Killing Jesus: A History

“Murdering Caesar is the boldest—and most dangerous—of ideas. He is not like other men. In fact, he has become the greatest living symbol of Roman power and aggression. Caesar has so completely consolidated his hold on Roman politics that the only likely outcome of his murder will be anarchy, and perhaps even the end of the Roman Republic.”

Throughout the book, power is shown to be rooted in control over public perception. Powerful people are not just people; they are concepts and ideas. Caesar is synonymous with Rome, just as one day Jesus will be synonymous with Christianity.

“The death of Caesar has directly affected the backwater known as Judea, even if its citizens do not realize it. But the battle of Philippi, an epic moment in history, will affect the area even more. When this battle is over, nothing for the Jews will ever be the same again.”

This quote underlines the ways in which the imperial politics of Rome affect all its conquered territories, no matter how remote. By highlighting the cruelty of a system in which a faceless dictator can condemn entire cultures to starvation or massacre, the authors aim to establish a compelling backdrop for Jesus’s life and teachings.

“The child with twenty-three years to live is missing.”

This quote shows a prevalent form of foreshadowing in this narrative, in which the authors count down Jesus’s lifespan with every chapter. This device is also used for other characters, like Caesar before his assassination.

“Jesus is different from other boys his age. He is not content merely to learn the oral history of his faith; he also feels a keen desire to debate its nuances and legends.”

The authors present Jesus as strikingly different from other children his age. Even in his childhood, Jesus appears remarkable to adults, who don’t know what to make of him.

“The history of the Jews is a litany of resisting the oppression brought by foreign invaders who conquered the land now known as Israel. In a way, the Roman occupation links the people of Galilee to a centuries-long tradition.”

Jesus’s education is steeped in Jewish history, which is a political history as well as a religious and cultural one. A history of constant oppression will profoundly shape Jesus’s political and spiritual views, leading him to find unexpected solutions to the cruelty of others.

“The hardships of the land and the cruelty of Rome have bred a resurgent faith in the power of the Jewish God, to whom they pray for rescue, power, and relief. This is the world a young Jesus of Nazareth inhabits.”

Here, the authors highlight the suffering of the Jewish people in Judea and The Interplay of Religion and Politics. The crippling burden of taxes is destroying the people, and it’s clear that their society is reaching a breaking point. The Jewish people look to God for relief from political oppression.

“In Jerusalem, there now exists an uneasy alliance between faith and state. That unholy collaboration is also tracking the Baptist.”

This quote shows the delicate balance of power that exists in Judea. Augustus’s and Tiberius’s edicts to preserve the Jewish faith force Pilate to negotiate with Jewish leadership instead of just massacring them, like Herod the Great or Archelaus. This leads to an alliance instead of a power struggle.

“He reclines in his bedroom as nude handmaidens and young boys copulate in front of him. They were handpicked for their beauty and brought from the far-flung reaches of the Roman Empire against their will to perform sexual acts for ‘the old goat,’ as the sixty-eight-year-old Tiberius is called behind his back.”

There is a stark contrast in morals between the devout Jews who assiduously abstain from all unclean things, and Tiberius, who engages in sexual depravity. Tiberius’s cruelty also undermines his authority as a legitimate ruler of an empire. In contrast, Jesus’s humility and kindness win him followers, while Tiberius violates and kills his unwilling subjects.

“The Nazarene is not normally prone to anger, and certainly not rage. In fact, Jesus usually exudes a powerful serenity. So when he boldly storms toward the money changers’ tables, those who know him become alarmed. There is a power to Jesus’s gait and a steely determination to his gaze.”

This is a well-known scene in the story of Jesus, and the authors attempt to depict it in a new way. The concrete, realistic details here aim to shift the scene from myth to reality.

“Those words will eventually rally billions of human beings to his spiritual cause. But they will not convert the powerful men who currently hold the life of Jesus in their hands. To them, the Nazarene is a marked man.”

By looking at Jesus’s effect on modern-day society and comparing it to how his day-to-day life must have felt, the authors emphasize The Power of Narrative to Define Character. Jesus is depicted as understanding his own legacy in a way that none of his contemporaries do, and this understanding is a key source of his power.

“The last days have come for John the Baptist. He has been in the dungeons of Machaerus for two long years. The dank cells are carved into the rocky hillside, and, in fact, some are nothing more than caves. The floors, ceiling, and walls are impenetrable rock.”

The vivid imagery here conjures John’s suffering in Herod Antipas’s dungeon. The hopelessness and inescapability are clear. Against this backdrop, John continues to derive hope from his belief that Jesus is the promised Messiah.

“Jesus turns to the crowd and says: ‘Listen to me. Understand this: Nothing outside a man can make him “unclean” by going into him. Rather, it is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean.’”

Jesus’s teachings depart radically from the traditions of the Pharisees. Rather than dictating what Jewish people could and could not touch, consume, or engage in, Jesus argues that “cleanness” and “uncleanness” in a spiritual sense derive from one’s words and actions.

“Prior to Caiaphas, high priests were puppets of Rome, easily replaced for acts of insubordination. But Caiaphas, a member of the Sadducee sect, has developed a simple and brilliant technique to remain in power: stay out of Rome’s business.”

This quote shows how local rulers of occupied states are forced to develop novel strategies to maintain and expand their power. A clever ruler can adjust their strategy to accommodate the political reality of an occupying force. In Caiaphas’s case, he sacrifices the well-being of his people to do so.

“In his moment of triumph, Jesus is experiencing agony. He has long strategized about the words he will say at Passover and the effect they will have on his followers, both old and new. He knows that his claims of being a king will lead to his crucifixion. He will be sacrificed, just as surely as those countless Passover lambs. It is just a matter of when.”

Jesus’s experience is paradoxical: In the moments of celebration from the crowds, Jesus predicts his own suffering, accepting it as a way to give the people enduring hope. However, he is a human being and still experiences terrible fear and anguish at the thought of crucifixion.

“Word of Jesus’s intellectual victory spreads through the Temple courts. The pilgrims now love Jesus even more. They are speaking of him as a true prophet and hope he will live up to his celebratory entry into Jerusalem just two short days ago.”

Just before his execution, Jesus has amassed significant public support. Though Pilate and the Sanhedrin feel invincible because of their accumulated power and wealth, they are forced to acknowledge the power of the common people through their support for Jesus.

“Judas did not sign on to be hated or executed. If Jesus just admits that he is the Christ, then he would triumph over the Romans. Surely the religious authorities would then be eager to align themselves with Jesus. All this talk of death and execution might come to an end. So Judas has decided to force Jesus’s hand.”

This quote underlines Judas’s emotional struggle between his expectations of Jesus and the reality of his teachings. The other disciples, though confused, are willing to be corrected and led to Jesus’s true teaching. Judas rejects it and instead attempts to force Jesus to conform to his understanding of the Messiah.

“In the morning, the death squads will begin the ritual crucifixion process. It is intensely physical work, and by day’s end their uniforms and bodies will be drenched in blood.”

The authors highlight the vivid and shocking nature of crucifixion. The emphasis on the physicality of the process defamiliarizes a familiar image, making the true implications of the torture device clear to the reader.

“The courtyard is still. Inside, the interrogation of Jesus commences. Moments later, he is surprised by a sudden and hard blow to the face. The end has begun.”

This quote shows the sudden violent turn Jesus’s life is about to take. Although Jesus’s story has been mostly peaceful thus far, with Jesus only committing property damage and preaching nonviolence, this attack points to the violence that continually underpins Roman-occupied Jerusalem. No one is safe from the violence that affirms the authority of Rome and of the Sanhedrin.

“Caiaphas grabs the front of his own tunic and wrenches the expensive fabric, tearing it down from his chest. Under normal circumstances, high priests are forbidden to display anger in such a manner. But these are not normal circumstances, for Jesus is implying nothing less than that Caiaphas is an enemy of God.”

Caiaphas’s unprecedented anger and loss of control shows how transgressive Jesus’s words were: Caiaphas—normally composed and dignified—has no response but helpless fury.

“Pilate is running out of options. Clearly he cannot order the Jews to release Jesus, for that would be interfering in their religious law—and Emperor Tiberius has made it quite clear that Roman governors cannot do this.”

Pilate attempts to navigate a delicate political situation. The unique respect that Tiberius holds for the Jewish faith throws into relief the usual Roman disregard for the religion of occupied peoples.

“As they lead the Nazarene away to be crucified, Pontius Pilate prepares for an early lunch.”

This quote juxtaposes the life-and-death stakes of the trial for Jesus with the lack of care on Pilate’s part. This shows the cultural gap between the powerful and the poor, with Jesus sacrificing his life for his people while Pilate is unwilling to sacrifice even his comfort for justice.

“Jesus bows his head. The crown of thorns hangs rigidly. He lapses into unconsciousness. His neck relaxes. His entire body rolls forward, pulling his neck and shoulders away from the cross.”

The vivid imagery here aims to draw the reader into the narrative. The careful attention to detail conjures the scene and allows the reader to imagine it more clearly.

“Jesus is clearly dead. The spear rupturing the pericardial sac around his heart left no doubt.”

The key literary device this book uses in describing Jesus’s crucifixion is defamiliarization. The image of Jesus on the cross has been understood symbolically for so long that it has lost some of its visceral immediacy. By using medical terms like “pericardial sac,” the authors hope to remind readers of Jesus’s real, physical suffering.