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Excerpt from Chapter Six

   “No more mistakes!” Caiaphas still could not calm himself. He had been angry for days. “I tell you that Joachanin is the leader of the Sicarii. I am certain of it! His words fire the passions of the people and he accuses us of all manner of iniquities. These people have been uncivilized, warring nomads most of their history, and when a civilized society tries to show them the way to peace and prosperity, they kill them!”
    “Calm down Joseph, I know you are not one of their kind,” Pilate said to Caiaphas in a meager Greek, as he did not know Aramaic. “I can assure you that I will obtain absolute control over all of Palestine. How many of these impudent rascals have I already dispatched? We will find their weakness and exploit it.  Now, this Joachanin?”
    The meeting between Pilate, Herod, and Caiaphas was taking place at the Palace of the High Priest in Jerusalem. Here was the most appropriate place to discuss the issues and survey the breadth of Judea. Galilee, about seventy miles to the north, had ample and lush facilities, but the rulers wanted to feel the heartbeat of the people.  There was no better place than Jerusalem and the Temple.
    “I tried to explain to Caiaphas that it was better to let Joachanin go than to risk another rebellion over gnats and vomit,” explained Herod, referring to Joachanin’s and the people’s anger over small issues that he felt did not concern them. He also reviled against the filth of the words the people had pronounced against himself, Caesar, and Caiaphas. “While he may indeed incite small groups to violence, I find his words console most of the populace and they await their deliverance from their god. That,” he chuckled, “will never happen. He dulls their sense of reality and they wait like lambs for the slaughter.”
    “Enough of your ridiculous estimates of their abilities and intentions! We have tortured endless numbers of these Sicarii and they refuse, by what power I cannot fathom, to answer any question put to them. That is not the mindset of one who is waiting like a lamb to the slaughter.  This shows their resolve!” Caiaphas shook his fist at Herod as he spoke, barely able to contain his fury. “Joachanin travels far and wide, seemingly calling no place an abode. He dresses like no other man and yet he is held in high respect by all of Palestine! He has followers throughout the land and he is the Teacher in Damascus where he preaches to the Essenes. Fortunately, most of them seem wholly unwilling to follow his notions against us. All they do is meditate and tend to their duties. If it were not for his appearance, so unlike theirs, I think he would even lay claim to their consciences. And you,” he pointed to Herod, “do nothing.  I have commissioned spies to find these things out when you should have done so!”
    “Sit down!” commanded Pilate, directing Caiaphas to take his seat. He could not afford the High Priest to show such disdain for Herod. It could be bad for Pilate in the long run if word ever got back to Caesar. “We must approach this problem with a methodology and ruthlessness, yes, but we also must take advantage of time. That, I believe, we have plenty of. To do something in too much haste could return us a disadvantage.  We need to lay a foundation.” As Caiaphas took his seat, Pilate stood and moved to the center of the room. “You have the key to it, Joseph,” he said to Caiaphas.  “These people need civilization, a way of life that only Rome can offer them. We need to take the time to convince them that we are their saviors, saving them from endless toils, the invasions of other nations, filth and blood, and the civil wars constantly being brought upon them by their own kind. Rome is their friend, not their enemy. I think we can all agree that Caesar is the key to stability. But, I realize that even their years in the Babylonian Captivity did not impress these facts upon their minds as a people. So, how should we proceed?” He looked at both Herod and Caiaphas, each choosing not to respond, or not knowing how.
    Pilate continued, “Varus destroyed so much of this land years ago, even attacking and destroying the armies of the Judean resistance that had besieged Sabinus’ legion here in Jerusalem. Do you remember what happened when he approached the Jews in Jerusalem after he defeated the resistance? The people of the city said that the sedition began because of the numbers of people who came here for the feast, and they placed the blame on their own people from outside the city, and that they, the people of Jerusalem, were as besieged by the revolutionaries as Sabinus’ legion. Look at the people’s disdain for the Samaritans who in every way but blood are like themselves. Here is their weakness. They are too independent and cannot forge any lasting alliance for their own good. Varus forgave many, even some of the leaders. He also crucified many, principally those who showed no remorse or were in any way associated with messianic sympathies.  My point is, gentlemen, that we can use their own political and military ineptness to our advantage. When Varus forgave so many, he infected their passions with doubt for their cause. But, he also ruthlessly destroyed the instigators, putting the blame for the unrest and destruction squarely on them. It is a divide and conquer, gentlemen, a famous maxim of Julius Caesar. Let’s create more division and mistrust of their own kind, all the while pointing out the benefits of Rome.”
    Herod and Caiaphas looked at each other, nodding in somewhat of an agreement.
    “What of your spies, Antipas?” asked Pilate. “Are we getting good information from them?”
    Caiaphas interrupted, “Actually, your excellency, I have a man in a particularly admirable position who is, even at this moment, inside the very core of the suspects. Antipas and I both agree that he is our best resource.”
    “Very well,” Pilate commented. “Now we need more of that information, all he can provide us. It is possible that there is a weakness that we can exploit, create a problem, and then proceed to provide its resolution. Do you see what I am getting to?”
    “I believe so,” said Herod Antipas. “If our man can get into a position where we can feed disinformation to the resistance, we can manipulate them to our advantage, even making ourselves look like the champions of the people.”
    “Now you are thinking,” Pilate praised Herod. “Let us use the Immerser, uh, I believe that is what they call him, isn’t that right, Caiaphas?” Caiaphas shook his head in the affirmative. “Yes, well, let’s use him not only to embarrass the resistance, but to be the bait for its demise.  If not him, then one of the other leaders we uncover. Agreed?”
    Herod and Caiaphas again nodded their heads in agreement and Caiaphas then spoke. “The Immerser will have appointed a successor, it is one of the things these men do as a habit. But, it also tends to cause divisions. That may be the best seam for us to exploit.  I will instruct Reu to find that seam.”
    “My friends,” Pilate raised his arms wide and high, “I see that we have come to a significant milestone. This will be the beginning of a long and prosperous relationship. Hail, Caesar!” he saluted as he left the hall, his right hand raised high and then striking his left breast.
    “Hail, Caesar!” responded Herod and Caiaphas in unison.
    “I think I am going to like this Roman,” said Caiaphas. “He is vicious and thorough. We may keep our positions yet.”