dr.francesco pensato
Nazoraios
Unresolved Historical Questions
Before delving into this vast, complex, and sensitive topic—which has engaged countless writers, researchers, archaeologists, and philosophers—it is essential to establish a clear boundary between the historical Christ and His word and message of love, as transmitted to us through the canonical Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistles.
The words of Jesus Christ, the Nazarene, deserve no irreverence, for they encompass a universal message of peace and love, which humanity cannot but acknowledge. The countless charitable works performed daily by priests, friars, nuns, and Catholic associations can only open our hearts and lead us to reflect on the effectiveness and concreteness of the Gospel message.
The historical analysis of the man Jesus Christ, His earthly experiences, and the correct interpretation of texts, manuscripts, papyri, and scrolls that involve Him historically is an entirely different matter. This analysis requires us to address the many doubts and questions that arise—not as sterile or destructive criticism of Christianity but as legitimate inquiries aimed at shedding light on this complex story, solely in the interest of historical truth.
The first question we must ask is whether Jesus of Nazareth, the son of the carpenter Joseph and the Virgin Mary—whose birth was announced by an angel, crucified at the age of 33, and resurrected three days later—is credible, documented, or a fabricated account lacking historical evidence.
We must also question who John the Baptist truly was. Slightly older than Jesus, his cousin according to the Gospels, he baptized Him and proclaimed Him as the Messiah to complete the work he had begun. Why, then, after baptizing and recognizing Him, did John not join Jesus but continued his own, earlier mission of proselytism separately?
Why, after the deaths of Jesus and John, did the Johannites, John's followers, split from the group, leaving Palestine for modern-day Iraq and then Harran (in Anatolia), adopting the name Mandaeans (Gnostics, from the Aramaic manda, "gnosis")?
Why do Mandaean texts like Ginza Rba and especially the Hawan Gawaita portray Jesus as a traitor? In these texts, John states: “Yeshu distorted the words of the Light and turned them into darkness, converted those who were mine, and altered all the cults.”
Why did the crucifixion of Jesus occur in a private garden owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a wealthy follower of Jesus, and why was it resolved in mere hours without the breaking of His legs—a standard Roman crucifixion practice at the time?
Why were Jesus' relatives allowed to remove His body and lay it in a tomb, contrary to Roman customs that required the condemned to remain on the cross, exposed to scavengers and guarded by soldiers?
Why did Pilate (and the High Priest) send a cohort of 600 armed soldiers to arrest Jesus, the prophet of peace and brotherhood, contradicting Rome's established policy of religious tolerance?
Why does the Quran, while acknowledging the importance of Jesus and John the Baptist and elevating Christ to the rank of Prophet, also assert that He did not die on the cross but only made it appear as though He did?
Why, 300 years after Jesus' death, was Emperor Constantine—descendant of those responsible for Jesus' crucifixion and the martyrdom of thousands of His followers—elevated to the same rank as the Messiah by the Church Fathers?
Lastly, what criteria were used at the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD to select the texts (the Gospels) that would form the Canon, while declaring others heretical, such as those written by individuals who had personally known Jesus, like Philip, in favor of others written over a century after His death?
The list of questions and doubts could go on, highlighting the difficulty of a correct historical reconstruction, given the scarcity of reliable historical references from writers and historians of that era.
The Redeemers
In ancient India, there was more than one divine Redeemer. In this land, the cradle of the marvelous and the supernatural, the god Vishnu incarnated nine times, taking human form to redeem humanity from original sin.
Among these, only the eighth and ninth incarnations of Vishnu are of interest to us. In the eighth, He took the form of Krishna, while in the ninth, He incarnated as Buddha.
The Eighth Incarnation: Krishna
In this incarnation, known as Krishna, the Indian Redeemer was also born of a virgin—Devanaguy. His arrival was foretold in the sacred Indian texts (Atharva Veda, Vedangas, and Vedanta). Vishnu, the benevolent and preserving god, appeared to Lamy, the mother of the virgin Devanaguy, to reveal the destiny of her future child and instructed her to name her daughter Devanaguy. He also commanded that she remain unmarried, as divine plans would be fulfilled through her.
Approximately 3,500 years before the common era, in the palace of the Raja of Madura in eastern India, the child was named Devanaguy as prophesied.
The Raja, informed through a dream that Devanaguy’s son would dethrone him, imprisoned her in a tower and placed guards around her. Despite these measures, the divine spirit of Vishnu overcame all obstacles, and Devanaguy conceived a child miraculously. This child was named Krishna.
The Raja ordered the massacre of all male infants born the same night as Krishna. When Krishna's time on Earth came to an end, He left His disciples and immersed Himself in the sacred Ganges, where He prayed and awaited death. He was struck with an arrow and suspended from a tree.
His murderer was condemned to wander the Earth eternally. Krishna’s disciples, upon hearing of His death, searched for His body but found it gone—He had risen and ascended to heaven.
The Ninth Incarnation: Buddha
In this incarnation, Buddha’s mother received a revelation in a dream about His future greatness. Like Jesus, Buddha was born into a princely caste (as Jesus descended from David). His birth occurred 628 years before Christ.
At His birth, miraculous events unfolded: a blinding light illuminated ten thousand worlds, the blind saw, the mute spoke, and the lame walked. Buddha’s mother, Maya or Maia, conceived Him miraculously without any marital relations.
Buddha's greatest sermon was called “The Sermon on the Mount,” like that of Christ. After His death, He appeared to His disciples in a luminous form with His head surrounded by an aureole.
Buddha, like Christ, had a traitorous disciple, Devadatta. He left no writings, but His teachings were compiled by His disciples, who convened a general council. Among them were two contrasting figures: one serious and zealous, the other gentle and beloved by Buddha—akin to Peter and John, disciples of Christ.
Like Christ, Buddha opposed the overbearing power of priests. Buddhism, like Christianity, is divided into various sects and shares many practices with Christianity.
Mithra
The Redeemer God of Persia, who paved the way for the transition from the Indian avatara or incarnation to the Christian incarnation.
The key difference is that in the Indian incarnation, the deity made man has no inferiority to the Heavenly Father, whereas in the Christian incarnation, the Son is procedurally subordinate to the Father.
Mithra, also called Lord, is born in a cave from a Virgin. Like Christ, he is born in a stable on December 25, at the winter solstice. Mithra's mother remains a virgin even after childbirth. Mithra, born on December 25, like Christ, dies at the spring equinox.
He, too, had a tomb where a priest solemnly declared one day that Mithra had risen, and his sufferings had redeemed humanity.
Horus (later Osiris-Apis or Serapis)
The Egyptians also had their Redeemer God, Horus, who was born of a virgin at the winter solstice and died at the spring equinox.
He was the child of mysteries, whose image priests brought out from their sanctuaries every year on the fixed date (December 25). This same myth was also applied to King Amenophis III, a significant figure whose legacy remains documented.
One such document is a fresco on the walls of the Temple of Luxor, depicting scenes of the Annunciation, Conception, Birth, and Adoration. In the first scene, the god Thoth, the lunar Mercury (like the Angel Gabriel), greets the Virgin and announces that she will bear a son. In the next scene, the god Kneph (the Spirit) causes the conception. In the Adoration scene, the child receives homage from the gods and gifts from three figures (the Magi).
Dionysus (Bacchus)
Bacchus was also born at the winter solstice, and, after being put to death, descended to the underworld before resurrecting.
Each year, the mysteries of his passion were celebrated at the spring equinox.
Like Christ, Bacchus was called Savior. He performed miracles, healed the sick, and foretold the future. In his infancy, he faced threats to his life, with plots against him.
In the time of Bacchus, there was also the miracle of turning water into wine, just as Jesus did at the wedding in Cana.
Adonis
The name Adonis means "my Lord." He had festivals lasting eight days (Adonia): four days of mourning for his death and four days of celebration for his resurrection.
The list of Redeemer Gods with similar characteristics could continue. What can be inferred, however, is that at the time of Jesus' conception, many other Christs with similar traits had already appeared, some even millennia earlier.
Jesus Christ and Historical Context
Jewish Historians
Most exegetes date the possible appearance of Jesus Christ on Earth to between 27 BCE and 37 CE.
This is approximately the era of prominent Jewish historians such as Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, and Justus of Tiberias.
There are also extra-biblical sources and references to Christ, which we will explore below.
Justus of Tiberias
A contemporary of Josephus, Justus wrote extensively about the time of Herod the Great, including a "Chronicle of Jewish Kings" and a "History of the Jewish War." According to Photius of Constantinople (c. 820–886 CE), who knew Justus' now-lost work, this author never mentioned Jesus.
Philo of Alexandria (42–50 CE)
Philo, a contemporary of Jesus, wrote about Pilate:
"Regarding this, one could speak of his corruption, his violence, his thefts, mistreatment, insults, death sentences pronounced without trial, and his relentless and unbearable cruelty" (Legatio ad Gaium 302).
However, Philo made no mention of Jesus.
Josephus Flavius (37–38 CE)
Josephus, born between 37 and 38 CE, was a priest in Jerusalem and later a historian for the Romans. His "Jewish War" and "Antiquities of the Jews" are key references for the history of Israel during this time.
The most significant reference to Jesus of Nazareth is the so-called "Testimonium Flavianum" in Antiquities 18:63ff.
This passage has been debated, with scholars suggesting it was interpolated by a Christian scribe after Josephus' original writing.
Three views exist regarding its authenticity:
The text is entirely genuine.
The text was entirely forged by a Christian author.
The text was partially modified by a Christian author based on an original account by Josephus.
Here is the translation of the text you provided into English:
Testimonium Flavianum
At about this time lived Jesus, a wise man, if indeed it is right to call him a man.
For he performed extraordinary deeds, taught the truth gladly received by men, and won over many Jews and Greeks.
He was the Christ. And when Pilate, following the accusation of the leaders among us, condemned him to the cross, those who had loved him from the beginning did not cease to do so.
For he appeared to them alive again on the third day, as the divine prophets had foretold these and countless other marvelous things concerning him.
And to this day, the tribe of Christians, named after him, has not disappeared.
As previously mentioned, these few lines are one of the fundamental references supporting the historical existence of Jesus Christ.
The opposing views—those who consider the entire text authentic and those who consider it completely false—are, in my opinion, irrelevant if we ask the following question:
Why, in twenty books of Antiquities of the Jews, does the author dedicate only a few lines (in the eighteenth book) to such an important event as the life and works of the Messiah?
This reflection could lead us to consider that, at that time, it is said that various messiahs or supposed messiahs appeared on the historical stage. Moreover, due to the thousands of Roman crucifixions, the event concerning Jesus' sacrifice went almost unnoticed, only to be reworked and reconstructed in the following centuries to create the new religion that some, rightly or wrongly, call Pauline Christianity.
Non-Biblical Sources
Thallus
Thallus was a Roman or Samaritan historian. His writings, dated to 52 CE, have all been lost. Today, only fragments survive through citations in the works of other authors.
For example, Julius Africanus (circa 170–240 CE), a Christian author, refers to and critiques Thallus, stating:
"Thallus, in the third book of his History, calls this darkness an eclipse of the sun. This seems to me unacceptable."
Likewise, the Greek author Phlegon of Tralles (2nd century CE) cites Thallus when mentioning the eclipse that caused darkness during the crucifixion. He claims this occurred in the 202nd Olympiad (39 CE), when the stars were visible due to the intense darkness.
Supporters of Jesus' historicity interpret these citations as confirmation of his existence.
Petronius
Petronius, a 1st-century Latin author, wrote Satyricon, which includes an episode titled The Matron of Ephesus. This story is a parody of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ.
Petronius narrates, perhaps mocking those who believed in Christ's resurrection, that two men were crucified near the tomb of another man, recently deceased and mourned day and night by his wife (the matron of Ephesus).
A guard stationed by the crosses seduces the grieving woman and joins her in the tomb. Meanwhile, the relatives of one of the crucified men, noticing the guard’s absence, remove their relative's body from the cross. Fearing punishment, the guard hangs the woman's husband's body in place of the missing one.
Mara bar Sarapion
A 1st-century CE Stoic philosopher from Samosata, Mara bar Sarapion wrote a letter to his son Serapion from a Roman prison. The letter, preserved in a 7th-century manuscript at the British Museum, dates back to 73 CE. It contains exhortations and reflections, including the following passage:
"What advantage did the Athenians gain by killing Socrates? They suffered famine and plague as punishment for their crime. What advantage did the people of Samos gain by burning Pythagoras? In one moment, their country was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain by executing their wise king? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished.
God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of famine, the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea, and the Jews, ruined and driven from their kingdom, now live in complete dispersion. But Socrates did not die, thanks to Plato; nor did Pythagoras, thanks to the statue of Hera; nor did the wise king, thanks to the new laws he enacted."
Pliny the Younger
Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus (61–113 CE), known as Pliny the Younger, wrote about Christians in his Epistulae (Letters), particularly in Book 10, Letter 96, addressed to Emperor Trajan. He describes his treatment of Christians and seeks guidance:
"I interrogated them, asking if they were Christians. Those who confessed, I questioned a second and third time under threat of execution. If they persisted, I ordered their execution. For I had no doubt that, whatever they admitted, their stubbornness and inflexible obstinacy deserved punishment."
Trajan’s reply advised against actively seeking Christians but endorsed punishment for those openly accused, provided they refused to renounce their faith by worshiping Roman gods.
Tacitus
Publius Cornelius Tacitus, one of Rome's greatest historians, wrote Annals (116–117 CE), covering the reigns of Roman emperors. In Annals 15.44, he describes Emperor Nero’s persecution of Christians following the Great Fire of Rome:
"Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilate. Suppressed for the moment, the pernicious superstition broke out again, not only in Judaea, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome."
Tacitus also describes the horrific punishments inflicted on Christians, leading to public sympathy, despite their alleged crimes.
Gaius Suetonius Tranquillus (70–126 AD), a member of the equestrian order, was supported by Pliny the Younger, who granted him access to all archives and helped him secure high-ranking official positions. Suetonius wrote the biographies of the emperors (De Vita Caesarum) in eight volumes, published between 117 and 122 AD.
The first reference to Christ in Suetonius' works is found in The Life of Claudius (23.4), regarding Claudius' edict about the Jews in Rome:
"He expelled the Jews from Rome who, at the instigation of Chrestus, were constantly causing unrest."
In The Life of Nero, Suetonius also mentions Christians, writing:
"He subjected Christians, a race of men of a new and malevolent superstition, to punishments" (16.2).
Publius Hadrianus
Roman Emperor from 117 to 138 AD.
After Tiberius, Hadrian was the first emperor to show clemency toward Christians, as evidenced by a letter addressed to Minucius Fundanus, Proconsul of Asia. This letter, preserved in Greek through Eusebius of Caesarea (Ecclesiastical History, IV, 9) and Justin Martyr (First Apology, 68), indicates a shift in policy. In it, Hadrian decrees that mere membership in the Christian community would no longer be considered a crime warranting punishment. Moreover, the burden of proof was placed on the accusers of Christians, who faced severe penalties for false accusations:
"If, therefore, the provincials can make their case clearly against Christians so that they can also respond in court, let them use only this procedure and not opinions or clamor. Indeed, it is far more fitting for you to conduct a trial if someone wishes to formalize an accusation. If someone accuses them and proves that they are acting against the law, decide based on the severity of the crime; but, by Hercules, if someone makes a false accusation, determine its severity and take care to punish him."
Trypho and Justin Martyr
Around 150 AD, Justin Martyr, a Palestinian Christian martyr, wrote a work titled Dialogue with Trypho the Jew. In this text, Justin accuses Jewish teachers of spreading slander and blasphemy against Jesus. The Dialogue records a conversation with Trypho, aimed at persuading him of the importance of the Christian faith as the continuation and fulfillment of Judaism.
One notable passage reflects a saying about Jesus circulating among Jews during Justin's time, illustrating their awareness of Jesus’ existence, crucifixion, and the disciples’ proclamation of the resurrection:
"A godless and lawless heresy arose from a certain Jesus, a Galilean deceiver; after we crucified him, his disciples stole him by night from the tomb where he had been laid after being taken down from the cross. They now deceive men by claiming that he has risen from the dead and ascended to heaven" (Dialogue with Trypho, 108.1).
Celsus
A 2nd-century philosopher, Celsus wrote a work titled True Discourse against Christians. Although this work has not survived, parts of it are known through Contra Celsum by Origen (ca. 248 AD), where the Christian writer refutes Celsus' arguments.
Celsus includes judgments derived from Jewish prejudices against Christians and Jesus Christ, such as:
"Because his family was poor, Jesus was sent to Egypt to find work. While there, he acquired certain magical powers that Egyptians were known to boast of. Returning home proud of these powers, he proclaimed himself a god" (Contra Celsum, I, 32).
"Jesus surrounded himself with 10 or 11 wicked men, the worst of tax collectors and fishermen. With them, he roamed disgracefully, begging for provisions" (Contra Celsum, I, 62).
The Date of Jesus' Death
The canonical Gospels and apocryphal texts indicate that Jesus died on a Friday afternoon between 2:00 and 3:00 PM (the ninth Roman hour), one day before or after the Jewish Passover.
If Jesus celebrated the Passover meal (per the Jewish lunar calendar) on the day before his death (Thursday), he would have died on Friday, April 7, 30 AD.
If Jesus died on the Friday before the official Passover (Saturday), his crucifixion would have occurred on Friday, April 3, 33 AD.
On the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, two events are described in the Gospels and apocryphal texts:
A presumed solar eclipse or, at least, an unusual darkness around midday.
An earthquake that allegedly caused the collapse of the Temple pinnacle in Jerusalem.
However, no solar eclipse occurred between 28 and 37 AD. There was, however, a lunar eclipse on Friday, April 3, 33 AD, around 2:45 PM, one day before the Jewish Passover Sabbath.
According to the Dead Sea Scrolls, it is hypothesized that Jesus celebrated Passover according to the Essene calendar, which always observed Passover on a Wednesday. If true, this would mean Jesus was crucified on a Friday after the Essene Passover, a theory supported by Pope Benedict XVI in his book Jesus of Nazareth and in his 2007 Holy Thursday homily:
"Jesus likely celebrated Passover with his disciples according to the Qumran community’s calendar, at least a day earlier than the official Jewish rite of the time."
This opens avenues for speculation about whether Jesus might have been associated with the Essene sect, which included revolutionary factions such as the Zealots.
Jesus of Nazareth or Jesus the Nazarene?
This question gains significance following the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, particularly some fragments.
It is certain that Nazareth appears in maps only after 800 AD, leading some exegetes to suggest it was developed to provide believers with a site for pilgrimages to Jesus’ hometown.
In 1962, an Israeli archaeological team led by Professor Avi-Yonah of the University of Jerusalem discovered a gray marble inscription near Caesarea Maritima referencing Nazareth, dating it to the 3rd century AD. Later, Italian journalist Vittorio Messori erroneously backdated this inscription to the 3rd century BC, mistakenly presenting it as the oldest historical evidence for Nazareth.
The Gospels describe Nazareth as a hilltop village in Galilee, near the Sea of Galilee, with a synagogue and workshops. However, archaeological evidence does not corroborate such an inhabited settlement from Jesus' time. Moreover, Nazareth does not appear in any historical document before the 4th century, including the works of Josephus, who provided detailed topographies of Galilee.
The Evangelists
Luke
"...He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and on the Sabbath day, he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me,
because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.'
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began by saying to them, 'Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.' ... On hearing this, everyone in the synagogue was furious. They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff. But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way."
Mark
"...Meanwhile, he withdrew to the sea (the Lake Kinneret) with his disciples, and a large crowd followed him... He went up on a mountainside and called to him those he wanted, and they came to him... He entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat... When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him... His mother and brothers arrived and, standing outside, sent someone in to call him... Once again, he began to teach by the lake (the Sea of Galilee). A large crowd gathered around him..."
Historical Context: Gamala
During the Six-Day War (1967), the State of Israel launched a sudden offensive against neighboring Arab states, occupying the Sinai Peninsula, the Gaza Strip, and the West Bank. They also invaded and seized much of the Golan Heights, previously under Syrian control.
While conducting military operations in the Golan, the ruins of an ancient settlement were spotted on a hill surrounded by steep slopes, near the northeastern shore of Lake Kinneret (known in the Gospels as the "Lake of Gennesaret" or the "Sea of Tiberias").
After the war, Israeli authorities dispatched archaeologists to investigate the site. Starting in 1968, Itzhaki Gal was the first to hypothesize that this location might be Gamla (or Gamala), a long-lost village described in detail by the historian Josephus Flavius. He recounts its tragic destruction by the Romans, led by Vespasian, during the Jewish War (66–70 CE).
In 1976, under the guidance of archaeologist Shmarya Gutman, systematic excavations began, yielding sensational discoveries. Among these, it became clear that the ruins belonged to the city of Gamla. Josephus Flavius had described its appearance as follows:
Josephus Flavius:
"...From a tall mountain, a rugged spur extends outward, rising in the middle into a hump that slopes equally on both sides, resembling the profile of a camel; this gives the place its name, though the locals mispronounce it. Its slopes and front are flanked by impassable ravines, while the rear offers limited access, as it seems suspended from the mountain itself..."
Gamla and the Gospel Descriptions
If we compare the Evangelical accounts with historical descriptions by Josephus, we can deduce that the city of Jesus:
Was situated on a mountain.
Had a synagogue.
Was located at the edge of a precipice.
Was near the Sea of Tiberias.
Was to the east of the lake.
The city that precisely matches these geographical and historical criteria is not Nazareth but Gamla.
A Question of Intent
Why would the Evangelists have altered this truth? The answer lies in the theological and political motives of their writings.
The canonical Gospels reveal a deliberate effort by their authors to depoliticize their Messiah—to "de-messianize" him. Their goal was to separate Jesus from the Jewish nationalist struggle for the restoration of the Kingdom of God in its traditional sense as the Kingdom of Yahweh. By disassociating him from the Essene-Zealot movements of the time, which represented both religious and political resistance to Roman rule, the Evangelists reshaped Jesus into an apolitical savior, a redeemer of souls uninterested in earthly kingdoms.
Could relocating Christ’s hometown from Gamla to Nazareth be part of this depoliticization? Not only is it plausible, but it is a cornerstone of the effort to present Jesus as an apolitical figure, detached from the messianic uprisings of first-century Palestine.
Gamla's Role in Jewish Resistance
Josephus Flavius describes Gamla as the stronghold of the most radical messianic movements. It was the birthplace of Judas the Galilean, a prominent revolutionary leader who founded the Zealot movement. Interestingly, the names of Judas’s sons match those of Jesus’s brothers: James and Simon. Both groups—Judas’s sons and Jesus’s brothers—were reportedly executed around the same time and under similar circumstances.
The Gospel of Mark, the earliest Gospel, avoids mentioning Jesus's father. Later traditions describe him as the humble carpenter Joseph. However, the possibility that Judas the Galilean could be Jesus's father has intrigued researchers. Judas’s lineage continued to fuel Jewish resistance, with Simon Bar Kokhba leading a later rebellion against Rome in 135 CE.
Gamla’s Fall
The destruction of Gamla by Vespasian, before he became emperor, is recounted in great detail by Josephus. He describes it as the last bastion of radical messianism. The siege ended with a mass suicide by its inhabitants, reminiscent of the events at Masada in 74 CE.
Masada
After two years of siege, the Zealot leader Eleazar Ben Yair spoke to his people, persuading them to commit collective suicide by the sword (chosen by lot in groups; the men of the community killed the women and children before taking each other’s lives). This fate seemed preferable to them compared to a certain state of slavery in which they would lose not only their personal freedom but also their religious liberty.
So, if we hypothesize that Jesus was born in Gamala, what should be understood by the term "Nazarene" or "Nazirite"?
The forms Nazoraios, Nazarenos, Nazaraeus, and Nazarene all demonstrate that ecclesiastical scribes knew the origin of the word and were aware it did not derive from Nazareth. Instead, this term indicates a religious or sectarian title.
Some of the most authoritative scholars worldwide now agree that the expression "Jesus the Nazarene" has no connection to a town called Nazareth but rather signifies a religious or sectarian title.
In fact, the Gospels themselves, when referring to Jesus' hometown, prefer indirect expressions like "his homeland" and mention the name of the city on only a few occasions. The Gospel of Mark (the oldest of the four canonical gospels, which certainly served as a source for the other texts) mentions it just once, at the opening:
"In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan" (Mark 1:9).
After this, the name of the city is completely forgotten. Similarly, the Gospel of John mentions the city only once, also at the beginning.
The placement and infrequency of the term "Nazareth" within the Gospel texts reasonably suggest these are later interpolations. As is well known, such interpolations are common in the Gospels, often added long after the original texts were written.
The Gospels never used the expression "Jesus of Nazareth"; they speak of "Jesus the Nazarene," using the Greek expression Iesous ho Nazoraios. Now, as a host of scholars worldwide strongly assert, the adjective Nazoreo cannot mean "of Nazareth," that is, an inhabitant of Nazareth.
From the words of Epiphanius and Theodoret, we know only that the Nazarenes possessed the "Gospel according to Matthew, entirely complete, in Hebrew... as it was originally written." They rejected the teachings of Saint Paul and were described as "Jews who honor Christ as a righteous man."
The Nazarenes were members of a religious sect whose original name was Nozrim in Hebrew and Nazorai in Aramaic. This name possibly references the Hebrew term NZR, indicating a state of purity and holiness, as seen in the Old Testament regarding the Nazirite vow (Nazirites are those who leave their hair uncut and take vows of purity).
Today, many researchers believe this sect was synonymous with the Essenes of Qumran.
Let us briefly return to Pope Benedict XVI's assertion that Jesus celebrated Passover according to the Essene calendar.
Maccabees, Sadducees, Essenes, Nazarenes, Ebionites, Sadoqites, and Zealots
Robert Eisenman, professor of Middle Eastern Religions at California State University, is one of the leading experts on the origins of Christianity, renowned worldwide for his studies on the Dead Sea Scrolls and Qumran. According to his research, the terms Essenes, Nazarenes, Ebionites, Sadoqites, Zealots, and Sons of Light are merely different names used by the Qumran community to describe its members. They do not refer to distinct groups but rather to variants within the same movement.
This movement of zealots for Mosaic law originated and formed during the time of the Maccabees.
In the Old Testament, it was believed that the priestly caste descended directly from Aaron through the tribe of Levi and that the Jewish people were governed by two Messiahs or anointed ones (Christs): one from the lineage of David, who held temporal power, and the other from the Levitical or Aaronic lineage, who held priestly authority.
During the time of David and his son Solomon, priests were called Sadoq, a name that remains unclear as to whether it referred to a personal name or a hereditary priestly title.
Solomon was anointed by Sadoq and became the Messiah or Christ, as were all subsequent Sadoqs. The priestly authority remained with the Levites or Sadoqs until 587 BCE when the Babylonian invasion disrupted it, only to be restored in 538 BCE.
In 333 BCE, Alexander the Great conquered the Holy Land, and for 160 years, Palestine was ruled by the Hellenistic Ptolemaic dynasty, which embraced customs, models, and values that diverged greatly from the word and law of the Old Testament.
During this period, a conservative or zealous reaction emerged against behaviors deemed corrupt and impure, interpreted as contempt for Old Testament law.
In the First Book of Maccabees, an event is mentioned that can be considered the beginning of the zealots for the law. It recounts the story of the priest Mattathias, who, "burning with zeal," killed a colleague about to perform sacrifices on a pagan altar under orders from a Hellenistic king, becoming the first zealot in history (1 Maccabees 2:26).
Mattathias then incited his people to revolt, exclaiming, "Let everyone who has zeal for the law and stands by the covenant follow me!" (1 Maccabees 2:27), fleeing to the mountains with his sons: Judas, Simon, Jonathan, John, and Eleazar.
After Mattathias' death, leadership passed to his son Judas, who retreated to the desert and lived among the mountains with his followers.
Judas Maccabeus and his brothers launched a guerrilla campaign that culminated in a popular revolt, eventually gaining control of the Holy Land around 152 BCE.
In their role as priests, the Maccabees enforced the law with fundamentalist zeal, invoking the Covenant of Phinehas, found in the Book of Numbers. This covenant recounts how Phinehas, Aaron's grandson and a priest during the exodus, killed a man guilty of marrying a pagan woman with a spear. God declared, "Phinehas has the same zeal as I," establishing a covenant granting perpetual priesthood to his descendants (Numbers 25:11-13).
Phinehas thus served as the biblical model for the zealous Maccabees.
This ended in 37 BCE with the rise of Herod, installed by the Romans as the new rulers of Palestine. Herod consolidated his power by marrying a Maccabean princess, only to later kill her and the Maccabean hierarchy. He extinguished the Maccabean dynasty, replacing it with his followers, known as Sadducees.
As during the Hellenistic era, the Sadducees’ rise provoked a strong reaction from the zealots for the law, who assumed various names. In the Old Testament, they were called Nazarenes; Josephus referred to them as Zealots or Sicarii; the Romans labeled them as terrorists or bandits, akin to what we might call messianic fundamentalists today.
By the first century, two factions of Sadducees existed: those aligned with Herod, as described by Josephus and the New Testament, and the purist faction adhering to the Old Testament laws and rejecting any collaboration with Roman oppressors.
According to popular tradition, the Zealots emerged as a movement at the dawn of the Christian era, founded by Judas the Galilean or Judas of Gamala. Josephus mentions Judas in his works, noting that he founded a zealot movement with strong messianic aspirations and died in battle. Leadership passed to his three sons, two of whom—James and Simon—were prominent zealot leaders, captured and crucified by the Romans between 46 and 48 CE. The third (or a grandson), Menahem, led the revolt of 66 CE.
It was this same Menahem who, during the initial stages of the revolt, entered Jerusalem triumphantly as the Messiah. Menahem later seized the fortress of Masada, where the final commander was Eleazar, also a descendant and relative of Judas.
The mass suicide of the zealot defenders of Masada is among the best-documented events of that era. Around 4,000 Jews died in combat, while 5,000 committed mass suicide when they realized defeat and surrender to the Romans were inevitable.
Josephus recounts that the Zealots "feared no form of death nor did they care about the deaths of family or friends, as acknowledging the Roman Emperor's divinity, as Rome demanded, was for them a horrendous blasphemy, and death was preferable to such a violation of the law."
Christian tradition, particularly Catholic, has handed down the image of a Savior as meek as a lamb, who shunned violence and ordered his followers to turn the other cheek. However, even within the canonical Gospels, details emerge that suggest another reality.
The founder of the Catholic Church, the one who supposedly laid its cornerstone—Simon Peter (the "rock")—is now widely believed to have been a zealot, that is, a revolutionary fighter. In some recent New Testament translations, he is referred to as Peter the Zealot. In other translations, reflecting textual corruption by scribes, he is called Simon the Patriot, Simon the Cananaean, or, in John’s Gospel, Simon Bar-Jonah, an Aramaic term (Barjonna) meaning outlaw, revolutionary, or zealot—thus preserving the same concept.
The same applies to Judas Iscariot. According to Professor Brandon, the term "Iscariot" is another corruption of the word Sicarius (dagger-man), named for the special curved knife these zealots used.
It is now beyond doubt that Jesus associated with at least two Zealots, whom the Romans simply referred to as Lestai (bandits or outlaws).
Even in the Gospel accounts, Jesus himself demonstrates a militaristic attitude. For example, he orders his followers without swords to sell their cloaks and buy one (Luke 22:36). When arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane by a cohort of Roman soldiers (about 600 troops), Simon Peter, armed with a sword, resisted, cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant.
It is well established that Roman policy tolerated any religious belief in conquered territories. Thus, it is certain that Jesus was crucified using a typically Roman punishment reserved for enemies of Rome—not by the Jews, as has been anti-Semitically claimed. If the Sanhedrin had wanted to kill Jesus, they would have used other methods, such as stoning, as was done with Stephen or later with James.
Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem on a donkey, following his anointing, was greeted by a cheering crowd laying cloaks on the ground and waving palm branches, echoing the biblical prophecy of Zechariah. It was an official proclamation of Jesus as the Messiah, the legitimate King of Israel from David’s lineage.
This event certainly did not go unnoticed by Roman officials and soldiers. Jesus thus issued a challenge, fully aware that he would need to wield the sword with his followers.
The Mystery of Barabbas
The image of Barabbas has been handed down to us in a singular manner, as that of a dangerous criminal whom the Jewish people inexplicably chose to save from death instead of the meek Jesus Christ.
The Gospel narrative describes an act in which Pilate, due to the coincidence of a Capitoline feast, asked the people directly, through a kind of vote, to decide on granting clemency to a condemned prisoner.
However, there is no evidence of any Roman festival occurring at that time, nor did the Romans customarily grant amnesties during non-Roman celebrations. When they did, such clemency was reserved only for those guilty of minor offenses.
Moreover, the Jews, as they had done on other occasions, could have independently stoned Jesus Christ without Roman intervention, as happened with Stephen.
Certainly, it was the Roman authorities who decided on Jesus' crucifixion, a consequence of his refusal to swear allegiance with the words "Caesar Despotes."
As a descendant of David’s lineage, and thus a direct descendant and rightful heir, Jesus could not submit to the laws of the occupiers by recognizing Caesar as his sovereign.
Jesus was arrested by a cohort of Roman soldiers—600 heavily armed men—quite an excessive force for a spiritual teacher who turned the other cheek and said, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.”
But assuming this event occurred as recounted in the canonical Gospels, we must delve deeper into understanding who this criminal named Barabbas really was, the man who was chosen over the Messiah.
On page 101 of the Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine, published in 1933 by the Pontifical Biblical Institute, a footnote to Matthew 27:16 offers significant insight.
The official CEI version of the Gospel of Matthew (1978 edition) reads:
“They had at that time a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.”
The Sacra Bibbia, Paoline edition (translated from the original texts), states:
“At that time, they had in prison a well-known prisoner called Barabbas.”
In the New Testament, The Word of the Lord (1976, Elle Di Ci editions):
“At that time, a certain Barabbas, a famous prisoner, was in prison.”
And in The New Testament, revised 1992 edition by the Geneva Bible Society:
“They had then a notable prisoner named Barabbas.”
The first observation is that these versions do not align, as evidenced by the phrases:
“called Barabbas” … “a certain Barabbas” … “named Barabbas.”
This discrepancy raises the question of whether Barabbas was a name or a nickname.
The Greek text of the Gospel uses the term “called Barabbas,” implying that it was a nickname or a title.
Returning to page 101 of the Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine, Matthew 27:16 includes a footnote separated by a line, indicating variations in some ancient manuscripts:
“who had been imprisoned because of a riot that had broken out in the city and a murder.”
“A man called Barabbas was in prison with other rebels who had committed murder in the uprising.”
From these ancient texts, one can infer that efforts were made to eliminate the notion that Barabbas was imprisoned for being involved with rebels who had killed a man during a riot.
The first part of the note in verse 16 of the Novum Testamentum Graece et Latine also indicates that Barabbas was a nickname, as suggested by the phrase “called Barabbas.” Furthermore, it reveals his name: Jesus Barabbas.
It seems that during the vote for the release of a prisoner, Pilate asked the people to choose between:
A certain Jesus, condemned for claiming to be the “Son of God,” and
Another Jesus, called Barabbas, who was then freed and consistently referred to only by his nickname.
It is well known that, for the Jews, pronouncing the name of God was a sacrilege, forbidden even to the High Priest. Instead, they referred to God with other names, particularly “Father.”
Thus, for the Jews, Jesus, the Son of God, could only be referred to by a nickname: Jesus, the Son of the Father.
In Hebrew, the Aramaic-origin terms Bar (meaning “son”) and Abba (meaning “father”) combine to form the condensed name: Barabbas.
Returning to the episode of the vote:
Jesus Barabbas (“Son of God”) was condemned.
Barabbas, named Jesus, was set free.
Over time, omissions, deletions, and falsifications attempted to obscure the true motivations for the arrest, trial, and condemnation, in an effort to shift the blame for the crucifixion from the Romans to the Jewish people, who supposedly shouted:
“Let his blood be on us and on our children.”