Thepfulhouvi Solo
With miraculous cures for all kinds of human ailments without discrimination of the Gentiles from the Jew, the poor from the rich and the helpless from the powerful Jesus attracted the masses. The magnanimity of his dealings, the graciousness of his teachings and the authority in his messages in refreshing contrast to the gray monotony of the traditional religious Teachers inspired the people. Jesus inspired his hearers. The common man in the street and the simple villagers took him to be a great Prophet and upright man like Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, perhaps also Gamaliel -regarded as the flower of the Jews- knew the truth in Jesus; even some Pharisees had goodwill enough towards him as to invite him to Dinner.
The trouble was: High Priest Annanias with his coterie of enthralled sycophants, agents of Herod and a section of fanatically conservative Pharisees held the centre of power at Jerusalem in the Roman Satrap of Syria and managed the vehicle of the public opinion. These leaders were uncomfortable with Jesus, not only for his enlightened and enlarged ideas of God and Man but also for his popularity with the masses. “Why do you follow him; Look! None of us Leaders follow him?” they said to the people. They looked down on Jesus for his lack of theological training, called him the ‘son of the Carpenter’ and questioned his authority to preach the religion. But they could nowhere near match the depth his religious ideas or the wisdom of his arguments.
They carefully planned debates with him on tricky religious issues to expose his supposed irrelevance but Jesus not only answered them with alacrity but also raised questions, which exposed their theological inadequacies. After several plans went wrong to their great embarrassment, they were afraid to take him on debate in public and sought ways and means to harm him. They made a plan to entangle him publicly in the complicated mix of Politics and Religion of Palestine at the time.
Everywhere, the Ruler love and the Ruled hate Tax; the Jews were no exception. The Jews at the time of Jesus were living under the Roman Emperor with his vast Empire extending from Europe to Asia, -Gaul to almost Ganga. They hated Roman Tax. Except a semblance of law and order violently enforced and a stingy measure of Security, Herod and his masters the Romans provided none of the many other public Services a valid Government is supposed to provide.
The stiff-necked nationalistic Jews hated payment of the Roman Tax. Tax was in those days collected in a dictatorial manner more akin to authorized extortion than through democratic legislation of today. Jesus lived in such a time.
Tax collection private or Governmental, anywhere in the world, is legitimate only when equivalent public Services are rendered, otherwise without Services rendered to the public not even a Government has any Right, legal or moral to tax, all other taxations on the public are -to euphemistically describe them- ‘illegal Tax Farming’
At the time of Jesus, any person who considers he is somebody in any of the many Satraps of the vast Empire offering a higher amount of Tax to the Emperor at Rome may get empowered to collect the Tax. The Authority to collect Tax was thus a purchasable commodity. Not unlike in Nagaland today people ‘farmed Tax’ rather than ‘levied Tax’. The ‘Mahajan of the whole affair’ would collect as much as he could, which he did with zeal unbidden and all the left-over after the Emperor is paid, goes to his own bag of many pockets. The annual Tax of the district of Judea could, it is said to be as high as 250, 00, 000/- in today’s Currency.
Herod had uncanny foresight to support the wining side of the contending Roman leaders; and ultimately the Caesar recognized him ‘King of the Jews’. Herod heavily taxed Judea and gave lavish Gifts to the Emperor; to please the Romans, he even bore all the expenses of the Olympic in 7 B.C. At that time Olympic was not only a Sporting event alone, it was also a serious affair of propagating the Roman Culture which included the glorification of Roman gods and Deities. Therefore the monotheistic Jews did not look kindly to any Jew participating the Olympic, any Jew partaking the Olympic is a despicable renegade to his fellow nationalistic Jews. The Jews hated payment of the Roman Tax, no wonder the public viewed even the Employees -honest and truthful as Zachia and Mathew were- with suspicion and hatred.
When old Herod died, on the very evening of his funeral the Jews came to his eldest surviving son Archelus asking for a decrease in the Tax. Archelus promised he would favorably consider their case as soon as he is confirmed “King”. [The story of a Nobleman Jesus mentioned in Lk.19: 12 &14 seems to strongly suggest refers to Archelus: “A nobleman went into a far country to receive kingly power and then return.....But his citizens hated him and sent an embassy after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us”] He then proceeded to Rome to make the claim. Not very surprisingly his two other brothers from different Mothers also came to Rome to claim -with the active support of their enthusiastic wife- their tittles. In the mean time the High Priest also came to Rome at the Head of a delegation of the public to recommend Rome’s direct control of Judea in place of Herod’s sons. Jesus lived at such a time.
Scheming to entrap him with his own words, the Chief Priests, Herodians, Pharisees and the Scribes came to Jesus and said: “Teacher, we know that you speak and teach rightly, and show no partiality, but truly teach the way of God. Is it lawful for us to give tribute to Caesar, or not”. If Jesus says: “Yes”, it would be good tiding of great joy to Herod and the Romans masters but that would attract Jewish assassins; if he says “No”, the Jews would dance with abandoned joy but that would invite the ire of cruel Pilat and Herod. Jesus perceived the intension of the questioners and showing the impressed figure of the head of Caesar on a dinarius coin of the time, advised them to “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are of Caesar’s, and to God the things that are of God’s”.
It was no extra ordinary of Jesus in this case to perceive the intension of his adversary; every Leader of today would do the same. A story is told of how during the World War II Britain wanted to know Hitler has any immediate plan to invade the United Kingdom. Britain posed the problem to its Ambassador in Germany. The Ambassador sought audience with Hitler and knowing Hitler does not like smoking, intentionally lit a cigar and blew the smoke casually into the air during the discussion, all the time looking for signs of the Fuhrer’s reactions. Hitler did not say anything and the Ambassador read this as Hitler having no immediate plan of invading the Island. The ability to read the intension of others is of great value in a leader.
The topic under discussion here however is not about intelligent deduction of the intentions of people; it is not about the ability to read the intention of people from their ‘Body Language’. Today Scientist know specific areas of the human brain from where originate specific human emotions like Happiness, Fear or Sorrow etc and project them in Computer screen to read them, in 2006 Scientists would be able to produce Map of the human Brain that indicates a propensity for Violence or Music or Artistic ability etc and etc. Experts today can read anger in the angle of the inner corner of the eye from the fake ‘smile of the lips and mouth’. It is said there are 10,000 facial expressions in the humans, some 3000 impossible to fake, graphologist can read moral weakness, dishonesty, violent traits, age, graciousness etc in a ‘Hand Writing’ without ever seeing the man; however no human can read why and what a man is thinking in the deepest recesses of his mind.
Jesus had not met Nathaniel before but when Philip introduced him, Jesus commented on him. Surprised, Nathaniel asked: “How do you know me?” Jesus said: “before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree”. Jesus would occasionally act in relevance to the Apostle’s “thoughts in your heart” [People in those days thought Man thinks with the Heart] The Disciples were at first surprised, slowly it dawned on them that Jesus could read the thoughts in Man and it strengthened their emerging faith in him.
One day some people brought a paralytic but because of the crowd could not bring him near Jesus sitting inside a house. They therefore temporarily broke opened the roof and dropped the paralytic into the room where was Jesus. Perhaps they were a little apprehensive of Jesus not approving their extra ordinary audacious invasion of his privacy. But Jesus on seeing their faith encouraged them and said: “Take hear, my son; your sins are forgiven”. Some Pharisees were also there quietly; they were thinking Jesus has blasphemed for no one except God can forgive man’s sin but they did not say anything. Suddenly Jesus said: “Why do you think evil in your hears? For which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk?”. Jesus purposely said: “your sins are forgive” to show he has as the Son of God, the power to forgive sin. Jesus could see the thinking in the human mind.
On the night of his arrest, Judas of Iscarioth sitting near was planning to betray Jesus while they were having the dinner. Jesus saw all the things that were going in the mind of Judas but the other Apostles did not know what Judas was thinking about. Jesus said to Judas: “What you are going to do, do quickly” but the other disciples did not at the time know what Jesus was asking Judas to do; afterwards they realized what the message was. During their three years association with Jesus they often thought things contrary to the Gospel of Jesus but were afraid to tell Jesus. However through many personal experiences they came to know Jesus knew what was in their minds. At first it was simply an embarrassing moment but later it unshakably bound their faith on Jesus. All the Gospel writers testified it; the apostle John lived longest and died last and John testified: “Jesus knew what went in Man”
