Who was Jesus? Christians say that He is God in the flesh. Others claim he was someone very different. One view is that He was one of many who claimed to be the messiah and tried to lead rebellions against the Romans who ruled Judea then. The story goes that there were many such. Jesus was one who was crucified for failing and then, over time, His followers decided that He was more than a political failure and that His kingdom just hadn’t arrived yet.
It is quite true that most Jews resented the Romans. Pompey conquered Jerusalem in 63 BC and Israel became a vassal state. Rome gave them some freedoms, such as allowing their sacrificial system to continue. The Romans declared Herod the Great, as “king”, but the Jews considered him an Edomite. Herod was a great builder, but also a tyrant. Jews prayed that God would send the promised messiah who would deliver them.
It is also true that there were those who led rebellions against the Romans. Here are 13 examples from the 200 years around the time of Christ. These were people who tried to free Israel and/or set themselves up as rulers. However, this proposal needs more than this to be true.
First, yes, these led rebellions, but there are no reports that any of them actually claimed to be the Jewish messiah.
Second, there are no ancient claims that Jesus ever tried to organize any rebellion against Rome. There are no claims that He had any military aspirations.
Little is known about most of the leaders and that is not surprising. They had little impact on history. The figures add a bit about those that we know more about.
Think about the distinctions between these leaders and Jesus Christ.
Leaders rose up to violently overthrow the Romans
Jesus came to bring the Kingdom of God to earth.
Leaders fought to make Israel independent.
Jesus died so that all man could come to God.
Leaders died and were largely forgotten.
Jesus died and then rose again. He was the real suffering servant. He changed the world.
Gabriel’s Revelation
Much of what we know about the rebellions comes from the Jewish historian, Josephus. What about archaeology? Not a lot. One controversial artifact is perhaps worth noting. A large limestone slab turned up in 2000 with apparently ancient Hebrew writing on it. It has been called “Gabriel’s Revelation” as the text is written as from a person or angel named Gabriel, hence the name it is known by. Many scholars date the writing to date to the late 1st century BC or early 1st century AD. Several believe that the writing is forged to appear to ancient. Much of the writing is in poor condition is often illegible and scholars translate it differently. The artifact made headlines when Israeli Bible scholar, Israel Knohl wrote articles saying that the text from Gabriel’s revelation slab showed that the idea of a suffering messiah who would die for his people and resurrect in 3 days predated Jesus and Christianity. His view is apparently the minority as this quote notes:
“Knohl argues that such messianic texts were formative for the shaping of the Jesus tradition, but remains relatively alone along this line of interpretation.” (Elgvin, https://www.jjmjs.org/uploads/1/1/9/0/11908749/elgvin_gabriel_inscription.pdf).
When I read his translation, I find that quite a reach. In my opinion, Dr. Knohl went looking for this type of narrative in the text and thinks he found it. He has since backed down on at least one key translation portion of the text. Instead of line 80 reading, “In three days, live,” , it is better translated, “On the third day: the sign.” It tells us nothing about what was meant by the sign.
Knohl suggests that the messiah figure in the Gabriel text was Simon of Peraea and that uprisings around the death of Herod the Great provided the occasion for the text. He has no evidence to support this speculation. If the text is authentic, many options are available. I will add a number of references on Gabriel’s revelation at the end for those who are interested.
A three-foot high slab of limestone with text. The image is from Wikipedia, but the outline shows the relative size of the full stone. Is the writing authentic? If it is, what does it tell us?
What can we say about this? The writing may not be legitimately from the early period. If it is real, it confirms that many Jews were looking for a messiah, particularly one that would provide military deliverance. If this is the best evidence that can be shown to say that the Jews were not expecting their messiah to die and be resurrected, it serves to show how surprising Jesus was…. death and resurrection.
Gabriel’s Revelation references
Atkinson, Kenneth. 2018. “The Gabriel Revelation (Hazon Gabriel): A Reused Masseba Forgery?” The Qumran Chronicle, December. https://scholarworks.uni.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=6536&context=facpub
Elgvin, Torleif. 2014. “Eschatology and Messianism in the Gabriel Inscription.” Journal of the Jesus Movement in Its Jewish Setting 1: 5–25.
Hazen, Craig. 2025. “Gabriel’s Revelation: A Challenge to Our View of the Resurrection? | Christian Research Institute.” Christian Research Institute, July. https://www.equip.org/articles/gabriels-revelation/
Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center for Jewish History. 2020. “Gabriel’s Revelation.” Jeselsohn Epigraphic Center for Jewish History, June 2. https://jeselsohncenter.com/gabriels-revelation/
Knohl, Israel. 2007. “‘In Three Days, You Shall Live.’” Haaretz, April 19. https://www.haaretz.com/2007-04-19/ty-article/in-three-days-you-shall-live/0000017f-ef53-da6f-a77f-ff5ff5470000
Knohl, Israel. 2008. “The Messiah Son of Joseph, ‘Gabriel’s Revelation’ and the Birth of a New Messianic Model”.” Biblical Archaeology Review, September.
Van Biema, David. 2008. “Was Jesus’ Resurrection a Sequel? | TIME.” Time, July 7. https://time.com/archive/6943737/was-jesus-resurrection-a-sequel/
Yardeni, Ada. 2008. “A New Dead Sea Scroll in Stone? Bible-like Prophecy Was Mounted in a Wall 2,000 Years Ago.” Biblical Archaeology Review, February.
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