The Master's Quilt (10 page)

That was something he could not allow to
happen.

“Members of the Council, greetings,” he said,
in a loud, commanding voice. “In obedience to your request for an
account of my actions in the case of Jesus of Nazareth, and in
defense of my handling of His arrest and trial, ultimately leading
to His crucifixion at the hands of Rome, I submit the following
report for your consideration.

“Before I begin, however, I would preface my
statements by sharing my heart with you.”

The Council members settled in for what they
correctly perceived was going to be a long afternoon.

“It has come to my attention that there are
particular members of this Council who, given the opportunity,
would undermine our autonomy by submitting to pressures brought to
bear by the Romans. And there are even some who have developed
rather questionable associations with Rome.”

The barest ripple of murmuring disturbed the
veneer of attentiveness in the great hall.

“In assessing my report,” continued Caiaphas,
“I would remind you that you are judging a Jew who represents
Hebrew interests, and not a Jew who, shall we say, perhaps has two
masters.”

The High Priest smiled as he warmed to the
task before him. “I state for the record that I, Joseph Caiaphas,
am first a Jew, subject to the same laws that I am pledged to
administer; second, as High Priest of this Council, I am charged
with the maintenance of our faith; and lastly, like all Jews, I am
yoked unequally to Roman law, by conquest rather than by choice.
Therefore, I am limited to specific conditional authority.

“During the fifteen years of my tenure as
High Priest, no one has seen fit to question, with such audacity
and such obvious personal motive, my rationale in the
administration of my duties as protector and example of the Faith.
It is unfortunate, especially in these times of political unrest,
that there are those among this august body who would put
self-interest and personal gain above the pressing needs of our
people. An attitude, I might add, that stands in direct
contradiction to one of the most basic requirements of character
necessary for consideration of selection to this Council.”

Caiaphas scanned his audience and finally
focused on Doras. The two of them locked eyes. “It is, and has
always been, my avowed and heartfelt aim to serve the ends of
Almighty God first, the needs of His people second, and my own
personal interests last. Nothing has occurred in the past few
months, as far as I am concerned, which has altered that vow.”

The Council remained quiet as Caiaphas
paused. Annas’ face, as usual, was set in a perpetual grimace, as
if he were forever scowling when anyone but himself was speaking.
Yet behind that façade, there was a finely honed, highly polished
political mind, ever weighing and balancing words, just as the tax
collector constantly weighs and balances silver and gold.

Doras seemed unusually calm.

Caiaphas made a mental note to be on guard
for the moment when his adversary would strike. His immediate
intention, however, was to keep the members of the Council,
particularly the Pharisees, focused on the legality of his actions
while sending a subtle, yet dramatic message to Annas—he had not
lost the ability to deal with vipers in the nest.

The majority of the predominately Sadducee
Council, including the Pharisees, were aware of the threat Jesus
had posed. Thus, they accepted the fact, although not without
disagreement on the means employed to accomplish the end—Jesus had
to be dealt with decisively. That is why the Council, with but a
few exceptions, had so readily agreed to his initial proposal six
weeks before.

It was only
after
the trial and
crucifixion that the hue and cry had been raised.

And it was Doras who had cried the
loudest.

Doras knew that the only way he would have a
chance at becoming High Priest was to produce a scandal of such
magnitude that the Council members, in a fit of passion and
unreason, would banish the one responsible for the scandal and
elevate the one responsible for uncovering it.

The whole mess smelled of Herod Antipas.

Doras could care less about the death of a
blaspheming Jew. What he desired was recognition. He did not doubt
that it was Herod who out of the death of the Nazarene had created
an opportunity to drive a wedge between Sadducee and Pharisee. He
intended to disrupt the delicately balanced coalition of power and
usurp Annas’ uncontested control of the Council.

“As you all are well aware,” Caiaphas
continued authoritatively, “there was no love lost between the
Sadducees, the Pharisees, and Jesus of Nazareth.” There were nods
of assent from the Pharisees. “Yet we did not challenge Him because
of His lack of respect for tradition, neither for His claims of
holiness, as some have suggested, nor because He prophesied and
ignored the sanctity of the Temple.

“No, it was not any one of these reasons that
brought about His demise. . .yet in a way it was the result of all
of them.

“We Sadducees do not hold to the idea that a
man’s fate determines the outcome of events in his living. Instead
we favor the idea that it is man’s will that decides success or
failure in God’s plan.

“I submit to you that there was a cause, a
substantial motivation behind the behavior of the Galilean. One
other than the simple message He is purported to have preached. One
that threatened to shred the very fabric of our faith. It was my
understanding of this motivation that guided me in making my final
decision. Therefore, in making your final determination, I adjure
you to confine yourselves to the legal basis for my behavior, and
judge me accordingly, even as I judged Jesus.”

He paused, then struck a lightening thrust.
“In order for me to best state my case, and remembering the
responsibility I shoulder as the highest administrator of the laws
of our nation, please indulge me in a few moments of oral
tradition.”

An excited murmuring spread rapidly through
the chambers, like a brushfire out of control. Even Annas lost the
grimace from his face and sat forward in his chair.

Caiaphas smiled inwardly as Doras shifted
uncomfortably in his seat. His opponent was clearly assessing this
new situation. It was obvious from the pained look on his haggard
face that he did not like what he had just heard.

The strike at his jugular had come in a most
unconventional manner.

It was well known that the Sadducees gave
little or no respect to the oral tradition. For them, the
Torah
was the final word. The Pharisees, on the other hand,
accepted all of the explanatory and supplementary material produced
and contained within the oral tradition that evolved during the
time of the Babylonian exile. To them it was inspired and,
therefore, equally authoritative.

No one on the Council could have anticipated
that Caiaphas would utilize references to tradition as it related
to matters not specifically covered in the
Torah
. This meant
that he could argue by extension, something the Sadducees loathed
doing. The tactic would appeal to the legalistic thinking of the
Pharisees and thus allow him to argue that there was in fact
legislation covering his behavior, an argument arising from analogy
or inference.

This line of reasoning would give a much
broader scope to the High Priest’s already extensive reach of
power. Doras, like the other members of the Council, had clearly
been caught by surprise. Such a frontal attack, coming from one so
thoroughly entrenched in the aristocratic concept of the social and
religious hierarchy, meant that Doras would have to revise his own
plan of attack.

The High Priest continued as if he had said
nothing unusual, ignoring the questions forming on the lips of his
surprised audience. “First and foremost we believe in one living
and true God. Our God never changes. Not only is He beyond our
comprehension, but also He, with one exception, is indescribable
and unnamable. That exception, of course, is that it pleases Him to
allow us to define our relationship to Him in our daily
communication with Him in terms of His several names, according to
His relationship to us. These are found nowhere except within His
Holy Temple—the Ark of the Covenant. And no one may approach Him in
this earthly place of strength and power, save those who have been
sanctified according to the Law.

“Each of the several names He gives us is a
complete element of His divine presence unto itself, and the
combined grouping presents us with the majesty of the Hebrew God,
Elohim.”

“
Eloi
means ‘mighty in strength.’ He
accomplishes the most difficult of tasks with the same ease He does
the least.
Elaah
signifies eternal existence; He has no
beginning, and no end—He simply is.
Hhelejon
demonstrates
His unchangeable character; His will is perfect and therefore no
contradiction exists with His purpose.
Jah
is knowledge that
understands without being understandable.
Adonai
stands for
His sovereignty—His supreme rulership exercised as a prerogative
rather than being an attribute.”

“Individually and together they are
JEHOVAH
. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the Hebrew
God.

“My point in reciting what is well known to
all of you is threefold. First, God spoke to the Father of our
nation, Abraham, and made covenant with him that all who are
circumcised by the cutting of the foreskin and the shedding of
blood shall be saved. We do not merely view the act of circumcision
as ritualistic. Each act of cutting binds us to our God.
Circumcision is the seal of our covenant.

“If this is false, then God has violated
Himself by annulling the contract. The Nazarene taught that
baptism, and not circumcision, is the seal of God, and that all,
regardless of their lack of physical circumcision, could receive
the blessings of Abraham. He even went so far as to associate with
the unclean—the lepers, the prostitutes, the poor and wretched
souls—that segment of humanity who do not fast and who pay no
tithes in support of the Temple and the priesthood.

“It is no wonder that His teaching appealed
to their unsanctified flesh. His teaching led them to believe that
every man could be his own priest, worshiping as he chooses.

“There is further evidence that His teachings
appealed to the very weaknesses of human nature which our strict
adherence to religious custom seeks to overcome. Though He preached
for less than three years, He had more followers at his death than
Abraham has today. Indeed, had it not been for the Roman soldiers
keeping the multitude contained on the day of His execution, we
very likely would have had a bloodbath to contend with.”

There were nods of agreement and grunts of
assent from the audience. However, Caiaphas noted with satisfaction
that Doras was growing increasingly agitated.

“Second, according to the book of Leviticus,
God told Moses that we should offer the bullock, the ram, the oil,
and flour after having fasted seven days in order that the sins of
the people would be atoned. Every year, in the seventh month, on
the tenth day of the month, the High Priest must select two
unblemished goats, one for the Lord and one for
Azazel
, the
scapegoat. After casting lots upon the goats, the one for the Lord
is to be offered up to Him for a sin offering, the blood taken
within the holy Tabernacle and sprinkled upon the mercy seat.

“The goat upon which the lot falls to be the
scapegoat must be presented to the Lord. The High Priest must lay
both hands upon the head of the live goat confessing over him all
the iniquities of the children of Israel and all their
transgressions, putting them on the goat. Then he sends the goat
into the wilderness.”

Now Caiaphas looked straight at Doras and
smiled confidently. His next words were chosen with the care a
sicari
chooses a dagger.

“Either Moses was deceived, and being thus,
deceived us, or Jesus of Nazareth was a false teacher. He taught
that repentance of sin is sufficient restitution for the commission
of sin. Were this the case a man could sin as he wished. Remorse
for his crimes would be sufficient restitution unto the offended
party. This teaching contradicts the mode of making atonement as
ordained by God and revealed by Moses.”

He gradually raised his voice as he spoke.
The deep, bass resonance of echoed off the polished marble walls of
the hall. He raised his right hand dramatically. His palm faced the
Council and his index finger pointed to the heavens, as if it were
an adder poised to strike. At the same time, he moved his great
bulk to and fro, gliding almost hypnotically over the dulled luster
of the dust-covered, pinkish-white marble floor.

“Who was this man?” he asked deprecatingly,
his molten, ebony eyes seeking out dissent in his audience. “Who
was He that He should so perniciously refute fourteen hundred years
of tradition?”

The stillness of the hall was marred only by
the raspy breathing of old men seeking to fill burning lungs with
much needed oxygen, as quietly as possible, lest the High Priest
turn his attention to them.

Abruptly, Caiaphas turned his back on the
Council and facing Annas, addressed his last point to his
father-in-law. “Thirdly, Jesus claimed that He was
almah
,
born of a virgin, and that He and His Father were one—that is, that
they were one in the same. That being so, where is He today? Why
doesn’t He stand before us and repudiate all that I have said?”

He paused dramatically for effect, turned to
stare at the semi-circle of faces once again, and answered,
“Because, my learned brethren,
He is dead!
His body was hung
from a cross so that all might witness the payment for blasphemy.
As it is written: ‘Cursed is he who hangs upon the tree.’