
30 AD to 50 AD, Psalm 49: all can see that the wise die
This generation is that of the 50s and 60s.
At the beginning of this generation Judea is therefore governed by Pontius Pilate, whose Gospels have left a relatively favorable image. According to these Gospels, it is washed (literally and figuratively) of all responsibility for the death of Jesus, since it is the Jews, following the same Gospels, who insist that Jesus be crucified despite his efforts to condemn Barrabas in his place.
- Pilate [1], governor of Judea, sent to winter quarters, from Caesarea to Jerusalem, troops carrying on their flags images of the emperor, which is so contrary to our laws that no other governor before him had not done anything like it. These troops entered at night, and so we did not notice until the next day. Immediately the Jews went in great numbers to find Pilate at Caesarea, and
conjured him for several days to carry these flags elsewhere. He refused, saying that he could not do it without offending the Emperor. But, as they continued to press him, he ordered his men of war on the seventh day to keep secretly under arms, and then mounted his tribunal, which he had deliberately set up in the place of the public exercises. because he was more able than anyone else to hide them. Then the Jews continued to make the same request to him, he gave the sign to his soldiers, who immediately enveloped him on all sides and he threatened to kill them if they insisted more and if they did not return each itself. At these words, they all threw themselves on the ground and presented their throat uncovered, to let him know that the observation of their laws was much more expensive than their lives. Their constancy and zeal, so ardent for their religion, gave Pilate so much admiration that he commanded that the flags of Jerusalem be brought back to Caesarea.
- (Pilate) [2], not so much to honor Tiberius as to vex the people, dedicates, in the palace of Herod, located in the Holy City, golden shields which bore neither figure nor anything else forbidden, but only an indispensable inscription mentioning these two things: the author of the dedication and for whose intention it was made. But as soon as the crowd was informed – the fact was quickly proclaimed everywhere – the people took for spokesman the four sons of the king (Herod), who did not lack the rank nor the dignity of sovereign, and all their other descendants as well as the notables of their court; they asked to return to the subversive measure relative to the shields and to renounce to modify ancestral customs which, in all the centuries, had been kept intact by kings as well as by the emperors.
The Gospels as they have come down to us, assimilate the high priest to the Sanhedrin and all the Jewish people, thus showing a Jewish people hostile to Jesus in contradiction with the fact that in many passages the same Gospels show us a Jesus popular with all the fringes of the population as well as John the Baptist.
- The synagogue [3] did not, as far as I know, repudiate the supporters of Messiah Bar Kokhba (who will be illustrated in a few generations), even after the failure of his attempt showed that God was not with him . Rabbi Akiba, who had followed him, remained one of the most revered doctors in the memory of Israel. As well, the touchstone of Jewish orthodoxy is not messianic hope. To attach oneself to a false messiah does not lead to excommunication for sure unless it is accompanied by erroneous characterizations of dogma and observance: this is neither the case of the insurgents of 135 (revolt of Bar Kokhba), or « Nazarenes (comparable to the early Christians, and later those who remained faithful to Jewish law while claiming to be Christians) » from Palestine. These would not have been treated by the synagogue otherwise than those if the name of Jesus had not known beyond Israel such a prodigious fortune and had raised against the synagogue the church of the Gentiles.
- Forty years [4] before the Temple was destroyed, the Sanhedrin was exiled from the Chamber of Hewn Stone and sat in the store near the Temple Mount.
- (The Gemara explains: What is the reason that the members of the Sanhedrin ceased to meet in their proper place and thereby ended the adjudication of capital cases? Once they saw that the murderers were so numerous and they were not able to judge them and punish them with death, they said: It is better that we should be exiled from the Chamber of Hewn Stone and move from place to place, so that offenders will not be deemed liable to receive the death penalty in a time period when the court does not carry out their sentences. )
(extract of the psalm 49 associated to this generation, verses 1 to 5 )
- For the conductor, by the sons of Korah, a song.
- Hear this, all you peoples; hearken, all You inhabitants of the earth.
- Both the sons of « adam, » and the sons of « ish, » together rich and poor.
- My mouth shall speak wisdoms and the thoughts of my heart are understanding.
- I will bend my ear to a parable; with a lyre, I will solve my riddle.
- And [5] her days (from Rebecca) to give birth were completed, and behold, there were twins in her womb.
- And the first one emerged ruddy; he was completely like a coat of hair, and they named him Esau.
- And afterwards, his brother emerged, and his hand was grasping Esau’s heel, and he named him Jacob. Now Isaac was sixty years old when she gave birth to them.
(extract of the psalm 49 associated to this generation, verses 6 )
- Why should I fear in days of misfortune? The iniquity of my heels surrounds me.
- Someone [6] in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.”
- Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”
- Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”
- And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.
- He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
- “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.
- And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’
- “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’
- “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.”
- “There was [7] a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
- At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores
- and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.
- “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried.
- In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.
- So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’
- “But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony.
- And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’
- “He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family,
- for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’
- “Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’
(extract of the psalm 49 associated to this generation, verses 7 to 10 )
- Those who rely on their possessions and boast of their great wealth,
- -a brother cannot redeem a man, he cannot give his ransom to God.
- The redemption of their soul will be too dear, and unattainable forever.
- Will he live yet forever and not see the Pit?
- And [8] at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
- At [9] that time two bandits were crucified with him, one on his right and the other on his left.
- The fear [10] of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and discipline.
(extract of the psalm 49 associated to this generation, verse 11 )
- For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.
Agrippa [11] the grandson of Herod, had entered the court of the Emperor Tiberius in Rome through his brother Drusus.
The coexistence became worse, Agrippa finally found the court of Tiberius and approached Caius (the future emperor Caligula) and fell out of favor with Tiberius who had him imprisoned. Tiberius’s plans to establish a dynasty were called into question by his untimely death:
(extract of the psalm 49 associated to this generation, verses 12 and 13 )
- In their heart, their houses are forever, their dwellings are for every generation; they call by their names on plots of land.
- But man does not repose in his glory; he is compared to the silenced animals.
If the fate of Tiberius in Rome preoccupies David, during the writing of the psalm, it is that it will not only allow Caius to become emperor but also Agrippa to become king of Judea and recover for a few years a large part of kingdom of his grandfather Herod.
This did not succeed, for Agrippa’s maneuvers caused Herod to lose his tetrarchy to his advantage, thus increasing Agrippa’s kingdom. Herod, on the other hand, was exiled to Lyons in Gaul. The reversal of the fate of Agrippa confirms the promise made to Mariamne, her grandmother in Psalm 45 that we had already mentioned:
(extract of the psalm 45, verses 17 )
- Instead of your forefathers will be your sons; you shall appoint them as princes throughout the land.
- This [12] new emperor (Caius) governed very well during the first two years of his reign, and won the hearts of the Romans and all peoples subject to the Empire. But this great power in which he saw himself elevated then so inflamed his heart that he forgot that he was a man. And his folly went so far that he dared to speak blasphemies against God and to attribute to himself honors that belong to him alone. (Flavius Josephus justifies the position of Caius by a visit to Alexandria where Jews and Greeks are in disagreement).
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Caius, who had been as insane to his fellow citizens as to the peoples subjugated to Rome, was finally murdered by his own, who also killed his wife and daughter in order to be sure of definitively eliminating all traces of Caligula in the Empire. Roman. This execution made it possible to save Petronius who was thus rewarded, divinely, for his salutary and daring choice for Judea.
(extract of the psalm 49 associated to this generation, verses 14 and 15 )
- This is their way; folly is theirs, and after them they will tell with their mouth forever.
- Like sheep, they are destined to the grave; death will devour them, and the upright will rule over them in the morning, and their form will outlast the grave as his dwelling place.
Although Agrippa lost one of his greatest allies in Caius Caligula, the new Emperor Claudius was equally favorable to him. Agrippa, like his grandfather Herod was probably an exceptional politician and was preparing to give back to his people and his country the glory and lost luster, but death prevailed before it came to fruition.
(extract of the psalm 49 associated to this generation, verse 16 )
- But God will redeem my soul from the power of the grave, for He shall take me forever.
(extract of the psalm 49 associated to this generation, verses 17 to 21 )
- Fear not when a man becomes rich, when the honor of his house increases,
- For he will not take anything in his death; his glory will not descend after him.
- Because in his lifetime he blesses himself, but [all] will praise you, for you will benefit yourself.
- You shall come to the generation of his forefathers; to eternity they will not see light.
- Man is in his glory but he does not understand; he is compared to the silenced animals.
[1] Flavius Josephus / Jewish Antiquities / Book Eighteenth / Chapter 4. (French: Flavius Josèphe/Antiquités Juives/Livre Dix-huitième/chapitre 4 )
[2] Philo of Alexandria / Legation ad Caium 299-300, following a quote from « The world where Jesus lived » by Hugues Cousin / Jean Pierre Lemonon / Jean Massonet. (French: Philon d’Alexandrie/Legation ad Caium 299-300, suivant une citation de « Le monde où vivait Jésus » ).
[3] « Verus Israel » by Marcel Simon / Chapter « Destinies of Judeo-Christianity ». (French: « Verus Israël » de Marcel Simon/Chapitre « Destinées du Judéo-christianisme » ).
[4] Babylonian Talmud / Avodah Zarah 8b (The William Davidson Talmud)
[5] Bereishit – Genesis – Chapter 25, verses 24 to 26
[6] Luke 12 ( New International Version (NIV) ), Chapter 12, verses 13 to 21
[7] Luke 12 ( New International Version (NIV) ), Chapter 16, verses 19 to 29
[8] Mark 15 (New International Version (NIV) ), Chapter 15, verse 34, (equivalent verses in the Gospels of Matthew and Luke).
[9] Matthew (International Standard Version), Chapter 27, verse 38, (verses equivalent in the other three Gospels).
[10] Mishlei – Proverbs – Chapter 1, verse 7
[11] See Flavius Josephus / Jewish Antiquities / Book Eighteenth / Chapter 8. (Voir Flavius Josèphe/Antiquités Juives/Livre Dix-huitième/chapitre 8 ).
[12] Flavius Josephus / Jewish Antiquities / Book Eighteenth / End of Chapter 9 at the beginning of Chapter 11. (French: Flavius Josèphe/Antiquités Juives/Livre Dix-huitième/fin du chapitre 9 au début du chapitre 11 ).