Chaos ruled as the New Testament opened. Everyone missed the calm which passed through their midst. When chaos becomes ordinary, calm seems too out of character to be pleasing. Having Roman control in Jerusalem had an effect on Jewish worship, thereby changing many things from a religious point of view. While the priests, temple, and Sanhedrin functioned almost the same as always, there were major differences. For one, the high priest became a political position, and a distraction. When Herod Archelaus was deposed, Quirinius, the Syrian governor, appointed Annas as high priest. However, the newly appointed prefect Coponius held the vestments of the high priest in his quarters at the Antonia Fortress which was next to the temple. The prefect then held the power of when the high priest could perform his official duties. In addition, the act of capital punishment was given to the prefect and taken from the Sanhedrin (Jn 18:31).

Annas was able to maintain his position as high priest for approximately ten years. Within the next three years, the prefect Valerius Gratus instituted and deposed three high priests before instituting Annas’ son-in-law Caiaphas as high priest who maintained the position for the next eighteen years. Caiaphas was high priest during the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Mt 26:57). Yet Annas still had much power and persuasion on how things went (Lk 3:2) and why he could hold an audience with Jesus even though not being the high priest (Jn 18:13). Because the position of high priest could be bought, this could be why Annas was able to get seven family members to become high priests in future years as well. He and his family had a corner of the market, so to speak. They had money changing stalls on the Mount of Olives to turn pilgrims’ money into temple shekels since that was the only coinage the temple would take. This allowed him to charge high exchange rates. They also had these stations in the temple courtyard as well as stations where people could buy animals for sacrifice rather than carry them great distances when they traveled – again at high prices. This allowed his family to become very rich, very influential, as well as very corrupt. They were also very much disliked by the common people. However, this affluence allowed them to be better known in society circles. While this did not necessarily endear them to the Romans, or vice versa, it allowed them to play the political game to stay in power and maintain their social prestige.

Therefore, many of the Sadducees embraced the Greek, or Hellenized, lifestyle and pandered to the Romans as needed. This kept them aligned with the aristocracy of the day and enabled them to maintain their accustomed status. The Pharisees, on the other hand, liked neither the actions of the Sadducees nor the Romans. They identified more with the common people and were the ones who taught at the synagogues. The Sadducees served only at the temple in Jerusalem and so were somewhat out of touch with the common people. Although the Sadducees outnumbered the Pharisees in the Sanhedrin, the Pharisees spoke for the people, so the Sadducees had to listen to them or suffer the reprisal of the people. It was a delicate balance. The Pharisees brought the ear of the common Jew while the Sadducees brought the ear of Rome to which they were held accountable. Therefore, the Sanhedrin had to find the middle ground that would not be too unfavorable for both sides. Not an easy task.

Therefore, all eyes were diverted from what was really important. The people’s eyes were on Rome and their oppression. The priests’ eyes were on their position and stature, and how to maintain it. The Jewish leaders were trying to preserve their heritage and way of life at the very time the one to whom their heritage and way of life pointed was already in their midst. May we not follow suit but keep our eyes focused on the one who really matters.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens