8. Jew Killer

“Jew Killer, Zionist Crusher

Jew killer, Imperial blessed bastard

Jew killer, Tabernacle wolf man

Jew killer, War dog of Rome

Jew killer, Semite motherfucker

Jew killer, Sanhedrin hunter

Jew killer, Samaritan slaughterer

Jew killer, Holocaust master

 

Sand Nigger, Pilate the rapist

Sand Nigger, Pilate the murderer

Sand Nigger, Pilate the god slayer

Sand Nigger, Pilate the tyrant

 

Jew killer, A people  scorned

Jew killer, Scattered race

Jew killer, God made flesh

Jew killer, Guilt absolved

Jew killer, Barabas lie

Jew killer, Hell broth dread

Jew killer , end of days

Jew killer, earths pariahs”

To persecute and steal a peoples God is the hidden shame of catholic arrogance, of all Christ worshipers who know nothing about what is real and what is not. The children of the resurrection are the legacy this arrogance and it is they who shall be cursed among all others who walk in the shadows of truth.

This is a hard hitting title and intentionally provocative song. Musically slow and brooding with that doomy riff and Hoest ‘s trademark snarling vocals. The song is about Pontius Pilate who condemned Jesus to his Death [Hence the songs title]. Some of the  words are spoken from a Jewish patriots point of view. Some of Jesus’s disciples were Zealots [A Jewish religious-political faction of Judah, existing for a period of about 70 years or possible more, in the 1st century CE, and consisted of factions, where a terrorist group, the Sicarii (from the Greek), assassinated both Romans and Jewish leaders with daggers] There was Simon the Zealot, and Judas was supposed to have connections with the group.

The term ‘Sand Nigger’ or ‘Semite motherfucker’  is spoken from the Romans point of view and this would have been a derogatory slander towards the Jews. Any Roman occupying force would abuse the indigenous populace and treat then appallingly.

There will be a few nob-ends who will call, The Meads of Asphodel’ racist and will no doubt be the same adolescents who would probably slander the makers of Schindler’s List, for being equally theatrical and blatantly cruel to the Jews. I do not apologize for being blunt as my motives are sincere.

There has been a great emphasis to blame the Jews for the Death of Jesus. The Sanhedrin being the arch fiends in the story of his arrest and subsequent trails, ultimately leading to his Execution.  Pilate even washes his hands clean of the problem after giving in to the High Priests insistence of the death penalty. How much of this is later Christian manipulation to make their own agenda more plausible to a Roman audience is at worst conjecture, at best probable. But nothing in the whole story of Jesus is certain. Pontius Pilate is a pivotal player in the Death of Jesus and this song is wholly constructed around him. The reference to ‘Sand Nigger’ is not derogatory towards Jews or Semitic peoples, but s traditional slang term for Arab dwelling peoples. It has an offensive tone and can be construed as racist, but a necessary inclusion to give the lyrical content its substance. The Romans would have been wholeheartedly encouraged to scorn and abuse the native population both verbally and physically.

The Death of Jesus is looked at more closely in the ‘Genesis of Death’ track, but to become more familiar with Pontius Pilate read on.

Pontius Pilate Historically Pontius Pilate is recorded in six writings of first century authors-Josephus, Philo and the four Evangelists. Archaeologically he is found on an inscription on a block of limestone at Ceasarea Maritima and a number of bronze coins struck by the prefect on three successive years. Commonly known from the writings of the four gospels, Pontius Pilate was Governor of Judaea 26CE –early 37CE [Josephus Antiquities 18.32f, 35, 89] As a military governor his duties would have been primarily the maintenance of law and order, judicial matters and the collection of taxes. The province of Judaea would have been a hot bed of fanatical unrest fundamentally linked with the regions unusual religious background. Unlike the numerous other Roman subjugated territories, Judaae was bound by religion and a deeply observed religion at that.

Whereas the likes of Egypt, Greece, Gaul etc, were likewise bound by religion, it was a fragmented religion that constituted many Gods and many variants on a segregated tribal individuality. The tribes of Israel were forged under their God centuries earlier and it was this singular doctrine that had held the nation together, albeit a politically weak and historically oppressed nation.

So, Pontius Pilate had the unenviable task of keeping the peace in a not so appealing part of the Roman Empire. His rule would have been harsh and yet mindful of the religious balance needed to appease the local indigenous authorities. He would have certainly been diplomatic and would have required the allegiance of the Jewish Sanhedrin and religious leaders. But as the history of this turbulent land testifies, there would be no appeasement towards the religious authorities as to giving in to their own demands to have a prisoner executed. Pilate would have done this unequivocally. We must remember the Romans decimated Jerusalem forty years after Jesus was murdered.

His part in the Death of the Christian demi-God has been severely distanced and his ‘washing of the hands’ scenario is absolute fiction. There is no way a Governor of Rome would have had any doubts about the murder of any Jew. If we take the views of Philo and Josephus [two renowned Jewish writers], The Pilate of history was cited as stubborn, vindictive, naturally inflexible, and capable of insults, theft, outrages, and wanton injuries. He was notorious for his cruelty and numerous executions without trial.

Trial and conviction in brief

We know that Jesus was hauled before the Sanhedrin [the Supreme Court] at 6.00am, a rather strange hour for a trial? As the Jewish Passover festival was the next day, it is conceivable that a volatile situation was deemed extinguishable by the quick removal of its pivotal figure. Jesus had already caused a fracas in the Temple, and the Jerusalem was heaving with people who had traveled from all over for the incoming Passover festival.

The Passover gives us a date of Jesus’ trial and death. This specific time frame also allows us to ponder the significance of Easter, the Christian celebration of the death and resurrection. The European pagan festival of spring was swallowed up by the Christian faith, thus Easter, although originally a pagan festival [Easter originated from the Germanic ‘Oster’ a Spring Goddess of the Teutonic tribes]

It seems Jesus was already condemned; it was just the formality of trial and sentence.

The Jewish Sanhedrin had no powers to of issuing the death sentence; this had to be obtained from the Romans. The Governor Pontius Pilate makes his appearance here, given that it is his jurisdiction to kill Jesus, yet as the Gospels reveal, even after the Sanhedrin have found Jesus guilty of Blasphemy, [Pilate was reluctant to issue the Death sentence to the point of even referring Jesus to King Herod. Herod was King of Galilee, and after a brief meeting with Jesus sent him back without finding any real danger in him. A probable scenario, but one that contradicts Pilates ruthless personality. It is however possible that at this volatile time during the Passover he may have wanted to keep this whole Jesus thing low key, to be rid of him as quickly as possible. But the Gospels have made a fuss about Jesus and involved the outside populace as well.

The New Testament conveys the following scene,

So, now Pilate is in a dilemma. He has a man he does not wish to condemn to death in a city to whom the priestly order wishes the opposite. It is here that the mysterious Barabbas episode appears. According to the gospels, it was customary for the Romans to release a Jewish prisoner during the Passover festival. The Roman governor Pontius Pilate tried to use this custom as an excuse to release Jesus. But a crowd in the courtyard demanded that a prisoner named Barabbas be freed instead, and Pilate eventually gave in to the pressure. Thus Barabbas was released, and Jesus was crucified In reality there is no record of any such custom.  What makes the figure of Barabbas so intriguing is his status in the gospels. He is mentioned in all four and such cohesion this usually warrants authenticity.

Some ancient Syriac copies of Matthew, and a few other ancient sources, call the freed prisoner “Jesus bar Abbas”. The name Barabbas can be obtained from this by dropping the name “Jesus” and changing “bar Abbas” to “Barabbas”. Furthermore, the phrase “bar Abbas” can be translated as “son of the Father”, which could possibly be applied to Jesus himself, since he sometimes used the word “Abba” (father) in referring to God. From this evidence, many scholars have concluded that Barabbas’ original name was “Jesus bar Abbas”. Other evidence indicates that this name was intentionally altered by later Christian writers. One well-documented case involves the scholar Origen, who reportedly promoted the change for reverential reasons, because he didn’t want the name “Jesus” to be associated with a criminal. However we view the Barabbas incident, it is a captivating enigma that has yet to be properly understood. It does in one instant offer the following indictments, that Jesus was not a popular, if at all recognized person in Jerusalem. It would confirm his notoriety was in the rural landscapes of Galilee and that his mission was an obscure curiosity to most Jews.

The Barabbas incident also heaps more blame on the Jews for personally condemning their prophet to death. Add to this Pilates washing of the hands and  his declaration of ‘I am innocent of this mans blood’ [only mentioned in Mathew], and we have a clear pro Roman revision of what probably happened. The Gospels try to create a picture of this reviled Roman Governor as the man who tried is utmost to free Jesus, to prevent his death.

In reality Pontius Pilate would have had no second thoughts about killing another Jew who posed a threat to the stability of his jurisdiction. Jews were being harassed and killed on a weekly basis throughout the province. Jewish people of Jesus’ day had a passionate desire for freedom from the domination of the pagan Romans and the oppressive Herod dynasty that had ruled them for many years. Revolt seethed continuously, mostly underground, for more than 100 years from the time Herod became king (37 BC) until the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and the Temple (AD 70).

It is helpful to realize that this underlying struggle is the backdrop for Jesus’ ministry, and why so many hoped he would be a conquering king. This helps us understand why the adulation of the crowds during the triumphal entry reduced Jesus to tears, and probably why many rejected his message.

We  must remember out of the thousands upon thousands of Jews entering Jerusalem at Passover, only a small minority of them would have met Jesus as he entered. They would have known of his teachings and this would have made most of them of Galilean descent. This episode would have had no bearing on his eventual rejection by most Jews as the vast majority would have not had a clue who he was.

Ever since the Romans arrived on the scene in 64 BC, the Jewish people were divided over how to respond to the rule of their often corrupt governors or the Herod family who served them. The religious community, particularly the Pharisees, believed the Jewish people were to be God’s instruments on earth, from whom the Messiah would come to institute that glorious age when Israel would be a great and free nation. Many others, especially the secular community and apparently some of the Sadducees, noted the present reality of the rule of Rome and determined that cooperation was the best policy. The tyrannical rule of Rome and the paganism of its religious and Hellenistic culture heightened the contrast between the situation at hand and the messianic hopes. This difference produced increasing fragmentation of the people.

So there would have been no favoritism to this Galilean upstart who some may have claimed was a King of Jews. This was no doubt a mocking remark instigated by Pilate to insult the Jews. [Relating to the sign he had placed above Jesus head]

The Murder of Jesus the Jew was wholly by Roman hands and possibly a few fearful Sadducees, but none so much to warrant the slur of God Killer attributed to the Jewish nation ever since. Remember the Romans were the occupying power and as such must bear the title of God Killer.

To balance the absurdities of labeling a nation ‘God Killer’ we must also remember how the Jews destroyed the occupying Gods of Canaan when they entered as an occupying force centuries earlier. The Romans are also guilty of roaming the know world and destroying Gods wherever they found them. So maybe this God Killing label is no big deal other than the spiteful ranting bile of Christianity.