Mothers Put to Death for Having Their Sons Circumcised
The story of these mothers is mentioned briefly in the First Book of Maccabees, written approximately 100 B.C. The author of that text details the attempts by the Seleucid kings to suppress the practices of Judaism in Palestine. The reign of Antiochus IV Epiphanes especially was known for its widespread Hellenization of the Jews. The Maccabees, in particular Judas Maccabaeus (the first to lead a Jewish revolt against the Seleucid rulers), hated his policies, but also despised those Jews who wouldn't uphold the law of God, walk in righteousness, and demonstrate faithfulness and loyalty to God.
Mary's son, John Mark, is credited with writing the second gospel. It is the first of the canonical gospels written, the shortest, and yet the one providing the most detail about Jesus' work. While tradition says the gospel was written in Rome before A.D. 70, a time of persecutions of both Jewish and Gentile Christians, some modern scholars assert it was composed after that date.
The king sent word throughout his kingdom that the people should abandon whatever customs they were observing, and instead come together as one people and worship in the same way. The king made it clear that whoever didn't obey his orders would be put to death. That decree included women who had circumcised their baby boys. In fact, the text of the First Book of Maccabees, Chapter 1, verses 60'62, reveals that not only were those women murdered, their babies were then suspended from around their necks, and their families were also murdered. Anyone who participated in any way in the circumcision rites was also killed.
It was a dark moment in the history of the Jews, but there was hope in the person of the Hebrew priest Mattathias. When the king ordered the people to engage in pagan worship, Mattathias defiantly refused, and declared that his family would never depart from the beliefs and commandments of their religion. The king ordered a Hellenistic Jew to begin offering a sacrifice upon the altar. Compelled by outrage and filled with zeal for his convictions, Mattathias pounced upon the Jew, killing him. He destroyed the altar and fled into the streets, inciting others of the same conviction to follow him. He went up into the mountains with the king's men in hot pursuit.
Some who had been inspired by the words of the priest fled into the mountainous area of the desert south of Jerusalem. When the king's men found them and were ready to attack, they offered the Jews one last chance to save themselves. The Jews, however, had agreed to die without a fight, so they were all killed. The First Book of Maccabees states that 1,000 Jews — men, women, and children — died that day.
During the rule of Antiochus IV Epiphanes, the Jews were sought out and persecuted. To flaunt the increasing Hellenization of the people, a Greek-style gymnasium was built in Jerusalem, the Temple was desecrated and pagan temples were built, some Jews didn't circumcise their sons, and many Jews, under the threat of death, no longer adhered to God's commandments.
Mattathias grieved over the deaths. He warned his friends that they must resolve to fight, because if they didn't, they would disappear from the earth. Nearing his death, Mattathias again urged his sons and friends to fight on. When Appolonius desecrated and robbed the Temple in Jerusalem, it was Judas Maccabaeus, the third son of Mattathias, who led the revolt that secured the freedom of the Jews from 165 B.C. to 63 B.C. With their victory, the Maccabees established the Hasmonean rule in ancient Palestine and reestablished Jewish worship and cultural practices.
