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| The High Priests of the Jews under whom Christ taught.
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Chapter
X.—The High Priests of the Jews under
whom Christ taught.
1. It
was in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius,172
| 172 Luke iii. 1. Eusebius reckons
the fifteenth year of Tiberius from 14 a.d.,
that is, from the time when he became sole emperor. There is a
difference of opinion among commentators as to whether Luke began to
reckon from the colleagueship of Tiberius (11 or 12 a.d.), or from the beginning of his reign as sole emperor.
Either mode of reckoning is allowable, but as Luke says that Christ
“began to be about thirty years of age” at this time, and
as he was born probably about 4 b.c., the
former seems to have been Luke’s mode. Compare Andrew’s
Life of our Lord, p. 28. | according to the evangelist, and in the
fourth year of the governorship of Pontius Pilate,173
| 173 Luke says simply, “while Pontius Pilate was governor of
Judea,” and does not mention the year, as Eusebius
does. | while Herod and Lysanias and Philip were
ruling the rest of Judea,174
| 174 See
the previous chapter. | that our Saviour
and Lord, Jesus the Christ of God, being about thirty years of age,175
| 175 Eusebius’ reckoning would make Christ’s birthday
synchronize with the beginning of our Christian era, which is at least
three years out of the way. | came to John for baptism and began the
promulgation of the Gospel.
2. The Divine Scripture says,
moreover, that he passed the entire time of his ministry under the high
priests Annas and Caiaphas,176
| 176 Luke iii. 2 compared with John
xi. 49 and 51, and xviii. 13.
Stroth remarks:
“Had I not feared acting contrary to the duty of a translator, I
should gladly, for the sake of Eusebius’ honor, have left out
this entire chapter, which is full of historical inaccuracies and
contradictions. Eusebius deduces from Josephus himself that the
Procurator Gratus, whom Pilate succeeded, appointed Caiaphas high
priest. Therefore Caiaphas became high priest before the twelfth year
of Tiberius, for in that year Pilate became procurator. In the
fifteenth year of Tiberius, Christ began his work when Caiaphas had
already been high priest three years and according to the false account
of our author he became high priest for the first time in the
nineteenth year of Tiberius. The whole structure of this chapter,
therefore, falls to the ground. It is almost inconceivable how so
prudent a man could have committed so great a mistake of the same sort
as that which he had denounced a little before in connection with the
Acts of Pilate.”
The whole confusion is
due to Eusebius’ mistaken interpretation of the Gospel account,
which he gives in this sentence. It is now universally assumed that
Annas is named by the evangelists as ex-high-priest, but Eusebius, not
understanding this, supposed that a part of Christ’s ministry
must have fallen during the active administration of Annas, a part
during that of Caiaphas, and therefore his ministry must have run from
the one to the other, embracing the intermediate administrations of
Ishmael, Eleazer, and Simon, and covering less than four years. In
order to make this out he interprets the “not long after”
in connection with Ishmael as meaning “one year,” which is
incorrect, as shown below in note 9. How Eusebius could have overlooked
the plain fact that all this occurred under Valerius Gratus instead of
Pilate, and therefore many years too early (when he himself states the
fact), is almost incomprehensible. Absorbed in making out his
interpretation, he must have thoughtlessly confounded the names of
Gratus and Pilate while reading the account. He cannot have acted
knowingly, with the intention to deceive, for he must have seen that
anybody reading his account would discover the glaring discrepancy at
once. | showing that in
the time which belonged to the priesthood of those two men the whole period
of his teaching was completed. Since he began his work during the high
priesthood of Annas and taught until Caiaphas held the office, the
entire time does not comprise quite four years.
3. For the rites of the law
having been already abolished since that time, the customary usages in
connection with the worship of God, according to which the high priest
acquired his office by hereditary descent and held it for life, were
also annulled and there were appointed to the high priesthood by the
Roman governors now one and now another person who continued in office
not more than one year.177
| 177 It
is true that under the Roman governors the high priests were frequently
changed (cf. above, chap. 6, note 19), but there was no regularly
prescribed interval, and some continued in office for many years; for
instance, Caiaphas was high priest for more than ten years, during the
whole of Pilate’s administration, having been appointed by
Valerius Gratus, Pilate’s predecessor, and his successor being
appointed by the Proconsul Vitellius in 37 a.d. (vid. Josephus, Ant. XVIII. 2. 2 and 4.
3). |
4. Josephus relates that there
were four high priests in succession from Annas to Caiaphas. Thus in
the same book of the Antiquities178
| 178 Josephus, Ant. XVIII. 2.2. | he writes
as follows: “Valerius Gratus179
| 179 This
Valerius Gratus was made procurator by Tiberius, soon after his
accession, and ruled about eleven years, when he was succeeded by
Pilate in 26 a.d. | having put an
end to the priesthood of Ananus180
| 180 Ananus (or Annas) was appointed high priest by Quirinius, governor
of Syria, in 6 or 7 a.d. (Josephus,
Ant. XVIII. 2. 1), and remained in office until a.d. 14 or 15, when he was deposed by Valerius Gratus
(ib. §2). This forms another instance, therefore, of a term
of office more than one year in length. Annas is a familiar personage
from his connection with the Gospel history; but the exact position
which he occupied during Christ’s ministry is difficult to
determine (cf. Wieseler’s Chronology of the Life of
Christ). | appoints Ishmael,181
| 181 Either this Ishmael must have held the office eight or ten years,
or else Caiaphas that long before Pilate’s time, for otherwise
Gratus’ period is not filled up. Josephus’ statement is
indefinite in regard to Ishmael, and Eusebius is wrong in confining his
term of office to one year. | the son of Fabi, high priest. And having
removed him after a little he appoints Eleazer,182
| 182 According to Josephus, Ant. XX. 9. 1, five of the sons of
Annas became high priests. |
the son of Ananus the high priest, to the same office. And having
removed him also at the end of a year he gives the high priesthood to
Simon,183
| 183 This Simon is an otherwise unknown personage. | the son of Camithus. But he likewise
held the honor no more than a year, when Josephus, called also
Caiaphas,184
| 184 Joseph Caiaphas, son-in-law of Annas, is well known from his
connection with the Gospel history. | succeeded him.” Accordingly
the whole time of our Saviour’s ministry is shown to have been
not quite four full years, four high priests, from Annas to the
accession of Caiaphas, having held office a year each. The Gospel
therefore has rightly indicated Caiaphas as the high priest under whom
the Saviour suffered. From which also we can see that the time of our
Saviour’s ministry does not disagree with the foregoing
investigation.
5. Our Saviour and Lord, not
long after the beginning of his ministry, called the twelve apostles,185
and these alone of all his disciples he
named apostles, as an especial honor. And again he appointed seventy
others whom he sent out two by two before his face into every place and
city whither he himself was about to come.186
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