Jesus: His Life | Divine Struggle for Faith's Survival *3 Hour Marathon*

[Music] the story of Jesus is The Greatest Story Ever Told get out where is he for over 2,000 years the story of Jesus Christ has touched the lives of billions around the globe Jesus felt what we fa he faced what we face today if we want to understand Western history at all we must understand the story of Jesus now for the first time his story is told Through The Eyes of those who knew him best now tell me the truth Caiaphas as high priest would have regarded himself as the guardian of the Jewish people he has to be sure that there is not going to be some kind of violent Rebellion Jesus starts coming to the temple and disrupting him on his territory Lazarus come this is the miracle that causes those in power to say this man is a problem we need to do something about him I am the resurrection and the life [Music] [Music] did I underestimate Jesus of Nazareth certainly could I have acted differently from the start possibly I am in charge of keeping peace and stability in Judea no one will be able to say Caiaphas did nothing Caiaphas is the high priest of Jerusalem high priest of the temple from 18 to 36 ad we know a little bit about Caiaphas namely from the Jewish Roman historian Josephus Caiaphas is the highest ranking Jewish official in Juda son-in-law of a former high priest anas one of the ruling family it was a hereditary role they were incredibly rich kapas is Central to the Jesus story because without Caiaphas Jesus can't be arrested the gospels tend to paint Caiaphas as the villain in fact they may paint a different picture of Caiaphas than the historical reality I first became aware of him a man claiming to be the Messiah on hosana rabah one of the most important days of the year in the day on which everything I stand for would come under [Music] threat the gospels do give us the sense that Jesus's travel to Jerusalem is a pre-ordained path he is going to the most grandio stage possible on a set Mission which has a logical conclusion arrest trial [Applause] crucifixion hhan Raba is the climax of the Festival of Tabernacles which is one of the major festivals in Judaism and the temple would have been a pilgrimage site during this time there would have been hundreds of thousand of people [Music] there pasaba is a ceremony that emphasizes the importance of water Jerusalem is susceptible to drought and you have to pray to God for the rains to come this is Caiaphas is Big Moment Caiaphas is the star of this Festival oh Lord Deliver Us oh Lord Deliver [Music] Us oh Lord Deliver [Music] Us let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink Jesus decides to disrupt this Festival because what Jesus is doing right there is again the heart of authority he is reinterpreting scripture at that moment whoever believes in me out of his heart shall flow Living Water Jesus comes up and says rituals aren't important I'm the only one that can bring eternal life and this makes Caiaphas Furious malcus seiz him malcus is described as the servant of the high priest he perhaps is his henchman his bodyguard somebody that's looking out for the high priest for Caiaphas Jesus would have been just the latest dangerous preacher um in a long line of them why did they not arrest him they claim no one has ever spoken the way this man speaks Caiaphas as high priest would have regarded himself as the guardian the safekeeper um of the Jewish people and and of the temple itself this is a very prestigious role even though it's totally tainted by cooperation with [Music] Rome the Roman Empire in the first century is an immense Empire it's conquered most of the Mediterranean world and a good part of the near East as well but to the east of Roman territory you find the parthians Rome's great enemy so the Romans are willing to Grant High priests in Jerusalem a tremendous amount of power if the high priest can guarantee for them some kind of safety zone or some kind of buffer that will enable them to protect themselves against the parthians and even anticipate what the parthians might have in store Caiaphas is in a difficult position because the Roman Authority with whom he has to work pontious pilot had had a temper that pilot was someone maybe you didn't want to provoke too far Caiaphas prefect the power dynamic between kapas and pilot was simple pilot was in charge pilate had the Roman Legions behind him pilate was the Roman prefect he was responsible for raising the taxes and keeping the peace Kus is in a difficult position because in many ways he's the religious leader the spiritual leader of his people hey he's in an occupied territory as a religious leader if something goes ay he's going to be held accountable how did your Festival go very good any other problems I should know about no as long as I'm sure that he hears of no problems he lets us live undisturbed it's a balancing act one I perform with great care precision for now things are peaceful but I know how quickly that can [Applause] change we're told by the Roman Jewish historian Josephus that a few years into Caiaphas tenure as high priest and a few months into Pilot's posting as Governor Caiaphas witnessed the horrors of what pilot was capable of doing pilate decides that he wants to build an aqueduck to bring fresh water into Jerusalem only he decides to do that with funds from the temple Jews were incredibly sensitive about the use of Jewish funds in the temple for Roman projects for unwish projects and so this causes an uprising and so pilate sends in his soldiers in playing [Music] cloes it's a blood bath it would have made Caiaphas rightly extremely cautious in dealing with the Romans Caiaphas is memory of the brutality of Rome and the potential for Rome to revisit brutality upon the city of Jerusalem invariably affects how he looks at Jesus of Nazareth Jesus he had his follows but they were a minority I had no cause for concern how was I to know this Jesus was different no no stay bethan is a village just outside Jerusalem Jesus had connections there and it was an easy place to get into Jerusalem from Judah strategic place when you think about Jesus Jus wanting to have a base of operations a base of rest and if trouble arose and things got hot inside the city was a good place to Lilo this is where he could find a space to experience normal daily living Jesus not only had Galilean disciples he had Judean disciples and they were chiefly located in Bethany they involved a particular family Lazarus Mary and Martha but later that day a Samaritan came by and he saw the man suffering by the side of the road and he crossed over and he helped him Jesus's friends Mary and Martha of Bethany were two women who probably had a fair amount of means they were women who devoted much of their resources of time and money to Jesus's Ministry they probably traveled a fair amount with him and certainly when he was in town they welcomed him in their home which of these three do you think was the neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers the Good Samaritan yes Mary the evidence as we have it historically is that nobody before Jesus had female disciples so Jesus is the first Jew to do this and the way he treats those women is not different from the way he treats his male disciples in the Gospel of John we learn that Mary and Martha have a brother Lazarus and he seems to be a very close friend of Jesus Lazarus Jesus it's unclear how Jesus and Lazarus became such good friends but he is described in the gospels in very strong terms as hon files is the Greek he whom you love so this is obviously a very close friend of Jesus good to see you you too I hear you doing well the Gospel of John tells us that Jesus loved Lazarus it shows us that Jesus had friends outside the 12 disciples it reminds us of Jesus [Music] Humanity Lazarus is important to him and for the events that will ensue Jesus grew Bolder he kept coming into the city where he was growing a reputation as a Healer in the Gospel of John you find Jesus making multiple trips to Jerusalem and an open conflict with the Jewish authorities there when Jesus visits Jerusalem in this occasion I think he knows that he's putting himself in some danger please please sir please almost everybody in the ancient world believed that disability or sickness was somehow a direct consequence of having angered God help me please sir please help me please sir please help me Rabbi who is it who sinned for this man to be born blind is it him or his parents neither this man nor his parent sin this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him the disciples are connecting the fact that this man is blind with some sort of punishment from God and Jesus reacts against that he says no the reason why this man is blind is in order to bring glory to God Jesus spits in the ground makes clay and puts the clay on the Blind Man's eyes asks him then to go and wash in the pool of silone go this is the way that ancient healers often performed healings the healing of the blind man by the pool of salom is a controversial act because number one Jesus performs it on a sabath Sabbath right so there's a question of what is proper to be done or not done on the Sabbath day this would have been seen as a very provocative act on the [Music] Sabbath bring him to me the man is dragged into religious Court as a result Jesus's tricks delighted people where's the harm in that you may ask how is it you received your sight the man they call Jesus heal killed me so I could see clearly this man was never blind go fetch his parents so that they may expose his lies we end up having his parents introduced into the equation and being questioned by the authorities is this your son are you going to tell me as he does that he was born blind if so how is it that he now sees we know he's our son and we know he was born blind but how he can see now or who opened his eyes we don't know half is he is highly upset all of the religious leaders instead of excited that he can see they say who s this man and his parents say something about this man named Jesus he's a sinner isn't he he's someone who speaks against the Torah and against the tradition and the Blind Man's answer is astounding now tell me the truth all I know is that I was blind but now I see the answer is so powerful by the blind man he says I really don't care about your religious framework I'm not concerned about your theology what I do know is I was blind and now I see clearly you were steeped in sin at Birth how dare you lecture us throw these Sinners out heal a blind man ridiculous but I knew if so many could fall for his tricks I couldn't ignore them I had to counter this hysteria with reason I knew he was [Music] dangerous clearly you was steeped in sin at Birth how dare you lecture us throw these Sinners out Caiaphas has a couple of options one is to ignore him but as the Jesus movement gets bigger he can no longer do that especially when Jesus starts coming to the temple and disrupting him on his territory the temple had been built by Herod the Great and it was one of the great buildings of the ancient world in the first century you have many groups that see themselves as practicing a particular brand of Judaism that they believe to be correct and proper the Pharisees are one such group if you are the Messiah just say it in the story in John's gospel some Pharisees challenged Jesus to prove that he is the Messiah The Works that I do in my father's name show Who I Am the questions that the Pharisees are raising a lot of contemporary people don't realize are actually legitimate questions CHR my sheep hear me I know them and they follow me I give them eternal life and they will never perish in response he does something kind of remarkable he doesn't prove that he's the Messiah he actually goes beyond that and he says that he and the father that is God are one I have shown you many good works from the father for which of these are you going to Stone me is not for your good work that we are going to Stone you but for blasphemy when he's accused of this Jesus is in a perilous situation it's a Blasphemous thing to say that you yourself are Our God and the punishment for blasphemy is actually stoning so what they are doing is perfectly within the legal rights of Jewish law them [Applause] go the truth of the matter is that Jesus had not followed the dictates about how to win friends and influence people go this way he had aggravated them on aot the temple the holiest place in Judea was an insult Jesus didn't know what he was [Music] risking find him and bring him to me alive enough was enough I had to arrest him Caiaphas is old enough to seen what happen happens when um the Jews rebelled against Roman power when Caiaphas is a young boy Herod the Great dies there was a period of instability this instability led to Jewish rebellions against Rome Rome doesn't like this they sent in two Legions of soldiers about 10,000 troops to crush this Rebellion I was just a boy I've been told to stay indoors but I was bored there was lizard on the wall and I chased it out to the gates they rounded up the rebels They Crucified 2,000 people the buildings around the temple were set on fire the temple was looted I can still hear their screams I still remember the [Music] smell I cannot let that happen again Caiaphas is often depicted as kind of a pantomime villain but I think the historical reality is a bit deeper than that he sees himself as the defender of the Jewish faith of the Jewish people please let me help there's no time bring him out where is he where is he stay here keep watch of course I was disappointed malcus couldn't find him but we had sent a strong message if Jesus stepped foot in Jerusalem again he would be arrested this was a close call during Jesus's Ministry where he had to actually flee the temple and got [Music] away Jesus Jesus and his disciples actually Fleet all the way east across the river Jordan here this is where he was with John the Baptist it's isolated it's in the desert it's away from the Jewish authorities and so he leads his disciples IPL Les there and it's while Jesus is across the Jordan Lazarus that his good friend Lazarus has become very sick can you hear me all illness in the ancient world was potentially lifethreatening even in the city of Rome at this time only about half the population ever made it to the age of [Music] 10 they know that he's likely not to get well there isn't a lot they can do for him except call for Jesus The Miracle Worker who's their friend who they know loves their [Music] brother so should he die it would only be two women living alone and that's a precarious and vulnerable situation in a male dominated [Music] Society one of the things that Mary and Martha must have been thinking is where is Jesus they have this friend who has been proven as a wonder worker who has healed other people and they're probably desperate to have Jesus come and see their brother and heal him they send a messenger to Jesus that in fact reaches him before Lazarus has died Jesus is faced with a tough decision when he learns that his friend Lazarus is ill we must go back Lazarus will die unless you cure him Master if we leave now we can be back by Dawn let's go back to the camp let's pack it up if he goes back to Jerusalem there will probably be an attempt to arrest him and if he stays across the Jordan his friend Lazarus will probably die lazarus's sickness will not end in death did Jesus know what was about to happen was it in his plan because if it was this was an extreme situation that he's about to put his best friend through even though he's his close friend he's not willing to divert From the Path that's laid out before him as he understands [Music] [Music] it [Music] the normal practice of early Jews involves wrapping in a winding sheet with retarding uh spices or myrr so that the body can be visited for a considerable period of time usually a week after it is died then after the flesh has decayed you come back about a year later and you disassemble the skeleton and you put it in a bone box called an [Music] uary Jesus is dealing with the pressure and the pull of what the father demands of him of what God demands of him and he waits he waits until it is hopeless in the eyes of everyone else Lazarus is dead but I am going there to wake him up if only Jesus had stayed away from what we can tell early Jews believed that the spirit of the deceased stayed with the body for 3 days days after 3 days Elvis had left the building the spirit had gone to wherever it's going to go either into Paradise or somewhere else so this man is 4 days dead and there's no hope of him coming [Music] back so this a sense that Jesus wants people to know that Lazarus is truly dead before he performs his miracle if you had been here my brother would not have died your brother will rise again I know he will rise again in the resurrection of the last day Martha misunderstands what he's saying because like many first century Jews she had a belief in the resurrection so she sort of thinks he's talking about this end of days or apocalyptic Resurrection I am the resurrection and the life the one who believes in me will live even though they die do you believe this I believe you are the Messiah the Son of God and this is Jesus revealing a central tenant of Christianity to Martha a Woman by saying that faith in him means that death is vanquished where is Mary Martha comes and Jesus responds as a teacher talking about I am the resurrection and the life in his encounter with Mary Jesus responds in a way that looks very human Lord if you had been here my brother would not have [Music] died when Jesus sees Mary how grief stricken she is he himself starts to weep it reminds us that Jesus is a human person with human friends and human emotions and he is distraught at the death of his friend and wants to do something about it Jesus swept is the shortest verse in the New Testament but speaks to the long tradition of human suffering Jesus experiences the pain the tragedy and the grief of a loving and caring savior where have you laid him come and see my [Music] Lord I think that as Jesus approaches lazarus's tomb Mary and Martha are simply expecting him to join the MERS take away the stone what does Martha say Lord let's not open the tune there will be a bad smell she's not expecting Resurrection on the spot even when they go to the tune did I not tell you that if you believe you will see the glory of God [Music] Lazarus come out Lazarus come out what was going through the mind of Mary and Martha when they saw their brother raised from the dead they were probably stupified beyond words un bed him let him go this is one reason Jesus has to say to the crowd untie him and let him go they probably were so shocked they couldn't even move and because Lazarus was sick and eventually died Jewish theology would have understood that this was what God ordained so when Jesus resurrected Lazarus he was essentially overturning what God ordained which says that maybe his claims that he is the Son of God are believable and that made him an enormous threat to the religious establish spies are sent by the high priest to Bethany to watch Jesus they want to know who he is what he's doing what his powers are what his intentions are they do this because they feel that their Authority in Jerusalem is threatened in the Gospel of John this is the miracle that causes those in power to to say this man is a problem we need to do something about it this is a major shift the raising of Lazarus this places Jesus on the trajectory of of death and raising the dead how did he do it he is not a sorcerer he is a man is a Mir it is a Mir a man made of Flesh and Blood and I must not be frightened of [Music] it so Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin gathered together to come up with a way to put a stop to Jesus if we let him go on like this everyone will believe in him and then the Romans will come and the sanedrin is a group of Jewish Elders that make decisions on behalf of the Jews and he has many followers now they are arguing about Jesus some who believe that this is an act of blasphemy others are raising questions well is he not a prophet there is not agreement on what is going on he has given us no reason to this miracle would have frightened them I think because it means that Jesus had Authority even over death even somebody who was truly well and truly dead not just swooned in a tomb if we come down too hard on him we may risk precipitating an up Rising perhaps we should listen to it enough Caiaphas makes the hard call uh we must get rid of him we must act decisively because we cannot allow the actions of one man to destroy an entire nation as the leader of the entire Jerusalem Elite he has to be sure that there is not going to be some kind of violent Rebellion he wants to avoid Bloodshed at all costs and to to silence one man is a small price to pay in his eyes in order to avoid the Bloodshed of thousands of people I've seen many Pretenders in the past the radicals looking for their moment but they didn't last I assume this Jesus was no different he must be stopped no matter what but what if I have left him too [Music] late the story of Jesus is The Greatest Story Ever Told get out don't off where is he for over 2,000 years the story of Jesus Christ has touched the lives of billions around the globe Jesus felt what we felt he faced what we face today if we want to understand Western history at all we must understand the story of Jesus now for the first time his story is told Through The Eyes of those who knew him best pilot was a pretty pretty tough hard-bitten political player he had to be are you the king of the Jews he needs to stop any Uprising before it starts I have the power to free you or to crucify you is this person a threat to Roman stability anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar pilot is looking for any way out of the situation I am innocent of this man's [Music] blood I hate this place once I wanted to make a name for [Applause] myself but now I just want to scrub the place from my skin every year they test my patience ponus pilot was the prefect that is the Roman military governor in the province of Judea from 26 to 36 ad he's famous for one thing he's the man in charge during the execution of Jesus every Passover this gets worse it won't be for long pilot has a wife we don't know her name from the gospels but later tradition fills it in as Claudia procula press on get them out of the way Pilots come from the lowest level of Roman nobility and he'd probably clawed his way up the Roman army fighting Barbarians in distant corners of the Empire and now he'd been sent out to a Backwater far from Rome J dear we know from history that ponches pilot would have arrived in Jerusalem right on the eve of Passover Passover is the single worst time to be a Roman governor in the entire year not only do you have 500,000 pilgrims coming into the city but to also have a festival whose whole purpose is about God liberating the Jewish people from oppressive tyrannical Rule and the Romans are in charge everybody is celebrating Liberation and yet not being free everything's on our knife's Edge and if there's one false move the city could explode pilate despises Jerusalem pilate lives over in cesaria maritima on the Mediterranean pilot only only goes to Jerusalem when he absolutely has to during Festival times pilate has an important role behind the scenes during the Passover Festival he works closely with kaius the high priest to make sure that there's no unrest Caiaphas is the high priest of the Jews and so not only is he the religious leader of the people but next to pilate he's the most important political leader as well you will want your ceremonial robes yes one of the reasons why pilate comes into the crowded city of Jerusalem at Passover has to do with the fact that he holds on to the ceremonial robes that Caiaphas needs to wear at the temple for the ceremonies that that they hold the ceremonial Robes of the priests hostage suggests what they're telling Caiaphas is essentially look you can have all the local autonomy you want but at the end of the day if you don't actually make the right decision something might happen to your robes or they won't be there for when you need them is there anything I need to know about oh no I'm I'm not expecting any trouble prefect pilot and Caiaphas don't really like each other they don't get along but they know that they have to work together why answer with that of course he was expecting [Music] trouble when pilot is awoken in the middle of the night the height of pass over by a messenger from caias and I imagined Pilot's heart sunk with a sense of full boing every Festival they drag their troubles to my door who is he his name is Jesus of Nazareth Caiaphas wants pilate to deal with Jesus because Jesus was popular among the people and Caiaphas doesn't want to be seen as the one who was taking care of Jesus he wants to pass that off to the Romans what accusation do you bring against this man this man has been perverting our nation forbidding our people paying taxes to the emperor and calling himself the Messiah a king let me speak with him are you the king of the Jews is this person a threat to Roman stability that's what's behind his question that he asks him he needs to know is this person going to be trouble this is the crime of sedition there is no King but the emperor you say so I need you both to hold your nerve Jesus is one man weighed against the safety of many Caiaphas seems to be genuinely concerned that if Jesus has a following perhaps he'll stage a rebellion and if that happens there will be massive Bloodshed he stirs up the people of Judea with his teaching he started in Galilee and now he has come all the way here take him yourselves and judge him by your own laws initially it seems like pilate doesn't want to get involved in the trial of Jesus because he has uh transgressed Jewish law and so he wants the Jewish leaders to take responsibility for it but we have no right to execute anyone execute him why was Caiaphas even pushing for that the Jewish authorities couldn't legally condemn anybody to death for any crime without the assistance permission or direct action of pontious pilot why did they want him dead what was I missing leave him with me pontious pilot is one of the few figures from early Christian history that we know about from outside of the Bible there's definitely a contrast between the pilot of the gospels and the pilot of History the pilot of the gospels weak vacillating conflicted tormented the pilot of History ruthless and [Applause] merciless historically pilot was not the sort of person who would shy away from violence he was an unrestrained sadist vicious Petty Tyron at one point early in Pilot's career pilot brutally crushes the protest over an aqueduct that he was building there are a lot of deaths there's a lot of injuries and Pilot's trying to show to the Jewish people I'm the one in charge the pilot that we know from history was decisive but the pilot of the gospels is different is someone who's not quite sure of his own authority who waivers a little who doesn't want to take full responsibility for the events around Jesus's death traditional account of the trial of Jesus is really based on the gospels and the gospels were written 4050 70 years after the death of Jesus Christ and they were written partly to show loyalty to the Roman Empire to blame the Jews for the death of Jesus this was to enable the conversion of Romans to the new religion Christianity the trial of Jesus by pilate As Told in the gospels doesn't really reflect the historical political realities and it doesn't reflect the power of the Roman prefect are you the king of the Jews in all four gospels pilate summons Jesus to repeat the key charge against him are you the king of the Jews is that your thinking anyone who claimed to be king would have been in direct contradiction to the authority of Caesar which pilate had sworn to uphold your own people and chief priests have handed you over to me in no way is this a normal trial there's no procedure here there's no Witnesses there's there's no judge other than the prefect talking to a potential revolutionary this is all very strange in the gospels telling of the story it seems that pilate is overwhelmingly anxious to find out whether Jesus is actually guilty or innocent they want him dead for for what what have you done my kingdom is not off this world if it were my servants would fight to prevent me being handed over to our leaders but now my kingdom is from another place he's signaling to Patt I'm no threat to you I'm no political or military threat to you his kingdom is not like ordinary human kingdoms he's not going to tax the people he's not going to raise an army you're a kingdom then you are a king you say that I am a king for this I was born for this I came into the world to testify to the truth everyone on the side of Truth listens to me what is truth when pilate asks Jesus this famous line what is truth he is being perfectly ironic because here is pilate sitting as judge jury executioner managing this whole bizarre criminal trial truth should be the one thing he cares about while Jesus has been in custody something extraordinary happens pilate's wife has a dream a very very troubling dream a father in Heaven Romans take dreams seriously dreams and Omens were really important in the way that Romans understood the gods trying to communicate with them take him away I could not see what C has feared from this man if anything Jesus was passive quiet do not have anything to do with that innocent man for I have suffered today in a dream because of him the pilot in the gospels was already reluctant to get involved in Jesus's trial and so this information from his wife this dream would have just fueled fueled the Flames of his reluctance there was Ill Omen about Jesus I wanted no part of this as Jesus's trial progresses in the gospels the overwhelming impression we get of pilate is that he's deeply frustrated he doesn't want to be involved in this he just wants this to go away and he wants nothing to do with it you say this man is Galilean he is From Galilee good then this is a matter for Herod Antipas pilot is looking for any way out of the situation so when he hears that Jesus is from Nazareth in galile well if you're herod's race you're herod's case off you go then to at antus Pilot knows how to pass the buck and send the Hot Potato to somebody else to make a hard Choice Herod Antipas is the son of King Herod the Great and the ruler of Galilee he's the one who had executed John the Baptist and he also always came to Jerusalem for Passover miracle worker at last Herod Antipas is very glad to see Jesus unfortunately for Herod anpus the meeting with Jesus doesn't unfold as he would have liked because Jesus is simply not very forthcoming they call you king of the Jews don't they antias was a hated figure Jesus for one had great contempt for him he called him that fox Herod Antipas but you won't stoop to speak to your subject Jack's King very well here a royal robe on Jesus this is an honor and shame culture so if you think someone is a clown or a pretender or an impostor you would mock them or demean them or shame them perhaps Herod thought this was a sufficient shaming to keep Jesus from making bold Flames again Antipas concludes that Jesus isn't worthy of death ultimately Antipas simply sends him back to Pilate pontious Pilot's in a tough spot he doesn't really want to make a decision when that's actually his job power over life and death with all of this two and fro Jesus is becoming like a political football nobody wants to take responsibility for making the decision you brought me this man as one who has perverted the people and here I have examined him and have not found him guilty neither has Herod for he sent him back to us indeed he has done nothing to deserve death the crime which would most readily lead to execution is being a revolutionary leading a Revolt of slaves like Spartacus or claiming to be a king directly yourself so some serious military threat does pilate really think that Jesus is providing that kind of threat to himself no I don't think he does crucify him the portrayal of Caiaphas in the scriptures has created a template for anti-Semitism uh throughout the ages it's actually naive to regard kapas as a terribly evil character I think in many ways he just wanted to save lives he knew what happens when you confront Rome in any way only the Roman prefect can order someone to be crucified but pilot has to be really careful if he crucifies an innocent man when who has a popular following then he might face a rebellion as a result cus meant to force my hand I am not to be pushed around it is your custom for me to release one prisoner at the time of the Passover fetch me Barabas I would use their custom to settle their dispute according to the Gospel of Luke barabus is a violent revolutionary I mean he's killed people and he was locked up sometime earlier during Passover week pilot knows what Caiaphas wants Caiaphas wants Jesus dead but he's not sure how popular Jesus really is so pilate devises a plan to see if I were to execute Jesus would anybody really protest you want me to release the king of the Jews or [Music] barabus [Music] in the gospels when pilate presents barabus and Jesus to the crowd it's a kind of unfair choice because Jesus's disciples his supporters have all scattered and so there's no one there left to yell Jesus give us Jesus not Jesus give us forever one Theory would be that the crowd that clamors for Barabas were stirred up by the religious authorities but another theory would be there were enough people in Jerusalem that would rather see a violent revolutionary like Barabas [Applause] released release Barabas Barabas historically there's no way that pilate would give the people of Jerusalem the choice and release a dangerous political Insurgent into their midst the custom of releasing a prisoner because of the Passover doesn't appear in other sources but the story of Barabas is an incredibly important function for the gospel writers because what it does is it allows them to blame all of the the Jewish people for the crucifixion of Jesus it's not just Caiaphas it's not just the priests it's all of the Jewish people who choose Jesus not barabus for crucifixion it also conveniently exonerates the Romans to execute him would not then meet with much outage I have killed before a soldier and Statesman they should see I am not afraid to shed blood when the crowd choose barabus over Jesus pilate knows that there's not a lot of support for Jesus he can get away with punishing Jesus without there being a major Uprising BL him [Music] pilot has Jesus flogged because it was part and parcel of the punishment of crucifixion it had to happen they are flogging with cat aine tals it's a torture device in effect which is not just one strip could be 16 could be as many as 32 different strips of leather that are heavy and on the end of them as if that weren't already enough to tear open the skin and expose the veins and the Senus there are little metal hooks it would have actually ripped chunks of flesh out from the individual was unthinkably unspeakably brutal when the soldiers mock Jesus put the Red Cloak put a crown on him H King of the Jews they're mimicking the celebration in a Roman Triumph of a Roman imperator Commander traveling in his Chariot through Rome the way the New Testament gospels tell the story Jesus is reconciled to his fate and that fate includes torture and Death on a cross there was no escaping that it was part of his mission and he accepted it this is the theater of crucifixion that reminds everyone of the danger of being dis disruptive of the danger of pushing against the kingdom of Caesar of the danger of ring the people up I have had men tortured before they will see anything to make the pain stuff and yet this man made no demands he didn't claim anything want anything behold the man in John's gospel pilate presents Jesus to the authorities he's beaten he's blooded he's wearing a crown of thorns and he has this Immortal line behold the man e homo pilate may be mocking the Jewish authorities saying behold your king look at your king I wanted to see if they still had an appetite for killing him they should not be spared the cost of it after all this pain and suffering could they still stomach it now crucify him and be done with it parted Pilots reluctance to execute Jesus seems to be political maneuvering he does doesn't want to give the high priest what the high priest wants he'd rather say see I have the final Authority here and what I say goes you take him and crucify him this is another example of the power play that exists between these two important figures pilate knows that Caiaphas can't crucify Jesus and he's reminding Caiaphas is that he ultimately has the authority and kaius needs to stay in his Lane as for me I find no basis for a charge against him we have a law and according to that law he must die because he claimed to be the Son of God when Caiaphas says that Jesus claims to be the Son of God this according to the gospels causes pil to Freez in his tracks the gospels say he was afraid and this could have been due to the fact that he believed in the Roman pagan gods who had children who walked the Earth he was wondering is this a Hercules type character is this a demigod is this someone that I should know about where do you come from do you refuse to speak to me don't you understand I have the power to free you or to crucify you you would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above I often wonder what pilate really was thinking when Jesus said you wouldn't have any power over me if it had not been given you from above I I have a feeling pilate was probably thinking you don't know what power is I represent the Roman Empire the superpower of the day you don't know the might of Rome what happens when Caiaphas suggests he claims to be a son of God is that it seems to backfire it's an insufficient suggestion to really get pilot to take action there has to be one more step in the gospels we get this reluctant pilot and Caiaphas is pushing to try and get Jesus crucified this is more likely to represent the circumstances of the gospel writers who want to put the blame on the Jewish authorities if they can present Romans more sympathetically it becomes easier to convert Romans to the new Christian Movement why do you delay prefect you have the charges and the man I have found no grounds in him for the sentence of death he had to learn I don't obey these people I obey Rome but of course Caiaphas knew that if you let this man go you are no friend of Caesar anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar this is ky's trump card I think this is his moment where he pulls out the last bit that he's got in his Arsenal that is to accuse him of treason if he doesn't go ahead and do this I think it's absolutely tactical of him I think that pilot was a prisoner of the political expediency I don't think pilate had a long view of History I think that pilate was insecure the Ambush Caiaphas knew I could not risk another misstep with Rome not for one man I needed to tread carefully especially where Jewish Customs were [Applause] concerned I made one mistake and I made it for the glory of Rome Caiaphas has never letting me forget Pilot's been in trouble with the emperor Tiberius before he had commissioned Shields which were dedicated to the emperor tiberias when these are brought into Jerusalem the Sacred City of the Jews the Jews are offended there is an inscription with the full name of tiberias including his title the son of a god this is a terrible Blasphemous thing to do somebody complains and reports this and goes all the way up the chain to the emperor tiberias thinks that their outrage is Justified and he calls for pilate to withdraw these offensive things from Jerusalem what pilate had done with the shields would have been widely known throughout Judea Jews would have known that pilot was on notice from Rome we do not want to displease C sir do we if you don't execute Jesus we will report that you are no friend of Caesar you're a bad governor of the province will send out an embassy to tiberious on cpri and Report you that finally reaches home for pilot you would have me crucify your king we have no King but Caesar Pilot's boss is the Emperor Tiberius the most powerful man in the world but by the time of Jesus he' become paranoid and depraved he was actually having people thrown off the cliff in front of him and pontious pilot knows that it's not just his job that's on the line it's actually his life he's not going to get in the way of Tiberius then I will kill your king for you in the gospels pilate is ultimately talked into sending Jesus to the Cross he thinks that Jesus is innocent of these charges but basically he's pressurized into doing something against his will when you look at the exchange between Caiaphas and pilot you you end up despising them both there are no winners here there's only losers including [Music] Jesus Caiaphas got what he wanted but he answers to me I will have the final word if we were to only read the gospels we might come away from the story having sympathy for pilot as a character he's thoughtful he's a worrior he listens to his wife he tries to do the right thing and that's in very sharp contrast to what we know about pontious pilot as a historical figure pilate has to have Jesus executed because he needs to do the right thing Vis the emperor he wants to keep his job he wants to ensure that there are no revolutionaries running loose that the Jews stay uh a subjugated people under Roman domination and for all those reasons he probably didn't lose too much sleep over the decision to have Jesus crucified if pontious Pilot's actions are a display of his loyalties his loyalty is with the Empire and with self-preservation you have heard the charges King there is a throne for you out in gol gotha there are many scenes in in the trial and execution of Jesus that are full of irony and perhaps the one that's most full of irony is the washing of his hands I am innocent of this man's blood it is your responsibility of course he's not innocent of the man's blood since he's finally responsible for the execution of Jesus but he's attempting to pass the buck pass the blame onto Caiaphas the gospel writers are trying to put more of the decision on the Jewish authorities as people that get Jesus taken off the scene when historically speaking it's much more believable to think that ponus pilate was in control of his decision the historical reality is likely to have been that if Caiaphas had brought Jesus to pilate pilate would have not even batted an eye in ordering the crucifixion of Jesus pilate didn't care that much about these Jewish subjects and he worked with Kai office to make sure that there was no Insurgency what is another dead man matter to me anyway golgatha is soaked in the blood of countless men and I remember none of them Rome won't give a second thought to Jesus of Nazareth so why should I we should not blame Caiaphas and the Jewish authorities for the death of Jesus only one person had the authority to put Jesus to death and that was punches pilot a [Music] [Music] Roman if Pontius Pilate had not executed Jesus of Nazareth Pontius Pilate would be lost to history he was just another prefect of another distant Province but Pontius Pilate has a unique Legacy in Christianity but without Pontius Pilot's decision to execute Jesus there would be no crucifixion and resurrection and no Christianity as we know it pon Pilot's Legacy for Christianity is so Central that his name made it into the Christian [Music] Creed the story of Jesus is The Greatest Story Ever Told get out go sh up where is he for over 2,000 years the story of Jesus Christ has touched the lives of billions around the globe Jesus felt what we felt he faced what we face today if we want to understand Western history at all we must understand the story of Jesus now for the first time his story is told Through The Eyes of of those who knew him best we are with you Mary Magdalene is in many senses the ideal disciple Enlighten us tell us what you mean she wanted to be there to the very end she was at the crucifixion she was at the resurrection I have seen the Lord she is the one that receives the message I am ascending to my father as the first witness to the Resurrection Mary Magdalene is arguably the beginning of [Music] [Music] Christianity [Music] Jesus Saved Me From Myself he made this woman who am I without him some horror is a test for even the strongest and bravest I'm neither and yet I thought he was going to save the world the first time we meet Mary Magdalene in the gospels she's possessed by seven demons so to put it in modern terms uh we might think of Mary suffering from schizophrenia or from bipolar disorder or maybe even posttraumatic stress disorder and she comes to Jesus to be healed do you hear them yes I do I can't bear it come out of the woman you unclean spirits be quiet I command you to come out of her do not enter her again in that moment Jesus freed her from whatever the demons were in her life and Jesus way of life his teachings his Spirit the way he interacted with folk it set her free what is your name Mary my mother's name that day I became a student student Jesus my teacher and everything seemed possible this is a lifechanging moment no question about it she goes from being a deeply troubled person that would have been seen as a social outcast to being a person who follows a great teacher and preacher she in essence goes from the ouse to the penth house through a spiritual change Mary Magdalene has her name because she was Mary from a town in Galilee called magdala this was not a little small hole in thewall town it turns out it was one of the major fishing villages on the northwest coast of the Sea of Galilee what's interesting about this is that it's very unusual for a woman in biblical times to be associated with a town that rather than with her father or with the name of her husband so we think that she was probably unmarried or maybe she was widowed and we think that probably she had some kind of status in the town of magdala such that she was known as Mary of magdala many people still see Mary Magdalene as a sinner part of it is because back in 591 Gregory the Great linked Mary to being a prostitute today we know differently Luke 81 through3 tells us that Mary Magdalene Joanna the wife of chuza and Susanna and other women are following Jesus around Galilee like the male disciples are and providing for the disciples out of their own resources the idea that Jesus would have women disciples would surprise a lot of people because that's not what's taught in Christian tradition we have have no other evidence of a Jewish teacher having women disciples before Jesus a farmer went out to sew his seed as he was sewing some of the seed fell along the path and the birds from above devoured it the makeup of Jesus's followers as we see through Mary Magdalene is incredibly inclusive it is welcoming it brings everyone in he's got women that he treats with respect he treats them as um leaders as disciples and as equals still other seeds fell in good soil where it sprang up and produced a crop a h hundredfold Enlighten us tell us what you mean so there's something about Jesus and his ministry that leads to both female and male disciples which is remarkable in recent years there's been a lot of discussion about the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene and if it was more than just disciple and Lord part of this story of Jesus and Mary together extends into this kind of fantasy that they were secretly married but there's nothing in the Bible to substantiate any of these ideas the seed is the word of God he didn't just free us he showed us how to live blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake he showed us forgiveness compassion how to be kind he taught us courage to stand our ground you Brut of virus how can you who are evil for the mouth speaks what the heart is full of Lazarus come out he opened our minds and we were happy he warned us it wouldn't last did he know he'd be betrayed by one of our own in the story Judas betrays Jesus to the Jewish authorities so then they came and it was all over the most important part of the story of Jesus is the passion narrative Mary really comes to the for in this story Jesus has been sentenced to death is facing crucifixion for the charge of being King of the Jews I need to find him it's too dangerous not for us when Jesus is arrested with the charge of being some kind of a revolutionary the women disciples at this point have a lot more freedom they're not under the cloud of Suspicion in the same way that the men are and it's here where they can really kind of move in and fill the void the women Disciples of Jesus come to the forfront during the passion narrative because the male disciples are afraid for their lives they're afraid that Pontius Pilate who had taken Jesus to be executed would also round up his followers and execute them as well the main reason that Jesus is being crucified is that he is an ultimate Challenge to every authority figure in [Music] Jerusalem he's undermined Roman order and Roman rule and this is easily enough to sentence a man to death on the other hand he is a challenge to the Jewish High priests and their religious Authority because of Jesus claim to be a king and a son of [Music] God I had seen what he could do he could have stopped this but he didn't [Music] why to watch Jesus bringing that cross to to golgatha must have been heartbreaking come [Music] [Applause] on the cross is a serious matter this is a heavy heavy piece of wood it is between 100 and 300 [Applause] lbo help him the Romans get a bystander Simon of sireni which is in North Africa to help Jesus carry his cross up the hill now Simon was a pilgrim like lots of other pilgrims of the day he had no idea that this was going to be his task and yet now he is written in the history books for having a very important role in carrying this cross scholars believe Jesus and Simon must have carried the cross between 600 and 750 yards it was probably much longer than that because they had to go up and down different streets this was not necessary a straight shot we are with you then Jesus speaks directly to the women following him that is a truth do not wait for me wait for yourselves and for your children and he says Daughters of Jerusalem don't weep for me we for [Music] yourselves come on move he's predicting the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the fact that in the future there will be much more serious things for them to lament over so at this point in the crucifixion process we meet Joseph of arthea and Nicodemus again they are prominent Jews they are on the Sanhedrin on the ruling counsel and maybe they felt terrible guilt for their part in condemning Jesus to death he may have been a part of the council that ultimately had to approve of Jesus's crucifixion and yet they were secret [Music] followers oh [Music] when Jesus gets to golgatha it's a place outside the city walls where people are crucified and so when Jesus gets there he has to know that his death is imminent I waited for the sky to rain Fire or the sea to sweep us away and I wanted to take out a sword and cut them all down I could not be his Warrior but I would be his [Music] witness of all of the people who knew Jesus Mary Magdalene has the courage to see her discipleship through to the end even though it's painful she doesn't Sher her responsibilities Jesus was wasn't the only one crucified that day and actually in the gospels we hear about two people specifically who were crucified these men are identified in the gospels as criminals or as Bandits and what they seem to have been in fact were political Rebels crucifixion in Rome is used for common criminals but also for Political Criminals and the Romans didn't invent it the Romans got it from the Persians Darius the great of Persia had had crucified thousands of rebels Alexander the Great practiced it and the Romans adopted it Mary Don't look the Gospel of John says that Mary Jesus's mother is present at the crucifixion well the last time Mary saw Jesus was at Capernaum so word must have gotten to her that that he was going on trial but she came to be at his side because he was actually facing death the only male disciple of golgatha among all these women is John so above Jesus's head is a fixed a small sign and it says Jesus of Nazareth King of the Jews and it says it in Greek in Latin and in Hebrew by put put the sign up there pilate is making the ultimate mockery of Jesus he's saying ha this is your king of the Jews this is your king he's hanging on a Roman cross and I think by doing it he's not just mocking Jesus he's in fact really mocking the Jewish people I heard her silent screams and felt her icy pain as though it was was my [Music] own crucifiction was one of the most horrific forms of punishment what you would essentially do is lay a person out on a cross beam and drive nails through their wrist this would sever the median nerve and just shoot bolts of pain through the body it would feel like you're being struck by lightning it was absolutely agonizing we all use the word excruciating excruciating is the word for it it is in fact the word that means ex Cruis from the cross the word itself points to crucifixion [Music] they were then raised up onto the cross that feet were supported by a ledge without the ledge the weight of the body would suffocate the victim instantly and one of the key things about crucifixion was to make it last let them all cry I will not break I will stand strong before my Lord Jesus of Nazareth the king of the Jews hours passed his breath little more than a whisper we waited for silence the most horrifying sound of all the victim could last for a few hours for a night even days please give me some of your wine if you look at all four gospel accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus twice over he's offered something to drink he's offered pasca a thirst quenching beverage which is the ancient equivalent of Gatorade he's also offered Merd wine a narcotic which he refuses Jesus refuses the myr that he's offered on the cross he's saying I'm willingly choosing to die I do not want anything or anyone to take this suffering from me this suffering is Redemptive it's the ultimate sign of love [Music] you who would destroy the temple and build it in three days come down from the cross and save yourself vultures everyone I wanted to curse them but he never would mocking is a regular part of the process of degrading somebody in public and it was an attempt to publicly shame a person so that their reputation and their family's reputation could never recover father forgive them but they do not know what they do Jesus's words from the cross father forgive them for they know not what they do are critical as a summary of one of the main things that Jesus came to Earth to do in the first place he was talking about Pilate he was talking about Judas who betrayed him his friend he was talking about the soldiers who were at the foot of the cross gambling over his clothes he was talking about the Rel religious leaders who turned on him Jesus on the cross is forgiving the people who are murdering him who are torturing him the gospels tell us that at midday the whole Earth is filled with Darkness and the gospel writers are saying this is the darkest moment for Humanity that the Son of God is dying a lonely death on a Roman cross Jews Greeks Romans all believed in the power of weather Omens and almost certainly they view this as a profound sign of divine judgment and disfavor a crucified Messiah would have been difficult for the disciples to comprehend because they were expecting a messiah that was more triumphalis they were expecting a messiah that was going to usher in sort of overthrow of their foreign occupier of the Romans if you are the Messiah you are on the route to becoming the king who rules over everyone I wanted his pain to end and then he cried out m [Music] my God why have you forsaken me if he had lost faith what hope had I when Jesus says eloa eloa lakani which means my God my God why have you forsaken me in Aramaic he's actually quoting Psalm 22 about somebody who feels abandoned by God but shouldn't have been abandoned by God because he's been faithful to God it is finished and then you have a simple Anonymous uh Roman Centurion who has this conversion after the death of Jesus surely this man was the son of God now there was no way that they could deny that they saw something very special in that moment this was the son of [Music] God he let go and the Earth beneath us gave way those who mocked him fell to their knees but it was too late he had been killed and all hope was lost according to the timeline in our gospels Jesus dies somewhere at about 3: in the afternoon and the Sun going down at 5: we need to take the bodies down before the Sabbath please and they're suffering so we are now in a race to get him off the cross wrapped up and into the tomb before Sundown when Sabbath and also the Passover full war begins since the Jewish people couldn't work on the Sabbath including the work of burying a body the body had to come down and go in the Tomb very very quickly if Romans were in a particular hurry they might come along and break The Condemned prisoner's legs that would effectively drop the body weight of the person on the cross dislocate the arms and the shoulders make it virtually impossible to breathe at that point the person who's crucified would die in a matter of minutes rather than hours he's dead he's dead but in Jesus's case he's already dead and there's no need for the breaking of the legs it was all such a conditional once the person appeared to be dead for the soldiers to finish them off with a spear thrust into the side one of the surprising elements in the story of the demise of Jesus is that Joseph Vera goes to pilate and requests the body pilot was the prefect of Judea he was the man ultimately responsible for the death of Jesus when Joseph of arthea requests the body he's taking a risk with his fellow Jewish leaders when he was in the Sanhedrin with them he condemned this man to death and now here he is requesting the body from pilate I am Joseph of arthea I have come to ask for the body of of Jesus of Nazareth to bury he's dead already is this true crucifixion Fields were unbelievably nasty people don't ordinarily retrieve bodies from there so that request was a very strange one I think for it to have come from a member of the ruling Elite was probably particularly confusing to Pilot I will allow it pilot had to be wise enough to know that grave robbing was an international problem all over the Roman Empire and one of the things he surely did not want is the body of of Jesus to Simply disappear because if that happened some would say he didn't genuinely [Music] die what do you want my name is Nicodemus this is Joseph of araa we have come to give your son an honorable burial if you will allow us thank [Music] you Joseph and Nicodemus came from nowhere their kindness was something to cling to [Music] for in the gospels Joseph of arthea takes the dead body of Jesus down from the cross but it's the image of Mary the mother of Jesus with her son that has become iconic we have this image of the p in later Christian art of the mother of Jesus gently cradling the crucified and now dead Jesus In Her Arms jesus' pain was over ours had just begun my kind gentle son it is done now and his mother I felt like I would drown in her sorrow [Music] Joseph of arthea was a wealthy man and he offers his tomb his family tomb to Jesus we know from the gospels that Joseph of Aria's tomb was close to golgatha the Gospel of John tells us that the tomb was in a garden outside the city walls in accord with Jewish burial practices which prohibited burial inside the city Jewish burial practices involved a two-stage process there would be first the cleaning of the body then the family would lovingly and carefully wrap the body in a winding sheet in preparation for in tement Joseph of arthea provides the linen that is used for Jesus's [Music] shroud hundreds of years later this becomes the basis for the legend of the churin Shroud the Shroud that supposedly wrapped Jesus's body there's more to it than even that because the even later Liv legends about the Holy Grail are connected with Joseph of arthia the so-called cup that Jesus drank for him at the Last Supper was hard to watch her final goodbye Jesus is buried when the tomb was closed I think the day after Jesus's crucifixion was a painful day for Mary it was a day of introspection it was a day of commemoration a day of waiting until she could go to the tomb to pay her final respects Mary Magdalene wants to visit the Tomb of Jesus the day after his death but she can't because it's the Sabbath and it's impossible to do work on the Sabbath without breaking the laws of Judaism so she has to wait as far as the disciples know their leader is dead they are in hiding Jesus warned them that his fate was to suffer and die but he doesn't sin anything to them about how they're to move forward after this so you imagine that atmosphere in that room the consternation the sorrow the confusion I battle new demons now and I worry without Jesus the old ones will return he is dead and I am broken am I already lost [Music] Maybe Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb on Easter Sunday morning to anoint Jesus's body to weep over him really to care for him and say goodbye to him I had to leave that house to remain close to him Mary wants to go to the tomb to anoint Jesus's body because it's not been done before it is part of her Duty it is part of not just a religious duty but a familial Duty to perform this final service I think when Mary Magdalene was going to the tomb she was expecting to find a dead body expecting to find the stone still there expecting to just be able to cleanse Jesus's body put the oils anointed out of respect and out of Honor through the tradition when she gets there the tomb is open it's empty and Jesus is nowhere to be seen this was Mary magdalene's lowest moment she goes to see the man that she loved who' been tortured and killed and his body's not even there he should be here who took it she thinks grave robbing has happened unfortunately an all too common practice in the ancient world first I couldn't trust my eyes and it was wrong real my insides twisted my mind raised I was terrified of what they had done they have taken our Lord out of the Tom Mary Magdalene tells the disciples about the empty tombe and Peter and John the Beloved disciple run to the tomb to find out for themselves if this is true and all they see there are the wrappings from Jesus's body why you should come with us it's not safe here Mary leave me they took him tortured him killed him and now they've stolen him he is gone and who am I without him Mar weeping in deep grief and she hears someone call behind her woman why are you weeping she sees two of God's Messengers Angels like bookends at either end of the stone slab the Angels ask her woman why are you crying and whenever you see Angels you're supposed to think God is at work but Mary is so deep in her grief that even in encountering an angels doesn't get her out of her Funk they have taken away my Lord and I don't know where they have laid him so deep in her sadness is she that even when she turns away from the tomb and hears a second voice she doesn't recognize the voice woman why are you weeping who are you looking for and she sees someone who she mistakes for the gardener and she says if you have taken away my Lord please tell me where if you have put him Mary and it's in that moment that she recognizes him and realizes that in fact he has risen that it's true [Music] do not hold on to me because I have not yet ascended to the father Mary simply calls Jesus ramuni my teacher not Lord with the capital l not God with a big G my teacher but what she comes to learn is that he is the Risen Lord that he is the person he claimed to be all along some people would say that this moment the resurrection appear is the most important moment in the entire gospel this is proving the truth of Jesus's being that he has come back from the dead he is fully present and incarnate in the flesh go to my brothers and say to them I am ascending to my father and your father to my God and your God it's a beautiful story and it's a remarkable story and it makes her the very first witness to the Risen Jesus something that early Christians would not make up because the witness of women was not considered as viable as the witness of the men the fact that Mary was the first person to see the Risen Christ says that is the person that Jesus trusted most that this was intended to be the person to share this news and in fact he gave her an Apostolic call in that moment saying go and tell the fact that Jesus revealed himself first to Mary Magdalene after his resurrection makes her the first Apostle between the time that Mary Magdalene encounters the Risen Christ on Easter Sunday and the time that she finally proclaims the news of the Resurrection to the disciples Mary Magdalene is the church on Earth because only Mary Magdalene understood the resurrection so therefore she is one of the most important people in the entire New Testament I have seen the Lord I was lost and Jesus found me I am Mary of magdala and I am his [Music] witness the story of Jesus is The Greatest Story Ever Told get out don't up where is he for over 2,000 years the story of Jesus Christ has touched the lives of billions around the globe Jesus felt what we fail he faced what we face today if we want to understand Western history at all we must understand the story of Jesus now for the first time his story is told Through The Eyes of those who knew him best Peter is what I would call the ride or die disciple way Jesus came into his life and changed it forever I tell you you are now Peter The Rock on this rock I will build my church the highest Peter really believed that he was going going to be the faithful disciple but that's not what happens it's the story of redemption Peter becomes the foundation stone on which Christianity is established [Music] my name is Peter and I have been given a second chance to deliver the message of Jesus this time I won't let him down not like before when I almost threw it all away I have seen the Lord Mary you're upset sit down you must listen he has risen from the dead I didn't recognize him at first but then I saw his face it was Jesus he told me to come to you to tell you no all right you disrespect us with your raving was it that I didn't believe Mary or the opposite I was afraid she was telling the truth because then I would have to look my Lord in the eye know that I'd failed him me Peter the one he had once called The Rock when I first met Jesus I had a different name Simon I wasn't nobody a Humble Fisherman from Gall I I worked hard and expected little from Life in the gospels Peter is the first disciple called by Jesus Jesus reached out to Peter perhaps because he was a fisherman and Jesus knew that these were hardworking people they understand you know what it means to be hungry or what it means means to struggle what it means to work hard life in Galilee in the time of Peter would have been incredibly hard your one bad boat ride away from starvation anything that they catch is going to be taxed by Rome and it would not just be taxation coming from Rome there was always the double tax of people who were the local tax collectors who would always add something extra for themselves for someone living under the Roman occupation day-to-day life is just trying to figure out how do I make ends meet in the Gospel of John Andrew John the Baptist's disciple introduces Jesus to his brother who was Peter brother Andrew so he's been fishing all night unsuccessfully put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch Master we've been working all night long but have caught nothing Jesus tells him to take his boat out again Peter not surprisingly is reluctant and yet he goes out because it's Jesus [Music] [Music] oh [Music] Don't Be Afraid from now on you will be catching people for a man like Peter who's barely away from starvation and here comes this man who promises a new message a new salvation a better world when Jesus told Peter that he was going to make him a fisher of men Peter knew what that meant because he knew how to fish Jesus was letting him know he was going to use him to bring people into his following one of the earliest symbols of early Christianity is the fish which actually makes a lot of sense because many of Jesus's earliest disciples are fishermen interestingly enough given the prevalence of the Cross today it actually doesn't become a symbol of Christianity until all almost 400 years after Jesus's [Music] death what did he mean catching people I couldn't imagine my life changing why would anyone listen to me there was much I didn't understand about Jesus of Nazareth but the one thing I know without a shadow of a doubt is that I would always be his devoted follower some people think that Jesus's recruiting of disciples was rather like the Marines Looking For a Few Good Men but in fact that doesn't seem to be the way he was looking for those who were willing to come and follow him and listen Peter seems to have been looking for something or at least Peter was very ready to learn when Jesus called him a farmer went out to sew his seed as he was sewing some of the seed fell along the path Simon Peter is impressed with Jesus and his preaching he's not like the scribes he's not like the local religious authorities and Peter is drawn to this exciting new charismatic figure will you always talking riddles Lord my head is swimming too much wine friend I barely drank and Dro I fear that I'll always be two steps behind I would describe Peter as a problem student for Jesus because he asked so so many questions he didn't get basic statements basic teachings but I think Jesus saw in Peter a passion a spark of passion that is exactly what he needed for his followers there's a moment in the gospel of Mark where Simon Peter and Jesus are on the road together and they're having a little bit of a debate about Jesus's identity and Jesus turns and asks the disciples who who they think he is who do people say the son of man [Music] is what about you who do you say I am you're the Messiah you're the son of the Living God blessed are you Simon son of John I tell you you are now Peter The Rock and on this rock I will build my church Jesus gives Simon an Aramaic nickname Kos sephus which means rock or rocky this has significant symbolism because Peter will now become the foundation stone of the Christian Movement Peter is a surprising choice to be Jesus's right-hand man he's after all just a fisherman we don't have evidence that he's well educated we don't have evidence that he's really multilingual in fact the later tradition from papius says that he spoke and preached in Aramaic and that Mark had to translate his sayings into Greek but Jesus's concern is to pick someone that has the character and the kpah if you will the Deep courage to be a follower of Jesus even if it could cost one their life [Music] I wasn't just Simon From Galilee anymore I was Peter the rock this way over the coming months I was right there by his side people laughed and spat in his face I shielded him when they threw punches and Hur Stones you see I there when they started to [Applause] listen so when he told me we would enter Jerusalem once more I was [Music] worried although we don't know for sure most scholars believe that Jesus and Peter entered Jerusalem somewhere between 30 and 33 ad during the Spring Festival of Passover it's the celebration of not only God's promise but the culmination of The Exodus story we're talking about a festival where the whole point is about God freeing the people from slavery freeing the Jews from servitude by a foreign power and now who's running Judea the Romans are and so it's an extremely dangerous place to be [Applause] in the highest Jesus's message is dangerous but for Jesus Jerusalem is the only place that he can possibly go it's not only the political but it's also the religious Center of Jewish life the symbolism of Jesus riding a donkey into Jerusalem should not be lost this isn't just a guy taking a ride on a donkey this is a reenactment of the Jewish coronation of the king of Israel see you bless is theing kingom Peter's vision of a messiah is someone who's going to help overthrow foreign rule in this case Roman rule and reestablish a Jewish Kingdom I think even Peter at that point might have seen the threat and the danger that Jesus was was generating they're heading for the temple send reinforcements there [Music] now it is everything we've been waiting for the Fulfillment of a Divine Destiny the start of a glorious New Kingdom [Applause] but how quickly it all changed the Last Supper rolls around and Peter does not have the exuberance that he had before there is a slow and impending weight that is upon him and the other disciples come let me Lord are you going to wash my feet no you'll never wash my feet Peter is horrified by the idea of Jesus washing their feet because he's their leader and this is something that a slave would do no servant is greater than his master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him when Jesus is washing the disciples feet he's saying that he has not come as a kind of Royal military King he's come as a suffering figure and he's enacting that role of servant with his disciples this is my body which is given for you do this in memory of me take it and eat it when Jesus brought his ministry into Jerusalem he knows that his death is imminent this is the blood of my Covenant which is poured out for many the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine comes to represent Christ's body and Christ's blood the Last Supper becomes the origin of the Eucharist or the Holy Communion to Christians hearing the Messiah speaking about death and yet he had already witnessed his power Peter's confused how is this possible and how is this a revolution Peter doesn't quite get [Music] it ask him what he means it is difficult to hear him talk that night why would we need to eat and drink in remembrance of him chill even to think of it I don't think Peter expected Jesus to be a messiah who would start a movement so powerful that it would get him killed I think he expected Jesus to raise up the oppressed but to push it to the point where the Roman government were so threatened by him that he had to be crucified I don't think he saw that coming I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail you Lord I am ready to go with you to prison and death truly I tell you this very night before the rooster grows you will deny me three times I had no doubt in my mind I'd never deny Jesus I would defend him to the death with sword with word with deed I think that Peter really believed that he was going to be the faithful disciple but that's not what happens after the Last Supper Jesus leaves the security of the walls of Jerusalem and goes across to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray and Peter follows him Jesus is restless I was worried his words had Disturbed me and I knew that our arrival in Jerusalem would alert the authorities but he was was insistent we have to remember early Jews were not looking for a crucified Messiah we have Literature Like the Psalms of Solomon 18 And1 19 that has this militaristic davidic Messianic figure that's going to come and retake the land Jesus was very different my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death stay here keep [Music] watching it's of course Master Jesus tells Peter to watch with him to stay awake with him Jesus sees what is coming and he is traumatized by the possibility of this impending suffering and [Music] death Peter doesn't want to participate in Jesus's great moment of Anguish because like all of us he shrinks from these moments of suffering and to see the leader who he has entrusted his whole life to now doubt and suffer is probably too much for him to bear I I didn't believe that God could let his son suffer surely we we'd all be saved why couldn't I keep even a simple promise I didn't heed his [Music] predictions Simon he was asleep could you not keep watch for 1 hour watch and pray the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak sorry sorry Lord Peter fails this test he falls asleep when Jesus needs him and it's not the last time that Peter's going to fail either the authorities send a large crowd armed with clubs and swords to arrest Jesus Judas it is Judas who betrays Jesus arrest him you treacherous put your SW back in this place for all who draw the S will die by [Music] it Peter just cuts off the ear blood is everywhere but Jesus heals the person who wants to arrest him I thought I was proving myself I I was being loyal this man that come to arrest Jesus instead of fight he healed his enemy and surrendered made no sense to me Jesus was teaching him how to be a nonviolent revolutionary take them [Music] all my my mind's racing you Judas betrayed Jesus everything's happening so fast the only only thing I was sure of was I I was not like Judas I would not deny him when Jesus is arrested Peter follows Jesus to the house of the Jewish high priest Caiaphas because he wants to see what's going to happen to his master entering Caiaphas is Courtyard is a lot like entering the Lion's Den if Peter is recognized there's nothing to say that he won't also be arrested I felt fear that night in a way I have never known Peter's moving into incredibly dangerous territory because he is fiercely loyal loyal to Jesus he's what I would call the ride or die disciple but the depths that we will go to protect ourselves is absolutely [Music] Extraordinary People recognize Peter and they say hold on a minute aren't you with Jesus of Nazareth this man was with him oh woman I don't know him and then somebody else says are you one of Jesus's disciples you're also one of them man I'm not three times s Peter denies knowing Jesus certainly this fellow is with him for he is a Galilean man I don't know what you're talking about and at the moment of that third denial the crows fulfilling something that Jesus himself had prophesied at the Last Supper he's done the very thing that he told Jesus he would never do deny and desert Jesus their eyes lock and Jesus looks directly into Peter's Soul this is the last moment where Peter ever sees Jesus alive Jesus has been sentenced to death is facing crucifixion for the charge of trying to lead a rebellion against the Romans we know that for 300 years or more until the Roman emperor Constantine banned crucifixtion it was the most common form of execution for public criminals revolutionaries and slaves come we're in danger we must hide when the leader of a rebellion is crucified there is precedent that the Roman Empire then hunts out the followers as well and so Peter has to go into hiding because he was affiliated with someone who was an enemy of Roman Authority was I as bad as Judas why why did I deny him his fear his cowardice everything that I thought I knew about myself was wrong I think we should be incredibly sympathetic towards Peter in his denial yes he denied Jesus on the other hand he did it because he was profoundly scared I think this denial is one of those moments that comes out as really really human all of us can relate to a time when we fell short because if we were scared and this is Peter's moment we waited we did nothing while Jesus suffered don't look Mary he's dead after several days Mary Magdalene is the first person to see the Risen Lord those days were a blur and then Mary returned with her news and I he is risen from the dead I have seen the Lord I went to the tomb a man spoke to me it was Jesus he told me to come to you to tell you no all right you you disrespect us with your ravings is not bad enough we must mourn for him without being taunted to I know what I saw I spoke to him and I believe in him can't listen to this anymore Peter doesn't believe Mary Magdalene when she says that she's seen the resurrected Lord why not while Peter's a man of his time and in first century Jewish Palestine women were not considered reliable Witnesses why is I so cruel why did I doubt her it shame it was shame I was lost could she have been telling the truth or you know or had they taken his body I didn't know what to believe you need to remember that from a Jewish point of view Resurrection doesn't involve Visions it involves a bodily raising of somebody back into a physical form but that's not the end of the [Music] story peace be with [Music] you why are you troubled why do doubts rise in your [Music] mind look at my hands and my feet it is I myself in the first century It's Not Unusual to imagine that you saw the ghost of someone that you knew loved when Peter saw the Risen Jesus he knew he was seeing something unprecedented this was not a hallucination or some spiritual ghostlike being this was a transformed glorified body that could be touched but also could enter locked rooms Peter must have been in utter awe everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the law of Moses the prophets and the SS there's nothing more important in Christianity than the resurrection of Jesus sit with me now Jesus defeats death so he defeats sin and his being raised a new life is about to promise to Christians that they too will be raised on the last day and repentance for the Forgiveness of sins I couldn't bear to look at him I feared I'd see disappointment in his eyes he only appeared to us that night I've lost my chance to ask for forgiveness I went back to Galilee to My Life as a fisherman Peter The Rock had failed else can I do Peter goes back to the fishing life because that's what he knows that's what is is familiar but is isn't that the same person that we met early on in the gospel in the ancient world there is no bank account there is no 401K there is no way to secure any of your possessions except through the constancy of your work so without Jesus Peter has nothing I thought that I could go back to the man I was before I met Jesus you forget everything it wasn't that simple Peter thinks it's all over there is no sense that that longed for messiah has fulfilled the destiny that Peter was hoping for him he thinks very carefully back to what has happened no servant is greater than his master this is my body take it I need it Peter had to go through a period of Doubt did this lead him to have doubts about Jesus perhaps most of all it led him to have doubts about himself he needs to be forgiven for the role that he failed to play in the crucifixion no no [Music] no problem is that Peter is still struggling with the fact that he denied Jesus Judas betrayed but Peter betrayed in a different way I couldn't forget I couldn't go back I's a different man [Music] now so one day Peter is there and he's fishing and he looks to the [Music] beach it's the [Music] Lord in that moment Peter's life completely changed Jesus comes back in full force and full strength and Glory he had come for me and I felt free like that that chains in my mind finally coming loose in the Gospel of John Jesus and Peter speak at this time Jesus gives him a direct commission and he asks him three things it says Simon son of John do you love me more than these Lord you know that I love you and he asked him again Peter do you love me feed my Lambs do you love me and again Peter says yes Lord I love you tend my sheep Simon son of John do you love me and what he's saying is declare it because you couldn't say it after I was arrested you you couldn't say it when we locked eyes you could not say it then say it now Lord you know all things you know that I love you feed my sheep and with those statements feed my Lambs tend my sheep feed my sheep a three-fold recommissioning just as there had been a three-fold denial and Peter is restored to being the leader of the disciples from that moment I knew I would be able to do whatever Jesus commanded of me I'm going give him a second chance I've been given him a second [Music] chance Jesus's Great Commission as it's called is sort of a big bang moment for Christianity because it's the moment where it takes off Jesus is telling his disciples that they need to spread the word all authority in heaven and on Earth has been given to me so Make Disciples of all Nations baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy [Music] spirit this is the first missionary movement in religious history this is the first time anybody says go out and recruit people in mass and surely I Am With You Always to the very end of the age I know Jesus as my teacher as my friend and as a Son of God because of him I am restored I have regained my purpose [Music] we see Peter a transformed man he has finally gotten it he comes out renewed more confident ready to go forward and in fact he does go forward is that alling Peter understood that his task was to reclaim various people for the following of Jesus and to go throughout the Empire to do this Christianity spreads rapidly throughout the Roman Empire less than a decade after the death of Jesus there were probably 10,000 Christians 200 years after Jesus's death there might be close to a million Christians this movement has gone from a group of followers in rural Palestine to some of the largest cities in the Empire and 300 years after the death of Jesus the Roman Emperor himself Constantine converts to Christianity in Catholic tradition Peter goes to Rome and establishes the first Roman Catholic Church there becoming the first pope but is this historical [Music] if you read Paul's letter to the Romans written sometime in the late 50s ad there are a huge number of followers of Jesus already in Rome and Peter's nowhere to be found despite this the church at Rome St Peter Still named after him if you enter into St Peter's at Vatican City you will go and see the words that Jesus speaks to Peter there written around the bottom of the KOA you are now Peter The Rock on this rock I will build my church Peter's story ends according to tradition with him being crucified in Rome upside down because he insists that he's not worthy to be crucified the same way as his Lord Peter's story in a sense is all of our stories we make mistakes we have flaws and weaknesses but like Peter we can receive forgiveness and get back up [Music] again I am Peter The Rock and I will go forth and build his [Music] church [Music] [Music]

Channel: HISTORY

Views: 1,116,829

Keywords: history, history channel, history shows, history channel shows, the history channel, documentary history channel, history documentary, documentary, history channel full episodes, documentaries, history channel documentaries, 3 hour marathon, marathon, jesus, the life of jesus, nativity, miracles, jesus' miracles, jesus marathon, jesus life, the miracles of jesus, Divine Struggle for Faith's Survival, divine, divine struggles, jesus documentary, jesus his life, jesus his life history

Id: Dr9PUGfguKo

Length: 170min 6sec (10206 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 22 2023