Jesus lived at Nazareth until he was about 30 years old. By then Joseph, his foster-father, had died and Jesus had taken over the carpenter’s shop himself.  When he was around 30, however, he left Nazareth and began to go round Palestine teaching the people about God and healing all who were ill.  With him went his followers, including his special friends, the 12 Apostles.

The plot to kill Jesus

As a result of his teaching and miracles, huge crowds flocked to him, and soon people all over the country were talking about him and the wonderful things he was doing. 

Growing hostility to Jesus

Unfortunately the Jewish rulers were jealous of Jesus and saw him as very real threat.  “What are we going to do?” they asked each other.  “If we let him go on like this everyone will believe in him and before we know it we’ll have the Romans on our backs and they’ll destroy our holy place and our nation”. The number of those who believed in Jesus became much greater still when he brought back to life a man called Lazarus who had been dead four days. After this miracle the Jewish rulers made up their minds to have Jesus killed though without deciding exactly when. 

Cleansing of the Temple

In those days, when people went to worship at the Temple in Jerusalem, they used to give to God what was called a sacrifice.  It might be a bullock or a lamb or a dove.  Now the rulers, including the high priest whose name was Caiaphas, were making an enormous amount of money by selling these animals at very high prices, and they even set up a row of shops for the purpose in the covered walk surrounding the Temple courtyard.

When Jesus visited Jerusalem for the last time and saw all this moneymaking going on in the House of God, he went round the courtyard pushing over the tables, piled up with coins, with one hand and driving the animals out with a whip held in the other.  This Cleansing of the Temple, as it is called, decided the rulers to put Jesus to death as soon as possible.

The Jewish rulers saw Jesus as a very serious political threat.  Furthermore, he preached about the God’s rule and this was seen as a threat to the current set-up which the ruling priests did not want changed. (1)  Interesting archaeological findings reveal how very comfortably the high priestly families lived in Jerusalem.  They lived in the Upper City and the homes in that area were the most wealthy in Roman Palestine.  There were mosaic covered floors and most walls were covered in colourful wall paintings.  There were beautiful bowels and plates, produced locally or imported.  They built steam baths inside their homes so that they avoided using public baths. (2) So at a personal level they had much to lose if there was any trouble with the Romans. 

The Cleansing of the Temple took place at the beginning of Holy Week.  The Jewish rulers wanted to have Jesus killed but their difficulty was to find out beforehand how they could catch him when he was more or less alone, because otherwise they were afraid the crowds would stop them.

Judas agrees to betray Jesus

Then on the Wednesday of Holy Week, they had a secret visitor, none other than one of the Apostles, Judas Iscariot.  St Luke tells us that “...Satan entered into Judas” (NRSV, 22:3).  “What will you give me” said Judas to the chief priests, “for me to betray him to you?”  And they made a bargain with him for 30 pieces of silver money – the price of a sheep.  Later Judas was to fling down those 30 pieces of silver on the temple floor and, in a fit of terrible remorse, to hang himself from a tree.

The Last Supper

On the Thursday, that is, Maundy Thursday or Thursday in Holy Week, Jesus and his Apostles had their last supper together in an upper room in a house in Jerusalem.  And Jesus “…took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, ‘This is my body that is for you.  Do this in remembrance of me’.    In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood.  Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me’“ (NRSV, 1 Corinthians 11:23-25).

The next day Jesus was going to be nailed to the Cross.  He had come into this world to save our souls, that is to say, to rescue us from the powers of evil and to bring us back to his Father.  But to do that meant being crucified, because for God to come from Heaven into this world and meet the powers of evil on their own ground could only lead to a mighty conflict between the two, in which they would try to destroy him utterly.  Jesus could have avoided that conflict only by running away from it and deserting those he came to save.  But as the Good Shepherd he stood by his flock and was ready to pay the price of his coming and to give his life for us on the Cross.

And so on that Maundy Thursday evening Jesus gave to his crucifixion its meaning by offering himself beforehand to his Father for all humankind.  In this way he gave to his death its true meaning and at the same time gave us the pattern for the Eucharist in which he continues to offer himself to God and brings us to his Father.

Jesus is arrested

At the end of this Last Supper, Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and told them that a little later that night they could catch Jesus alone with the rest of his disciples in the Garden of Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.  So Judas got his 30 pieces of silver.

A large band of men, armed with swords and heavy sticks, was at once sent to the Garden, and Judas, who led the way, pointed out Jesus to them by walking up to him and kissing him.  Then all the disciples forsook Jesus and fled.

Jesus before Caiaphas

Jesus was taken off to Caiaphas who had in the meantime called all the rulers together.  They had already decided that Jesus should die but they wanted to satisfy the Jewish people, and so the first thing they had to do was to sentence him to death under the Jewish Law.  Caiaphas managed this by asking Jesus if he were the Son of God.  Jesus told the truth and said he was.  At once Caiaphas said Jesus had committed blasphemy (that is, spoken in a wicked way about God), the punishment for which was death.

The Jewish rulers, however, had not the power to put anyone to death; only the Romans had that.  So Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate who was the Roman governor in charge of that part of Palestine.  The chief priests now had to get Pilate to sentence Jesus under Roman Law.

The trial before Pilate

They therefore told Pilate, who had met them early in the morning in the courtyard of the Castle of Antonia adjoining the Temple, that Jesus was plotting against the Roman Emperor by setting himself up as a king.  This was what we call treason and was punished by death.  Pilate, however, knowing that they were lying and were jealous of Jesus, said he would let Jesus go free, but the chief priests were determined to stop this if they could.

The crowds shout for crucifixion

Now it happened that a great Jewish festival called the Passover started that day, in honour of which Pilate each year used to let out of prison a criminal chosen by the people.  While, therefore, Jesus was still before Pilate a big crowd came along to ask for a murderer called Barabbas.  At once Pilate, thinking he saw a way out, suggested releasing Jesus, but they wanted Barabbas and when Pilate asked them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” the crowd, egged on by the chief priests, shouted back, “Let him be crucified!”, that is, nailed to a cross (NRSV, Matthew 27:22).

Jesus is flogged and mocked

Pilate, thinking that if he punished Jesus that would satisfy the crowd, sent him into the castle to be flogged by soldiers with a scourge, that is a whip with several thongs each of which was loaded with pieces of metal.

After they had flogged him, the soldiers then started to jeer at Jesus.  One of them flung his scarlet military cloak round Jesus and pushed a crown twisted from a thorn bush onto his head.  Then they all knelt before him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”, and spat in his face (NRSV, Matthew 27:29,30). 

Jesus is condemned to death

When Jesus was brought again, still wearing the scarlet cloak and crown of thorns, Pilate showed him to the people saying, “Here is the man!”, hoping that they would think Jesus had now had enough.  But directly the chief priests saw Jesus, they began to shout out, “Crucify him!  Crucify him!” (NRSV, John 19:5,6).  Still Pilate would not give in.  But then the chief priests thought of a way to make him.

It was Pilate’s responsibility to maintain law and order and protect the interests of the Roman Emperor who at that time was Tiberius Caesar.  During the previous four years there had been occasions when Pilate’s behaviour had very nearly provoked serious disturbances. (3). It wouldn’t do at all for Pilate if a report went to the Emperor that he had been favouring someone claiming to be a king of Judea.  If that happened he’d be recalled to Rome to an uncertain fate.  The Jewish rulers knew that Pilate had this weak spot, and so they said to him, “If you release this man, you are no friend of the emperor.  Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor” (NRSV, John 19:12).  Pilate then knew that he was beaten.  He was afraid that, if they told the Emperor that he was not loyal to him, the Emperor would not allow him to be governor any longer.  So Pilate, rather than lose his position, decided to give in.  At the same time the crowd was beginning to get out of hand, shouting “Crucify him!  Crucify him!”  Jesus was therefore handed over to the Roman soldiers to be crucified.

Suffered under Pontius Pilate

In the Creed the words, “Suffered under Pontius Pilate” mean “Suffered in the time of Pontius Pilate”.  That is to say, they give us an idea of when all this happened. 

Pontius Pilate was appointed prefect in 26 AD and he held that position until AD 36. (4)  He had very wide powers; for example, he issued local coins (bearing pagan symbols) some of which have survived. (5) Caiaphas was high priest in Jerusalem from 18-36 A.D or 37 A.D. (6) (7) In 1990, an ossuary (container for bones) was found in a tomb.  Inside were the bones of a man of about 60.  This ossuary is intricately decorated and is one of the most beautiful ever found.  The name of Caiaphas is etched on the side. (8)

These dates tell us that Jesus died somewhere between 26 and 36 A.D., and between 18 to 36 or 37 A.D., possibly around 30 A.D.(9) (10)

Besides being recorded in the New Testament, the death of Jesus was recorded by early Roman and Jewish writers.  Josephus was a first century Jewish historian and he stated that Jesus was accused by the Jewish leaders and condemned to the cross by Pilate.  The Roman historian Tacitus wrote that “Christ… suffered the death penalty during the reign of Tiberius, by sentence of the procurator Pontius Pilate”. (11)

Responsibility for the death of Jesus

It is very important to understand that Jesus was condemned to death as a result of the actions of a very small number of influential Jewish rulers.  He was not condemned by the Jewish people as a whole and they should not be blamed for the death of Jesus.  Looking at this from another point of view, Jesus died to save human beings from their sins, and as we are all sinners, then in that sense we all sent him to the Cross. (12)

SUMMARY

1. After Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead and then cleansed the traders from the Temple, the Jewish rulers planned to have him killed.  They were jealous of Jesus and saw him as a very serious political threat.  Judas the Apostle agreed for 30 pieces of silver to betray him in a quiet place.  On Maundy Thursday, by means of the Last Supper Jesus gave to his death its meaning by offering himself beforehand to God for our salvation and at the same time he gave the Apostles the pattern for the Eucharist.

2. After Jesus had been arrested in Gethsemane the Jewish rulers sentenced him to death for blasphemy.  This was to satisfy the Jews.

3. They got Pilate, the Roman governor, to sentence him to death for treason. This was to satisfy the Romans who alone had the power to put anyone to death.

References

1. Evans, C.A. (2008) ‘The shout of death’ In Evans, C.A. and Wright, T. (ed Miller, T.A.) Jesus. The final days, London: SPCK.

2. Reed, J.L. (2007) The HarperCollins visual guide to the New Testament.  What archaeology reveals about the first Christians, New York: HarperCollins.

3. Josephus (1st century AD) Josephus on Pontius Pilate and the Aqueduct Riots, cited on: http://www.bible-history.com/quotes/flavius_josephus_4.html  (Accessed 16 November 2010) (Internet).

4. Keller, W. (1980) The Bible as history revised, London: Hodder and Stoughton.

5. Rowdon, H. (2009) ‘Pilate’ In Alexander, P. and A. (eds) The Lion handbook to the Bible, Oxford: Lion Hudson plc.

6. Keller, W. (1980) op cit.

7. Gibson, S. (2009) The archaeological evidence.  The last days of Jesus, Oxford: Lion Hudson plc.

8. Reed, J.L. (2007) op cit.

9. Marshall, I.H. (2009) ‘The Gospels and Jesus Christ’ In Alexander, P. and A. (eds) op cit.

10. Gibson, S. (2009) op cit.

11. Cited in Evans, C.A. (2008) op cit

12. Evans, C.A. (2008) op cit