King Herod gave the order to kill the Bethlehem babies, and Pontius Pilate sent Jesus to King Herod before sending Him to be crucified, and King Herod also killed the Apostle James. Only these were three completely different people. Moreover, two more Herods are mentioned in the New Testament, so their total number reaches five, and there were seven kings and rulers with this name in total. Only two of them do not play any role in biblical history (and in world history too), so they need not be mentioned at all.
It would be worth understanding this, but first we need to understand where these kings came from - perhaps the strangest dynasty in the entire Bible.
Less than a hundred years before Christ, the independent kingdom of Judah was ruled by the Hasmonean dynasty, which came to power as a result of the Maccabean revolt. Among their other deeds, the Hasmoneans conquered the neighboring country of Idumea (Edom) at the end of the 2nd century, and then forcibly converted to Judaism all the inhabitants of this country, whom they considered their close relatives (their ancestor Esau was the twin brother of Jacob, the ancestor of the Israelites). Having become fellow believers of the Jews, the Edomites disappeared into their midst, and noble people took their place among the nobility of the kingdom of Judah.
Once upon a time, the main task of the Maccabees was to defend their independence before the powerful Hellenistic states, the heirs of Alexander the Great, but by the middle of the 1st century. BC e. the picture has completely changed. The Hellenistic states themselves were rapidly losing their independence under the pressure of the allied state of Judea - Rome. Until recently, it seemed to the Jews that in the Romans they had found ideal helpers and patrons: they themselves live far away, do not interfere in anything, but instill fear in their ancient enemies, the Hellenic Seleucid dynasty, and all the surrounding peoples.
But Rome had its own goal - expansion. For them, the Jewish rulers of the Hasmoneans were too unreliable and independent; Rome needed not an independent ruler, but a faithful governor who would owe everything to Roman support and would remember this very well. It is also very desirable that for the Jews he would not be entirely one of their own, so that they would never be able to gather around him and oppose themselves to the power of the Roman legions. And then the Romans caught the eye of a young man named Herod, a descendant of a noble Idumean family who had already served them faithfully... Julius Caesar, and then the Senate, decided to install him as ruler in Judea.
The Romans, in fact, did not care what exactly the ruler of this region was called, and they did not object at all when Herod appropriated the title of king to himself. He, of course, had no right to do this, not being a descendant of King David and generally a Jew by birth, since the Hasmoneans once took the throne not by law, but by the right of the victors. This is how the Herod dynasty came to power, whose name would become a household name in many languages. The name of the founder of the dynasty, Herod, who eventually received the nickname “The Great,” will become the name for the entire dynasty, a kind of surname for his descendants.
By the way, it should be noted here that the Romans as conquerors behaved completely differently than the Assyrians and Babylonians - apparently, that’s why their empire lasted much longer. They reserved for the conquered peoples the right to live as they pleased, and they themselves only appointed supreme rulers, collected taxes and strictly monitored loyalty and observance of order. The riots were suppressed with maximum cruelty, but the obedient inhabitants lived quite tolerably. In addition, the Romans provided protection from external enemies; the lands they conquered were included in the single economic and cultural space of the empire.
But still, these were foreign invaders, and among the Jews there were always enough people who wanted to expel them from their land. Many associated these expectations with the Messiah, and when, after the triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Jesus did not proclaim himself king or declare war on the Romans, they turned away from Him. Apparently, this is partly why people shouted to Pilate “Crucify Him!” shortly after Jesus was welcomed. In the year 66, a rebellion against Rome will be launched, which will end in disaster.
All this was still far away in the era of Herod the Great, but without knowing these facts we will not understand much in his history. We will talk about it next time.
Herod the Great and his sons
This man is mentioned in the Gospel in connection with one single episode - the extermination of the Bethlehem infants after the Nativity of Jesus, and only Matthew talks about this. He wrote primarily for the Jews, and they remembered very well who King Herod the Great was! It turns out that this particular king did not stop in the face of obvious villainy and killed many innocent children in order to get rid of an imaginary competitor.
Here an interesting question arises: we know nothing or almost nothing about most of the heroes of the New Testament from historical sources, while ancient historians tell us a lot about the famous King Herod. And among these stories there is not even a mention of the Bethlehem atrocity! Why?
But before we make an assumption, let's talk about what Herod became famous for. He was a truly effective ruler and knew how to get his way. With Roman help, he successfully repelled attacks from external enemies, the Parthians and Arabs, and dealt with internal opposition without hesitation. He married the granddaughter of the high priest Hyrcanus II to give legitimacy to his dynasty. But most of all he is known for his construction program: under him, new quarters of Jerusalem, reliable fortresses, luxurious palaces, and modern theaters were erected (the theaters, however, offended the extreme zealots of the Jewish religion).
The most important thing is that the Temple was rebuilt under him. When Herod came to power, the same modest building stood on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, which was erected by immigrants from Babylonia immediately after returning to Jerusalem. The Romans were ashamed of this small, dilapidated building... Herod in 22 BC. e. begins a radical restructuring of the entire temple complex, which lasts nine years - and all this time the services do not stop. The Western Wall, which can still be seen in Jerusalem today, is just part of the platform built by Herod to expand the space for the Temple. You can imagine how magnificent its construction itself was! It is to this Temple that Jesus will then come... but the Temple will stand for less than a century and will be destroyed by the very Roman legions that brought Herod to power.
Greatness is not always associated with morality, and it often turns out that rulers who achieved tremendous success shed rivers of blood. So under Herod the Great, torture and execution for the most insignificant reasons became the norm. He exterminated all the descendants of the previous dynasty, the Hasmoneans. At different times he sentenced his own beloved wife and two sons to execution on mere suspicion. Being seriously ill, a few days before his death, he ordered to gather all the Jewish nobility in the circus and kill them without exception - however, this will was never fulfilled. Against the backdrop of such high-profile atrocities, the quiet murder of unknown babies in the small town of Bethlehem may simply not have worried the historians of that time, because Herod’s record included much more striking crimes. And here are just babies... But the Christian Church honors these babies as saints, and not the great king who rebuilt the Temple, and not even his innocently murdered sons - a lesson for future generations, who will more than once yearn for earthly greatness and a strong hand.
It is difficult to name the exact date of the beginning of Herod's reign, because... He gained power over Judea gradually; usually the beginning of his sole rule is considered to be 37 BC. e. We know the date of his death exactly: it is 4 BC. e. But then it turns out that Herod died before the birth of Christ? Only if we take the 1st year AD as the date of this Christmas. e. (1st year A.D., as they wrote before). Indeed, “our era” dates back to Christmas, but its estimated date was calculated inaccurately in the early Middle Ages - after all, neither in the Bible nor in any other ancient authoritative sources there are clear indications of it, and the calculations were very approximate. And now everyone has become accustomed to just such a chronology, and even if someone is confused by the fact that Christmas took place several years before the beginning of a new era, no one is going to change the chronology system.
Herod's kingdom did not survive its ruler. Before his death, with the consent of Rome, he divided it between his sons: Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Herod Philip. That is why they were called tetrarchs, i.e. "tetrarchs". Strictly speaking, there were now four parts in the state, but Archelaus received control of two at once, such was the wish of the Roman Emperor Octavian Augustus. Over time, Augustus even promised to make Archelaus king. However, the moods of the rulers are changeable: quite soon Augustus sent Archelaus into exile, and included the territory under his control (including Jerusalem) into the Roman province of Syria, now it was ruled by Roman governors.
Antipas, who inherited Galilee and Transjordan, and Philip, whose region lay east of Lake Galilee, ruled their lands much longer, although they sometimes came into conflict with each other and with Roman appointees. Evangelist Luke even notes that Herod Antipas and the Roman governor Pilate, who were previously at enmity with each other, made peace during the “trial” of Jesus.
But we will talk about these rulers and their successors mentioned in the book of Acts next time.
Herods: Antipas, Agrippa I, Agrippa II
It is Herod Antipas who is mentioned in the Gospels (except for the story of the Nativity) under the name Herod. We are talking about one of the sons of King Herod the Great, who ruled Galilee from 4 to 39 AD. e. He got along well with Rome and even named his residence on Lake Galilee Tiberias in honor of the Roman emperor Tiberius (present-day Tiberias in Israel).
His “family chronicle” is also quite typical for the rulers of that time. Herod Antipas took the wife of his half-brother Philip - for exposing this illegal union, John the Baptist paid with his head. But this marriage did not bring happiness to Herod himself. When the extravagant emperor Caligula ascended the Roman throne instead of Tiberius, Herodias forced Herod to go to the emperor in search of new honors and titles. However, Herod’s own nephew, Agrippa, immediately sent a denunciation against him, and instead of honors, he was exiled to distant Gaul, where he died, possibly a violent death. Herodias went into exile with her husband, and Herod's titles and possessions passed to his nephew Agrippa, who sent a denunciation at the right time.
But all this will happen after the gospel story. So far, everything was fine with Herod Antipas, at least from the outside. He enjoys life (the Gospel mentions how widely he celebrated his birthday), he is not averse to listening to the sermons of John the Baptist, and if not for the intrigues of his wife, perhaps he would not have ordered his execution.
And then the ruler Herod had to decide the fate of another Righteous Man. The Roman governor Pilate sent the arrested Jesus to him, because He was from Galilee and was formally subject to him as the ruler of this region. As the Evangelist Luke reports, Herod, seeing Jesus, was very happy, for he had long wanted to see Him, because he had heard a lot about Him, and hoped to see some miracle from Him, and asked Him many questions, but He did not answer him. The chief priests and scribes stood and accused Him. But Herod and his soldiers, having humiliated Him and mocked Him, dressed Him in light clothes and sent Him back to Pilate.
He really wanted Jesus to somehow decorate his endless holiday of life, and when he didn’t get what he wanted, he at least had fun mocking Him and sent Him out of sight. Pilate at least made a gesture of washing his hands, supposedly distancing himself from making a decision on an unjust execution - the ruler Herod did not do this either. Everything seemed to him a reason for fun and ridicule, and very soon the new Roman emperor and his own nephew would laugh at him in the same way.
Another ruler, in 37 AD. e. who replaced his uncle Antipas after a well-written denunciation, is mentioned in the book of Acts. His name was Herod Agrippa, and it was on his orders that the Apostle James was killed and the Apostle Peter was thrown into prison at the very beginning of the apostolic sermon. The Book of Acts also describes his own death: his pagan subjects began to honor him as a god (for a pagan this is a completely normal form of flattery, the Roman emperors were considered gods by their position), and he accepted these honors - and an angel of God struck him with a painful illness , from which he died. What is allowed to a pagan is in no way suitable for a person who professes faith in the One God, and Agrippa considered himself just that.
There is one significant coincidence in his fate: he considered the preaching of the apostles to be blasphemy, but... when blasphemous praises were addressed to him, he accepted them without a twinge of conscience. Double standards were not invented yesterday, this is true, but something else is also true: sometimes a person becomes a victim of the very sin of which he falsely accuses others. He died in 44 AD. e.
Another preacher of Christianity, the Apostle Paul, also talked with King Agrippa, and the book of Acts also tells about this. We are talking about Herod Agrippa II, the son of Agrippa I and the last ruler of the Herod dynasty. This meeting took place in the seaside city of Caesarea, apparently in 59 AD. e. Agrippa had just arrived there with his sister Bernice, with whom he was inseparable (many said, and, apparently, not without reason, that they lived as spouses) to visit the Roman governor Festus. He told him about a strange prisoner whom he was to send to the Roman emperor for trial (Paul himself wished so, but this is a separate story), but for now he could have fun talking with him.
The Book of Acts cites the sermon that Paul preached to Agrippa on this occasion and even personally addressed him: “Do you believe, King Agrippa, the prophets? I know that you believe.” And if so, Paul believed, then the king must admit: in Jesus the most important prophecies given in the Old Testament were fulfilled. Agrippa answered with a grin to Paul that he seemed to be trying to make him a Christian... Well, how can one imagine that a king would join some small and, moreover, persecuted religious group! He has so many philosophical books at his disposal, he has no shortage of either Jewish priests or Greek orators... Why, why does he also need a new teaching?
Agrippa II, the last in the Herodian dynasty, as far as we know, did not execute any Christians, but did not prevent those who wished from persecuting and killing them. And most importantly, he did not pay much attention to Pavel’s speech, which seemed to him an amusing curiosity. And then everything went somehow wrong... His subjects suddenly did not want to obey him and drove him out together with his sister Bernice in 66, on the eve of the great war with the Romans, in which Jerusalem and the temple built by Herod the Great would be destroyed, and the Jewish people will lose all ability to dispose of the land of Canaan until the middle of the 20th century, when the new state of Israel is created. In this war, Agrippa and his detachment participated on the side of the Romans; after its end, he lived in Rome with the same Bernice and died around 100 AD. e.
For almost a century and a half, representatives of the Herodian dynasty ruled in Judea, gradually losing everything that its founder had acquired at such a bloody price, and stubbornly not noticing the main thing that arose in it during this time. Your house is left empty for you, Jesus spoke prophetically about the Temple rebuilt by Herod the Great, but the same words can also be applied to the state that the Herods tried with all their might to preserve, about the greatness of which they cared so much and which so quickly collapsed to the ground, including through their efforts .
The book introduces young readers to the basics of Christianity. A simple and figurative story about the earthly life of the Savior will undoubtedly find its way to the heart of a child and reveal to him what is most precious in the Gospel - warm, warming faith and endless love. By reading and reflecting on the teachings of Jesus Christ, on the events that happened to Him and His disciples, children will be able to come to Christ the way He wanted people to come to Him - with an open heart and a loving soul.
King Herod orders the killing of babies. Joseph and Mary with Jesus flee to Egypt
The Magi bowed to the Son of God and set off on their way back. That night, in a dream, they were warned by God: they should not say anything to Herod about the Child. Therefore, the wise men went to their own country, bypassing Jerusalem.
That same night, the Angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream:
- Get up, take the Child and run with His Mother to Egypt. King Herod will look for the Born One to kill Him. Stay in Egypt until I come to you again.
Joseph immediately began to fulfill this command of the Lord. In the morning he bought a donkey, put Mary and the Child on it and went with them to Egypt.
The path to this country was long and difficult. The fugitives were surrounded by a deserted sandy desert, in which there was nowhere to hide from the scorching sun and night cold. In addition, many mortal dangers awaited them on the road: predatory animals and robbers.
One evening, passing through the gorge, the fugitives came across a gang of sleeping robbers. Two of them woke up. One robber wanted to wake up everyone else, but another, named Titus, stopped him. In the dim light of the fire he saw the Baby and was amazed.
“If God Himself were incarnated on earth,” he whispered, “he would take the form of such a beautiful baby.” “I’ll give you forty coins,” he said to his comrade, “just don’t stop these travelers from going further.”
And he handed the second robber his belt, in which the money was sewn.
The fugitives quietly walked past the sleeping people. The Holy Virgin Mary said quietly, turning to Titus:
– The Lord God will protect you with His right hand and grant you remission of sins.
This journey to Egypt was predicted by the ancient prophets. The prophet Isaiah proclaimed that the idols, which were revered as gods in Egypt, would shake on their pedestals and collapse from the power of the Lord. And his prophecy was fulfilled exactly.
After a difficult journey through the desert, tired travelers finally reached the first Egyptian city - Hermopolis. There one could find shelter and rest from a tiring journey.
In the city there was a pagan temple with stone idols. One of these false Egyptian gods was considered the main one. An evil spirit lived in it and spoke to the priests.
When the travelers entered the city, a strange anxiety took possession of all its inhabitants. They asked the priest to find out from the idol what was the reason for their anxiety.
The idol was forced to tell the truth:
- A Deity unknown to you has come here. This God is true, and no one but Him is worthy of divine honors.
When Mary, Joseph and the Child passed by this pagan temple, all the idols in it fell from their pedestals and were broken.
The miracle was immediately reported to the ruler of the city, Aphrodite. All the priests were in great fear. They were awaiting punishment for the broken idols.
Aphroditius, without hesitation, came to the temple with a large retinue. He examined the broken idols, and then silently left. On the street, among the worried townspeople, he saw Mary with the Baby in her arms. Aphrodite came closer and looked at Jesus. The ruler of Hermopolis said to his retinue:
– If this Baby were not a Deity, then the idols would not have fallen and broken. Now they lie and silently testify that the true God is here.
Meanwhile, King Herod did not wait for the return of the Magi. The thought of the King of the Jews born in Bethlehem haunted him day and night. Every minute Herod waited for the Magi to return and finally tell whether they had seen the Child.
But the day came when he was informed that the Magi had long since left for their own country. Herod became furious and almost mad with anger and fear. Burning with hatred for the little King of the Jews, he gave a terrible order. Herod ordered the soldiers to kill all male children under the age of two in Bethlehem and its surroundings.
The warriors went to carry out the orders of the cruel king. The blood of innocent babies flowed. Poor mothers needlessly shielded their children. The soldiers took the babies from them and immediately killed them mercilessly.
Groans and cries spread from Bethlehem throughout the land of Judea. This terrible event was predicted by the prophet Jeremiah. He said that Jewish mothers would weep inconsolably for their murdered children.
After the brutal massacre of the babies, very little time passed, and King Herod was overtaken by the righteous judgment of God. The villain died a terrible, painful death - his body began to rot alive and worms appeared in it.
And Mary and Joseph remained in Egypt until the death of Herod. They lived near the current Egyptian capital of Cairo.
When Herod died, the Angel of the Lord again appeared to Joseph in a dream and said:
- Get up, take Mother and Son and return to your country. The one who wished the death of the Child himself ended his days.
This appearance of the Angel was previously predicted by another prophet of God, Hosea. Through his lips, God said that he would call His Son from Egypt.
Joseph fulfilled the Lord's command. Together with the Virgin Mary and the Child, he went back to the Judean country. But he did not stop in Judea itself, since it was ruled by Herod’s heir, his son Archelaus. Joseph was afraid that the new king would also try to kill Jesus.
The Holy Family returned to Nazareth in Galilee. The Son of God Jesus Christ grew up and matured in this city. That is why, when He began to preach His teachings to people, everyone considered Him to be a native of Nazareth. He was called the Nazarene or Nazarene. And this was also predicted by the prophets.
The Orthodox Jews of Jerusalem were irreconcilable in their hostility to the teachings of Christ. Does this mean that Jesus was not a Jew? Is it ethical to question the virgin birth of the Virgin Mary?
Jesus Christ often called himself the Son of Man. The nationality of the parents, according to theologians, will shed light on the Savior’s belonging to one or another ethnic group.
According to the Bible, all humanity came from Adam. Later, people themselves divided themselves into races and nationalities. And Christ, during his lifetime, taking into account the Gospels of the Apostles, did not comment on his nationality in any way.
The country of Judea, where Jesus Christ, the Son of God, was born, in those ancient times was a province of Rome. Emperor Augustus ordered a census of the population. He wanted to find out how many inhabitants there were in each of the cities of Judea.
Mary and Joseph, the parents of Christ, lived in the city of Nazareth. But they had to return to their ancestral homeland, Bethlehem, to add their names to the lists. Once in Bethlehem, the couple could not find shelter - so many people came for the census. They decided to stop outside the city, in a cave that served as a refuge for shepherds during bad weather.
That night Mary gave birth to a son. Having wrapped the baby in swaddling clothes, she put him to sleep where they put feed for livestock - in the manger.
The shepherds were the first to know about the birth of the Messiah. They were tending flocks in the vicinity of Bethlehem when an angel appeared to them. He broadcast that the savior of humanity had been born. This is a joy for all people, and the sign for identifying the baby will be that he lies in a manger.
The shepherds immediately went to Bethlehem and came across a cave, in which they saw the future Savior. They told Mary and Joseph about the angel's words. On the 8th day, the couple gave the child a name - Jesus, which translated means “savior” or “God saves.”
Was Jesus Christ a Jew? Was nationality determined by father or mother at that time?
Star of Bethlehem
On the very night when Christ was born, a bright, unusual star appeared in the sky. The Magi, who studied the movements of celestial bodies, went after her. They knew that the appearance of such a star spoke of the birth of the Messiah.
The Magi began their journey from an eastern country (Babylonia or Persia). The star, moving across the sky, showed the sages the way.
Meanwhile, the numerous people who came to Bethlehem for the census dispersed. And Jesus' parents returned to the city. The star stopped over the place where the baby was, and the wise men went into the house to present gifts to the future Messiah.
They offered gold as tribute to the future king. They gave incense as a gift to God (incense was still used in worship back then). And myrrh (fragrant oil with which they rubbed the dead), as for a mortal person.
King Herod
The local king Herod the Great, subordinate to Rome, knew about the great prophecy - a bright star in the sky marks the birth of a new king of the Jews. He called to him the magicians, priests, and soothsayers. Herod wanted to know where the baby Messiah was.
With deceitful speeches and deceit, he tried to find out the whereabouts of Christ. Having not received an answer, King Herod decided to exterminate all the babies in the area. 14 thousand children under the age of 2 were killed in and around Bethlehem.
However, ancient historians, including Josephus, make no mention of this bloody event. This may be due to the fact that the number of children killed was much smaller.
It is believed that after such an atrocity, the wrath of God punished the king. He died a painful death, eaten alive by worms in his luxurious palace. After his terrible death, power passed to the three sons of Herod. The lands were also divided. The regions of Perea and Galilee went to Herod the Younger. Christ spent his life in these lands for about 30 years.
Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, beheaded John the Baptist to please his wife Herodias. The sons of Herod the Great did not receive the royal title. Judea was ruled by a Roman procurator. Herod Antipas and other local rulers obeyed him.
Mother of the Savior
The Virgin Mary's parents were childless for a long time. At that time it was considered a sin; such a union was a sign of God's wrath.
Joachim and Anna lived in the city of Nazareth. They prayed and believed that they would definitely have a child. Decades later, an angel appeared to them and announced that the couple would soon become parents.
According to legend, the Virgin Mary was born on September 21. The happy parents swore that this child would belong to God. Until the age of 14, Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, was raised in the temple. From a young age she saw angels. According to legend, the Archangel Gabriel looked after and protected the future Mother of God.
Mary's parents died by the time the Virgin had to leave the temple. The priests could not keep her. But they also felt sorry for letting the orphan go. Then the priests betrothed her to the carpenter Joseph. He was more of the Virgo's guardian than her husband. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, remained a virgin.
What was the nationality of the Mother of God? Her parents were natives of Galilee. This means that the Virgin Mary was not a Jew, but a Galilean. By confession, she belonged to the Law of Moses. Her life in the temple also points to her upbringing in the faith of Moses. So who was Jesus Christ? The nationality of the mother, who lived as a pagan in Galilee, remains unknown. The mixed population of the region was dominated by Scythians. It is possible that Christ inherited his appearance from his mother.
Father of the Savior
For a long time, theologians have been debating whether Joseph should be considered the biological father of Christ? He had a fatherly attitude towards Mary, he knew that she was innocent. Therefore, the news of her pregnancy shocked the carpenter Joseph. The Law of Moses severely punished women for adultery. Joseph was supposed to stone his young wife.
He prayed for a long time and decided to let Mary go and not keep her near him. But an angel appeared to Joseph, announcing an ancient prophecy. The carpenter realized how much responsibility he had for the safety of the mother and child.
Joseph is Jewish by nationality. Can he be considered the biological father if Mary had an immaculate conception? Who is the father of Jesus Christ?
There is a version that the Roman soldier Pantira became the biological father of the Messiah. In addition, there is a possibility that Christ was of Aramaic origin. This assumption is due to the fact that the Savior preached in Aramaic. However, at that time the language was widespread throughout the Middle East.
The Jews of Jerusalem had no doubt that the real father of Jesus Christ existed somewhere. But all versions are too dubious to be true.
Image of Christ
The document of those times, describing the appearance of Christ, is called “The Epistle of Leptulus.” This is a report to the Roman Senate, written by the proconsul of Palestine, Leptulus. He claims that Christ was of medium height with a noble face and good figure. He has expressive blue-green eyes. The hair, the color of a ripe walnut, is combed in the middle. The lines of the mouth and nose are impeccable. In conversation he is serious and modest. He teaches gently and in a friendly manner. Scary in anger. Sometimes she cries, but never laughs. A face without wrinkles, calm and strong.
At the Seventh Ecumenical Council (8th century), the official image of Jesus Christ was approved. The Savior should be painted on the icons in accordance with his human appearance. After the Council, painstaking work began. It consisted of reconstructing a verbal portrait, on the basis of which a recognizable image of Jesus Christ was created.
Anthropologists claim that the icon painting uses not the Semitic, but the Greco-Syrian type of appearance: a thin, straight nose and deep-set, large eyes.
In early Christian icon painting they were able to accurately convey the individual, ethnic features of a portrait. The earliest image of Christ was found on an icon dating from the beginning of the 6th century. It is kept in Sinai, in the monastery of St. Catherine. The face of the icon is similar to the canonized image of the Savior. Apparently, the early Christians considered Christ a European type.
Nationality of Christ
There are still people who claim that Jesus Christ is a Jew. At the same time, a huge number of works have been published on the topic of the non-Jewish origin of the Savior.
At the beginning of the 1st century AD, as Hebraic scholars found out, Palestine split into 3 regions, which differed in their confessional and ethnic characteristics.
- Judea, led by the city of Jerusalem, was inhabited by Orthodox Jews. They obeyed the law of Moses.
- Samaria was closer to the Mediterranean Sea. The Jews and Samaritans were long-time enemies. Even mixed marriages between them were prohibited. In Samaria there were no more than 15% of Jews from the total number of inhabitants.
- Galilee consisted of a mixed population, some of whom remained faithful to Judaism.
Some theologians claim that the typical Jew was Jesus Christ. His nationality is beyond doubt, since he did not deny the entire system of Judaism. But he just disagreed with some of the tenets of the Mosaic Law. Then why did Christ react so calmly to the fact that the Jews of Jerusalem called him a Samaritan? This word was an insult to a true Jew.
God or man?
So who is right? Those who claim that Jesus Christ is God? But then what nationality can one demand from God? He is beyond ethnicity. If God is the basis of all things, including people, there is no need to talk about nationality at all.
What if Jesus Christ is a man? Who is his biological father? Why did he receive the Greek name Christ, which means “anointed one”?
Jesus never claimed to be God. But he is not a person in the usual sense of the word. His dual nature was the acquisition of a human body and a divine essence within that body. Therefore, as a man, Christ could feel hunger, pain, anger. And as a vessel of God - to create miracles, filling the space around you with love. Christ said that he does not perform healings on his own, but only with the help of a Divine gift.
Jesus worshiped and prayed to the Father. He completely submitted himself to His will in the last years of his life and called on the people to believe in the One God in heaven.
As the Son of Man, he was crucified for the salvation of people. As the Son of God, he was resurrected and incarnated in the trinity of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
Miracles of Jesus Christ
About 40 miracles are described in the Gospels. The first happened in the city of Cana, where Christ, his mother and the apostles were invited to a wedding. He turned water into wine.
Christ performed the second miracle by curing a sick man whose illness lasted 38 years. The Jews of Jerusalem became embittered with the Savior - he violated the rule about the Sabbath. It was on this day that Christ worked himself (he healed the sick) and forced another to work (the sick man carried his own bed).
The Savior raised the dead girl, Lazarus and the widow's son. He healed a demoniac and calmed a storm on Lake Galilee. Christ fed the people with five loaves after the sermon - about 5 thousand of them gathered, not counting children and women. Walked on water, healed ten lepers and the blind of Jericho.
The miracles of Jesus Christ prove his Divine essence. He had power over demons, illness, death. But he never performed miracles for his own glory or to collect offerings. Even during interrogation by Herod, Christ did not show a sign as evidence of his power. He did not try to defend himself, but asked only for sincere faith.
Resurrection of Jesus Christ
It was the resurrection of the Savior that became the basis for a new faith - Christianity. The facts about him are reliable: they appeared at a time when eyewitnesses of the events were still alive. All recorded episodes have slight discrepancies, but do not contradict each other as a whole.
The empty tomb of Christ indicates that the body was taken (by enemies, friends) or Jesus rose from the dead.
If the body had been taken by enemies, they would not have failed to mock the disciples, thus stopping the emerging new faith. Friends had little faith in the resurrection of Jesus Christ; they were disappointed and depressed by his tragic death.
Honorary Roman citizen and Jewish historian Josephus mentions the spread of Christianity in his book. He confirms that on the third day Christ appeared alive to his disciples.
Even modern scientists do not deny that Jesus appeared to some followers after death. But they explain this as hallucinations or other phenomena, without challenging the authenticity of the evidence.
The appearance of Christ after death, the empty tomb, the rapid development of a new faith are proof of his resurrection. There is not a single known fact that denies this information.
Appointment by God
Already from the first Ecumenical Councils, the Church unites the human and divine nature of the Savior. He is one of the 3 hypostases of the One God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This form of Christianity was recorded and declared the official version at the Council of Nicaea (in 325), Constantinople (in 381), Ephesus (in 431) and Chalcedon (in 451).
However, disputes about the Savior did not stop. Some Christians argued that Jesus Christ is God. Others argued that he is only the Son of God and is completely subject to his will. The basic idea of the trinity of God is often compared to paganism. Therefore, disputes about the essence of Christ, as well as about his nationality, do not subside to this day.
The cross of Jesus Christ is a symbol of martyrdom for the atonement of human sins. Does it make sense to discuss the nationality of the Savior if faith in him can unite different ethnic groups? All people on the planet are children of God. The humanity of Christ stands above national characteristics and classifications.
The Jewish king Herod the Great remains one of the most controversial figures in ancient history. He is best known for the biblical story of the massacre of the infants. Therefore, even today the word “Herod” itself is a phraseological unit meaning a vile and unprincipled person.
Nevertheless, the personal portrait of this monarch would be incomplete if it began and ended with a mention of the massacre of infants. Herod the Great received his nickname for his active work on the throne in a difficult era for the Jews. This characterization goes against the image of a bloodthirsty killer, so it’s worth taking a closer look at the figure of this king.
Family
By origin, Herod did not belong to the royal Jewish dynasty. His father Antipater the Edomite was governor of the province of Idumea. At this time (1st century BC), the Jewish people found themselves in an expansion that was making its way to the east.
In 63 BC. e. Jerusalem was taken by Pompey, after which the Jewish kings became dependent on the republic. During the years 49-45. Antipater had to choose between contenders for power in the Senate. He supported Julius Caesar. When he defeated Pompey, his supporters received significant dividends for their loyalty. Antipater was awarded the title of procurator of Judea and, although not formally a king, actually became the main Roman governor in this province.
Back in 73 BC. e. The Edomite had a son - the future Herod the Great. In addition to the fact that Antipater was a procurator, he was also the guardian of King Hyrcanus II, on whom he had great influence. It was with the permission of the monarch that he made his son Herod tetrarch (governor) of the province of Galilee. This happened in 48 BC. e., when the young man was 25 years old.
First steps in politics
Tetrarch Herod the Great was a governor loyal to the Roman supreme power. Such relationships were condemned by the conservative part of Jewish society. The nationalists wanted independence and did not want to see the Romans on their land. However, the external situation was such that Judea could have protection from aggressive neighbors only under the protectorate of the republic.
In 40 BC. e. Herod, as tetrarch of Galilee, had to face the Parthian invasion. They captured all of defenseless Judea, and installed their protege as a puppet king in Jerusalem. Herod safely fled the country in order to gain support in Rome, where he hoped to receive an army and drive out the invaders. By this time, his father Antipater the Edomite had already died of old age, so the politician had to make independent decisions and act at his own peril and risk.
Expulsion of the Parthians
On the way to Rome, Herod stopped in Egypt, where he met Queen Cleopatra. When the Jew finally found himself in the Senate, he managed to come to an agreement with the powerful Mark Antony, who agreed to provide the guest with an army to return the province.
The war with the Parthians continued for two more years. with the support of Jewish refugees and volunteers, they liberated the entire country, as well as its capital Jerusalem. Until this moment, the kings of Israel belonged to an ancient royal dynasty. While still in Rome, Herod received consent to become a ruler himself, but his pedigree was of low birth. Therefore, the contender for power married the granddaughter of Hyrcanus II Miriamne in order to legitimize himself in the eyes of his compatriots. So, thanks to Roman intervention, in 37 BC. e. Herod became king of Judea.
Beginning of reign
Throughout the years of his reign, Herod had to balance between two polar parts of society. On the one hand, he tried to maintain good relations with Rome, since his country was actually a province of the republic, and then the empire. At the same time, the king needed to not lose his authority among his compatriots, most of whom had a negative attitude towards newcomers from the West.
Of all the methods of maintaining power, Herod chose the most reliable - he mercilessly dealt with his internal and external opponents, so as not to show his own weakness. The repression began immediately after Roman troops recaptured Jerusalem from the Parthians. Herod ordered the execution of the former king Antigonus, who had been placed on the throne by the interventionists. The problem for the new government was that the deposed monarch belonged to the ancient Hasmonean dynasty, which had ruled Judea for more than a century. Despite the protests of dissatisfied Jews, Herod remained adamant, and his decision was implemented. Antiochus, along with dozens of his associates, was executed.
Way out of the crisis
The centuries-old history of the Jews has always been full of tragedies and difficult trials. The era of Herod was no exception. In 31 BC. e. A devastating earthquake occurred in Israel, killing more than 30 thousand people. At the same time, the southern Arab tribes attacked Judea and tried to plunder it. The State of Israel was in a deplorable state, but the always active Herod did not lose his head and took all measures to minimize the damage from these misfortunes.
First of all, he managed to defeat the Arabs and expel them from his land. The nomads attacked Judea also because the echo continued in the Roman state and spread to Israel. In that memorable year 31 BC. e. Herod's main defender and patron, Mark Antony, was defeated in the battle of Actium against the fleet of Octavian Augustus.
This event had the most long-lasting consequences. The King of Judea sensed a change in the political wind and began to send envoys to Octavian. Soon this Roman politician finally seized power and proclaimed himself emperor. The new Caesar and the king of Judea found a common language, and Herod was able to breathe a sigh of relief.
Urban planning activities
A devastating earthquake destroyed many buildings throughout Israel. In order to raise the country from ruins, Herod had to take the most drastic measures. Construction of new buildings began in cities. Their architecture acquired Roman and Hellenistic features. The capital of Jerusalem became the center of such construction.
Herod's main project was the reconstruction of the Second Temple - the main religious building of the Jews. Over the past centuries, it had become very dilapidated and seemed outdated against the backdrop of new magnificent buildings. The ancient Jews treated the temple as the cradle of their nation and religion, so its reconstruction became Herod’s life’s work.
The king hoped that this restructuring would help him gain the support of ordinary people, who for many reasons did not like their ruler, considering him a cruel tyrant and a protege of Rome. Herod was generally distinguished by his ambition, and the prospect of being in the place of Solomon, who built the First Temple, did not give him any peace.
Restoration of the Second Temple
The city of Jerusalem prepared for several years for the restoration, which began in 20 BC. e. The necessary construction resources were brought to the capital from all over the country - stone, marble, etc. The daily life of the temple was full of sacred rituals that could not be violated even during restoration. For example, there was a separate internal section where only Jewish clergy could enter. Herod ordered to train them in construction skills so that they themselves could do all the necessary work in the area forbidden to the laity.
The first year and a half was spent rebuilding the main temple building. When this procedure was completed, the building was consecrated and religious services continued there. Over the next eight years, restoration of the courtyards and individual premises took place. The interior was changed to make visitors feel cozy and comfortable in the new temple.
The long-term construction of King Herod outlived its inspiration. Even after his death, reconstruction was still ongoing, although the bulk of the work had already been completed.
Roman influence
Thanks to Herod, the ancient Jews received the first amphitheater in their capital, which hosted classic Roman spectacles - gladiator fights. These battles were fought in honor of the emperor. In general, Herod tried in every possible way to emphasize that he remained loyal to the central government, which helped him sit on the throne until his death.
The policy of Hellenization was not liked by many Jews, who believed that by inculcating Roman habits, the king was insulting his own religion. Judaism at that time was experiencing a stage of crisis, when false prophets appeared throughout Israel, convincing the common people to accept their own teachings. The Pharisees, members of a narrow stratum of theologians and priests who tried to preserve the old religious order, fought against heresy. Herod often consulted them on particularly sensitive issues of his policy.
In addition to symbolic and religious buildings, the monarch improved roads and tried to give his cities everything that was necessary for a comfortable life for their inhabitants. He did not forget about his own wealth. The Palace of Herod the Great, built under his personal control, captured the imagination of his compatriots.
In a critical situation, the king could act extremely generously, despite all his love for luxury and grandeur. In the year 25, a massive famine began in Judea, and the suffering poor filled Jerusalem. The ruler could not feed them with funds from the treasury, since all the money at that time was invested in construction. Every day the situation became more and more frightening, and then King Herod the Great ordered the sale of all his jewelry, with the proceeds from which tons of Egyptian bread were purchased.
Massacre of the innocents
All the positive character traits of Herod faded with age. By old age, the monarch turned into a merciless and suspicious tyrant. Before him, the kings of Israel often became victims of conspiracies. This is partly why Herod became paranoid, not trusting even his loved ones. The darkening of the king's mind was marked by the fact that he ordered the execution of two of his own sons, who turned out to be victims of a false denunciation.
But another story related to Herod’s painful outbursts of anger has become much more famous. The Gospel of Matthew describes an episode in which mysterious wise men came to the ruler. The magicians told the ruler that they were going to the city of Bethlehem, where the real king of Judea was born.
The news of an unprecedented contender for power frightened Herod. He gave an order that the history of the Jews had never known. The king ordered to kill all the newborns, which was done. Christian sources give different estimates about the number of victims of this massacre. Thousands of babies may have been killed, although modern historians dispute this theory due to the fact that there could not have been so many newborns in an ancient provincial town. One way or another, the “king of Judea,” to whom the Magi were heading, survived. He was Jesus Christ - the central figure of the new Christian religion.
Death and funeral
Herod did not live long after the story of the massacre of the infants. He died around 4 BC. e., when he was 70 years old. For the ancient era, this was an extremely respectable age. The old man left this world, leaving behind several sons. He bequeathed his throne to his eldest son Archelaus. However, this candidacy had to be considered and approved by the Roman emperor. Octavian agreed to give Archelaus only half of Israel, giving the other half to his brothers and thus splitting the country. This was another step by the emperor on the path to weakening Jewish power in Judea.
Herod was buried not in Jerusalem, but in the fortress of Herodion, named after him and founded during his reign. His son Archelaus took charge of organizing the funeral events. Ambassadors from various provinces arrived to him. Guests of Judea witnessed an unprecedented spectacle. The deceased was buried magnificently - in a golden bed and surrounded by a large crowd of people. The mourning for the deceased king continued for another week. The State of Israel spent a long time seeing off its first ruler from the Herodiad dynasty on his final journey.
The king's tomb was discovered by archaeologists quite recently. This happened in 2007. The find made it possible to compare many facts given in ancient written sources with reality.
Conclusion
Herod's personality was controversially accepted by his contemporaries. The epithet “Great” was given to him by modern historians. This was done to highlight the large role that the king played in integrating his country with the Roman Empire, as well as maintaining peace in Judea.
Researchers gleaned the most reliable information about Herod from the works of a historian who was his contemporary. All the successes achieved by the sovereign during his reign became possible thanks to his ambition, pragmatism and confidence in his decisions. There is no doubt that the tsar often sacrificed the destinies of his specific subjects when it came to the viability of the state.
He managed to hold on to the throne, despite the confrontation between two parties - the Roman and the nationalist. His heirs and descendants could not boast of such success.
The figure of Herod is important throughout Christian history, although his influence is often not so obvious because he died on the eve of the events associated with the work of Christ. Nevertheless, the entire New Testament history took place in the Israel that this ancient king left behind.
Hello. I have a question. When reading the Gospel, I did not understand: Herod, during whose reign the Savior was born, and Herod, who executed John the Baptist, are one person or were there two kings of Herod, because The Holy Family returned from Egypt after the death of Herod under Archelaus, and John the Baptist was executed much later. Thanks for the answer.
Hieromonk Job (Gumerov) answers:
The Holy Scriptures of the New Testament mention seven Herods: a father, four children, a grandson and a great-grandson. All of them were representatives of the dynasty founded Herod I(c. 73 – 4 BC). He was the son of the wealthy Edomite Antipater, who, through his services, managed to gain the trust of Julius Caesar and received from him the right of Roman citizenship. His son Herod I, with the help of Roman troops, from 40 (actually from 37) BC. took possession of the throne and became king of Judah. In the person of Herod I, for the first time, a non-Jew ascended the Jewish throne. He was an Edomite, a descendant of the patriarch Jacob's brother Esau. With the accession of Herod I, the ancient messianic prophecy of Patriarch James was fulfilled: The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the lawgiver from between his feet, until the Reconciler comes, and to Him the submission of the nations(Gen.49:10). The exact time of the coming of the Messiah was indicated. Christ will come when a non-Jew sits on the royal throne in Judea.
Herod I restored several cities from ruins and decorated them with beautiful buildings, giving them new names in honor of his patron, Caesar Augustus: Samaria was renamed Sebastia, and the Strato Tower was Caesarea. In Jerusalem itself, he restored an ancient castle, which he named Antonia. To win the favor of the Jews, Herod I began a complete reconstruction of the Jerusalem Temple, trying to give it unprecedented splendor. The temple was demolished piece by piece and rebuilt again, preserving its original area, but increasing its height and not suspending worship for a single day. Despite this construction activity, the Jews hated Herod not only for his treachery. They saw him as a foreigner, a Roman protege and the thief of the throne of David. The Jewish people also despised him because he built theaters and amphitheaters in the cities he rebuilt, organized Roman and Greek games, held feasts with purely pagan amusements, and generally introduced customs that were distinguished by a pagan character.
The cruel and vengeful Herod I exterminated almost the entire house of the Asmoneans (representatives of the Maccobean family), as the descendants of the legitimate rulers of the Jewish people. He did not even stop before killing his wife Mariamne, who was the granddaughter of the high priest Hyrcanus II. “Soon after the massacre of the infants came the death of Herod himself. Only five days before his death he made a frantic suicide attempt and ordered the execution of his eldest son Antipater. His deathbed<...>was surrounded by extraordinary horrors; he died of a disgusting disease, which rarely happens and occurs only with people who have disgraced themselves with bloodthirstiness and cruelty. On the bed of his unbearable illness, in that magnificent and luxurious palace that he built for himself in the shade of the palm trees of Jericho, swollen from illness and burned with thirst, covered with ulcers on his body and internally scorched by a slow fire, surrounded by seditious sons and predatory slaves, hating everyone and hated by everyone, thirsting for death as deliverance from his torment, and at the same time not satisfied with blood drinking, terrible for everyone around him and even more terrible for himself in his criminal conscience, devoured alive by grave decay, sharpened by worms, as if apparently struck by the finger of Divine wrath, after a seventy-year life of villainy and debauchery, the pitiful old man, whom people called great, lay in a wild frenzy, awaiting his last hour" (Farrar F.V. The Life of Jesus Christ. 6th ed., St. Petersburg, 1893, p. 26- 27).
He had seven sons from ten wives: Antipater, Alexander, Aristobulus, Philip (from Mariamne II), Archelaus, Antipas, Philip (from Cleopatra). After the death of Herod, the kingdom was fragmented and power passed to his three sons: Archelaus, Herod Antipas and Philip.
2. Archelaus(Matthew 2:22) received Judea along with Edomea and Samaria. When, after the death of Herod I, St. right Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary with the baby Jesus were returning from Egypt; they learned about Archelaus’ accession to the throne and, fearing to live in the region under his control, settled in Nazareth of Galilee. Due to the oppression of his subjects in 6 A.D. Archelaus was deprived of power, and the areas he ruled were transferred to the Roman procurator (in the Slavic text of the Gospel he is called in Greek: “hegemon”; from the verb igemai - “I command”; in the Synodal Bible - “ruler”), subordinate to the proconsul Roman province of Syria.
3. Mentioned in the Holy Gospel (Luke 3:1) son of Herod I Philip(from Cleopatra) ruled the northeastern part of Palestine: in Ituraea and the Trachonite region. He was very different in character from his brothers: he was moderate and strived for justice. He was married to his grandniece Salome, daughter of Herodias, who danced before Herod Antipas (Mt 14.6; Mk 6.22).
4. Most often in the New Testament (Matt. 14:3,6; Mark 6:14,16-18,20-22; 8:15; Luke 3:1,19; 9.7,9; 13.31; 23: 7,8,11,12,15; Acts 13:1) Herod Antipas(son of Herod I from Malphaca), who inherited Perea and Galilee, where Jesus Christ lived for about 30 years before the beginning of His gospel. He was brought up in Rome with his older brother Archelaus. At his stepbrother's house (5.) Philippa(not the tetrarch, but another son of Herod I from Mariamne, who did not receive any inheritance and lived as a private person), he met his sister-in-law and niece Herodias, with whom he fell passionately in love. To marry her, he expelled his legitimate wife, the daughter of the Arabian king Aretas IV. For this, St. was rebuked. John the Baptist, whom he beheaded. Pontius Pilate sent the Savior of the world, who was in chains, to trial before Herod Antipas, wanting to relieve himself of responsibility. The Roman Emperor Caligula exiled him, following a complaint from the Jews, to Lyon, where he died.
6.Herod AgrippaI, son of Aristobulus, grandson of Herod I. Ruled Judea from 38 to 44 AD. He persecuted the Apostles, killed St. the Apostle James in the last year of his reign and tried to kill St. the Apostle Peter, but the Lord did not allow this (Acts 12:2-11). Herod Agrippa died, struck down by the Angel of the Lord (Acts 12:23).
7. Herod AgrippaII, son of Herod Agrippa I, great-grandson of Herod I. Ruled Judea from 48 to 100 AD. Agrippa II is mentioned together with his sister Bernice in connection with the trial of St. the apostle Paul. Herod Agrippa II is mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles by St. Evangelist Luke: 25:13,22-24,26; 26:1-2.7, etc.
With the death of Herod Agrippa, the II dynasty, which left a dark memory in the history of Palestine, disappeared.
