Page 10 - Life of Christ w videos

They had the power to tax and the authority to rule or intervene on the disposition of taxes raised for
local purposes by local councils. The Sanhedrin chose among themselves a leader called the High Priest,
who acted as ex officio head of the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin was eventually dissolved by imperial
decree in 358 AD and ceases to exist to this day.

Who were the Pharisees and Sadducees?

The Reign of Herod the Great
Herod the Great was designated as the “King of the Jews” or tetrarch of Galilee
by Rome in 40BC. Herod was not a Jew, so this appointment caused a lot of
resentment among the Jews. He was from Idumea and the Jews looked at the
Idumeans as racially impure. Worse, Herod had an Arab mother and Jews
considered a person Jewish only if they were born of a Jewish mother. In spite
of Jewish opposition, Herod began various building programs to soften their
opposition toward him. He built new walls around Jerusalem and constructed
Fort Antonia (named after Mark Antony) which guarded the Temple.

Throughout Herod’s reign, he was insecure in his position. In Jerusalem the king built a new market, an
amphitheater, a theater, a new building where the Sanhedrin could convene, a new royal palace, and in
20 BC he started to rebuild the Temple which was completed by others in 64 AD. He built the Temple to
help build a stronger relationship with the Jews and to exalt the Jewish faith above all others. He also
built buildings in Jericho and Samaria. In trying to relieve his fear of insurrection, he constructed the
massive fortresses of Herodium, Machaerus, and Masada.

Herod’s crowning achievement was the new port city of Caesarea in honor of Emperor Augustus. This
magnificent and opulent city was dedicated in 9 BC. The city was laid out on a Greek grid plan, with a
market, an aqueduct, government offices, baths, villas, a circus, and several pagan temples. The port
was a masterpiece of engineering; its piers were made from hydraulic concrete which hardens
underwater.

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