History of the Christening Cake

The History

In 63 b.c.e. General Pompey (Gnaeus Pompeius Magnus) captured Jerusalem (some scholars indicate that he was invited in to settle a dispute between the crown princes), and the Kingdom of Judea became a client kingdom of the Roman Republic, with Hyrcanus, son of the Hasmonean Queen Alexandra, serving as prince, high priest, and puppet ruler for the Romans. Antipater became the first Roman procurator of Judea sometime around 49 b.c.e., but when he died in 44 b.c.e. his son Herod took over, becoming governor in 41 b.c.e. and ruler in 37 b.c.e. He would come to be known as Herod the Great, for he was a capable administrator who set about rebuilding Jerusalem, including the Temple complex; but he was also known for his cruelty and ruthlessness; he murdered many family members and rabbis in order to protect his power, to promote the Hellenic (Greek) way of life, and to remain in favor with Rome. Yet Judea prospered economically, for it was located on the important trade routes and was itself agriculturally fruitful, and the Romans did not much interfere in Herod's affairs. In fact, the Romans even exempted the Jews from observing the Roman religion; but for the privilege of being allowed to follow the Law, the Jews were made to pay a heavy tax. Nevertheless, Herod had put the Sadducees, a group of wealthy Jews who supported Roman rule, in charge of the Temple, appointed his own high priest, and hand-picked the members of the Sanhedrin, the rabbinical court. His actions caused resentment among the Pharisees, who resisted Hellenization and generally had the support of the common people of Judea. In addition, there were the Zealots and the Sicarii, who agitated for open revolution against the Romans, and dozens of other sects and factions. When Herod died in 4 or 2 b.c.e., the kingdom had become so fractious that it split into three pieces, each governed by one of Herod's sons: Herod Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Herod Philip. Some time around 6 c.e. the Roman Emperor Caesar Augustus dismissed Archelaus for incompetence and combined Judea with Samaria and Edom (Idumea) into the Roman province of Iudaea ( Judea), administered by a prefect or procurator who reported directly to the emperor. This was the political climate into which John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth were born and raised.
In the 1st century c.e., Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian, wrote a twenty-one-volume apologia called Antiquities of the Jews. Bringing his work to the public in 93 c.e., Josephus (as he is known today) intended to provide an explanation of Jewish history, laws, and customs in the wake of the destruction of the Temple in 70 c.e. and the expulsion of the Jews from Judea. By outlining the stories of the patriarchs, he was also arguing in support of the many contributions that the Jewish people had made to civilization.
This source is not without controversy. Josephus himself had fought in the rebellion against Rome but afterward had cooperated with Roman authorities to the extent that he had been made a Roman citizen and been given land in Judea and a pension. As a result, many scholars have branded Josephus a traitor and informer and have refused to consider Antiquities of the Jews as anything but propaganda and an attempt at historic self-rehabilitation, for he took pains to include a defense of his cooperation with Rome. Other scholars, however, argue that he was an important bridge-builder between cultures, himself remaining a Jew who observed the Law yet explaining for non-Jews how Jewish and Graeco-Roman philosophies could exist compatibly.
Antiquities of the Jews does include an account of the man known as John the Baptist:

Now some of the Jews thought that the destruction of Herod's army came from God, and that very justly, as a punishment of what he did against John, that was called the Baptist: for Herod slew him… .Now when [many] others came in crowds about him, for they were very greatly moved [or pleased] by hearing his words, Herod, who feared lest the great influence John had over the people might put it into his power and inclination to raise a rebellion, (for they seemed ready to do any thing he should advise), thought it best, by putting him to death, to prevent any mischief he might cause, and not bring himself into difficulties, by sparing a man who might make him repent of it when it would be too late. Accordingly he was sent a prisoner, out of Herod's suspicious temper, to Macherus, the castle I before mentioned, and was there put to death.¹

This account generally corresponds to the biblical story, though some of the details (such as the reason for John's assassination) differ. There is also a section of the work that offers an account of the life of Jesus:

Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man; for he was a doer of wonderful works, a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. He drew over to him both many of the Jews and many of the Gentiles. He was [the] Christ. And when Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men amongst us, had condemned him to the cross, those that loved him at the first did not forsake him; for he appeared to them alive again the third day; as the divine prophets had foretold these and ten thousand other wonderful things concerning him. And the tribe of Christians, so named from him, are not extinct at this day.²

This section has come to be called the Testimonium Flavianum. Many scholars have difficulty accepting the authenticity of these sections that have a particularly Christian flavor. Extant copies seem to have been based on early Christian sources and not to have been transmitted accurately through history. The consensus among modern scholars is that Josephus did write something about John the Baptist and about Jesus of Nazareth but that the text has been corrupted to a significant degree by copyists' interpolations, additions, and errors. A minority of scholars continue to completely reject the authenticity of the Testimonium Flavianum and many other portions of Josephus' work.
Nevertheless, whether there is extrabiblical corroboration or not, the biblical stories of John the Baptist and, especially, of Jesus of Nazareth have changed the course of history and continue to influence the way many people live their lives.