Human history has always been accompanied by trials and executions.
The trial and execution of Jesus is probably the most famous case in human history.
However, this trial, which took place around 30 AD, is still controversial today, such as the birth of Jesus, why Jesus was judged, why he was crucified, and his resurrection three days after his death. All this is like a mystery.
Today, we do not dabble in profound religious ideological issues, but only talk about two simple things, but in fact, because these two things are closely related, they can also be understood as two issues and one major matter.
That is, as the great prophet and Son of God of the Jews, why was Jesus killed by his own fellow Jews? And why he was convicted of treason and treason.
Let's go back to history: the week before Passover, Jerusalem had already gathered 30,000 pilgrims who were reverently awaiting the upcoming 7-day prayer and fasting.
At this point in time, Jesus came to Jerusalem on a donkey.
When Jesus appeared in the city, the people saw Him and immediately cheered.
To welcome Jesus, palm branches and clothing were laid out on the way Jesus was to pass.
But this enthusiasm is a joyful enthusiasm, not an uncontrollable fanaticism and obsession.
Nevertheless, Jesus' appearance and popularity caused unease among the chief priests of the temple in Jerusalem, whose duty was to ensure the stability of the city.
In addition, the appearance of Jesus, especially when Judean preached the gospel, was numerous and widespread. This made the chief priest of the temple also feel that his authority was threatened. At the same time, the story of Jesus' evangelism also reached the Roman rulers, but the Roman rulers paid attention to the matter, but did not pay attention to it.
In short, Jesus was safe at the time. Over the next week, Jesus visited the temple in Jerusalem, where he publicly preached the gospel and received questions from the public and believers. Because there were so many followers of Jesus, fanatical believers crowded the streets around the temple, disturbing not only the peace, but also the order of the surrounding merchants and markets.
This situation annoyed the rulers of the Jews, or the appearance of Jesus, seriously challenged the authority of the rulers of Jerusalem, making them feel that their power was threatened.
In Jesus' time, Judea was ruled by Rome.
However, the de facto rulers of most cities were still ruled by Jewish elders in the old traditional way. The supreme ruler of Jerusalem, on the other hand, consisted of two parts: one was the temple court. The Temple Court is a 70-member Jewish Sanhedrin. The other part was the Jewish priest Caiaphas, whose duty was to deal with those who created disturbances and instability, but which had to be handled so well that they did not cause greater contradictions that would require the intervention of the Roman army.
Therefore, when someone reported these situations to Caiaphas, the high priest of the temple, Caiaphas, who was very sophisticated, knew that the matter was more troublesome and could not be dealt with simply. So he sent people to investigate the matter and investigate Jesus and his disciples.
As a result, the people sent out brought back Caiaphas a very important piece of information, that is, the important disciples of Jesus, who were very loyal to him, but there was one person who was an exception and very greedy for money. This man was Judas Iscariot.
So Caiaphas secretly gave Judas 30 silver coins.
What was the purchasing power of 30 silver coins in that historical period? Only one low-level slave can be purchased. In the future, Judas will also be spurned by the world for this act of betrayal.
After collecting 30 silver coins, Judas betrayed Jesus. One night, Jesus lived in the Garden of Kenisima, outside Jerusalem, where Jesus and his most important believers met.
Judas led the priests and soldiers of the temple here, and when the soldiers of the temple captured Jesus, he not only calmly did not resist, but also asked his disciples not to resist. Therefore, Jesus was taken away, but His disciples were not.
Caiaphas thought that the Jesuits would instigate and lead their followers in an armed uprising and cause unrest. But he was wrong, and Caiaphas intended to conduct only a routine interrogation of Jesus.
In this way, Jesus was taken to the Sanhedrin headed by Caiaphas. There was a group of priests who interrogated Jesus. According to the Gospel of John, Jesus was first interrogated by Ajaphas' father-in-law, Anna, the elder in the temple of priesthood.
Upon interrogation, the Sanhedrin charged Jesus with blasphemy, that is, defiled the glory of God.
According to the Talmud, blasphemy is punishable by stoning. But in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus was sentenced to death.
So whether the priests of the temple had the power to impose the death penalty at that time, historians have not found a historical basis. According to historical records, only the Roman governor had this power at that time.
In short, the judgment of Jesus by the temple priests will certainly cause great unrest. Without the repression of the Roman army, this sentence would not even have been enforceable. Thus, the final judgment against Jesus was transferred from the Jerusalem Sanhedrin to Pilate, the Roman governor.
Pilate's reign as governor of Judea is attributed by historian Tacitus to periods from 26 to 36 AD. Pilate was originally a member of the Samonnet tribe of Poncius, and he was able to serve as governor of Judea because of the recommendation of Emperor Tiberius' favored courtier Ceyonus.
The Roman governor of Judea at that time was particularly powerful and had the power of life and death, which means that if you want to kill a person, you do not need to go through the Roman trial procedure and directly execute him. If you feel wronged and want to appeal, you can only appeal to the Roman emperor. This shows the magnitude of Pilate's power. During Pilate's ten years as governor of Judea, relations with the Jews in Jerusalem were tense. Because Pilate, in order to express his allegiance to the Roman Emperor Tiberius, hung the portrait of Emperor Tiberius on top of the Roman legionary banner visible in the city of Jerusalem.
Pilate's move caused a lot of riots because Pilate's move hurt and violated the Jewish faith. Because in the Law of Moses, it was forbidden to post pictures and engage in image worship. When the Roman emperor Tiberius found out, he ordered all his portraits of himself to be removed from the city.
Two more words here to finish the situation of Pilate. Pilate presided over the judgment of Jesus in 30 AD. But 6 years later (36 AD), a bloody repression was carried out to prevent the followers of Samaritan from following the prophet to Mount Gririm, causing great riots. Upon receiving this, the Rome Commission of Inquiry interrogated Pilate and then exiled him to Venice and France. In 39 AD, Pilate was given a penalty by Emperor Caligula in exile.
Well, let's go back and move on to Pilate's case after he received Jesus' case.
Caiaphas, the priest of the temple in Jerusalem, knew Pilate very well, and he knew that the governor had no interest in Jewish religious disputes, so in his report to Pilate, he deliberately twisted this originally ordinary religious event into a political event with ulterior motives.
Depending on the nature of the incident, the attention received will vary. Caiaphas told Pilate that Jesus claimed to be "king of the Jews," implying that this was treason, a crime of treason for the Roman Empire.
When Pilate heard this, he felt that the situation should be quite serious. However, he decided to give Jesus first to Herod Antipa, who was celebrating the Passover in Jerusalem. Because Jesus came from Galilee, the son of Herod the Great, the puppet king of Galilee under Roman rule, was none other than Herod Andy. In this way, it can also be regarded as respect for Herod the Great.
But when Herod Antippas interrogated Jesus, Jesus said nothing. Enraged, Herod Antippa made his soldiers tease Jesus, even dressed him in a crown of thorns, dressed him in strange clothes, and then sent him to Pilate.
Pilate, as governor, thought the prisoner was different and interrogated him personally.
There are a few interesting sentences of dialogue, recorded below, and readers appreciate themselves:
Pilate: Are you the king of the Jews?
Jesus: Do you ask this based on your own understanding or hearsay?
Pilate: What did you do when your own people and high priest sent you to me?
Jesus: My kingdom is not in this world.
Pilate: So you are the king?
Jesus: You said I was the king... All who stand by the truth hear my admonition.
Pilate: What is truth?
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In short, after interrogating Jesus, Pilate found that the Jewish accusations against Jesus were not true. So what to do? Pilate made his own decision.
As mentioned earlier, it was Passover. Pilate had a habit of choosing a prisoner to release during Passover, a bit of a meaning that the Chinese emperor granted amnesty on certain days. There was also a rebel named Barabbas in Pilate's prison.
So Pilate stood high and said to the Jews:
"I don't think Jesus sinned."
But then Pilate did something that was intriguing.
In fact, it can be understood that Pilate was afraid to bear the responsibility for killing Jesus for fear of offending believers.
At the same time, he was afraid to take on the responsibility of releasing Jesus, who "claimed to be king", because he was afraid of leaving a false message on the side of the Roman Empire.
This is really a difficult problem, what to do? So, he played a trick.
He said to the Jews that I can only release one criminal today, is it to release Jesus, or to release Barabbas? I have given you this power and let you Jews decide.
Of course, some historians believe that Pilate wanted to exonerate Jesus, after all, Barabbas was a real damned rebel. However, the Jews around chose to let Pilate release Barabbas.
Pilate didn't know how to feel in his heart, but he asked him to bring a bowl of water and wash his hands in public to show that the matter had nothing to do with him.
Jesus was then handed over to the priests of the temple.
Jesus was then sentenced to treason by his own people, the Jewish priests.
That is, Jesus was convicted of treason not by the Romans, but by the Jews for treason against the Roman Empire.
It's ridiculous!
Treason is a felony. At that time, those who committed the worst sins were tortured by staring at the cross. But Jesus was a special prophet with many followers and followers. Therefore, the high priests of the temple in Jerusalem feared trouble during the execution. Therefore, the Roman army was asked to be responsible for carrying out the death penalty and ensuring stability.
Soon, under the escort of the Roman army, Jesus was stripped naked, subjected to extremely cruel whipping, and bruised all over his body. Jesus was then forced to carry a heavy log on his back and escorted by the Roman army out of Jerusalem to the top of a hill outside the city. There, Jesus was crucified.
Since then, the original ordinary cross has been redefined in human history.
From nine o'clock in the morning until three o'clock in the afternoon, Jesus endured great torment, and he calmly accepted what the Jews had done to him. Then, die.
His believers, put away his body and lifted it for burial.
The Gospels state that Jesus rose three days after His death. This is all a matter of faith, and I will not repeat it here.
In this most famous case that has affected the course of human history, we have seen a very terrible truth, that is, whether ancient or modern, Chinese or foreign, for the sake of power, human nature can be cruel to no race, no belief, no gender, or even everything.
May the Palestinian-Israeli conflict end as soon as possible! May more civilians be spared from disaster!