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The Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus

By possum

The resurrection of Jesus following his death by crucifixion is central to Christian belief today.

Christianity is the name given to that definite system of religious belief and practice which was taught by Jesus Christ in the country of Palestine, during the reign of the Roman Emperor, Tiberius, and was promulgated, after its Founder's death, for the acceptance of the whole world, by certain chosen men among His followers.

The trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin, the ancient Jewish court system, and Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judaea from 26 CE to 36 CE, occurred more than 2000 years ago.  Reconstructing the exact events of that time is a near impossibility today.

The Roman General Pompey captured Jerusalem in 63BCE putting an end to the Jewish state of Palestine and  eight decades of rule by the Hasmonean dynasty of high priests.

Under the Hasmonean dynasty, which lasted about 80 years, the kingdom regained boundaries not far short of Solomon's realm, political consolidation under Jewish rule was attained and Jewish life flourished.

The coming of Roman rule meant all priests were appointed and thereafter found themselves having to juggle the interests of the Jews and the political interests of Rome.

By 6CE

growing Jewish opposition to Roman laws relating to the census, taxation, and heathen traditions boiled over.

Jewish uprisings in protest of the laws led to the crucifixion of over 2,000 Jewish insurgents and the selling into slavery of perhaps 20,000 more.  The most intense opposition to Rome came from an area of Palestine called Galilee, which was the center of an armed resistance movement called the Zealots

In 19CE Herod Antipas, the Roman ruler of Galilee, established a capital at Tiberious on the western shores.  Given the need for workers and for taxation to support his rule, Herod might well have recognized the chance of trouble arising.  That trouble arose as two Jewish religious movements were born in the northern reaches of Palestine.

The first important movement was led by John the Baptist, the man who baptized Jesus.  John the Baptist taught his followers to lead an ascetic life, confess their sins, and prepare for the imminent appearance of the Messiah.  Antipas seeing the rise in popularity of John made a preemptive strike.

He arrested and executed--beheaded, according to Biblical accounts--the Baptist.

The failure of John the Baptist to live may have led Jesus to modify his original thinking.

The teachings of Jesus, who began his ministry around 28 or 29 C.E., describe an ideal world, a world that might exist if God--and not Caesar or the high priests--had his way. Jesus spoke primarily of the need to change the here and now, and less of need to ready oneself for the arrival of an avenging God.

Recognzing the popularity of both these teachings and the teacher Antipas may have wished Jesus dead but he had to bide his time and wait for the right moment.

The moment came when Jesus came to the Temple during the time of Passover with his message which was seen as subversive by the ruling priests.

Whatever the precise nature of his actions, they were almost certainly accompanied by words--perhaps including a prediction that the Temple would fall unless reforms were instituted to bring the Temple back to its central religious mission.

According to the gospels Jesus was brought to trial before high priest Joseph Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin.  Various accounts of the trial exist so one may choose the one to accept.

Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin ultimately condemned Jesus for blasphemy.

According to all accounts except that of Peter, Jesus was then brought before Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea.

Christ before Pilate by Ambrogio Lorenzetti.

Christ before Pilate by Jacopo Pontormo.

Pontius Pilate by Giotto di Bondone.

Under Jewish law death was an allowed penalty for Jesus' crime of blasphemy.  The question became one of truth.  If Jesus was as he claimed, the son of God, there was no blasphemy.  And there was also the political consideration of Jesus death possibly being seen as an uprising in the eyes of the Roman rulers.  The situation was complex to say the very least.  

Since the Jews were not allowed to put a prisoner to death under Roman rule, and Jesus was in Jerusalem at the time, another path had to be found to insure his demise.  Given Pilate's power we may presume he wished to please the Jewish community by allowing Jesus' crucifixion under Roman law.  Pilate's allowing the process may have been another political ploy in requiring the Jews to admit Roman rule.  There is also a possibility the entire trial and appearance before Pilate is a concocted story and that Pilate and Caiaphas colluded to bring Jesus to his death.

Pilate presents Jesus to the crowd.

The crucifixion is described in graphic terms by author Arthur Pitt.

With bleeding back, carrying His cross under the heat of the now almost midday sun, He [Jesus] journeyed up the rugged heights of Golgotha. Reaching the appointed place of execution, His hands and feet were nailed to the tree. For three hours He hung there with the pitiless rays of the sun beating down [on] His thorn-crowned head. This was followed by the three hours of darkness, now over. That night and that day were hours into which an eternity was compressed.

The particulars of Jesus' treatment are consistent with expected treatment under first century Roman law. Jewish practice differed from the Romans in several aspects.  Among the differences was crucifixion.

Crucifixion amongst the Jews was rare and except for a few instances, the subject was stoned to death first and then hung on a tree in accordance with the Biblical passage in Deuteronomy 21:22-23

The crucifixion by Andrea Mantegna.

The crucifixion by Raphael Sanzio.

Following crucifixion and death, the body of Jesus was claimed by Joseph of Arimethea and buried.  This was not usual practice following a Roman crucifixion.

Giving the victim a proper burial following death on the cross, during the Roman period was rare and in most cases simply not permitted in order to continue the humiliation. Thus the victim was in many cases simply thrown on the garbage dump of the city or left on the cross as food for wild beasts and birds of prey.

Three days after death and burial came the resurrection.  After the Sabbath, Mary Magdalene, Mary (the mother of Jesus), and Salome prepared spices to anoint Jesus' body. When they arrived at the tomb, the stone had already been rolled away!  Luke 24:1

4. While they were perplexed about this, behold, two men suddenly stood near them in dazzling clothing; 5 and as the women were terrified and bowed their faces to the ground, the men said to them, "Why do you seek the living One among the dead? 6 "He is not here, but He has risen. Remember how He spoke to you while He was still in Galilee, 7 saying that the Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.

Michaelangelo's depiction of the resurrection.

Resurrection by E. Burne-Jones.

4th Century Coptic resurrection portrayal.

Resurrection by Giovanni Bellini.

Jesus was reported to appear after his resurrection before multiple of his followers including some of the apostles and his mother, the Virgin Mary.  Some accounts claim hundreds of eyewitnesses.

About AD 55, the apostle Paul wrote that the resurrected Christ had been seen by Peter, the 12 apostles, more than 500 people (many of whom were still alive at the time of his writing), James, and himself (1 Corinthians 15:5-8)

Jesus appearing before the Virgin Mary.

The resurrection is not accepted by all to this day.  As early as the seventh century skeptics were to be found.

Today most liberal churches deny the resurrection as well as any miracle as recorded in the New Testament.

With resurrection at the heart of Christian belief today some scholars hold to tradition.

This means that you cannot be a Christian unless you believe in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This should tell us that even if some people are in churches, if they reject the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they are not Christians.

It is by holding to the resurrection as fact that many believers come to see the teachings of Jesus as truth.  Without that central tenet how is one to know truth?

Today about 75% of New Testament scholars accept the resurrection.  Others suggest the crucifixion happened but the resurrection did not.

They suggest that Jesus was executed, and his body thrown into a pit for scavengers to eat. They do not believe in Jesus' bodily resurrection. Many suspect that his reappearances to his followers after his death were a form of individual and mass hallucination.

Burial in a pit was the normal fate of crucified victims. The entire process of crucifixion was designed by the Roman army as a terror weapon against rebellious slaves and insurrectionists. One factor in the process was particularly horrific to Jews: the Romans refused a proper burial for their vidtims.

Several other alternate explanations are also to be found today.

Soon after his death the followers of Jesus, maybe more enthusiastic as a result of the resurrection stories, began to travel and spread Jesus teachings.  Soon the movement began to split into two branches.

One branch, based in Jerusalem and led by the brother of Jesus, James, portrayed Jesus as a martyr for Jewish nationalism.  The other branch, the so-called "Gentile branch," was led by the Apostle Paul who rejected the historical Jesus and largely created the version of Jesus found in the Bible today.  In place of the historical Jesus, Paul--who had relatively little knowledge of the real Jesus--substituted a heavenly redeemer who emphasized transformation through love and inward faith.  Paul spread his message among the Gentiles, winning converts to his brand of Christianity which did not require full observance of traditional Jewish law.

Thus we arrive at the earliest beginnings of Christianity.  The story will continue with later episodes examining the course of development through the early centuries.

This is Part II of a continuing series of diaries about the origins of Christianity and the early Church.  Part I is here.

Peace.

Full post as published by Never In Our Names on February 21, 2009 (boomark / email).