Latest / Scripture Central / Why Was Jesus Put On Trial and Crucified? #676

Transcript

Why Was Jesus Put On Trial and Crucified? #676 · Scripture Central

• 0:01
  And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a
• 0:04
  consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council
• 0:08
  and bound Jesus and carried him away and delivered him to pilot.
• 0:13
  Hey listeners, this is Nick from Scripture Central and today's
• 0:16
  podcast addresses the question Why was Jesus put on trial and
• 0:21
  crucified after Jesus suffered for the sins of the world?
• 0:28
  In Gethsemite Judas one of the 12 came, and with him a great
• 0:32
  multitude with swords and staves from the chief priests and
• 0:36
  elders of the people. Upon willingly submitting
• 0:39
  himself to this mob, Jesus endured several flurried and
• 0:43
  hasty trials. These include his arraignments
• 0:46
  before the Sanhedron, Pilot, and Herod.
• 0:49
  Precisely what rationale led to these judicial proceedings isn't
• 0:53
  fully clear from the scriptural record.
• 0:55
  As John W Welch has noted, one runs directly into several
• 0:59
  stubborn problems when trying to ascertain motivations behind the
• 1:02
  actions of the chief priests and other key players in these
• 1:05
  activities. For instance, Matthew and Mark
• 1:09
  each state that the sanhedron delivered Jesus over to pilot
• 1:12
  for envy, which Pilot misunderstood for some petty
• 1:15
  motivation. Yet even feelings of envy do not
• 1:19
  adequately describe the reactions exhibited by the
• 1:21
  sanhedron at Jesus's trial. Welch thus reasoned that fear
• 1:26
  was likely a greater driving factor, particularly fear of
• 1:29
  Jesus's miraculous powers. Specifically, fear of the occult
• 1:34
  appears to have followed closely behind many of the miracles
• 1:37
  Jesus performed, As the Pharisees woefully misunderstood
• 1:40
  the source of Jesus's divine powers.
• 1:44
  This helps explain why throughout Jesus's ministry, his
• 1:47
  faith inspiring miracles were almost always followed by a
• 1:50
  strong reaction from the Pharisees, who accused him of
• 1:53
  using powers of Beelzebub and who repeatedly sought to take
• 1:58
  his life. Thus, as Welch observed, behind
• 2:01
  everything here lurks a strong undercurrent of misplaced fear
• 2:05
  that Jesus was an evil magician. Notably, both the Bible and Book
• 2:09
  of Mormon establish a link between Jesus's miracles and his
• 2:12
  trials. John wrote that before deciding
• 2:15
  to put Jesus to death, the chief priests and Pharisees asked what
• 2:19
  do we for this man do with many miracles.
• 2:22
  Similarly, both Jacob and King Benjamin connected Jesus's
• 2:26
  working of mighty miracles with his death at the hands of wicked
• 2:29
  men. As a part of these fear driven
• 2:31
  trials, multiple charges were leveled against Jesus in an
• 2:34
  effort to exact Roman punishment.
• 2:37
  These included accusations such as blasphemy, and they often
• 2:40
  relied on false witnesses or strained interpretations of the
• 2:43
  law. Several of these charges pertain
• 2:45
  to Christ's temple related teachings and activities.
• 2:49
  Still, the predominant theme among these charges is Jesus's
• 2:52
  miracles rather than any doctrines he taught.
• 2:55
  After the trials, the chief priests held a consultation with
• 2:58
  the elders and scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus
• 3:02
  and carried him away and delivered him to pilot with the
• 3:05
  intent that he might find Jesus similarly guilty under Roman law
• 3:09
  of sedition through illicit magical wondermaking.
• 3:13
  As noted by Welch, purported magical practice was a serious
• 3:17
  offense under Roman law at the time of Jesus, especially when
• 3:20
  it threatened in any way the security of the emperor.
• 3:23
  It is for this reason that the chief priest said that Jesus
• 3:26
  speaketh against Caesar. In addition to other treasonous
• 3:29
  charges, these outlawed forms of prophecy and miracle working had
• 3:34
  recently become punishable by death by a decree of Augustus
• 3:37
  Caesar in a D11, preventing anyone from speaking against,
• 3:42
  prophesying against, or performing any ritual action
• 3:46
  against the Emperor. Pilot, of course, found Jesus
• 3:49
  guilty of no such charge, but still the chief priests pressed
• 3:52
  for Jesus's execution, as false. Prophecy and miracle working
• 3:56
  were likewise forbidden under Jewish law.
• 3:59
  Clearly, fear of Jesus's miracles did not end with his
• 4:02
  crucifixion. Worried that Jesus would somehow
• 4:04
  appear to rise after three days as he prophesied that he would,
• 4:08
  the Pharisees planted a guard at the tomb of Jesus to be sure
• 4:11
  that nothing of the sort could happen.
• 4:14
  Interestingly, these individuals called Jesus a trickster or
• 4:17
  deceiver, utilizing the same Greek word plainos to describe
• 4:21
  one who deceives by seduction through evil powers or spirits.
• 4:26
  This same word was used in early Jewish and Christian literature
• 4:29
  and scripture to describe Satan, demons, and false prophets,
• 4:33
  especially those who performed miracles such as raising
• 4:36
  mountains, turning up the sea, and raising the dead.
• 4:40
  Finally, viewing Jesus's trial in the context of fear of
• 4:44
  demonic powers also helps explain the legal puzzles of the
• 4:48
  crucifixion and the lack of legal formalities.
• 4:51
  After all, as the New Testament itself witnesses, the normal
• 4:54
  form of execution for blasphemy under Jewish law was stoning,
• 4:58
  and several times people took up stones thinking to stone Jesus
• 5:02
  for blasphemy. However, thanks to the discovery
• 5:05
  of the Dead Sea Scrolls, scholars now acknowledge that
• 5:08
  hanging on a tree or crucifixion could serve in Jesus's day as a
• 5:12
  mode of execution under the prevailing Jewish law.
• 5:16
  Such a method of execution was likewise used just a century
• 5:20
  before the time of Jesus. In that notorious case, 80
• 5:23
  witches were hung or crucified and ash Kellen without proper
• 5:27
  trials because the court saw the matter as a matter of emergency,
• 5:32
  while the latter tomodic riders condemned this trial as an
• 5:35
  illegal act of a wicked court. This case is important in
• 5:38
  showing that rushed, even nonexistent, trials were
• 5:42
  performed by frightened Jewish leaders, resulting in the
• 5:45
  condemned being crucified. Jesus's rushed trial and
• 5:49
  execution mirrors this event. As Jesus's trials progressed
• 5:54
  through the night, fear seemed to settle in on all fronts.
• 5:58
  Jesus's own disciples fled from Gethsemane and Peter, perhaps
• 6:02
  out of fear, denied his association with Jesus as he was
• 6:05
  relentlessly questioned by the servants of the high priest.
• 6:08
  Even Pilot and Herod demonstrated fear at some point
• 6:12
  throughout this trial. Pilot, already afraid of a
• 6:15
  violent tumult, was met with warnings from his wife because
• 6:18
  of dreams she had regarding Jesus.
• 6:21
  Herod likewise may have initially been frightened of
• 6:23
  Jesus's miraculous power, just as he had feared John the
• 6:27
  Baptist and the multitude that followed him.
• 6:30
  It's also sadly ironic that the very thing that so clearly
• 6:33
  proved Jesus's divinity, his good and miraculous works, was
• 6:37
  so influential in his martyrdom. The multifaceted fears of the
• 6:41
  Jewish rulers blinded them from discerning the goodness and
• 6:44
  power of God as manifested through Jesus Christ.
• 6:48
  They were too proud, too certain of their own conclusions, and
• 6:51
  far too afraid of losing their power, influence, and control.
• 6:55
  This is not the end of the story, however.
• 6:57
  Jesus did not ultimately allow himself to be crucified because
• 7:01
  of these misplaced fears, but he willingly sacrificed himself for
• 7:05
  us. I lay down my life that I might
• 7:07
  take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I
• 7:11
  lay it down of myself. Jesus is infinite and eternal.
• 7:16
  Sacrifice was always God's plan, allowing us to overcome all our
• 7:20
  fears as we come to Him. There is No Fear in love, the
• 7:24
  Apostle John wrote. But perfect love cast it out.
• 7:28
  Fear. Christ's pure love, is manifest
• 7:30
  to all of God's children and helps us to overcome our fears,
• 7:34
  worries and anxieties. These fears that hold us back
• 7:38
  can therefore be replaced by faith, allowing us to come
• 7:42
  boldly unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy, which
• 7:46
  is available to us through Christ's suffering, death, and
• 7:50
  resurrection. Thank you for listening to this
• 7:55
  presentation from Scripture Central.
• 7:58
  For more information, please visit scripturecentral.org.