Mara Bar-Serapion

The titulus above Jesus reads INRI which is the Latin abbreviation for King of the Jews.

Mara bar ("son of ") Serapion, sometimes spelled Mara bar Sarapion was a Stoic philosopher from the Roman province of Syria. He wrote a letter in Syriac to his son, who was also named Serapion.^[1] This writing is said to be one of the earliest non-Jewish, non-Christian references to a historical Jesus.

The letter is preserved in a 6th or 7th century manuscript (BL Add. 14658) held by the British Library, and was composed sometime between 73 AD and the 3rd century.^{[1][2][3] [4][5]} Considered by scholars as an example of "chreia" -- the Greek rhetorical exercise of expanding on a written narrative—the letter refers in one passage to a "wise king" executed by his fellow Jews. This passage has been interpreted by some as referring to Jesus of Nazareth, who is mentioned in few non-Christian sources prior to the 2nd century.^[6]

Reference to a "wise king" executed by the Jews

Writing from prison to encourage his son to pursue wisdom, the author explains that when the wise are oppressed, not only does their wisdom triumph in the end, but God also punishes their oppressors:

What else can we say, when the wise are forcibly dragged off by tyrants, their wisdom is captured by insults, and their minds are oppressed and without defense? What advantage did the Athenians gain from murdering Socrates? Famine and plague came upon them as a punishment for their crime. What advantage did the men of Samos gain from burning Pythagoras? In a moment their land was covered with sand. What advantage did the Jews gain from executing their wise king? It was just after that their kingdom was abolished. God justly avenged these three wise men: the Athenians died of hunger; the Samians were overwhelmed by the sea and the Jews, desolate and driven from their own kingdom, live in complete dispersion. But Socrates is not dead, because of Plato; neither is Pythagoras, because of the statue of Juno; nor is the wise king, because of the "new law" he laid down^[7][8]

First, Mara speaks of this wise Jew as a king, and "king" is prominently connected to Jesus at his trial, and especially at his death in the titulus on his cross.^[9] Second, Mara's link between the destruction of the Jewish homeland and the death of the "wise king" is paralleled in Christian Supersessionism, where the destruction of Jerusalem is a punishment for Jewish rejection of Jesus.^[10]

Identity of the "wise king"

Many have interpreted the above passage as providing an early, extra-Biblical reference to the historical Jesus. Proponents of this view argue that the allusion to a "wise king" -- specifically, a Jewish king executed by other Jews—fits no individual in history except Jesus, and that it coincides with the many Biblical references to Jesus as "King of the Jews" (e.g., Matthew 2:2; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3; John 18:33) and the crucifixion story told in the New Testament gospels (which, however, claim that the Romans, not the Jews, executed Jesus). Proponents further argue that the traditional date of Jesus' crucifixion, presumed to have occurred in the year 30 or 33, precedes the destruction of the Jewish temple in year 70 during the first Jewish-Roman War, followed by the Jewish diaspora in the several decades following. Proponents argue that this series of events in the 1st and 2nd centuries is the calamity befalling the Jews alluded to in the text of the letter.^[11] In the 19th century, William Cureton offered the following interpretation: the "wise king" is indeed Jesus, and Mara was a Christian writing in a time of persecution, who therefore chose not to make his reference or allegiance so clear as to invite martyrdom.^[6][12]

Critics of this interpretation, however, argue that unlike the references to Socrates and Pythagoras, bar Serapion does not explicitly mention Jesus by name, thereby rendering the actual identity of the "wise king" in the letter indeterminable. Critics contend, as well, that the gospel portraits of Jesus' crucifixion unambiguously place the blame for his execution on the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, with the Jewish mob merely agitating for his crucifixion.

What these critics argue when they blame the execution of Jesus on Pontius Pilate does run contrary to the Canonical gospels, according to some interpretations, see Responsibility for the death of Jesus for details. In the Gospel of Matthew 27:12 it is written that Jesus was accused by the Jewish chief priests and the elders, following the Incident in the Temple. In verse 18 of the same chapter it states that Pilate "knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him." Pontius Pilate, who was a friend of Sejanus, saw his position at risk after Sejanus was executed in 31 AD, and therefore was a puppet in the hands of the Jewish leaders^{[citation needed]}. In Gospel of John 19:12, it is written, "Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jews kept shouting, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar."

See also

• Suetonius on Christ

References

1. ^ ^{a b} The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown: An Introduction to the New Testament by Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum 2009 ISBN 9780805443653 page 110
2. ^ Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence by Robert E. Van Voorst 2000 ISBN 0802843689 page 53
3. ^ Jesus and His Contemporaries: Comparative Studies by Craig A. Evans 2001 ISBN 9780391041189 page 41
4. ^ Catherine M. Chin (July 2006). "Rhetorical Practice in the Chreia Elaboration of Mara bar Serapion". Hugoye: Journal of Syriac Studies 9 (2). http://syrcom.cua.edu/Hugoye/Vol9No2/HV9N2Chin.html. Retrieved 2008-02-02. 
5. ^ Kirby, Peter: Mara Bar-Serapion. In: Early Christian Writings. 2 February 2006
6. ^ ^{a b} Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. p 53
7. ^ Bruce, F.F.. The New Testament Documents: Are They Reliable?. Eerdmans Publishing Co.. 
8. ^ Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. p 54
9. ^ Mark 15:26 par.l.
10. ^ Robert E. Van Voorst, Jesus outside the New Testament: an introduction to the ancient evidence, Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2000. pp 54-55
11. ^ Ute Possekel, Evidence of Greek philosophical concepts in the writings of Ephrem the Syrian Corpus scriptorum Christianorum Orientalium: Subsidia, Peeters Publishers, 1999. pp 29-31
12. ^ Cureton, Spicilegium Syriacum, London, 1855; pp. xiii-xv