Caiaphas

 

  Hello friends! Here we have evidence of Caiphas, the man who delivered our Lord Jesus Christ to the Romans to be crucified. (Credit at the bottom of the article :D)  Match this evidence with the Pontius Pilate evidence :) 
Matthew 26:3

Then assembled together the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas,

Matthew 26:57

And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

Luke 3:2

Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness.

John 11:49

And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all,

John 18:13

And led him away to Annas first; for he was father in law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.

John 18:14

Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

John 18:24

Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas the high priest.

John 18:28

Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover.

Acts 4:6 

And Annas the high priest, and Caiaphas, and John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the kindred of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

Praise The Lord JESUS CHRIST!!!

Tomb May Hold the Bones Of Priest Who Judged Jesus 

By MICHAEL SPECTER 
Published: August 14, 1992 

Israeli archeologists have discovered the family tomb of Caiaphas, the Jewish High Priest who presided at the trial of Jesus and delivered Him to the Romans to be crucified. 
Buried in an ancient cave on the outskirts of Jerusalem, the family's bones were sealed in ornate and elaborately carved ossuaries, ceremonial boxes used widely by the Jews of the late first century. 

Archeologists say no comparable evidence exists for the remains of any other such major figure mentioned in the New Testament. And after 2,000 years, the presence of Caiaphas's bones in the tomb cannot be finally verified either. But the age of the bones, the inscriptions on the ossuaries and the artifacts that surrounded them all point directly toward his influential family.

One of history's most reviled and enigmatic men, Caiaphas has often been portrayed by historians as malevolent, mad for power and blindly eager to please Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor. The Gospel describes Caiaphas's condemnation of Jesus in John 11:49-50: "Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish not." 

Like many such discoveries, this one came by accident, when workers widening a road in Jerusalem's Peace Forest in 1990 stumbled across an unusually large burial site. Researchers' Assurance 
Although it has been nearly two years since the site was uncovered, researchers have taken until now to assure themselves through the writing on the walls of the tomb and artifacts found with the bones that the remains were indeed those of the priestly family. 

"I can hardly imagine a more significant discovery from that period," said Bruce Chilton, a professor of religion at Bard College and an expert on early Christianity and Judaism who has written widely on Caiaphas. "The type of writing, the method of burial, the names used, their location -- all those things will bring to light important historical information about the era in which Jesus lived. Such a pristine site is incredibly rare. We are so lucky." 

The burial cave was in excellent condition, according to Zvi Greenhut, Jerusalem's chief archeologist, who began excavating the ruin within hours of its discovery. His article describing the contents of the cave, along with one by Ronny Reich of the Israeli Antiquities Authority discussing the significance of the Aramaic writing, will appear next week in the September-October issue of The Biblical Archeology Review. 12 Boxes in Cave

Twelve such ossuaries, limestone boxes in which the bones of the dead were often stored, were discovered in the cave, which had a pit in the floor making it just tall enough for mourners to stand in. As was the custom of the time, the bodies were almost certainly first laid out in a niche of a burial cave. After the flesh had decomposed, the bones were gathered and placed in the ossuary, possibly to await resurrection, Mr. Greenhut and others say. 

Many boxes had been broken and their contents ransacked, ancient evidence, it appears, of grave robbers. But others seemed untouched and one in particular stood out in splendor. It was decorated with a rare, intricate pattern of rosettes and carried the inscription "Joseph, son of Caiaphas." Joseph was the nickname of the Jewish High Priest now known as Caiaphas, who ruled in Jerusalem from A.D. 18 to 36. Inside this uniquely elaborate ossuary were the bones of a 60-year-old man.

"The writing on the side is the equivalent of his nickname," Mr. Reich said in an interview. He noted that the Aramaic writing on the wall and the ossuaries was the language used by working-class people of the time, cemetery workers, for example.

The New Testament provides the name Caiaphas only in Greek, but Flavius Josephus gives his full name as "Joseph who was called Caiaphas of the high priesthood." Josephus, the first-century Jewish historian, provides the only contemporary mention of Caiaphas outside the Talmud and the New Testament.

The writing on the ossuary is also the first contemporary evidence of the name in a Semitic language.

There is further evidence to place the burial site as first century: A bronze coin minted in A.D. 43, during the reign of Herod Agrippa I, was found in one of the ossuaries. It is the first known example of that pagan custom practiced at a Jewish burial site.

Caiaphas was one of the most important High Priests of Israel, largely, historians argue, because of his unusually close relationship with Pontius Pilate. It was during Caiaphas's reign, the Talmud says, that the Jewish high court, the Sanhedrin, was removed from the Temple Mount, thus weakening its power. And it was Caiaphas, according to the Gospels, who encouraged money changers and the sellers of animals to enter the main court of the Temple, strengthening his control of trade. 2,000 Years of Debate

Academic debates about Caiaphas's purpose or role in condemning Jesus and his desire to please the Romans have raged for nearly 2,000 years. Some historians contend that he played only a minor historical role; others, supported largely by the Gospels, suggest that without the decision by Caiaphas, Jesus would surely have lived.

In the Gospels, Jesus' expulsion of the vendors and money lenders from the temple is a central event: "It is written, My house shall be the house of prayer," Jesus is quoted as saying in Matthew 21:13. "But ye have made it a den of thieves."

This may have provided the crucial conflict between him and Caiaphas.

The denunciation of Jesus by Caiaphas may have been enough by itself to seal Jesus' fate, according to Mr. Chilton and others.

Although it was Pilate who put Jesus to death -- and crucifixion was a uniquely Roman punishment -- many historians have directed the blame toward Caiaphas, arguing in effect that the High Priest was well enough liked in Jerusalem to successfully protect Jesus from death.

"Caiaphas surely disliked Jesus," said David Flusser, a professor of religion at Hebrew University who specializes in the study of early Christianity. "He saw in Jesus a danger for the Romans, for the Jews and for his rule. I don't think it's hard to see why he did what he did. Perhaps it was not one of the noblest acts of history, but certainly it was understandable.

"Like many others, he was a man who by violence and condemnation retained his power." 

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/1992/08/14/world/tomb-may-hold-the-bones-of-priest-who-judged-jesus.html