Names From Afar

by G.L. Atkinson, Newcastle upon Tyne, England | Category: General | Dec 1989

Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being

Governor of Judea, and Herod being Tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother

Philip Tetrarch of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias Tetrarch of Abilene, in the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of

God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness (Luke 3:1,2).

The progress of the gospel can be seen in the names given in these two verses. They begin with a measurement of time; not our familiar measure of years of grace, but in years of the reign of Tiberius. He was at that time the Caesar of the great Roman empire which then counted as one of its colonies the land which God had given to the Jews through His promise to Abraham. But the Jews had lost it; spiritual values had been lost also; which is why this short passage, having named the priestly hierarchy, tells us that the word of God came not to them, but to John. Their spiritual condition could be described in the same way as John's location - they were in the wilderness.

Tiberius is associated with the gospel in three remarkable ways of testimony. First, because it would be his superscription which was on the Roman coin brought to the Lord in that incident about the tribute money. "Render unto Caesar" meant at that time "render unto Tiberius". Thus he was the means of the Lord's unforgettable distinction between the temporal and the spiritual authority.

Next, this answer itself, given to those who had set out to trap Jesus in

His words, left them confounded and so for the time being He preached unhindered.

Then thirdly there was that historical note referred to above in relation to the start of John's ministry.

Pontius' Pilate has become famous, not to say notorious. His involvement in the gospel story derived from Rome's relationship with the Herodian dynasty.

The elder Herod, so called Herod the Great, had been granted the title King of the Jews by the Roman Senate. He ruled Palestine when our Lord was born and it was to him that the wise men came looking for the Saviour. His reaction was to initiate that great massacre of young children, which has been called the slaughter of the innocents, in which he hoped to kill the Baby Jesus. But this attempt by Herod to stifle the gospel by eliminating the One who was the Word incarnate was just the first of the failures which that sort of opposition has me~ It was Herod who died first. After Herod's death the Romans divided the kingdom into three parts, each governed by one of his three sons with the title of Ethnarch or Tetrarch. One of these sons, Archelaus, was too cruel even for the Romans and he was removed by Caesar Augustus to exile in Gaul. His province of Judea was then governed by the Roman administration through prefects and procurators, of which the fifth was Pontius Pilate. Progress of the gospel? Yes; for though Pilate bears the image of the weak man who yielded to the demands, not to say the blackmail, of the Jewish mob, yet he warrants some credit for those judgements of his which his conscience forced even though his action denied.

On three occasions he indicated that Jesus was innocent. At the end of the trial presumably it would be these findings of Pilate's which were inscribed in the administrative records of Imperial Rome. At the very end he insisted that the title "King of the Jews" should be placed above the cross. And Pilate made another contribution to the certainty of the evidence about the resurrection of the Lord. When asked to secure the tomb with a Roman guard - whose word might have been suspect among the Jews he refused and insisted that they provide their own. The Jewish guard knew the truth and despite bribery the Jewish leaders could not deny it.

Next we read of a Herod, known as Herod Antipas, who was one of the two remaining sons of Herod the Great. He was the ruler of the province of Galilee and he was to play his own notorious part in history. By his shameful conduct he offended John the Baptist, and then put him in prison. Next, in his drunken folly and pride, he killed John. Thus the tongue that had preached repentance and forgiveness, preparing the way for the Lord Himself, was silenced. The one who before his birth had leapt in his mother Elizabeth's womb at the greeting of Mary the mother of Jesus was now killed. The womb had been that of a woman described as righteous before God, walking in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless. Now John's severed head was presented to the daughter of an adulteress.

Herod Antipas also played a part in the crucifixion of the Lord. Pilate sent Jesus to this Herod for examination, but the ruler looked for signs to satisfy his curiosity rather than for things of the spirit. Himself contemptible, he treated Christ with contempt. A mock king by courtesy of a foreign emperor, he mocked the Lord of glory. Perhaps himself needing camouflage for his wicked heart within, he dressed Jesus in gorgeous apparel and returned him to Pilate. He declined to save Christ from the Roman executioner and preferred instead to use Him as a means of gaining friendship with the worldly power. But for all that, he found no case against Jesus, and in that way he added his unwilling testimony to the Lord's innocence.

The third part of Palestine was governed by Philip, another son of Herod. Scripture tells us little about him, yet he is linked with another high point in the gospel story. The chief town in his province was Caesarea Philippi named to recognize him and also to distinguish it from that other Caesarea on the sea coast. This locality seems to have been one of the most northerly places that Jesus visited during His life on earth. If it was an extreme in that sense, it was an extreme in another because it was here that the Lord revealed Himself and His purpose in incarnation to His disciples drawing that proclamation from Simon Peter:

Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mat. 16:16).

Those who would serve God must come to that Caesarea Philippi experience - an experience as distinctive in spiritual terms as at that time it was distinctive geographically.

Next in this verse there is mentioned a Governor of another province, to the North West of Damascus. This is Lysanias, the Tetrarch of Abilene. But does this man, mentioned only once, fit in anywhere into the gospel story? Indirectly, yes, for his leaving of that post opened up a remarkable sequence of events. This was because some years later, in the year AD 37, he was succeeded by Herod Agrippa 1, who was the grandson of the infamous Herod the Great. This Herod Agrippa was also given the territory of his uncle Philip who had died some years earlier. Then in AD 41, when Claudius became Emperor, Herod Agrippa was given the remaining territories in Palestine. He was the king who killed James, the brother of John, and imprisoned Peter. His persecution of the church was ended by God's judgement on his pride and blasphemy (see Acts 12) and he was succeeded by his son, Herod Agrippa 2. It was this Herod Agrippa who examined the apostle Paul at Caesarea when he was held in custody by the Governor Festus. After hearing Paul's remarkable address, Agrippa spoke the memorable words:

With but little persuasion thou wouldest fain make me a Christian

(Acts 26:28).

The great-grandfather had tried to kill the Christ; his son had killed John and had declined to save the Lord; it was only by a miracle that Peter had been saved from death at the hands of the grandson, who had killed James. Yet now the great-grandson listened attentively to Paul, and if he was not persuaded of the gospel, he was certainly persuaded that Paul was innocent of the charges which had been made against him. So in a passive, if not in an active way he gave credibility to the gospel message.

The passage in Luke 3 tells us that Annas and Caiaphas were the high priests. But there should have been only one high priest. As it was, these two had been appointed by the Romans. In fact, Annas, having been appointed was afterwards deposed, but retained the title when he was succeeded by his son-in-law Caiaphas. It seems that in those days, as now in some churches, the hierarchy was more concerned about titles, form and ceremony than about the simple truth. These two priests were to play their part in the crucifixion, for they each in turn examined the Lord and ultimately handed Him over to the Romans. They persuaded the people to answer Pilate's offer of freedom by demanding the release of Barabbas rather than the innocent Jesus.

Then, returning to Luke 3, we read that the word of God came to John the Baptist. What a reproach to the high priests, to the scribes, the Pharisees and the Sadducees; but what progress for the gospel! John was a faithful witness. He told others of how God spoke to him and he identified Jesus. John proclaimed the news:

Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world! (John 1:29).

That began a whole chain of witness, for one of those who heard John's testimony was Andrew. He sought out his brother, Simon Peter, with the good news "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41).

The names are from long ago. But the message of the gospel is the same today:

Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!... We have found the Messiah.

G.L. Atkinson, Newcastle upon Tyne, England | Dec 1989
General