jesus' arrest and Death 1

The cross is at the very heart of the Christian faith. This can be seen through the church's use of the cross, whether empty (Protestantism) or with Jesus still present (Catholicism, Orthodox and Episcopalian) in our worship spaces. It can be seen through our use of the cross as jewelry and decoration on the walls of our homes or offices. While these uses would certainly have seemed shocking to the early church, considering that the cross was a means of execution, it was not long (2nd century) before the cross became the church's most widely used symbol. 

In order to gain a better understanding of why the cross (and Jesus' death) is so central to our faith we will take some time examining the process that led to Jesus' arrest, trial and death on the cross. The scriptures tell us that Jesus was aware of the constant possibility of arrest. John the Baptist, along with any others who questioned the lives and power of the Romans or their client kings were regularly rounded up and executed. This called for Jesus to be on the move and to avoid any hint that he might be creating an alternate empire to that of Rome and the Herodian dynasty. However that was exactly what Jesus was doing. He was initiating the Kingdom of God, in which God and not Herod or Caesar would be king. This transfer of power would turn the world upside down, placing the have-nots on top and the haves on the bottom. Ultimately Jesus would have to make his plans clear, which would put him in direct confrontation with the political authorities.

 Jesus' declaration of his initiating the Kingdom of God would also put him at odds with the religious authorities. It would put him at odds with the Pharisees who believed that the Kingdom would only come through strict adherence to the Torah and all of its rules. It would put Jesus at odds with the Sadducees who believed that the Kingdom of God was already present through the rituals and sacrifices of the Temple. It would put Jesus at odds with the Herodians who believed that the Kingdom was here because there was a Jew (Herod Antipas) on the throne in Jerusalem. 
Finally it would put Jesus at odds with the Zealots who believed that the Kingdom of God could only come through political and military rebellion. None of these powerful groups were ready to welcome Jesus' message about his bringing the Kingdom of God into the world.

The stakes then could not have been higher as Jesus approached Jerusalem for Passover for the last time. Passover was the Jewish feast of liberation. It was the holy day on which the people remembered God's deeds of power in which God forced the Egyptian Pharaoh to let's God's people go. This meant that the festival carried with it not only religious overtones, but political ones as well. Because of these political implications the Romans always had additional troops ready to act. This however is where the story becomes a bit tricky. Depending on which Gospel one reads Jesus, his disciples or the crowd (you choose) decided that it was time to name Jesus king. The symbolism used during Jesus' entry into the city was an overt declaration that Jesus was claiming (or others were claiming for him) leadership in God's in-breaking Kingdom. As we noted earlier this put him at odds with all the existing powers and increased the odds of his arrest. The tension rises as Jesus disrupts the work of the Temple (scaring the Sadducees), teaches non-traditional ideas (scaring the Pharisees) and gathers large crowds around him (scaring the Herodians). 

Jesus' arrest thus becomes inevitable. He was a threat to everyone. The exact nature of the conspiracy seems a bit obscure, again with each Gospel giving a slightly different account. The bottom line however is that the religious authorities believed Jesus' to be a severe enough threat to their own beliefs and/or authority that Jesus had to go. He was the wild card which could upset all of their plans. The Temple authorities therefore arrest Jesus at night in order to avoid a riot and secret him away to stand trial, with the hope being they can have Rome execute him, forever removing him from the scene.

jesus' arrest and death 2

Jesus was too dangerous to be allowed to continue his ministry. As we saw last week he was dangerous to the Sadducees because he did not respect the Temple. He was dangerous to the Pharisees because he was not a diligent follower of the law. He was dangerous to the political authorities because people wanted to name him the messianic king. The Biblical accounts tell us that the religious leaders decided that because he was dangerous, Jesus needed to be arrested, tried and executed. It is at this point in the story that things become a bit unclear. I say unclear because the Gospel accounts do not concur in terms of the exact details of what happened next. However there are two series of three steps each which appear to link all of the stories together. 

The first series entails the trial before the Jewish authorities. Step one (according to the Gospel of John) is that Jesus is brought before Annas, the former high priest. While it may appear odd that Jesus would stand before a former high priest (the Romans removed Annas from his office in 15 CE) historians have discovered that Annas continued to be a significant power broker within the Jewish establishment. Annas evidently gave his approval to the arrest and trial thus facilitating Jesus being sent to then high-priest Caiaphas. In step two Caiaphas examined Jesus and determined that an official trial before the Sanhedrin be held. The Sanhedrin was what we might describe as the Jewish Supreme Court. It was composed of about 70 members from the competing religious sects (Sadducees, Pharisees, and Herodians). Their task was to enforce religious adherence among the Jews. 

The charge against Jesus was blasphemy. The problem was that there was no consensus among the witnesses as to Jesus' guilt. Ultimately the leaders take a single statement of Jesus' (that he saw himself as the Son of God…which could actually be taken in any number of ways) as proof of his guilt, thus giving them cause to send Jesus to the Romans for a hoped for execution (though in that trial they would charge Jesus with political crimes since the Romans had little interest in Jewish religious arguments).
The second series consists of Jesus' trial before the Romans. The first step was to send Jesus to Pontius Pilate. Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea. It was his task to maintain control of the area, administer justice and collect taxes. Pilate was not overly impressed with Jesus and even though the charges against him were severe (inciting the people to riot, forbidding people from paying taxes and claiming to be King) Pilate decided to pass the political hot potato to Herod Antipas. Pilate was able to do so because he believed that Jesus was from the area of the nation ruled by Herod (Galilee). In step two Herod, also found that Jesus has done nothing deserving of either imprisonment or death and so sent him back to Pilate to do with as he pleased. The final step in this trial is that Pilate desired to let Jesus go (why antagonize the people at a major festival) but the religious leaders press him to execute Jesus. The leaders made it clear that unless Pilate gave in they would cause trouble, which would not play well in Rome. Pilate acquiesced and had Jesus prepared for crucifixion.

There are three things we ought to note from these stories. The first is that we should not be surprised that the Jewish authorities wanted to rid themselves of Jesus. He was teaching a way of life which was inconsistent with First Century Judaism and was thus a heretic. The second thing we should note is that Rome was not only complicit in Jesus' death but actually carried it out. Rome nailed Jesus to the cross. Finally we should see clearly that Jesus not only did not defend himself (as the Apostle Paul would later do) but willingly went to the cross. Jesus believed that he was the suffering servant of Isaiah and that in his death the power of sin would be broken once and for all, thus ushering in God's kingdom.

In First Century Judea Jesus was the most dangerous man in the world…maybe it is time for us to un-tame him and let him be dangerous again? What do you think?

JESUS' ARREST and death 3

The powers in First Century Judea (both religious and political) needed Jesus out of the way. They needed him out of the way because he was a threat to their power and religious convictions. They needed him out of the way because he was offering a new way of being faithful to God and a new empire which would not bow to Rome or to Jewish political leadership. Jesus had to go so the powers had Jesus arrested, tried and finally crucified.

Crucifixion was a form of execution that had been used by the Persians, Carthaginians and Macedonians, along with the Romans. The Greeks were loath to use it, but did so on rare occasions. The act of crucifixion was saved for slaves, pirates and enemies of the state; those who had committed treason. Rome conducted not only individual crucifixions but also mass crucifixions as well. Rome crucified over 6,000 slaves following the slave revolt under Spartacus as well as possibly up 30,000 Jews during the siege of Jerusalem. The methods of crucifixion varied. Individuals were either nailed or tied to the cross beam. When someone was nailed the number and location of nails varied. Crucifixion was intended to be both horrifically painful and humiliating in order to serve as a means of intimidation. It was a horrifically painful way to die because one slowly suffocated to death as one lost the strength to remain erect. It was humiliating because individuals were crucified nude, meaning not only were they completely exposed but any bodily function was done in full view of their tormentors. Finally most bodies were left up until birds had picked the bones clean.

This was the fate that awaited Jesus. It is little wonder then that Jesus agonized so much in the Garden of Gethsemane prior to his arrest. He understood that once the trial began there was little doubt that he would be crucified. An additional humiliation for Jesus was that within Jewish culture crucifixion was not a reputable way to die (Jewish law only permitted stoning, burning, strangulation and decapitation). To be "hung on a tree" then meant one was dying outside the law and thus outside of God's grace. 
Once Jesus was convicted he was flogged, mocked, crowned with thorns and then forced to carry the top beam of his cross with him toward the place of execution at Golgotha. Along the way Jesus stumbled and Simon of Cyrene was required to carry the cross beam the rest of the way. Once he arrived at Golgotha Jesus was stripped of his clothes (do not let paintings and crucifixes fool you, he did not retain a loin cloth), and attached to the cross. Above his head was a plaque which read, in three languages, King of the Jews. This would have been the crime of which he was convicted, treason against the political authorities. Jesus was not crucified alone but between two thieves…or perhaps two rebels who robbed and stole to support their rebellion. While Jesus was on the cross he was offered sour wine on some hyssop. In addition soldiers cast lots for his clothes and according to John, pierced his side to see if he was still alive. Unlike many victims who lasted for days on the cross Jesus died quickly. His body was then taken down and placed in a tomb. 

Depending on which Gospel one reads there were numerous strange events which followed Jesus' death; earthquakes, the sun was darkened, the Temple curtain (between the Holy of Holies and the rest of the Temple) was torn in two or a Centurion pronounced that Jesus was indeed the Son of God. While the historicity of these specific events is open to question the fact of Jesus' death is not (at least by serious historians). We know this because writers such as Mara Bar-Serapion (73 CE), Josephus (1st cen. CE), Tacitus (116 CE), Lucian (160?) and even the Babylonian Talmud (220CE) all refer to the death of Jesus. The question for Jesus followers became what would they do with now that Jesus was dead. We will look at this issue next week when we look at the resurrection.