Assuaging Controversy Over Gibson's New Movie
More Reliance on History, Less on Religious Tradition
2004.02.22 — Controversy over Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ, overlooks the movie's failure to achieve its main goal: shedding inaccurate, faith-biased tradition alien to the first-century Judaic perspective of the movie's main character and incorporating recent discoveries (e.g., the Dead Sea Scrolls) that demand updating our historical perspective.
"The Jews" who shouted for the Romans to execute RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa were, for all intents and purposes, exclusively the Temple-based Sadducees (Hebrew Ma•titᵊyâhꞋu 26.57ff), who were Hellenist Ko•han•eiꞋ hâ-RëshꞋa ("Wicked Priests") collaborators with the Hellenist Roman occupiers. Generalizing from the Temple-based Hellenist Sadducees to "the Jews" is either a logical fallacy or demonstrated miso-Judaism. The pivotal question, the answer to which may salve the controversy, is 'Which Jews were, and weren't, standing with the Temple-based Hellenist Sadducees shouting for the their Hellenist Roman patrons to execute him?'
The late Oxford historian, James Parkes, demonstrated (The Conflict of the Church and the Synagogue, A Study in the Origins of Anti-Semitism) that the antinomian Jesus of Christianity, defined by the fourth century Church, was the antithesis of the first-century Pharisee of the Jewish community, RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa Bën-Dâ•widꞋ. The Christian view of Jesus traces back no earlier than the Roman crushing of the Bar-KokhꞋvâ Rebellion in 135 C.E. It was then, according to Eusebius, that the Romans deposed the 15th and last Jewish leader of RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa's original followers (Pâ•qidꞋ Yᵊhud•âhꞋ ha-Tza•diqꞋ), displacing him with the first gentile "bishop" (Marcus). Correspondingly, the Christianity of Jesus is the antithesis of the first century Judaism taught by RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa. Confusing RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa with his antithesis, Jesus, is self-contradicting.
Beyond Parkes' findings, Dead Sea Scroll (4Q) MMT (Mi•qᵊtz•atꞋ Ma•as•ëh′ ha-Tor•âh′) is recently discovered, hard evidence confirming, in the words of Prof. Ya'aqov Sussman, that, for all three sects of first century Jews, the Jewish Tor•âhꞋ (Pentateuch, interpreted by Jewish religious courts as Oral Law) was "the central factor in Jewish life," which "stood in the center of their spiritual world." MMT clarifies the distinctions between the three main sects of Judaism: the Pᵊrush•imꞋ and two branches of Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ — Hellenist Temple-based and Qum•rânꞋ Os•inꞋ. The Os•inꞋ Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ were legitimate genealogical Jewish priests who had been deposed and exiled from the Temple. The author of MMT was an Os•inꞋ Tzᵊdoq•iꞋ.
How the Hellenist Temple Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ deposed the legitimate Os•inꞋ Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ, Hellenizing the priesthood and Temple, and how they were then regarded by the other two sects, requires some background history that precedes the story of KhaꞋnukh•âh. Before the Maccabees rebelled against the Syrian occupiers of Judea, the Hellenization of the Temple and priesthood had already propelled the Temple Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ into ascendancy and dispersed the legitimate, Os•inꞋ, Temple priests, primarily to Qum•rânꞋ.
Hellenization of the Temple and priesthood began with two brothers, one of whom was the Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ. About B.C.E. 175, Antiochus IV Epiphanes sought to secure control over Yᵊhud•âhꞋ by imposing Hellenism — the antithesis of Judaism. KhonꞋyo (Yᵊkhon•yâhꞋ) Bën-Shim•onꞋ (2) Bën-Tzâ•doqꞋ ("Onias III") and his brother, Yᵊho•shuꞋa ("Jason") Bën-Shim•onꞋ 2 Bën-Tza•doqꞋ were Bᵊn•ei′ Tzâ•doqꞋ, Biblically legitimate Jewish Ko•han•imꞋ.
KhonꞋyo was a pious Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ, but his brother, Yᵊho•shuꞋa ("Jason"), was a zealous Hellenist.
Yᵊho•shuꞋa ("Jason") went to king Antiochus, promising to impose Hellenism and paying a substantial price to remove his brother, KhonꞋyo, as Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ and install himself Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ instead.
Consequently, KhonꞋyo was the last Scripturally legitimate Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ in Jewish history while his Hellenist brother began the Hellenist apostasy.
Yᵊho•shuꞋa ("Jason") then replaced the legitimate Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ priests with Hellenist Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ, becoming the first Hellenist — apostate — Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ and banishing the legitimate Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ priests from the Temple (some of whom retired to Qum•rânꞋ). Soon, another Hellenist Tzᵊdoq•iꞋ non-priest, not even genealogically qualified, bribed King Antiochus and replaced Yᵊho•shuꞋa ("Jason") as Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ. The priesthood deteriorated from there and the KhaꞋnukh•âh story begins soon after. Even the Maccabees didn't satisfy the Scriptural requirements for the office of Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ. Finally, the Hellenist Romans took over the practice of selling the priestly offices to the Hellenist Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ.
The Hellenist Temple-based Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ were an elitist and aristocratic sect of Roman-appointed, and backed, Hellenists; Jews who, at the pleasure of the Roman occupiers, controlled the Temple and Office of Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ. Purchasing their priestly positions, including the office of the Ko•heinꞋ ha-Jâ•dolꞋ, from the Hellenist Romans, these Hellenists were often genealogically unqualified, Scripturally illegitimate, false 'priests.' By the time of RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa, "the Jews" abhorred the Hellenist Temple Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ, regarding them as religiously apostate traitors polluting (Hellenizing) the Temple — labeling them Ko•han•eiꞋ hâ-RëshꞋa ("Wicked Priests").
It was these apostate Hellenist "Wicked Priests," the wealthy aristocracy of Hellenist Jews and, specifically, their Hellenist Roman-occupier patrons who crucified RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa. This was, in no small measure, in fear of "King" (officially "Tetrarch") Herod, who feared RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa, as a royal descendant of Dâ•widꞋ ha-MëlꞋëkh, being a genealogically superior claim to the throne, was a serious threat to Herod's claim of being "King of the Jews" like his grandfather (Herod the Great). And so it was published on a plaque above RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa's head when he was crucified.
To be historically accurate, Mr. Gibson's movie must move the audience to sympathize with "the Jews," who loathed the illegitimate Tzᵊdoq•imꞋ false-priest apostates who conspired with their Roman backers to execute RibꞋi Yᵊho•shuꞋa.
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