Caesar's Messiah: The Roman Conspiracy to Invent Jesus:Flavian Signature Edition (34 page)

In such a translation, the purpose of the character named Jesus Barabbas becomes clear. The New Testament is flatly stating that there was more than one “Jesus.” Notice the humor in Pilate’s statement below,
“I will therefore chastise him and release him.” The way the grammar is structured, the sardonic comedy becomes that it is impossible to know which “Jesus” Pilate is referring to as “him.”

Notice also that, just as they were at the empty tomb, the Jews are characterized as being highly emotional. The scornful humor derives from the idea that in such a state they cannot tell one “Jesus” from the other.

But they all cried out together, “Away with this man, and release to us Jesus Barabbas”—

a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection started in the city, and for murder.

Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus; but they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify him!’”

A third time he said to them, “Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no crime deserving death; I will therefore chastise him and release him.”

But they were urgent, demanding with loud cries that he should be crucified. And their voices prevailed.

So Pilate gave sentence that their demand should be granted.

Luke 23:18–24

In each of the Gospels, following the “resurrection,” the disciples are described as encountering a character named Jesus. However, the dead cannot come back to life. The authors of the Gospels are simply continuing the wry joke that starts with the disciples mistaking one another for angels in the empty tomb of Lazarus. Each Gospel satirically reveals that the individual the disciples believe to be the resurrected Messiah is different from the one who was crucified, by repeatedly stating that they could not recognize the “resurrected” Jesus. The related passages follow.

When they saw Him, they worshiped Him, but some doubted.

Matt. 28:17

After this he appeared in another form to two of them, as they were walking into the country.

Mark 16:12

But they were terrified and frightened and supposed they had seen a spirit.

Luke 24:37

While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them.

But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.

Luke 24:15-16

Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the beach; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

John 21:4

In John 20:15 below, Mary Magdalene is also unable to recognize Jesus and confuses him with a “gardener.” This passage is a part of the “root and branch” element of derisive humor, which centers around Titus “pruning” the Jewish Messiah Eleazar, who was “carried away” on the Mount of Olives.

This episode is the prophetic and satiric climax of the New Testament. It is the moment that “foresees” Titus switching himself for the Jewish Messiah—which actually occurs in John 21. That is when, following his killing of “Jesus,” Titus begins to be the “Jesus” of Christianity. A reader who is able to understand the following “prophecy” regarding Titus has essentially solved the central puzzle of the New Testament and
Wars of the Jews.

Notice the brilliant irony in Mary’s mistaking the Messiah for a “gardener” and asking if he has “carried him away.” This is exactly what happens to Eleazar, who is “carried away” by a “gardener” on the Mount of Olives. The authors have Mary mistake the individual for a gardener because this creates a satirical prediction of what in fact has already occurred. The truth is a mirror image of the surface narration. While Jesus is mistaken for a gardener who has not “carried the Messiah away,” Titus becomes a “gardener” who is mistaken for Jesus and who carries away the Messiah.

Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom do you seek?” Supposing him to be the gardener, she said to him, “Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have laid him, and I will take him away.”

Jesus said to her, “Mary.” She turned and said to him in Hebrew, “Rab-boni!” (which means teacher).

John 20:15–16

The following passage from
Wars of the Jews
reveals why Titus finds it necessary to create a religion that worships him without its members knowing it. Titus’ problem is that the Sicarii refuse to call him Lord, even after being tortured. To circumvent this stubbornness, Titus simply switches himself into the Jew’s Messiah. The ultimate cruel joke of Christianity is that it causes Jews to call Caesar their Lord without their knowing it. The passage also contains another element of Christianity evidently stolen from the Sicarii movement, that of its members rejoicing while being tortured for refusing to renounce their faith.

… (The Sicarii) whose courage, or whether we ought to call it madness, or hardiness in their opinions, every body was amazed at.

For when all sorts of torments and vexations of their bodies that could be devised were made use of to them, they could not get any one of them to comply so far as to confess, or seem to confess, that Caesar was their lord; but they preserved their own opinion, in spite of all the distress they were brought to, as if they received these torments and the fire itself with bodies insensible of pain, and with a soul that in a manner rejoiced under them.

But what was most of all astonishing to the beholders was the courage of the children; for not one of these children was so far overcome by these torments, as to name Caesar for their lord. So far does the strength of the courage [of the soul] prevail over the weakness of the body.
¹¹⁷

The switching of Titus with Jesus occurs in John 21. The chapter begins with Jesus coming to the Sea of Galilee in the morning, where he “showed” himself to his disciples. The disciples are described as being unable to recognize Jesus from the small boat in which they have spent the night. Jesus instructs them to “cast the net” after which they haul in a “multitude of fish.” Being informed that it is “the Lord,” Simon swims ashore, where he and the disciples eat “bread” and “fish” with Jesus, who then prophesies that Simon will be put to death but that John will be spared.

After these things Jesus showed Himself again to the disciples at the Sea of Tiberias, and in this way He showed Himself:

Simon Peter, Thomas called the Twin, Nathanael of Cana in Galilee, the sons of Zebedee, and two others of His disciples were together.

Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We are going with you also.” They went out and immediately got into the boat, and that night they caught nothing.

But when the morning had now come, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.

Then Jesus said to them, “Children, have you any food?” They answered Him, “No.”

And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast, and now they were not able to draw it in because of the multitude of fish.

Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” Now when Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he was naked), and plunged into the sea.

But the other disciples came in the little boat (for they were not far from land, but about two hundred cubits), dragging the net with fish.

Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread.

Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish which you have just caught.”

Simon Peter went up and dragged the net to land, full of large fish, one hundred and fifty-three; and although there were so many, the net was not broken.

Jesus said to them, “Come and eat breakfast.” Yet none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are You?”—knowing that it was the Lord.

Jesus then came and took the bread and gave it to them, and likewise the fish.

This is now the third time Jesus showed Himself to His disciples after He was raised from the dead.

John 21:1–14

This story of the disciples catching “fish” shares a number of parallels with the passage in
Wars of the Jews
that describes the Romans catching Jews like fish on the Sea of Galilee, which I have discussed previously. In that passage Josephus describes a band of rebels led by a Jesus, the son of Shaphat
.

This Jesus leads a sally against the Romans. In response, Vespasian orders Titus to take a force and counterattack Jesus and his band. Before the battle, Titus delivers the speech in which he describes the coming battle as “my onset.” He then attacks the Jews with his troops and routs them. Some of the Jews, however, escape to their boats on the Sea of Galilee (Josephus describes these boats as “small”), where they spend the night. The next morning, Titus orders his soldiers to construct boats to attack the Jews. In the ensuing sea battle, the Romans catch Jews like fish. Following the battle, Josephus describes the dead bodies of the Jews giving off a terrible stink.
¹¹⁸

The following list is presented for clarification of the parallels between Josephus’ “sea battle” passage and John 21:

• Both passages describe the followers of a “Jesus” who spend the night in a small boat.

• Both passages describe a “catching” that occurs the following morning.

• Each passage occurs on the Sea of Galilee (Tiberias).

•Jesus and Titus share the previously noted collection of parallels in John 21 involving the condemning of “Simon” and the sparing of “John.”

The parallels work to give a typological and satirical meaning to John 21, one that should not be difficult for the reader to see at this point. Indeed, if Jesus were to say to his disciples to “cast a net” and become “fishers of men” in John 21, then the satirical relationship between that passage and Josephus’ description of the sea battle becomes too obvious to overlook. The fact that Jesus makes this prophecy earlier in his ministry, does not make its implications any less clear—particularly in light of the fact that the group that he instructs to “cast a net” in John 21 contains Simon, James, and John, the same individuals he has predicted would “henceforth” become “catchers of men” earlier in his ministry.

Once again, the authors of the New Testament are testing the memory of the reader. Only the reader with a good memory will recall that it is Simon and the “sons of Zeb’edee” whom Jesus has earlier predicted would “henceforth” be “catching men”. And only such a reader will recall that Jesus made this prophecy regarding “catching men” while standing on the very beach where Titus stands as his soldiers catch Jews like fish.

Notice that the author indicates only that the events of John 21 take place “after these things”—that is, after Jesus’ crucifixion. In other words, the events of John 21 could have occurred at any time following the crucifixion and
can
be understood as being contemporaneous with the events of the parallel “fishing” passage from
Wars of the Jews.
With this clever device the authors unify the time frames of the Gospels and
Wars of the Jews
. John 21 is intended to be understood as both an event from the life of a Jewish Messiah circa 30 C.E. and a depiction, albeit satirical, of Titus’ sea battle with the messianic movement’s Galilean fishermen. The passage can be read both as the end of the story of one savior of Israel and the beginning of the story of another.

As with the different Gospels that form the puzzle of the empty tomb, John 21 and the “catching passage” from
Wars of the Jews
are designed to be interactive. And, again, their interaction creates a story different from the benign one that appears on the surface. John 21 interacts with Josephus’ “catching” passage to create a satire indicating that the confused followers of Jesus mistake Titus for the Lord.

The “Jesus” they follow – “Jesus, the son of Shaphat, the principal head of a band of robbers” – is not on the beach because Titus has killed him. Josephus records his death in the passage, stating that: “Titus had slain the authors of this revolt,” clearly indicating Jesus.

Therefore the “Jesus” that the disciples follow no longer exists and they mistake Titus for their Lord—“Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus.” Thus deluded, the disciples then do Titus’ bidding, helping the Romans capture the Jewish rebels swimming in the Sea of Tiberias by “casting their net.” The satire is a perfect synopsis of the real intent of Christianity, which is to “convert” the followers of the Jewish Messiah into followers of Caesar without their knowing it.