BiAS 7 – The Bible and Politics in Africa
had been upheld by the prophets and re-enacted by such reformers like
Nehemiah (Neh 5:1-11).^24
What remained clear also to Galilean Jews was the fact that Antipas
could be ruthless as had been displayed in his beheading of John the
Baptist and this was a clear message that no one could hide forever from
him. The manner in which Jesus refrained from open confrontation
with him shows how he could have avoided a similar fate. Even though
Jesus appears to have avoided him, his activities from a Roman point of
view posed an internal security problem. His choice of disciples also
could have added to him being seen as a real threat. Apart from the
known Simon the Zealot or ‘Simon the Patriot’ he had Judas son of
Simon the Iscariot and the term Iscariot is believed to be a cognate with
the Greek word sikarios meaning ‘a dagger-wielding assassin.’ Added to
these were James and John Boanerges which meant ‘sons of thunder.’^25
With the help of their own intelligence, the Romans could have actually
followed Jesus closely so as to know their target and a hypothetical ‘Jesus
File’ they possibly opened gave a detailed account of him as they saw
him and which eventually led to him being crucified.
Not all Jews, however, resented Antipas’ reign. The religious establish-
ment among the Jews had far to benefit from the system and this ex-
plains why they were not comfortable with Jesus’ challenging of the
status quo. Jesus’ opponents therefore were not only from the Herodian
elite but also from the leading religious elements. Freyne makes an
equally good observation when he notes: “The role of a popular
healer/exorcist/teacher authority was inevitably viewed with suspicion,
especially in a climate in which religious authority was highly structured,
exclusively patriarchal and centralized.”^26
Jesus’ battle with opponents, it appears, was not just limited to the
struggle with human forces but was a battle also with the Prince of the
Dark World, Satan. The moment, however, when one thinks of a proof
for the reality of Satan, then dawns the realization that one is walking on
troubled waters. Even though there is the mention of the name Satan in
many passages of the Old and New Testaments, no full and clear ac-
count of him is given in any one place. How too he came into existence
(^24) Cf. S. Freyne, ‘Galilean Questions to Crossan’s Mediterranean Jesus’, 80.
(^25) Cf. R.M. Sheldon, Spies of the Bible: espionage in Israel from the Exodus to the Bar Kokhba
Revolt, London: Greenhill Books, 2007, 154
(^26) Freyne, ‘Galilean Questions to Crossan’s Mediterranean Jesus’, 89.