An educated Roman would have observed a good more detail here than meets the eye of modern readers. At the same time, Luke does not linger long over this portion of the story. He dryly states the facts, unlike the pious exaggerations so popular today. As previously noted, the most important work in the Spirit was already done. Now the events played out as mere formalities.
The Sanhedrin wasted no time in bringing Jesus before the Roman Governor first thing in the morning. Hardly a single leader of the Jewish nation was absent, so committed they were to gaining a death sentence. Luke has taken pains to show Jesus never challenged Roman authority directly as it was exercised at that time, even defending taxation. Nor did He suggest anything which would incite violence against the Jewish officials. While He did attack their teachings and proclamations, and undercut their claims to guardianship of Moses' Law, He would never suggest a violent uprising. Rather, He continually offered them a chance to get right. Clearly, they would rather be wrong, so long as it maintained the status quo.
Their charges were designed to warrant a Roman sentence, since Rome cared nothing about internal disputes among Jews. Given the well known contempt the Jewish leaders had for Rome, this whole scene is rich with sarcasm. It's hard to translate Pilate's incredulous query in English: "You are King of the Jews?" In this context, Jesus' answer would approximate "no contest," since His definition of kingship is hardly what is implied by the charge. It was painfully obvious this whole thing was a bad joke, and Pilate attempted to dismiss the case.
It turned out Pilate had one good escape: the accused fell under another jurisdiction. Things had been quite tense between Herod's heirs and Rome's governors, but Pilate seized the excuse to pass this hot potato. The official palace for Herod Antipas was in Caesarea, and he often holed up in the Fortress Machaerus in Perea. Wearing the window dressing of Jewish observance in keeping with his father's conceit for maintaining legitimacy, Antipas was in his residence on the northwest side of town. Thus, it was a short march to his court. The opportunity thrilled him; he had never seen this colleague of John the Baptist. That Jesus had no fear of him, and remained silent and serene might have been troubling to Herod, but he turned the whole thing into a big joke. He mockingly had Jesus robed in a royal garment, then allowed his bodyguards to rough Him up. While Herod declined jurisdiction, he was flattered by this act of official recognition, and it soothed tensions with Pilate.
By now late in the morning, Jesus was back before Pilate. The Governor could not find legal grounds for execution, but perhaps a beating would teach the accused to behave better. That would not pacify the Jewish leaders. When Pilate proposed releasing Jesus for the customary seasonal good-will gesture, they demanded someone who really was dangerous, named Barabbas. Pilate tried again, but the leaders had primed the crowd for a riot if Jesus was not condemned. Pilate finally gave in, but his edict was framed in a way making it clear this was their demand, not the demand of Roman justice.
With all the abuse and lack of sleep, it's no surprise Jesus needed help parading through the city with the crossbeam. The unlucky fellow who happened to be coming into town on the main road by which the public procession was heading out was Simon of Cyrene. Luke alone mentions the entourage which had followed Jesus during His ministry. Their wailing drew a caution from Jesus. Having already faced His death in the garden the night before, He warned them they should save their mourning for themselves. Jesus referred to the destruction of Jerusalem He had prophesied. He quotes a common parable of that day which meant they had not seen anything yet. This injustice was pretty minor compared to what was down the road a few decades.
Jesus Himself thus paints His human sorrow as nothing extraordinary. It's difficult to imagine a more pointed contrast between the spiritual and worldly measures of things. On a human scale, this was just another typical act of government brutality, for both Rome and the Jews. What really mattered here was not what could be seen with human eyes, but with spiritual eyes. Jesus was guilty of no crimes, but certainly had stirred some disfavor against the Jewish leaders. What really mattered was the eternal injustice -- someone sinless had to die for all sins. If anyone should weep, it is we who are guilty of those sins, for we are the ones who demanded His death in that sense.
Standard military practice placed four soldiers with each condemned man. The soldiers were allowed to strip the victims of all property on their persons. Jesus' escorts used the typical means for dividing five items between four men. He was the center of attention. His lack of resistance, His pronouncement of forgiveness, and His whole calm demeanor stood in marked contrast to everything around Him. The Jewish leaders rubbed it in by sarcastic mocking, taken up by the soldiers, as well. For Rome, a critical element in all this was making a very public example. Thus, crucifixion took place on the main highway coming into the city, and a sign in Latin, and the two most common languages used locally, indicated the crime which brought the sentence. One of the other victims could not resist a little mocking as he died. The other was not so hardened, and sought forgiveness and favor, because his soul was not deceived by the circumstances.
Jesus promised the penitent criminal he would see Paradise, a term commonly used to mean Heaven. Luke uses Roman notations for time, which begins counting the hours at sunrise. Thus, at high noon the sky went dark. This persisted until mid-afternoon. Luke mentions in passing the Temple Veil was torn in two. Educated Romans might know this veil was too thick for humans to rip, so Luke's point is this was one of many miracle attestations. Further, anyone who read the Old Testament would know this was the final break in the power of the Law. God Himself opened His throne room to all, granting access to those who come through His Son, instead of through the Law.
The scene on the Cross was less glorious for awhile. In the midst of complete human failure, Jesus retained the authority to dismiss His human life. The attending Centurion recognized authority when he saw it, and knew whence it came. The mixed crowd of onlookers were apparently forced to agree with the officer's assessment, striking their upper chests as a symbol of sorrow for what they had seen as they walked away. Meanwhile, Jesus' entourage stood silent at a distance, staying much longer.
Typically, the Roman soldiers would remain in place until their victim was finally dead. They would take turns on the night watch, the point being to prevent any rescue. Hardy men might linger for days. One among the Jewish leaders there, a member of the Sanhedrin who had voted to spare Jesus, was Joseph of Arimathea. Luke tells us this man was one of those who had understood the prophecies rightly, and had anticipated the real Kingdom of God. It took great political courage to seek to honor Jesus and His message in this atmosphere. Seeing Jesus was dead already, Joseph requested the body for burial. His request was granted. Joseph followed Eastern rituals typical as far away as Egypt, winding the body tightly in linen strips, normally held in place with heavily scented gum arabic. He then placed the body in his own tomb, as yet unused. This paints the image of a wealthy man who could afford one of the few burial plots left in the city only because he paid the price to have it hand carved into a rock face. It was common for pious Jews to desire burial near the Temple. The space Joseph had reserved for himself he gave to His Lord.
This was Friday, 15th of Nisan, the day before the Sabbath. The women from Jesus' entourage were keeping track of the whole process, but it seems they weren't directly involved in Joseph's efforts. They did happen to see the actual burial location and tomb layout. We can safely guess some of these women had access to property and wealth, because they went back and began preparing what would have been rather lavish burial perfumes. Naturally, they stayed mostly inside their houses during the Sabbath Day following.
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By Ed Hurst
15 November 2008
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