I Appeal To Caesar!

Caiaphas artfully slips in, “I am delighted that Annas has joined us here to offer encouragement and advice!”

An imperial nod with a slight smile comes from the

older man, giving new assurance to Caiaphas.

“ Second , I know the ideal person to lead this extermination of the message of Jesus . . . but humbly request your approval, for I have great confidence in any advice you four might give me.” “I have extended my friendship and interest to a certain, younger man, a Jew of the Diaspora; I have come to know him quite well. He is a scholar-rabbi from Tarsus who has been in serious study in Jerusalem for a number of years under Gamaliel. “His name is Saul, a dyed-in-the-wool Pharisee, and his love for strict enforcement of Scripture has made him a prize pupil of the esteemed Gamaliel; nevertheless, he has departed from his mentor’s policy of ‘wait-and-see’ that has hindered our progress. The majority of the Sanhedrin see Saul as a defender of truth and the Temple, and his enthusiasm for staying with basic Scripture has made him many friends. “This young rabbi has an essential, sterling quality: he has absolutely no patience with the followers of Jesus and this so- called resurrection! Saul detests personal religious experience. To him, the literal enforcement of the Torah, with all the prescribed functions of cleansing is uppermost. He has excelled all his fellow students and has become the disciplinarian of the whole Sanhedrin.