Jesus was killed on the order of Roman authorities on the reason of provocation by Hebrew religious leaders. The later ones were afraid of Jesus’ growing popularity among his compatriots, and feared that Jesus could overthrow them from exalted positions because of their blasphemous conduct. Jesus knew that his murder was many times foreshadowed in Holy Scriptures as the main part of Creator’s Universal Purpose. On this reason he did not oppose the actions of Hebrew leaders, did not try to escape, and warned his followers against any acts directed to saving him from arrest. Early Christians thought that Jesus’ death was very important for all the sincere believers because it was a ransom for Adam’s sin leading to imperfection, death, and sickness.
Jesus was killed by Roman soldiers on Pontius Pilate’s order. Pontius Pilate, in his turn, was provoked by Hebrew religious leaders. Famous historian Josephus Flavius witnesses that Pilate did not want to execute Jesus Christ because after examining the case he did not find any faults in the arrested person. According to Hall (n. d., par.4), Jesus’ “brand of non-violent resistance, his manner of stirring the people and empowering the poor, were correctly judged to be challenging the political power structures of his day”. This commentary shows that Jesus was seen as a real threat for the state of affairs existing in Hebrew politics those days. Because of rebellious spirit of Hebrews who constantly initiated new uprisings against the Roman Empire, Pilate did not want to object the rulers of this nation, and permitted them remove their political opponent.
Jesus’ approach to his death would be marked by the same attitude that constituted his entire life which means that he did not fight against it. He did not show any resistance during his arrest, he did not encourage his follower to raise and save him, he warned every person trying to prevent his execution against such measures because he said that his death on a torture stake was a part of God’s will concerning him. The will of his father was among Jesus’ primary concerns which meant that he could never reject it (O’Collins, 1999).
Initially, early Christians such as Mary Magdalene, Apostle Peter, Mark who wrote one of the Gospels and many more were very upset because of the events that happened to their master. However, later, as Jesus was believed to appear before his disciples, first Christians started viewing his death in a different light. They thought that the value of Jesus life was a ransom for people’s sins which entered the world through the first perfect man Adam who disobeyed God and lost his perfect life as a result. In his letter to early Christians in Galatia, Corinth, Ephesus, and so on, Apostle Paul encouraged his fellow believers to commemorate the date of Jesus’ death just like Jesus himself had commanded in Mathew, chapters 26 through 28. Thus, it can be said that despite their bitter feelings concerning the events that happened to their lord, first Christians viewed Jesus’ death as the fulfillment of Biblical prophesies and an open door to having peace with God by means of a ransom.
In conclusion, Jesus was executed on Pontius Pilate’s order. Pontius Pilate had to make a decision to execute Jesus under the pressure from Judean religious leaders. These men saw Jesus’ growing popularity among the people of the land, and were afraid of a danger of being replaced from their prominent political positions.
References
Hall, G. (n. d.). Jesus Crucifixion and Death. Web.
O’Collins, G. (1999). Trinitarian Persons and Actions. New York: Paulist Press.