Page 10 - Life of Christ - textbook (3)

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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