Jesus and The Authorities

Introduction

“But wby would Jesus’ disciples he armed in Jerusalem at Passover? 1 propose a scenario that helps make sense of several details of the texts of the Gospels as well as Acts. Jesus was expecting foe inbreaking of apocalyptic events.6 If he had come to believe that be him self was the Messiah (something I think is possible but not certain), he was expecting an angelic army to break through the sky, engage the Romans and their Jewish clients in battle, overthrow the Jewish leaders and Roman overlords, and establish the kingdom of God on earth, all under his own leadership as God’s Anointed. If Jesus thought of himself as a prophet and precursor of the Messiah, he would have expected that army to be led by the Messiah. In either case, be would expect that be and his followers would participate in the battle, along with the much more numerous angels, just as some documents from the Dead Sea Scrolls that those Jews thought they would participate in some apocalyptic battle. Jesus expected the event to take place during Passover and to he entered on Jerusalem. De therefore led his band of Galileans to Jerusalem at Passover and had them arm themselves so they could participate in the overthrow of the Jewish ruling class and the Romans.”

Martin, Dale B. "Jesus in Jerusalem: Armed and Not Dangerous." Journal for the Study of the New Testament 37, no. 1 (2014): 3-24. https://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0142064X14544863.