Messiah Convicted of Blasphemy

Did Yahushua the Messiah actually commit blasphemy, a charge that led to his conviction and death sentence by the religious leaders of Judaea?

Was there any scriptural basis for the extreme hatred these leaders harbored toward Yahushua, ultimately resulting in their desire for his death?

To the religious leaders responsible for Yahushua’s conviction and execution, the Messiah had much to say:

You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks according to his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. (John 8:44)

Are there any facts that indicate Yahushua committed the scriptural crime of blasphemy, thereby justifying his execution?

If you’re interested in finding the answers, continue reading as we investigate further.

To understand the events of Yahushua’s trial and the justification of the Jewish leaders for sentencing him to death, we must recall that the religious leaders of Judaea had made it illegal for anyone outside the high priest and certain chosen ones (who kept it a secret) to utter the sacred name—and then only in the Temple.

Their ultra-pious interpretations of Leviticus 24:16, Exodus 20:7, and Deuteronomy 5:11 made the mere act of pronouncing the sacred name “blasphemy.”

The Mishnah
The Mishnah, which gives us the Talmudic laws of the Jews as they existed in the early 1st century C.E. when the Temple stood, states that a person convicted of blasphemy was sentenced to death by stoning (B. Sanh. 6:4, 7:1,4), their law being based upon the command in Leviticus 24:16. (How this stoning relates to Yahushua’s death will be demonstrated as we proceed.)

But no mere act of blasphemy was deserving of the death sentence. The Mishnah goes on to tell us:

“The blasphemer” is not culpable unless he exactly pronounces the (sacred) name. (B. Sanhedrin 7:5)

The Jewish Talmudic laws, which stem from longstanding Jewish traditions—referred to as the traditions of the elders or fathers—are based on rabbinical interpretations and should not be confused with the laws of the Torah. Understanding these laws is essential for comprehending the trial of the Messiah, as Yahushua was convicted and sentenced to death for blasphemy.

According to the Mishnah, the procedure for a trial involving blasphemy was as follows:

The whole day [of the trial] the witnesses are examined by means of a substitute for the divine name, thus, ‘May Jose smite Jose.’ When the trial was finished, the accused was not executed on this evidence, but all persons were removed [from court], and the chief witness was told, ‘state literally what you heard.’ Thereupon he did so, [USING THE DIVINE NAME]. THE JUDGES THEN AROSE AND RENT THEIR GARMENTS, which rent was not to be resewn. The second witness stated; ‘I too have heard thus’ [but not uttering the divine name], and the third says: ‘I too heard thus.’ (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 7:5).

At the Messiah’s trial, this procedure was followed. The judges at first sought “false evidence against Yahushua, so that they might put him to death (Matt. 26:59-60; Mark 14:55-56).” Yet, since the trial was hastily put together, they were unsuccessful.

Though “many false witnesses had come forward,” none could provide the kind of testimony needed to justify the death sentence.

The Temple of Yahweh
Finally, we are told, “two false witnesses came forward” who claimed that Yahushua had said, “I am able to destroy the Temple of Yahweh, and in three days to build it (Matt. 26:61; Mark 14:57-58).” At first, the testimony required a substituted name in repeating the statement, but later, in private, the witness had to reveal the actual name used.

The phrase “the Temple of Θεοῦ (theou, deity),” which is found in those Greek texts that remain to us, is clearly a substitute for “the Temple of Yahweh.”

We know this for the following reasons:

• First, in some of the direct quotes from the Old Testament found in the New Testament, Θεοῦ (Θεος, etc.) was used as a substitute for the sacred name. For example see Matt. 4:4 and Luke 4:4, both citing Deut. 8:3; Rom. 14:11, citing Isa. 45:23-24. “Theos” is also found in the Greek Septuagint translation of the Old Testament beginning in the 2nd century C.E., as a substitute for Yahweh. Prior to the 2nd century C.E. the Septuagint texts retained the sacred name.

• Second, because the judges were attempting to convict Yahushua of blasphemy, which could only result in the death penalty if the sacred name was actually used.

• Third, the expression, “Temple of Yahweh,” is often found as a common name for the Temple in the Old Testament. For examples see 1Sam. 1:9, 3:3; 2 Kings 11:10, 23:4, 24:13; 2 Chron. 26:16, 29:16; Ezra 3:6, 10; Jer. 7:4, 24:1; Ezek. 8:16; Hag. 2:15; Zech. 6:13-15.

• Fourth, and finally, the phrase “Temple of theou” found in the Greek of Matthew 26:61 is, in its counterpart of Mark 14:58, rendered only as “Temple.” The absence of “theou” in Mark’s version reflects the fact that the scribe translating that work into Greek side-stepped the issue of the sacred name by leaving it out, while the scribe translating Matthew’s manuscript decided instead to gloss it.

The claim of the two false witnesses, nevertheless, was flawed by inconsistencies “and thus, neither was their testimony alike (Mark 14:59).” Under scriptural law, at least two or three witnesses are required before a person could receive the death penalty and on this point, the Jewish court was still bound (Num. 35:30; Deut. 17:6, 19:15).

Further, evidence shows that there were members among the elders and chief priests who defended Yahushua and his right to a fair trial (John 12:42-43). These men would not have allowed the questionable testimony against Yahushua to condemn him to death.

After the false witnesses had spoken, the high priest asked Yahushua what his response was, but Yahushua remained silent (Matt. 26:62-63; Mark 14:60-61).

Seeing that their case against Yahushua had not succeeded, his adversaries now began to press him personally with an assortment of questions. Finally, they gave Yahushua the one question he was willing to answer, the one he had been waiting for.

The Power of Yahweh
They asked, “Are you the Messiah?” He responded, “I am.” Later, he continued with a pronouncement that sealed his death sentence:

Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of Yahweh. (Luke 22:69)

Once again, the Greek edition gives Θεοῦ instead of Yahweh.

El and eloah (eloahi, eloahim) are also terms commonly translated into Greek as “Θεοῦ.” Nevertheless, if Yahushua had originally said, “at the right hand of the power of eloahim (eloah, eloahi),” or “of el” (as it is given in Shem Tob’s Hebrew version of Matthew but noticeably absent in the Greek edition), no blasphemy worthy of death would have occurred.

With the rabbis’ interpretation of Leviticus, 24:16, the verse upon which the priests and elders were basing their case, the death sentence could only be administered if one “blasphemes the name of Yahweh” (compare Lev. 24:16 with B. Sanh. 7:5). As mentioned above, the procedure of a trial for blasphemy is given in the Mishnah as follows:

The whole day [of the trial] the witnesses are examined by means of a substitute for the divine name, thus, ‘May Jose smite Jose.’ When the trial was finished, the accused was not executed on this evidence, but all persons were removed [from court], and the chief witness was told, ‘state literally what you heard.’ Thereupon he did so, [USING THE DIVINE NAME]. THE JUDGES THEN AROSE AND RENT THEIR GARMENTS, which rent was not to be resewn. The second witness stated; ‘I too have heard thus’ [but not uttering the divine name], and the third says: ‘I too heard thus.’ (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 7:5).

Supporting proof that “theos” in Luke 22:69 and “el” in Shem Tob’s edition of Matthew 26:64 are substitutes for the original word “Yahweh” is confirmed by what immediately transpired after Yahushua’s declaration:

AND THE HIGH PRIEST HAVING RENT HIS GARMENTS said, “What have we any more need of witnesses? YOU HAVE HEARD THE BLASPHEMY: what do you think? And they all condemned him to be deserving of death. And some began to spit on him, and to cover up his face, and to buffet him, and to say to him, “Prophesy”; and the officers struck him with the palm of the hand. (Mark 14:63-65; Matt. 26:65-68; Luke 22:71)

The high priest “rent his garments” because this was the procedure re­quired at a trial of blasphemy when the sacred name was actually uttered!

Verification that Yahushua uttered the sacred name Yahweh is remarkably revealed in Luke 22:69 of a Hebrew manuscript in the Vatican Library labeled Vat. Ebr. 100, fol. 113v. It reads as follows:

Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of השם (ha-shem; the name).

The Hebrew term “ha-shem,” meaning “the name,” is a well-known circumlocution used by the Jews for the sacred name Yahweh! We have reproduced the verse from the folio so the reader can see the term in the original manuscript.

 

 

As the Mishnah reports, when a witness had to actually use the sacred name in the trial, “the judges stand up on their feet and rend their garments, and they may not mend them again.” (B. Sanh. 7:5). In this case, the high priest, who sat as one of the judges, rent his garments because Yahushua had witnessed against himself.

The high priest then argued:

What have we any more need of witnesses?

His statement shows that the testimony of the two false witnesses had been in­consistent and certain members of the court were unwilling to execute Yahu­shua on their statements alone. But now Yahushua had used the sacred name in front of the entire tribunal. All had become witnesses to the alleged crime.

In response to Yahushua’s words the high priest asked the rest of the court:

You have heard the blasphemy: what do you think?

Remember, according to the Jewish law of this period, the blasphemer was “not culpable” to receive the death sentence “unless he exactly pronounces the name.”

The verdict: Yahushua was “DESERVING OF DEATH.”

Even though “from among the rulers many believed in him (Yahushua),” these also acquiesced to this decision; for their attitude, as John points out, was formed out of fear of the Pharisees (the dominant religious party in Judaea), that if they opposed them they “might be thrown out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory of men more than the glory of Yahweh.” (John 12:42-43)

With a conviction in hand, the religious leaders were still faced with a dilemma. They had been forbidden under Roman law, the Jews now being under Roman domination, to execute anyone (see John 18:31).

Therefore, it was necessary to convince the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate, to carry out the sentence for them in the name of Rome. They told Pilate:

We have a law, and according to our law he ought to die, because he makes himself the son of the deity. (John, 19:7)

In other words, the Jews were saying that he gives himself authority to use the sacred name, which was strictly against Jewish religious law.

The political events allowed an excellent compromise. Under Jewish law, one who was convicted of blasphemy or idolatry was not only punished by stoning to death but was also subject to being hung on a pole (tree).

Stoned and Hanged
Josephus, for example, referring to Leviticus 24:16, writes:

Let him that blasphemeth the deity be stoned, then hung for a day, and buried ignominiously and in obscurity. (Josephus, Antiquities 4:8:6)

The commandment that this penalty is based upon is found in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, which adds the following concerning the guilty one:

His body shall not remain all night on a tree, but surely you shall bury him the same day, for he that is hanged is a reproach to eloahim.

In fact, these instructions were followed with regard to Yahushua’s own death and burial (Matt. 27:57-66; Mark 15:42-47; Luke 23:50-55; John 19:38-42; cf. Gal. 3:13-14).

The Mishnah states that in the time of the Messiah:

The Sages (rabbis) say: None is hanged save the blasphemer and the idolator. (B. Sanh. 6:4)

Yahushua, convicted of blasphemy, was hung on a pole by Roman officials, while the rabbis take full credit in their own literature. This fact is supported by both the New Testament and rabbinical literature.

The Mishnaic law, based upon Deuteronomy 21:22-23, also makes reference to the fact that a blasphemer hung on a tree must not be left there overnight, a point verified in the history of the New Testament for the case of Yahushua (B. Sanh. 6:4; see John 19:31-42).

The Mishnah adds the following regarding the culprit’s corpse:

He is hanged on a pole as the butchers do, as if to say, Why was this one hanged? Because he blessed the (sacred) name, and the name of heaven was found profaned. (B. Sanh. 6:4).

Interestingly, rabbinical literature claims that Yahushua was both stoned and then hanged (B. Sanh. 45b; J. Sanh. 6:7; B. Sanh. 43a, 67a), which fulfills the requirements of their law against blasphemy (under their Talmudic interpretation).

Accused of Magic
Though his stoning is not expressly mentioned in the New Testament, that some of Yahushua’s adversaries, who lined the road along which he carried his torture stake, threw stones at him would likely be a contributing factor in why he was unable to continue on the road to Golgotha (see Luke 23:26).

The Talmudic commentators claim he was stoned “because he had practised magic and deceived and led astray Israel (B. Sanh. 43a. Also see B. Sanh. 107b).”

The accusation of “magic” is insightful. The rabbis were not against “magic” per se. They often claimed the talent to perform magic themselves. As R. Travers Herford notes, “miracles, whether done by Jews or Christians, were ascribed to magic, and were not on that account despised.” (Christianity in Talmud and Midrash, p. 55. 1966)

What out­raged the rabbis was the fact that such magic, even when used by the rabbis, was accomplished by using the sacred name (see B. Sanh. 107b, n. 10, 17)!

Charge of Blasphemy
Yahushua himself testified that he performed great works of healing and other signs “in the name of my father (i.e. Yahweh) (John 10:25).” However, he had not been authorized by the religious authorities to use the sacred name, which led them to label his actions as blasphemous.

Upon examining all the evidence, it becomes clear that Yahushua the Messiah was wrongly convicted and executed on the charge of “blasphemy” according to Jewish law. In contrast, the Scriptures command the use and proclamation of the sacred name, Yahweh.

In keeping with Yahweh’s doctrine, Yahushua spoke the sacred name throughout his ministry. Indeed, Yahushua never sinned (2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet., 2:21-22), which means he never broke a scriptural law or commandment (1 John 3:4).

Yahushua followed the scriptural commandments regarding the sacred name, despite the man-made laws imposed by religious leaders. These leaders were jealous of Yahushua and resented him for allegedly violating their rabbinical law, which prohibited common people from uttering the sacred name.

Fearing the popularity of Yahushua among the crowds, the religious leaders delayed their plot to execute him until they could apprehend him without facing public opposition. Their goal was to punish Yahushua for infringing upon one of their own rabbinical regulations.

In truth, Yahushua aimed to live according to the laws and commandments of Yahweh and intended to sacrifice himself for the sake of Yahweh’s name.

If you are still questioning the significance of the sacred name Yahweh and whether Yahushua actually spoke and taught using this name, it is highly recommended that you read The Sacred Name Yahweh by Qadesh La Yahweh Press.