John M. Fray, Webmaster
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MOST SCHOLARS OF
BIBLE HISTORY PUT
FORTH THE DATE
OF APRIL 3, AD 33,
FOR THE CRUCIFIXION.

The fact that Good Friday
falls on April 3 this year
inspires another aspect
of reflection on the
observances.














REFLECTING A BIT ON
THE BIBLICAL FIGURE
"JAMES THE JUST"


Wikipedia has a scholarly page on "James the Just" who is also referred to by some as "James, Brother of Jesus." He is not to be confused with "James the Great" who was the son of Zebedee. James the Just was the head of the church of Jerusalem. He was martyred, killed at the behest of the Scribes and Pharisees. The year of his death is in dispute. It is said to have occurred either in the year AD 62 or the year AD 69. Of course, the Romans proceeded to destroy Jerusalem in the year AD 70. In the Catholic Church, the Feast Day of James the Just is May 1.














THIS YEAR, PASSOVER IS FROM
SUNDOWN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 1,
THROUGH SUNDOWN, THURSDAY
APRIL 9.
























THE SECOND TEMPLE STOOD
FROM 516 BC TO AD 70.

The temple underwent
significant expansion
under King Herod before
Jesus was born. Jesus said,
"Destroy this temple, and in
three days I will raise it up."
The Pharisees and some others
scoffed at Jesus's statement.
They did not realize He was
speaking of His Own Body,
not the stone structure.


















PILATE AND HEROD ANTIPAS
BECAME "FRIENDS" DURING
THE TRIAL OF JESUS.

Herod's wife had a dream
about Jesus and was afraid.
Herod was enabled by
"couldn't care less" Pilate,
who was good with ordering
the execution, despite little
evidence of wrongdoing.




















THE "CLIENT STATE"
KINGS INCLUDED
HEROD THE GREAT, HIS
SON, HEROD ANTIPAS,
AND THE LATTER'S SON,
HEROD AGRIPPA.

Simultaneous with the kings,
Rome would put in a Prefect
or Procurator to govern
Roman Judea, the locale
of Jerusalem. The areas to
the north (Galilee, Samaria,
etc.) were in a gray area for
the purposes of jurisdiction.
Pilate was a Prefect (emphasis
on military command).
His successors, Marcellus
and Marullus, were more
in the vein of Procurators
(administrators). Because
Jesus was mostly active
in Galilee, but raised Cain
in the Jerusalem temple,
both Pilate and Antipas had
authority over him.




My favorite film presentation of The Passion of Jesus is "The Crucifixion of Jesus" (1972) which is available on YouTube.

The actor who portrays Pontius Pilate is Ori Levi, a handsome Israeli who had a long career and who passed away in his nineties in March, 2025.


Pontius Pilate:
"No occupying force is kindly regarded. Rome builds its empire on force, not generosity. To the extent reasonably possible, we tolerate the indigenous customs. An example is the priesthood. We permit them to have their traditions as long as they behave themselves and pay their taxes.'

"This man Jesus. I have heard reports. These Galileans are mad. They are always producing healers, prophets, messiahs, hopping out of the desert, eating locusts, staring into the sun and seeing visions, claiming that that they have found God. Any little peasant can come along and claim he has fulfilled the prophesies, and there are always enough fools to believe them. We know how to deal with them."


The video presentation is one hour in length. It originally aired on CBS on Friday March 31, 1972. It was an episode in the weekly anthology series "Appointment with Destiny." The day of its airing was the Observance of Good Friday. The narrator is John Huston who was active in the production of the episode.
"Appointment with Destiny. The Crucifixion of Jesus."