Good morning. This is Hannah Batyoel from Inside Jerusalem, reporting on a breaking story that began late yesterday afternoon when two Galileans were arrested for creating a disturbance in the temple precincts. But first, a backgrounder from our religion correspondent, Shlomo Yehudi.
Good morning, Hannah. Temple guards have been doubly alert ever since the near riot on the feast of Sukkoth two weeks ago. At that time some of the followers of the Galilean rabbi Yeshua bar Joseph, who as you recall was crucified for treason at Passover, stirred up a crowd of pilgrims by claiming that Yeshua had risen from the dead, and that the Day of the Lord spoken of by the prophet Joel had come. It was the first anyone had heard of the group since the execution; officials had assumed that they had disappeared on their leader’s death. The crowd was dispersed without any violence or bloodshed, however, although some amazing rumors have been circulating among those who were present.
Opponents of the priestly regime say that the man Simon bar Jonah, also called Peter, proclaimed the crucified Yeshua to be the Messiah and accused the authorities of murdering him. When asked why the men were not arrested for blasphemy or sedition, highly placed sources insist that there is no credibility to the reports, as witnesses claim to have heard these Galileans speak in every known language from Latin to Egyptian, and it is widely known that aside from a few words of Greek they speak only Aramaic. Temple spokesmen also maintain that they are not concerned about a resurgence of the movement.
The high priest, Caiaphas, declined to be interviewed for this program. However, I did manage to get a few words from one of the Galileans, Thomas Didymus, on the way to temple prayers yesterday morning. He confirmed that they do indeed believe that Yeshua is the promised one, that he appeared alive to his followers several times after the crucifixion, and that it is only a matter of time before the Day of Judgment. When pressed for more detail, he told me that I should repent, be baptized, and come join their group! Thomas claims that there are already thou-sands of believers, although he was vague about where one could find them, and wasn’t any more forthcoming with details of their plans and organization.
And that, Hannah, is where we were yesterday at the 9th hour, when the Yeshuites’ leader Peter and another man, John, arrived at evening prayers only to be stopped at the Beautiful Gate by old Shmuli Zimyu. Now Shmuli, as you probably know, has been lame from birth, but he makes a pretty good living off of the generosity of worshipers. So he made his usual pitch. But instead of tossing him a mina or two, Peter stopped and spoke to him. Here is an eyewitness account from Nathan ben Zachar who was just behind them on the stairs. Tell us what happened, Nathan.
“I can still hardly believe it, I’ve never seen such a thing! Peter looked straight at Shmuli and said, 'Look at us!' And when he did, expecting to get a nice donation, Peter went on to say 'I have no coin, but what I do have I give you; in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, stand up and walk.' [Acts 3:6] And he took Shmuli by the hand and raised him up and Shmuli walked! I saw it with my own eyes! And then Shmuli jumped into the air and cried out with a loud voice, 'Praise God! I can walk! Praise God!' and he turned around, grabbed Peter and John by the hands, and practically danced into the temple, singing hallelujahs the whole time. I lost sight of them then, because all the people who had seen what I had seen were milling around, grabbing each other and marveling at what we’d seen. What? Can there be any doubt? Are you kidding? Shmuli’s been there practically since Herod finished building the temple. He can’t even stand up - I mean, he couldn’t even stand up. He had these little twisted twigs for legs and feet and now there just as whole as yours or mine. I tell you, I saw it with my own eyes!”
Hannah, everyone tells the same story. Not one of the people who were there expressed any doubt that they had seen a real miracle, on the same order of the ones reported to have been done by Yeshua himself. And when Peter came out of the temple, he spoke to the crowds, telling them that it was the name of Yeshua who had healed Shmuli, and repeated his indictment of the temple authorities for having murdered a prophet of God. What’s that? Hannah, I stand corrected. Nathan says that Peter did not call Yeshua a prophet, but said that he was the one about whom the prophets spoke, the Holy and Righteous One, the Prince of Life, the Messiah.
That’s when the priests showed up with the temple guards and took Peter and John and Shmuli into custody. By the time I arrived on the scene, the crowds had largely dispersed, but those few who remained said that there would have been another riot except that some other Yeshuites were also present and talked the crowd down. Apparently quite a large number, perhaps as many as a thousand or more, were baptized on the spot and went off quite meekly to their homes.
But now we are waiting word of the Sanhedrin’s decision. The courtyard is packed with witnesses of yesterday’s events. The council chamber is standing room only; I wouldn’t be surprised if every person in Jerusalem who can claim priestly descent has shown up for the event. Whether Peter and John are going to get a fair hearing under these circumstances remains to be seen, although what they can be charged with isn’t clear; after all it wasn’t the Sabbath! And with Shmuli Zimyu right there with them, and the house surrounded, I can’t see that they will be able to make more than few threats. The authorities will probably do what they did with Yeshua himself, that is, wait for the crowds to disperse and the excitement to die down, and then round them up secretly, beat them for disturbing the peace, and run them out of town.
They’re coming out now! Peter, John, I’m Shlomo Yehudi from Inside Jerusalem - What was the verdict? They forbade you to heal in Yeshua’s name or indeed to speak of Yeshua to anyone. How is this gag order going to impact your organization? What will you do? Ignore it? But - isn’t that dangerous? Yes, I see, I suppose you’re right - it is much more dangerous to disobey God. But - of course you need to report back to your followers, I understand they were worried but Peter, -
Hannah, that’s all we’re able to get at this time.
Thank you, Shlomo. Now, here in the studio, some on-the-spot analysis from our experts. Rabbi Amoz, what are the implications of this event?
Well, Hannah, of the healing and trial itself, not much. We’ve seen miraculous healings before, and everybody knows that Caiaphas bends with every wind that blows. What’s more significant is the claims these men are making. Shlomo did not include this in his set-up piece, but these Yeshuans or Yeshuites or whatever they’re calling themselves these days claim that Yeshua bar Joseph is the Messiah, indeed that his is the only name by whom people can be saved. Now, this is a quite unprecedented announcement - and one diametrically opposed to what the Sadducees, that is the priests, teach. If this extraordinary claim is true, all their religious authority, their whole claim to legitimacy, will be wiped out. As you know, the Sadducees teach that the Messianic age began a century and a half ago with the Maccabees, and that the Messiah isn’t a person but a religious ideal. If the Messiah is a person, and moreover one who has risen from the dead, all of their teaching against newfangled notions like angels and resurrection is false and they lose. They can’t afford it. One way or another, they’ll shut this new movement down.
But, Rabbi, they haven’t been able to stop it yet; in fact, the movement seems to be gaining strength. What will they do next?
The next step, Hannah, will probably be to label the Yeshuites as dangerous and despicable blasphemers. After a few of their number have been beaten and jailed, and one or two of their leaders stoned, they’ll probably disperse back to their villages again, and fade away into history just like all the other Messianic movements have done. Af-ter all, these are uneducated, unsophisticated people. They don’t have the political skills or organization in place to mount a sustained challenge to the establishment. No, I don’t see any future for them. In a way, it’s a pity. They seem to be completely non-violent, very devout, and from all reports are committed to helping the poor, which God knows we need. The number of homeless and hungry in Jerusalem has been drastically reduced in the last couple of months, and according to a couple of my students who monitor these things, it’s largely due to their efforts. Apparently they share all their property.
Why, Rabbi! It sounds as though you secretly admire them!
It’s hard not to. If only their story were just a little more believable... although it is true that when you start investigating his life, Yeshua seems to fit a lot of the prophecies. And all the priests would have to do to refute the claims that he was resurrected would be to produce the body, and they haven’t been able to do it. It does make one wonder... But no. It can’t be. They’ll be gone in a year or two.
And that’s the story this morning on Inside Jerusalem, from Hannah Batyoel. Thank you for tuning in.
