Rome Tiberius was dead and Caligula had taken his place. What happened next, no one knows. 

Some old traditions say Pilate committed suicide in Rome. The Christian Historian, Eusebius, tells the story and attributes it to the former governor’s remorse for the execution of Jesus. One must temper these reports of suicide with the understanding that to the Romans suicide was considered an honorable death. In fact, if someone displeased the Emperor he could order them to kill themselves and, in most cases, they complied. Other sources say he was exiled to Gaul and committed suicide in Vienne and his body was thrown into the Rhône River. There is even a monument at Vienne, called Pilate's tomb. In Switzerland, near Lucerne, there is a Mount Pilatus. An old tradition states Pilate was banished to the mountain as punishment. 

Pilate appears in apocryphal writings such as The Gospel of Peter, The Acts of Pilate, and The Acts of Peter and Paul. They address the question of what happened to Pilate and, in some cases, also depict him converting to the Christian faith. In addition to Saint Claudia, the Coptic Church also lists Pontius Pilate as a saint. How much of this is a pious attempt to show that no one is beyond redemption and how much is fact, is anyone’s guess. 

Part of what makes Pilate such an interesting historical character is the dilemma he faced on that first Good Friday. At that moment he becomes not a Roman official, but everyman. Like Adam, and everyone after him, Pilate finds himself at a crossroads of good and evil. He apparently knows what should be done, what is right, or in his words, what is true. But the world beckons him. To do what he knows is right he must risk all that he has…his power and position, his lavish lifestyle, future opportunities for advancement and retirement with honors. Pilate chose what appeared to be the safe path. But, as Jesus said, whoever wants to save his life will lose it and lose it he did. 

THE FINAL IRONY

Before we leave Pilate there is one final irony to address. Matthew tells us the Priests went to him and asked for guards at the grave to prevent his disciple from stealing the body. Pilate authorizes it. Yet on Easter morning when the women arrive, the stone is rolled aside, the body is gone, and the soldiers are nowhere to be seen. 

Later the Priests tell the soldiers to say they fell asleep and the disciples stole the body. Sleeping on guard duty was a capital offense in the Roman army. The priests promised to smooth things over if word reached Pilate. Could they smooth things over? It seems very unlikely. So why don’t we hear anything about the fate of those soldiers? Shouldn’t at least one of the four Gospel writers have addressed the issue? Or was there an issue? Could it be that Pilate did hear about it and he was the one that swept it under the rug? Why would he do such a thing? 

Next time we’ll visit the fourth, and final, man who judged Jesus…Herod Antipas. 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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THE MEN WHO TRIED JESUS: HEROD ANTIPAS

Frank Thring as Herod Antipas in King of Kings

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

Today we visit the third participant in the trial of Jesus of Nazareth, Herod Antipas. 

Herod Antipas’ true name was Herod Antipater. Antipas is the familiar form of Antipater, which by the way, was the name of Herod the Great’s father, grandfather, and oldest son. Antipas mother’ was Malthace, Herod’s sixth wife. He had one full brother, Archelaus, who was named ethnarch (national leader) of Judea, Idumea and Samaria following their father’s death. At the same time, Augustus named both Antipas and his half-brother Phillip tetrarchs (rulers of a fourth). Antipas was about 17 years old when he left Rome for Galilee to take control of a portion of his deceased father’s kingdom. Even more surprising is the fact that in Herod’s previous will, over-written just a short time before his death, Herod Antipas was named as his sole heir. 

COMPLICATED RELATIONSHIPS

Antipas, as we’ll call him to differentiate him from his father, married twice. His first wife, Phasaelis, was the daughter of King Aretas IV of Nabatea. Phasaelis might have been a relative —a cousin perhaps— although the historic record neither denies nor confirms it. The marriage may very well have a political one designed to forge an alliance with King Aretas. In addition to Galilee, Antipas’ tetrarchy included Perea, which shared a border with Nabatea.  

Here’s some justification for the assumption she was family. First, Herod the Great’s mother, Cypros, was a member of the Nabatean royal family. Second, during the period in which Antipas’ father was battling the Parthians for control of the kingdom of the Jews, he sent his family to Nabatea for their protection. Thus, Antipas spent time in Nabatea as a youngster. Third, Herod’s older brother, Phasael, died in the Parthian war. If one strings the co-incidence of names — Phasaelis being the female version of Phasael — and her Nabatean heritage together, it tends to indicate some type of family tie. 

MARRYING YOUR BROTHER’S WIFE

Antipas eventually divorced Phasaelis to marry Herodias. She’s the wife who appears in the Biblical accounts of the martyrdom of John the Baptist. She counseled her daughter, Salome, to ask for the Baptist’s head on a platter. They were also related in a complicated way, so complicated  that I’ve excerpted a portion of Herod the Great’s family tree to make it understandable. Herodias was the daughter of Antipas’ older brother, Aristobulus I, making her his paternal niece. Herodias’ mother was Berenike I, the daughter of Herod I’s sister, Salome. This makes Herodias his maternal first cousin, once removed. Herodias’ daughter, Salome, also married an uncle, Herod Phillip, who was tetrarch of Trachonitis.

Such inter-marrying within extended family has always been an accepted practice among royalty as a way of keeping the family bloodline pure. The relationships between the Caesars were equally convoluted. We find the royal houses of Europe doing much the same thing during the height of European monarchy. Strangely enough, as World War I loomed King George of England, Czar Nicholas of Russia, and Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany — or Georgie, Nicky and Willy, as they called each other — were all first cousins. So, exactly why did they find it necessary to go to war? 

HEROD ANTIPAS BUILDER OF CITIES

Shortly after Herod the Great’s death, while Antipas was in Rome making his case before Caesar Augustus, the Messianic pretender Judas the Galilean led an uprising. His rebels armed themselves with weapons stolen from the Sepphorian armory. In the subsequent suppression of the revolt by the Romans, Syrian Governor Quinctillius Varus carried away the residents of Sepphoris into slavery. The city was sacked, burned and leveled.  

Antipas returned from Rome to find Sepphoris a barren wasteland. Following in his father’s footsteps, he decided to become a master builder and developer of cities. He rebuilt Sepphoris from the ground up making it his first capitol. Because the city had few residents, he brought in many non-Jewish immigrants to populate it. The result was a city rebuilt to Roman standards with baths, amphitheatres, a hippodrome and his palace.  

HELP WANTED: CARPENTERS & CARPENTER’S HELPERS

Interestingly, the closest village to Sepphoris was Nazareth…only about an hour’s walk away. Because of the immense building activity taking place in Sepphoris, and since Joseph was a έκτων, tektōn…a craftsman in wood or carpenter, (Matthew 13:55) it seems probable that he and his foster son, Jesus, might find work there. The implications here are enormous. Most people imagine the boy Jesus assisting Joseph in a humble little carpentry next to their home. What if instead, they worked in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of Sepphoris surrounded by Greeks and Romans, pagan Temples, and baths? If we read the subtext of the Gospels, we quickly notice that Jesus was not some rural hick. In addition to being literate and a Torah scholar, Jesus was multi-lingual, socially aware, and sophisticated in his understanding of society and the world at large.  Sepphoris sat astride major trade routes from the East. Could exposure to the cosmopolitan culture of Sepphoris have given him this breadth of knowledge?  

BUTTERING UP THE EMPEROR

Antipas also made major renovations and added a city wall to Betharamphtha (Bethharem), a city in Perea. He then renamed it Julias in honor of Julia, the wife of the Emperor Augustus and mother of Tiberius. He took the fortress Macherus on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea and created a city around it, erecting a magnificent palace there. It was most likely this palace where John the Baptist was imprisoned and executed. In another effort to curry favor in Rome, when Antipas constructed his new capitol on the Sea of Galilee in AD 17, he named the city Tiberias. It was later discovered he’d built the city atop an old Jewish graveyard. Since no pious Jew would enter Tiberias, he populated it with Greeks and Romans.  

Josephus explains it like this: “He even liberated many in many places, granting them land and supplying houses from his own means, on the condition that they would not leave the city, knowing that (this) settlement was against the Torah and the heritage of the Jews, since the foundation of Tiberias was over tombs — of which there were many — that were obliterated. Our Law declares these settlers to be defiled for seven days.” Josephus, Antiquities 18:38 

PILATE SENDS JESUS TO HEROD ANTIPAS

Like his father, Antipas liked to appear an observant and believing Jew to ingratiate himself with his subjects. Also like his father, it’s doubtful he truly observed a Torah lifestyle when out of the public eye. Like his brothers, he’d been raised in Rome and depended upon the Emperor’s benevolence for his position as tetrarch. Antipas did, however, make it a practice to travel to Jerusalem for the major pilgrim feasts, and so he was in Jerusalem on the day Pilate tried Jesus. When Pilate learned that Jesus was from Galilee, he sent him to Antipas. (Luke 23:6-12) There was no legal precedent for such a move. Pilate most likely wanted to foist the whole thing off on someone else. 

Rather conducting a trial, Antipas wanted Jesus to entertain him with miracles. Jesus never spoke a word to him. Antipas and his soldiers mocked and ridiculed Jesus, before sending Him back to Pilate. 

ALL GOOD THINGS MUST COME TO AN END

Herod Antipas ruled as tetrarch for 43 years before he ran out of friends in Rome. He’d been appointed by Augustus and served throughout Tiberius’ reign. But by AD 39 both of his patrons were dead and Caligula was Emperor. When Antipas’ half-brother, Herod Phillip, died Caligula appointed his boyhood friend, and Antipas’ brother-in-law, Herod Agrippa to fill the vacancy. He even gave him the title of King. This upset Agrippa’s sister, Herodias. She pestered Antipas to go to Caligula and demand they be made King and Queen.  

But the move backfired. Unbeknownst to her, Agrippa had been undermining Antipas and telling Caligula he was planning a revolt. He said Antipas had amassed weapons sufficient for an army of 70,000 men. Antipas undoubtedly did have a large cache of weapons. He had to beat back continual border skirmishes with Nabatea and the Galilean hills were full of highwaymen and roaming bands of Zealots…remnants of Judas the Galilean’s original army. This provided Caligula with an excuse to rid himself of Antipas and reward his friend Agrippa. Antipas was stripped of his power and exiled to Gaul. Conveniently, his territories were combined with what King Agrippa already had. In short order Agrippa was made ruler of the entirety of his grandfather’s former kingdom. 

Interestingly, Caligula offered to let Herodias remain in Rome where she would be supported at state expense. She chose to accompany her husband into exile instead. So at 60 years of age, after a life amid power and pomp, Antipas set sail for Gaul to live out his final years in obscurity.  

Next time, we conclude this short series on The Who Tried Jesus with Ponius Pilate.  

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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THE MEN WHO TRIED JESUS: ANNAS

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

During the trial that led to his crucifixion, at one time or another Jesus stood before four men. Taken together, they represented Jewish political and religious authority as well as the power of Rome. Today we begin a four-part series devoted to The Men Who Tried Jesus. We begin with Annas ben Seth. Although he is mentioned in all four Gospels, John alone tells us that upon his arrest Jesus was first taken to Annas. “First they led him to Annas; for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.” John 18:13 

ANNAS COMES TO POWER

Annas, in Hebrew Hanan, was born in 22 BC, making him about 18 years old when Herod the Great died. After their father’s death, Herod’s sons, Herod Phillip and Herod Antipas were made tetrarchs and another son, Herod Archelaus, was made ethnarch of Judea. Archelaus turned out to be a particularly inept ruler and was deposed and exiled in 6 AD by Caesar Augustus. From that point forward the Romans appointed all High Priests and the office became more a political plum than one of religious authority. 

Following Archelaus’ dismissal, Quirinius, the Governor of Syria, removed the High Priest Joazar ben Boethus from office. He appointed Annas ben Seth in his stead. We know little about Annas’ family and background prior to his becoming High Priest. The family name could indicate ties with Antioch, which had a large and influential Jewish population. He held the High Priesthood for nine years before being ousted by the Prefect Gratus “for imposing and executing capital sentences which had been forbidden by the imperial government.” 

CAPO DEI CAPI — THE BOSS OF THE BOSSES

Annas lived during one of the most tumultuous periods in Jewish history, and the House of Annas continued to influence the course of history throughout the time when the Romans ruled Jerusalem. He lost the High Priesthood for ordering the stoning of a young Sabbath-breaker. This action gives us insight into his temperament and approach to problem solving and explains why he dealt with Jesus the way he did. In the years after his removal from office, Annas became a sort of Capo dei Capi, pulling strings and controlling affairs through his sons and son-in-law. 

The House of Annas controlled the High Priesthood, and with it Jerusalem and the Jews, throughout most of Annas’ lifetime. Consider the following list of High Priests:

Annas ben Seth (6–15) Father

Eleazar ben Hanon (16–17) Son

Joseph ben Caiaphas (18–36) Son-in-Law

Jonathan ben Hanon (36–37) Son

Theophilus ben Hanon (37–41) Son

Matthias ben Hanon (43) Son

Ananus ben Hanon (63) Son 

By 63 AD the Temple and Jerusalem politics were in chaos and the country was hurtling toward the outbreak of the Great Jewish Revolt which culminated in the destruction of the Temple and the sacking of Jerusalem by the armies of Vespasian and Titus.  

HATED AND CURSED IN HIS OWN LIFETIME

In his book, The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Alford Edersheim says the House of Annas was cursed in the Talmud as “wealthy, unscrupulous and corrupt leaders of the priesthood whose presence defiled the sanctuary.” Annas was a leading member the First Century Judean aristocracy and known as arrogant and ambitious. He used his enormous wealth to maintain political control. The Talmud records a popular rhyme of the era which described the House of Annas: Woe to the house of Annas! Woe to their serpent’s hiss! They are High Priests; their sons are keepers of the treasury, their sons-in-law are guardians of the temple, and their servants beat people with staves.” (Pesahim 57a) 

Pharisaism was the predominate sect of Judaism in the First Century, yet all High Priests of the House of Annas were Sadducees. This alone set up a conflict between the ruling class and those under them. Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees didn’t recognize the Prophets as authoritative representatives of God. Therefore they did not believe in things such as the timing of the coming of the Messiah found in Daniel’s prophecy of the weeks, Daniel 9:24-27, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, or even a bodily resurrection. 

THE SOURCE OF THE FAMILY FORTUNE

The family gained much of their wealth from the four booths of the sons of Annas, which were market stalls located on the Mount of Olives. They also had other market stalls inside the temple complex in the Court of the Gentiles. Through these, they maintained a monopoly on the sale of sacrificial animals, as well as the exchange of foreign money into temple coins for the offerings. This enabled them to charge exorbitant prices, effectively amassing wealth through the exploitation and oppression of the poor. 

When Jesus cleansed the Temple, he effectively declared war on the House of Annas. He raised their ire by striking at the source of their wealth and like a typical Mafia chieftain, Annas responded with violence. “And they came to Jerusalem. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold and those who bought in the temple, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and the seats of those who sold pigeons; and he would not allow anyone to carry anything through the temple. And he taught, and said to them, ‘Is it not written, “My house shall be called a house of prayer for all the nations”? But you have made it a den of robbers.’ And the chief priests and the scribes heard it and sought a way to destroy him; for they feared him…”

John briefly records the trial before Annas with few details. Annas interrogated Jesus about his teaching and Jesus was struck on the mouth for challenging the way the trial was being conducted. Although Annas does not appear to play a leading role in the trial of Jesus, he most likely was the one responsible for his arrest, trial and crucifixion. True to form, he would have let others do the dirty work while he remained behind the scenes pulling strings and directing events. 

Though he did everything in his power to stamp it out, Annas lived long enough to see Christianity rise and flower. He died in AD 66 at age 88 when the First Jewish Revolt was in its earliest stages. Fittingly, he was assassinated by members of the radical Secarii party when he advocated for peace with Rome. 

STRIKING DOWN THE BISHOP OF JERUSALEM

In another interesting historical quirk, his son, Annas ben Annas known as Annas II, was High Priest when James the Just, Bishop of Jerusalem was killed in AD 62. Josephus describes him as “a bold man in his temper, and very insolent; he was also of the sect of the Sadducees, who were rigid in judging offenders.” Josephus Ant 20:199 Annas II (most probably at his father’s command) made a last, desperate strike at the Christians following the death of the Roman Procurator Festus. He lodged accusations against James before Festus’ replacement arrived. James was subsequently stoned to death. The citizens objected and Herod Agrippa I removed him from office, replacing him with Joshua ben Damneus. And so, fifty-seven years of domination by the House of Annas finally came to an end. Josephus Ant 20:200-203 

Next time we will look at the second man in this deadly chain of events, Annas’ son-in-law Joseph Caiaphas. 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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PROPHECIES OF PALM SUNDAY, GOOD FRIDAY AND EASTER

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

Our Lenten and Easter Series continues today with an examination of a few prophecies that reference three highlights of this penitential season: Palm Sunday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Entire books have been written on Biblical prophecy, and the following references are, in most cases, one or two among many.

PALM SUNDAY

On the first day of the week of his crucifixion, Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on the back of a young mule. His disciples laid their cloaks on the ground in front of him and the people cut palm branches and waved them in the air shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” Why did Jesus do this? What was its symbolic meaning? 

The event itself is foretold in Zechariah 9:9-10. “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on an ass, on a colt the foal of an ass. I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall command peace to the nations; his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.” 

The symbolism of this event is reflected in 1Kings in which David declares Solomon his successor. By seating him on his own mule, David gave a sign to the people that Solomon was the legitimate heir to the throne rather than Adonijah, his brother. Solomon can be seen as a type for Christ. Hence, Jesus re-enacted the event establishing himself as the heir to the throne of David. Why a mule?  Mules are a cross between a mare and a male donkey. Since crossbreeding was prohibited in Israel (Lev 19:19), mules were likely imported, making them highly valued.   

1Kings 1:38 “Then King David answered, “Call Bathsheba to me.” So she came into the king's presence, and stood before the king. And the king swore, saying, "As the LORD lives, who has redeemed my soul out of every adversity, as I swore to you by the LORD, the God of Israel, saying, ‘Solomon your son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I do this day.’ King David said, “Call to me Zadok the priest, Nathan the prophet, and Benai'ah the son of Jehoi'ada.” So they came before the king. And the king said to them, ‘Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride on my own mule, and bring him down to Gihon; and let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet there anoint him king over Israel; then blow the trumpet, and say, `Long live King Solomon!’”  

GOOD FRIDAY

As an aside, this illustration of the crucifixion (one of my personal favorites) is by Salvatore Dali. Though the name Dali brings to mind melting clocks and strange images, he was clearly capable of great and inspiring work. 

Isaiah’s prophecies of the suffering servant are the most familiar relating to the crucifixion.

Isaiah 53:5-7 “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter…” 

Interestingly, that is immediately followed by a prophecy relating to the Jesus’ burial in Joseph of Arimthea’s tomb. Isaiah 53:9 “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” 

There is also Zechariah 12:10 “…when they look on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a first-born.” 

The following passage from Amos ties the crucifixion to the High Holydays of the Passover.

Amos 8:10 “I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son, and the end of it like a bitter day.”  

THE RESURRECTION

There are a number of Old Testament passages referring to what is usually called the General Resurrection…that is the resurrection of all people on the Day of the Lord, and most people in Jesus’ time believed in such a resurrection. However, specific passages referring to a unique resurrection for the Messiah are sparse. Jesus himself pointed us to one, Jonah, whose escape from the whale’s belly foreshadowed the Messiah’s resurrection. 

Matthew 12:38-40 “Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to him, ‘Teacher, we wish to see a sign from you.’ But he answered them, ‘An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign; but no sign shall be given to it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the whale, so will the Son of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.’” 

We also find a pointer in Acts 2:25 to Psalm 16:9-10 “For David says concerning him, ‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; moreover my flesh will dwell in hope. For thou wilt not abandon my soul to Hades, nor let thy Holy One see corruption…’”  

In this passage from Hosea the Messiah himself seems to be speaking.

Hosea 6:2 “After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him.”

We hope you’ve enjoyed this short overview. A Google search for Messianic passages will yield many, many more.  

OurLenten series continues on Monday with a series of four posts taking a close look at each of the men who tried Jesus. 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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THE ORIGIN OF THE TERM EASTER

Hello My Friend and Welcome.

THE DANGERS OF A LITTLE BIT OF KNOWLEDGE

This is as good a time as any to deal with the overall concept of Easter. As we found in our December study on All Things Christmas, there are many half-truths and misconceptions surrounding the traditions and practices of the Church. People perpetuate these falsehoods either out of ignorance or because it discredits the Church and, by discrediting the Church, they gain credibility.  

In the case of Christmas, it was the false fact that Christmas was placed on December 25^th because that date corresponded with pagan solstice feasts. We disproved that in our post Why Dose Christmas Come on December 25^th? If you missed the post, you can find it HERE. 

Easter, too, we are told is a pagan holiday. As Easter approaches and you’ll hear this refrain repeated over and over. For the sake of charity, we’ll assume that the people saying this are simply misinformed.  

REFUTTING THE PAGAN MYTH

First of all, while we cannot be certain when Jesus of Nazareth was born, we know with certainty when he died. Easter is known as The Pascha everywhere except in the English speaking world. Pascha is Greek for Passover…the day on which Jesus was crucified. But didn’t pagans have Spring festivals? Of course they did. Many small towns have a Fall Harvest Festival…an Apple Fest, a Pumpkin Show, etc. Are these festivals a ritualistic way of paying homage to the Earth Goddess, or simply an opportunity for family fun and food from traveling food booths? 

So where did the connection of Easter and paganism come from? It began with the observations of an 8^th Century Christian writer. Again, like the Christmas speculation, a passing comment took on a life of its own. In this case, the Venerable Bede said that the word Easter was derived from the name of the pagan goddess Eostre, whose name was in turn derived from the Norse word for Spring, Eastre. So Easter comes from Spring, which seems appropriate enouh. Note, he was talking about the word Easter, not the Easter practices.  

But what about those practices? Those boiled eggs in a basket of grass, etc? Doesn't that perpetuate some pagan equinox worship service? Let’s take a closer look. Circadian rhythms are biological processes that are dependent upon day length. Modern egg producers stimulate the hen’s laying cycle by extending the perceived day length with artificial light. People living in the First Century didn’t have this luxury; they had to depend upon the natural cycle of solstices and equinoxes. Consequently, as the days grew longer with the coming of Spring, their hens were stimulated to begin laying. Also, during the 40-day period of fasting preceding Easter, the Early Christians did without meats, fats and eggs.  

What could be more opportune? Just as we move into Spring and the celebration of the Resurrection, the hens begin to produce eggs again. Eggs, of course, are ideal representations of a resurrection of sorts when they hatch and of the new life the Early Christians found in Christ. Interestingly, the Early Christians dyed boiled eggs red —for the saving blood of Jesus Christ. They presented them to their children on Easter morning as a reminder of the Paschal mystery of Christ’s death and resurrection. Easter morning, of course, was also the first day that eggs could be eaten again.  

This year when you boil and color eggs with your children or grandchildren, tell them the story of the Early Christians.  Remind them that, like those children of earlier times, they are participating in a holy tradition. Remind them also that those Early Christian children never had chocolate. 

Next time we will examine the prophecies surrounding the Messiah and his death and resurrection. 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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THE THREE MARYS at the EMPTY TOMB

Hello My Friends and Welcome.

The image illustrating this post in our continuing Lenten/Easter series is the painting The Three Mary’s at the Empty Tomb by William Adolphe Bouguereau, 1890. Bouguereau’s paintings have a softness of color and a sense of serenity about them. We used his 1873 painting, The Newborn Lamb as a cover for Witness, Book One in The Seeds of Christianity™ Series. We went back to Bougereau for Disciple, Book Two of the Series, adapting his 1860 painting, Tobias Saying Goodbye to his Father. Both covers are in the right sidebar.

Now, back to the three Mary’s. Which three Mary’s is he depicting? The answer, of course, is Mary Magdalene, Mary, the wife of Clopas, and Mary, the wife of Aristopolus. This raises two additional questions: Who are these people and why are they all named Mary?

We all know the first one, Mary from Magdala. She is generally considered to be a woman of means who helped finance Yeshua’s ministry. She was also the first to encounter the risen Christ and, mistaking him for a gardener, asked where they had placed the body.

Mary, the wife of Clopas — also Cleopas or Alphaeus — was the wife of Herod Antipas’ cup bearer. Cup bearer, by the way, is a polite term for Royal Taster. A rather dicey job when you’re serving one of the Herods. Regardless, he was well placed and tradition says both of his sons were publicans, or tax collectors. Most probably they were Mokhes, custom officials. Galilee sat on the main roads of commerce and Herod Antipas’ principal source of revenue was derived from the goods passing through his territory. So who were these sons? We know them well. One was named Levi, or Mattithayu (Matthew). His brother’s name was Yaakov…Jacob…James. The man we’ve come to call James the Lesser.

The last Mary, and her husband Aristopolus, were early disciples. They owned the home with the “upper room” where Yeshua and his disciples celebrated the Last Supper. Mary had a brother by the name of Yosef, whom we also know well, as Barnabus the companion of Paul. She also had a son named John Mark…the associate of Peter, author of the Gospel of Mark, and, according to Eusebius, the eventual Bishop of Alexandria.

Why do we find a Mary everywhere time we turn around in the New Testament? The name Mary in all its many permutations, Miriam, Mariam, Maria, Mariamne, Mariamme, Mariamenom, was an extremely popular name in First Century Israel. It’s been estimated that somewhere between 25—35% of the women were named some form of Mary. Imagine if these three women attended a dinner at Lazarus’ home in Bethany along with Yeshua’s mother. Now we have at least five Mary’s in the same room…talk about confusion.

I’ve been asked why I chose to identify Yeshus’a mother as Miryam in my novels. There are two reasons. First, for authenticity I’ve used the Jewish spelling for the characters and Miryam is the original Jewish form of the name. Secondly, in Biblical manuscripts the name translated as Mary is written as MRYM.

Next time we’ll study the Jewish feast of Purim…one that Jesus and his disciples surely celebrated.

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

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BURIAL PRACTICES OF THE EARLY CHRISTIANS

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

Today, in anticipation of Good Friday and the burial of Our Lord, we examine some of the burial rites and traditions of 1^st Century Jews and the early Christians. Because of Christianity’s Jewish roots, let’s first make a short review of Jewish traditions concerning the dead. You’ll find the parallels with Christian practices enlightening.

Judaism, like Christianity, is based on traditions and rituals. Ritualized mourning serves several purposes, it shows respect for the dead, comforts those left behind, helps prevent excessive mourning, and eventually leads the bereaved back to normal life.  

A MEAL OF CONDOLENCE

The tradition of the se’udat habra’ah — a meal of condolence seems to be an exclusively Jewish one. There are deep psychological reasons behind this gesture. It recognizes that mourners, having just returned from the heavy trauma of the burial, may harbor a death wish for themselves and not want to go on without their loved one. The meal they must eat speaks to that part of them saying, “No, you must go on. You must affirm life and live.” The meal consists of Bread, considered the sustenance of life, Hard Boiled Eggs, a round food representing the cycle of life, and Lentils, which are also round. 

JEWISH MOURINING PRACTICES

The first (intense) period of mourning, Shiva (seven), lasts seven days. Mourners sit on low stools or the floor instead of chairs…hence, the term Sitting Shiva. The next period, known as Schloshim (thirty), lasts until the 30th day after burial. The final period of formal mourning, Avelut, lasts for 12 months from burial and is observed only for a parent. After the first year, the anniversary of death (yahrzeit) is remembered annually.  

EARLY CHRISTIAN MEMORIALS

In the early Christian communities the third, seventh, and thirtieth day were memorial days, on which there was a ceremony for the dead. There was also a memorial service on the anniversary of a person’s death and each year thereafter. The date of a saint’s death was considered their “Birthday” into eternal life and was thus celebrated annually. A saint’s day of memorial on the liturgical calendar has always been on the day of their death, not their birth as it is with our modern custom with Washington’s birthday, Lincoln’s birthday, Martin Luther King’s birthday, etc. The third day memorial is clearly a reference to the Resurrection; however, interestingly enough, there is a modern trend in some parts of Judaism to reduce the period of Shiva to three days. 

GRECO-ROMAN HANDLING OF THE DEAD

The Romans, Greeks as well as most other ancient cultures practiced cremation. The Jews, however, considered burial the only proper method of disposing of a dead body. Even God himself is depicted in the Torah as performing a burial: “And God buried him (Moses) in the depression in the land of Moab, opposite Beth Peor. No man knows the place that he was buried, even to this day.” (Deuteronomy 34:6).  

In the light of the belief in the resurrection of the body in Jewish tradition (Tobit 1:21; 12:12; Sirach 38:16; 2 Maccabees 12:39) as well as in Christianity, it is easy to understand why the interment of the mortal remains of the Christian dead has always been regarded as an act of religious importance and has been surrounded with some measure of ceremony.  

A CHRISTIAN BURIAL

It is clear that from the very beginning the early Christians buried their dead. This conclusion is supported by direct testimony from ancient documents such as The Octavius by Minucius Felix,   Tertullian’s  De Corona as well as from the stress laid upon the analogy between the General Resurrection of all faithful and the Resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:42, Tertullian’s De Animâ and Augustine’s  City of God).  

Later, when the Christians in Rome began to place their dead in the catacombs, they developed their own language in speaking about death. They referred to the catacombs as Koimeteria, dormitories. For a pagan, a dormitory was the room where you went to bed at night and rose in the morning. For Christians it meant more than that. You went to sleep so that you might waken again. Thus death was but a place of rest from which you would certainly rise anew.   

A second example is the word Depositio. Markers with the word Depositus, (abbreviated depo, Dep or simply D) can immediately be identified as Christian. Depositio was a legal term used by lawyers, which meant giving on deposit. To the early Christians, the dead were deposited in the earth like grains of wheat to be restored in the future crops.   

Inscriptions and Symbols on a Marble Slab

Each side of the catacomb had rows of rectangular niches, called loculi, cut into the walls. They typically contained only one body, occasionally two…perhaps in the case of a husband and wife who died together. The burials of the early Christians were simple affairS. The corpses, in imitation of Christ, were wrapped in a sheet or shroud and placed in the loculi without any kind of coffin. The loculi were closed with a slab of marble or, in most cases, clay tiles fixed by mortar. The name of the deceased was painted or engraved, along with a Christian symbol or a wish that the person find peace in heaven. Oil lamps and small vases containing perfumes were often placed beside the tombs.  

Next time we’ll see what we can learn from the 1890 painting The Three Mary’s at the Empty Tomb by William Adolphe Bouguereau.

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

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HOW THE DATE OF EASTER IS DETERMINED

The Paschal Full Moon Determines the Date of Easter

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

We continue our Lenten — Easter Series with a discussion of how the date of Easter is determined. I recall, as a child, overhearing adults say, “Isn’t Easter early this year?” or “Easter sure is late this year.” I found this very confusing. What did they mean late or early? Easter came the same time as any other year…on Sunday. 

Easter is, and always has been, a movable Feast. In many parts of the world Easter is known as the Pascha, from the Greek word for Pesach, or Passover. As we know from the Bible, Jesus was arrested and executed on a Friday during the Jewish Passover week. And, as we also know, Easter is a celebration of his Resurrection on the following Sunday. So, in my defense, I was partially right. It always comes on Sunday…at least it does now. 

EASTER, PASSOVER AND THE QUARTODECIMAN CONTROVERSY

Like our Easter, Passover is a movable, seven-day Feast which begins Nisan 15 (at sundown Nisan 14) and is determined by the phases of the moon. The Early Church was comprised mostly of Jews and so they continued to follow the Hebrew calendar and celebrated the day of Resurrection following Passover. However, since Passover can fall on any day of the week, this meant that the Resurrection was not always celebrated on a Sunday. And that’s when things started getting sticky. 

The result was what has come to be called the “Quartodeciman Controversy,” from the Latin quatro decima or fourteen. The Controversy boils down to a simple question: Must the Resurrection be celebrated on a Sunday? The writings of the Church Father, Irenaeus, state that Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, kept the Feast on the fourteenth day of the moon, whatever day of the week that might happen to be. In other words, he celebrated the Resurrection on the day of Crucifixion. Keep in mind that, like Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp was a disciple of the Apostle John, and he claimed the tradition came from St. John himself. Meanwhile, the Roman and Alexandrian churches began extending the Lenten fast until the Saturday after the 14^th and celebrated the Resurrection the following day, on Sunday. Though argued and debated, the issue was never conclusively resolved.

Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna

RELYING UPON THE HEBREW CALENDAR

We find both practices continuing as we move forward in time. But, regardless of whether you celebrated the Day of Resurrection or the Sunday of Unleavened Bread, you were still dependent upon the Jewish calendar to establish the date of Nisan 14. By the later 3rd century the Church had become thoroughly gentile and some Christians expressed dissatisfaction with the custom of relying on the Jewish community to determine the date of a Christian Feast. They also complained that the observance of a full moon varied between the northern and southern hemispheres, leading to errors.  

Anatolius of Laodicea in the later 3rd century wrote, “Those who place the first lunar month of the year in the twelfth zodiacal sign before the spring equinox and fix the Paschal fourteenth day accordingly, make a great and indeed an extraordinary mistake.” An ancient paschal table confirms these complaints, indicating that Jews in some eastern Mediterranean city (possibly Antioch) fixed Nisan 14 on March 11 in AD 328, on March 5 in AD 334, on March 2 in AD 337, and on March 10 in AD 339, all well before the spring equinox. This led some Christians to experiment with their own computations. However, others advised, “Do not do your own computations, but instead observe Passover when your brethren from the circumcision do. If they err, it is no matter to you....”

Painting of the Council of Nicea

THE COUNCIL OF NICAEA TACKLES THE ISSUE

Constantine addressed the issue when he convened the Council of Nicaea and severed any remaining tie between Christianity and Judaism when he wrote, “It appeared an unworthy thing that in the celebration of this most holy feast we should follow the practice of the Jews...For we have it in our power, if we abandon their custom, to prolong the due observance of this ordinance to future ages by a truer order...For their boast is absurd indeed, that it is not in our power without instruction from them to observe these things....Being altogether ignorant of the true adjustment of this question, they sometimes celebrate Passover twice in the same year.”

As a result, the First Council of Nicaea in 325 endorsed the idea of independent calculations and set the date of Easter as the Sunday following the paschal full moon, which is the full moon that falls on or after the vernal (spring) equinox.

Constatine the Great

A TALE OF TWO CALENDARS

The Church does not use the exact date of the paschal full moon but an approximation, because the paschal full moon can fall on different days in different time zones, which raises the old problem of having more than one date for Easter. For purposes of calculating the date of Easter, the full moon is assumed to be the 14th day of the lunar month. The Church also set the date of the vernal equinox as March 21, even though it sometimes occurs on March 20. Using these approximations allowed the Church to set a universal date for Easter. If only it were that simple. 

The world of Constantine ran on the Julian calendar. Introduced by Julius Caesar in 45 BC as a reform of the Roman calendar, it was developed with the help of astronomer Sosigenes of Alexandria. It contained 365 days a year and allowed for a leap year every fourth year. As accurate as it was, the Julian calendar was still off by 11 minutes a year. This tiny error caused it to gain three days every four centuries. The Gregorian calendar, introduced in 1582 and still in use today, eliminated this problem.  

But by that time the Church had split into an Eastern, or Orthodox, branch and a Western, or Roman, branch. The Western Church calculates Easter using the Gregorian calendar. Our Eastern brothers, however, seeking to celebrate the traditional date of the Pascha, continue to adhere to the older Julian calendar. Because of the Julian calendar’s continual slippage, March 21 on the Julian calendar corresponds to April 3 on the Gregorian calendar.  

Easter can come no earlier than March 22^nd. and no later than April 25^th. However, by the following the Julian calendar, the Orthodox celebration of Pascha can fall between April 4 and May 8. Some Orthodox communities have begun using a revised Julian calendar for their calculations and others retain the older ways.  

Since the full moon is at the root of both calculations, the date of Easter/Pascha depends upon which moon is chosen. In those years when both branches of the Church use the same moon, the date of the Feast is the same. When the Eastern Church uses a later moon, there can be an extreme variance.  For instance, both branches celebrated Easter on April 24^th in 2011. The date in 2012 for the Western Church is April 8^th while for the Eastern Church it will be April 15^th. For 2013, the dates are March 31^st in the West and May 5^th in the East. In 2014, the dates again converge on April 20^th. 

With an eye toward the crucifixion and burial of Jesus on Good Friday, next time we’ll look at ancient burial practices.  

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings.

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LENT & EASTER - PRETZELS

Hot, Salty Prestzels...Is There Anything Better?

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

Today our Lenten & Easter Series continues with a look at a special Lenten food, pretzels. Nowadays, pretzels are eaten as a snack food, which, in a way, was how they started out. The pretzel has its origins as an official food of Lent. Interestingly enough, the Vatican Library has a manuscript dating to 5^th Century with the earliest known illustration and description of what we commonly call the pretzel. 

To put the pretzel in perspective, we must first remember that in the early Church, the Lenten abstinence and fasting laws were much stricter in the Early Church than what we practice today. As we saw in our Shrove Tuesday post, believers avoided all animal products during Lent. This meant no milk, no butter, no cheese, no eggs, no cream and no meat. The fast consisted of a single meal eaten in the late afternoon or evening. Small snacks were permitted during the day to allow a person to keep up their strength. This, of course, led to a search for simple foods that fulfilled the fasting laws.

Earliest Depiction of Pretzels

INVENTING THE PRETZEL

It became a common practice for people to prepare a special, unleavened bread made from water, flour and salt during Lent. The story goes that one day a monk in the monastery’s bakery decided to remind the other monks that Lent was a time of prayer. He did this by forming the dough into thin strips and shaping them in the form of crossed arms. At that time people commonly folded their arms over each other on the chest.

How You Make a Pretzel

Initially the Lenten bread was baked as a soft bread, just like the big soft pretzels we still find today. Whether or not they put rock sale on them, no one knows. Because of their shape, these breads were called bracellae, a Latin term meaning “little arms.” The Germans derived the word bretzel from it and, when they came to America, they became pretzels.  

Another source suggests that the origin of the word pretzel comes from a habit the monks had of giving these breads to children as a reward when they could recite their prayers. The Latin word for “little reward” is pretiola.  A bit of a stretch, but one never knows. 

This simple Lenten food quickly grew in popularity. Pretzels were considered a symbol of good luck, long life and prosperity. Interestingly, they were also a common food given to the poor and hungry. Not only were pretzels easy to give to someone in need, but they were substantial enough to satisfy a person’s hunger. They also served as a reminder that God knew a person’s needs and answered their prayers. 

SLEEPING ON THE JOB

So how did these soft bracella, pretiola, bretzel/ pretzels became the crisp, crunchy snack we’ve grown accustomed to? Ah, there’s a story for that as well. We’re told that a young apprentice baker dozed off while tending the oven while the pretzels were baking. The oven fire began to die out, and, when he awoke, he noticed and immediately stoked the oven. The result was that he over-baked the pretzels. At first the master baker was upset, but when he discovered how good the hard pretzels were he relented.  

Hard pretzels, of course, are less perishable than the soft variety and make it easy to keep something on hand to give to the poor and hungry when they knocked at the door. By the way, if the only kind of hard pretzel you’ve ever had is the thin ones, you might check at the grocery to see if they have the Snyder's of Hanover Pennsylvania brand. They still makes the traditional hard, fat pretzels. 

Another bit of pretzel lore dates back to the late 1500s. It seems the Ottoman Moslem Turks were besieging the city of Vienna, Austria. However, the Turks were unable to break the city’s defenses and decided to tunnel in. There were some monks —can’t have pretzel stories without those monks— who were in the basement of the monastery baking pretzels. They heard the sound of digging, alerted the authorities, and the city was saved. 

A near as we can tell there is no story that explains the connection between beer and pretzels. One can only assume that the Germans just happened to like some bretzels with their lagers. 

We all know that Easter is a variable feast. Unlike Christmas, it doesn’t come on the same date every year. Next time, our series continues with a study of how and why they determinded a method for establishing the date of Easter. 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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LENT & EASTER - FASTING

Temptation of Christ by Tissot

Hello My Friend and Welcome. 

“Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, ‘If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread.’ But he answered, ‘It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”    —Matthew 4:1-4 

Today we continue our series of Lenten/Easter posts with a look at fasting. Think of Lent and most people immediately think of fasting. But what is fasting, and what is not fasting? Why do we fast? Does God expect us to fast? What do we gain by it? 

In our original post in this series, Quinquagesima Sunday, we detailed some of frequent occurrences, and importance of, the number forty throughout the Bible. As ubiquitous as forty seems to be, fasting occurs at least as often.  

WHAT IS, AND WHAT IS NOT, FASTING

First, and foremost, fasting is a sacramental; a holy practice through which we are drawn closer to God. In its truest form, fasting is very simple. We do not eat. Period. Now we all know that the human body requires sustenance. Going without food for an extended period of time can have serious consequences. How long a person can survive without food depends on body size, metabolic rates, surrounding conditions, and lots of other factors. Needless to say, starving to death is a very unpleasant experience. While it takes a relatively long time to starve to death, a person dies in only 3-5 days without water. The message here is that when undertaking a holy fast, a person must still drink water and eat something.  

If you will permit me a little aside here, I’d like to address a misconception that I’ve heard from a number of Christians. Some people tell me when Jesus fasted in the desert for forty days and nights he didn’t eat or drink anything. One woman said, “I could never do that, but after all, he is God.” The point she’s missing is that he was also man, and as a man he needed food and water just as we do. I’ve heard radio preachers say things like, “He went into the desert where there was no food or water.”  

Jesus in the Wilderness

Come on folks, let’s use our heads here. Reread the quote from Matthew at the top of this post. Jesus went into the wilderness. Funny that people imagine Jesus couldn’t find food, but they readily accept that John the Baptist survived in the wilderness on “locusts and wild honey.” (By the way, the practice of eating locusts continues to this day.) In the wilderness there also things such as pine nuts, wild berries, etc. Matthew adds, “…and afterward he was hungry.” Of course he was; he’d been fasting. Fasting, not starving.  

WHY A PERSON FASTS

Despite being made in the image of God, we remain physical creatures. Our response to sacred moments must involve not just our mind, but our body as well. This is why the Church calendar contains both feasts and fasts. St. Augustine deals with the idea of fasting in this way, “We must fast because it is sometimes necessary to check the delight of the flesh in respect to licit pleasures in order to keep it from yielding to illicit joys.”

A number of Early Church Fathers recommend fasting as a way to build discipline. Our modern world rejects the idea. We live in a society that glorifies consumption. Party hardy…eat, drink and be merry. So let’s look at some other ways to view fasting. Think of it as a way to physically express our hunger for God in our life. As John Calvin said, “…with a full stomach our mind is not so lifted up to God.”  

A person can use a period of fasting to become one with those who suffer from food depravation. When you feel a hunger pang, imagine what it must be like to see your children starving and have no way of providing the food that they need. Food always tastes better when we’re hungry. If you want to be hungry, fast. And then when you do eat, eat with a deep appreciation for the food that God has provided you. Make the practice of eating a prayer of thanksgiving. 

MODERN FASTING

As we learned in our Shrove Tuesday Post, in times past Lent was a time of real, self-imposed hardship. Christians did without all animal products…fats, meats, milk and eggs. There are many instances in history where people ate nothing during the day and ended the fast with a single evening meal. In the Early Church the believers maintained a vigil fast from Good Friday afternoon —the time of Jesus’ death— until Easter morning. If you count it out, you’ll see it comes to 40 hours, the time Christ is traditionally assumed to have been in the grave.  

The modern Lenten fast usually entails abstaining from meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays, eating only one full meal a day, making the other two combined less than a full meal, and not eating between meals. So, rather than fasting, most people today abstain. That is, they do without certain foods during specific periods. This is where the phrase, “What are you giving up for Lent?” comes from. In addition to the regimen above, or in some cases instead of, people decide to give up one item or food group that they particularly enjoy. Most commonly it is sweets. 

NOT AN OPTIONAL PRACTICE

One thing that must be understood about fasting is, except for the elderly or infirm, fasting is a requirement of Christian life, not an optional practice. Both the Old Testament and the New make it clear that believers are expected to fast. How you do it, when you do it, and why you do it are up to you. But the bottom line is you are expected to fast. Jesus said, “The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.” (Matt. 9:15) Recall also that Acts tells us that, “…while they were praying and fasting the Holy Spirit came upon them.” 

Our next post in this series will continue the idea of fasting by examining a particular food developed specifically for Lenten fasting. 

Until then, we wish you Peace and Blessings. 

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