This week in Come Follow Me we read accounts of the crucifixion. I am not going to talk about the meaning of the atonement and how it works in our lives in this post. Instead, I wanted to mention some insights I gained merely by reading these passages so soon after doing a deeper dive into the Old Testament. Understanding the history of the Jewish nation gave me context for these events that I didn't have before. Also, my background in Roman History informed my thoughts a little. Bringing all this together helped me understand why the Jewish leaders did what they did, and why the Romans did what they did.
The Jewish Leaders.
A couple of weeks ago my husband asked me "Why were the Jewish leaders so threatened by Jesus?" It is a good question. He obviously was doing miraculous things and his preaching was mostly purposefully vague (Matt 13:11) so as to not cause a stir. Why did this concern Jewish leaders so much they plotted to kill Jesus? I think there are two reasons.
First, the history of the House of Israel taught the Jews that if they followed the teaching of the Torah, they prospered in the land. If they departed from the Torah, they had troubles. The main reason that was given that they were taken into Babylonian captivity was because they had departed from the true worship of Jehovah. (reference, the whole second half of the Old Testament) By the time Jesus was on the scene, Jehovah worship was mainly centered in the temple. The Jews had lost the Temple twice before, once in the Babylonian captivity, and later during the intertestamental period, in the time of the Maccabeans. Herod's expansion of the temple had only been completed a couple of years before Jesus was born. The Jewish leaders were protective of their current status quo where they had a working temple and a fully established hierarchy of religious leaders. Their history had taught them how fragile that was.
Second, the Jewish leaders also realized how fragile their relationship with Rome was. They probably understood better than the common people how easily they could be wiped out if they displeased their Roman overlords. Rome was in its golden era. They were powerful and expanding in all directions. Israel was like a small mouse in an elephant's stall. If they got the elephant angry, they would probably be stomped to death. The common people, on the other hand, were raised with stories of great military leaders rising up and freeing Israel from bondage. They were hoping for a Messiah to come and free them from Roman oppression. The Jewish leaders feared that if the commoners followed an upstart Messiah and came out in open rebellion against Rome, it would mean the end of the relative peace and independence they were currently enjoying. Their fears were born out around 70 CE when Menahem raised a revolt against Rome that led to the destruction of the temple and the end of Jerusalem as the center of Jewish worship.
Jesus's ministry played into both of these fears. His teachings were not traditional Jewish theology. He broke traditional Jewish practice, like "working" on the sabbath, and letting his disciples eat without washing their hands. Later in his ministry he opening reprimanded Jewish leaders, calling them fools and hypocrites. The Jewish leader saw his doctrine as apostate. If he gathered followers, the whole society risked loosing favor with God, in their opinion, leaving it vulnerable to foreign conquest. Jesus had also amassed a significant following, including thousands as attested by the miracle of of the Loaves and fishes. Jewish leaders understood that if Jesus were seen by Romans as starting a rebellion, it would bring serious retributions onto the nation as a whole. They knew that could end the fragile peace and access to the Temple they were currently enjoying.
If the Jewish leaders were so afraid of what Jesus was doing, why didn't they just stone him. They showed earlier in the Gospels that they were willing to take ritual executions into their own hands. (e.g. John 8:5, Luke 4:16 et alii) Why not wait to get him alone and kill him privately? The scriptures tell us why, "But when they sought to lay hands on him, they feared the multitude, because they took him for a prophet." (Matt 26:46) They had waited too long, he had gathered too big of a following, and if they killed him they feared it would spark the exact kind of uprising they were trying to avoid. Rome would blame them for killing someone when they didn't have permission and for causing an uprising. They might march in with their armies and put an end to their temple worship and independence. Instead they decided to do some careful political maneuvering. If they could convince the people to turn against Jesus, and Rome to execute Jesus, then they could avoid an uprising of Jesus' followers, and the wrath of Rome.
Pilate
Of course Pilate was not as easily manipulated as they had hoped. He tried several times to get out of being the "bad guy" in Jesus' execution. In the end the Jewish leaders forced his hand, convincing him that if he didn't execute Jesus he would be disloyal to Caesar. Competition for top leadership posts in the Roman Empire was fierce. Pilate knew he could easily be replaced if he was seen as unable to maintain the famous "Pax Romana". He caved into pressure and the Jewish leaders got their way. They were able to continue worshiping at their temple for another 35 years or so. Pilate avoided an ugly uprising and was able to stay in power for another 10 years. Everyone acted in their best interest politically, and Jesus was crucified.
I remember a statement once that the Jews were the only people who would crucify their God, suggesting that they were the most wicked of all nations. I hope this explanation will show that the Jewish leaders were not much different than other political leaders. They acted out of real fear and were doing what they thought they must to protect their nation and maintain their way of life. A lot of national leaders have made moral compromises to accomplish what they thought was the greater good. We will leave it to God to judge them for their actions.
No comments:
Post a Comment