Who Killed Jesus? Article 23

The mystery of the Incarnation tells us that Jesus was both true God and true man. So there should be no surprise that there are both divine and human reasons behind the death of Jesus. To fully understand the importance of Jesus’ death, we need to understand both sets of reasons. The Nicene Creed states. “Jesus Christ suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.” This statement alone tells us that a Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate was involved in Jesus’ death, but it doesn’t mention the Jewish leaders. In the Gospels it is made clear that both Jewish and Roman leaders wanted Jesus dead.

The Roman Leaders’ Reasons Let us begin with the reasons for the Romans wanting Jesus killed are not really clear according to the Gospel accounts. The Roman procurator, or Governor, held absolute power in the region he controlled. His power was enforced by the legions of soldiers under his command. The Procurator was responsible to the Roman Emperor & the Roman Senate only, not the local authorities or the local population. The Roman procurator’s main responsibilities were to send tax money regularly to Rome and to keep the peace, which generally meant stopping any rebellions against Rome. In order to keep these tasks, he sometimes appointed local people to positions of power. These local leaders were required to enforce Roman laws and collect taxes; failure to do this would result in their removal of the position. The local ruling family was the Herodians, in which they had been cooperating with the Romans for generations. The Herodians were responsible for appointing the high priest & chief priests of the Temple, until the Romans decided to take that over.

The Roman Leaders’ Reasons: Why would Pontius Pilate have ordered Jesus’ Crucifixion? First: As procurator Pilate tried everyone accused of treason against Rome and ordered the public execution of anyone he found guilty. Second: All he really needed to know is that the Jewish leaders who served him thought Jesus was a threat to Rome’s authority. [LK 23:5] Roman Historians Tacitus & Josephus document that Pontius Pilate was a ruthless leader who killed hundreds of Jewish rabble-rousers… he held mass executions. {Barabbas was very lucky to get away.} He was responsible for the deaths of many Jewish citizens, even prior to Jesus’ crucifixion, he wasn’t special in the eyes of Rome.

What do the Gospel accounts say? The Gospel portrays Pontius Pilate as having ambivalent feelings towards Jesus and is completely amazed with the composure and stoicism during his trial. [MK 15:4-5] Pilate even tests the crowd to decide what their true convictions were by having them decide between a known criminal Barabbas or Jesus. [MK 15:6-5] In the Gospel of Luke, Pilate publicly declared Jesus innocent three times 23:4,14, & 22. But in the end Pilate had his soldiers scourge and crucify him. Regardless of whether or not Jesus was a revolutionary, he was a threat to the peace that Pilate pledged to maintain. What we must understand above all else is that: Jesus would not have been crucified without the approval of Pontius Pilate acting on behalf of the Roman Empire.

The Jewish Leaders’ Reasons Jesus challenged their authority to such an extent that they believed Jesus was undermining their authority with the common person.  In Mark 2:23-3:6 the Pharisees and scribes taught that you do nothing, absolutely no work on the Sabbath and Jesus healed someone on the Sabbath. Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. [2:27]  In Mark 2:1-12 Jesus claimed to have the power to forgive sins, which the Jewish religious leaders believed was a power that belonged to God alone.  In Luke 16:19-31 many religious leaders believed that having material wealth was a sign of being right with God. Jesus claimed that God also blessed the poor. He even taught that being rich while ignoring the poor was a sin.  In Luke 15:1-10 the religious leaders avoided having anything to do with common sinners such as prostitutes and tax collectors. Yet Jesus freely associated with these people and chided the Pharisees for avoiding them. {Jesus goes further by making Matthew an apostle and Mary Magdalene a member of his entourage. The sinners in Jesus’ eyes were the most in need, hence why he associated with them the most.}

Jesus going to Jerusalem means Death is Imminent. Ultimately when Jesus decided to travel to Jerusalem his death was only a matter of time. Jesus’ decision to take his mission to Jerusalem and directly confront the authority and power of the chief priests and scribes is what essentially brought about his demise. However, the Jewish leaders could not put Jesus to death simply because he challenged their authority. So they charged him with blasphemy, the crime of speaking irreverently about God. [MT 26:63-66] The chief priests and scribes claimed that Jesus committed blasphemy when he claimed powers for himself that belonged to God alone. [such as….] According to the Law of the Old Covenant, a person could be stoned to death for this, but because they were under Roman Law & Roman Authority, only the Roman Procurator could order a death sentence.