That is a good question given the modern notion that he missed the event and came to Europe. The secular evidence supports the Gospels that he did die on the cross in about the year 30 of the Common Era. Crucifixion was the ultimate form of capital punishment invoked by the Romans. Not all crucifixions were like the one we accept as in Jesus’ case. Some deaths took up to six days when there was no beating and when the condemned was allowed to support himself on the ground. Generally, the crosses were not high, and the uprights were planted beforehand; the victim was nailed to the cross-piece on the ground and then lifted into place on the upright. The wrists were usually tied to the cross piece to ensure the weight of the body did not tear through the nails in the hands. The sufferer usually died of asphyxiation. In a well-known precursor to crucifixions held in Jesus’ time, when Spartacus led a slave revolt in 71 BCE, the slave army was defeated, and 6000 captured slaves were crucified along the Appian Way. Crucifixion is still a method of capital punishment on the statute books of some countries today. When Jesus was condemned to death, there was an added extra portion to the process in his case - he was to be thrashed and beaten. Jesus would have been stripped of any clothing and trussed up, so he was upright. The administrator of the whipping could let the whip land anywhere. The whip was leather with finger bones attached to the flails of the whip, designed to tear off skin. No matter how gruesome this sounds to us today, it was considered humane in the first century as the condemned person died faster on the cross after a thrashing. After his beating, Jesus was so weak that another man needed to carry the cross piece to Golgotha, the place of the execution. The place name Golgotha translates to “the place of the skull.” Crucifixion was designed to be humiliating. In the first century Judean world, a man’s honour rested on many things. Being seen in the nude was anathema. No one should ever see you nude. Reference King David dancing on his way home with the Ark showed too much leg and genitalia (see 2 Samuel 6: 20) or the father of the Prodigal Son who surely hiked up his robes while running to meet him (Luke 15: 20). The notion of the later church dressing Jesus in a loin cloth is, in my opinion, pure fiction. The whole idea of crucifixion was to bring as much shame to the victim. Complete nudity did just that! Another feature of the culture was that men should not respond to pain. Boys were taught this from an early age. But during the process of crucifixion it was nearly impossible not to cry out. Apparently, Jesus hung on the cross without uttering a word until the very end of his life. The centurion who had stood guard, according to Luke’s gospel (Luke 23: 47), claimed him to be “the son of God” because of this. Golgotha (or Calvary) was the name of the execution grounds just outside Jerusalem. There were usually several executions going on at one time. Josephus, a Jewish historian writing soon after Jesus’ time, tells the story of his walking through the grove of crosses with the hanging bodies of the executed affixed to them, when he recognizes three of the condemned men. He went to the governor and gained permission to have them “cut down”. One survived and the other two died soon after from the experience. Jesus seems to have been treated differently after his death than other crucified men would have been. It seemed that people could attend their loved ones during the time they hung on the cross and could well have removed their bodies after they had died. Usually, however, the condemned bodies were taken down and thrown into a pit where the wild dogs, who inhabited grounds of Golgotha, feasted on the fresh human meat. It was not a pleasant sight. I do not think Jesus thought he could avoid an early death. Gospel writers seemed to trust that Jesus believed he was destined to be executed, as he was the Messiah. The Messiah was the long-awaited Jewish warrior who would cut down the enemies of the Jewish people and bring peace to the Children of Israel. Christians have another view of the Messiah as a loving and forgiving man who would bring peace by his example.
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As far as we know, the last supper really happened. According to Luke, Mark, and Matthew’s gospel it was the annual Jewish Seder meal celebrating the escape of the Children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage about 1300 years before. John’s gospel did not agree that it was a Seder meal. It happened at Passover time and the meal celebrated the angel of death “passing-over” the homes with the blood of a lamb painted on their door posts. Without the blood on the door posts, the first born in the house, and the animals connected to that home, would be dead by the morning. Our Jewish brothers and sisters continue to celebrate this event annually. Now just a word about the Passover meal and the Last Supper. The greatest injustice ever done to the Christian chronicles was Leonardo da Vinci’s “Last Supper” painting! In Jesus’ day, people ate from a lounging position on the floor supported by their elbows and cushions. The table was low with short legs. They were U-shaped, with the open end available for the food servers to place the food on the table. The host of the feast (Jesus) sat second from the top of the U on the right. The guest of honour (Judas) sat beside the host at the top of the U on the right. The person with the least status, and charged with washing the feet of all guests was Peter, who sat at the top of the U on the left. Between Jesus and Peter sat the rest of the men in order of their status as denoted by the host (see Luke 14:10 or Luke 17: 7-11). Peter was ticked at being relegated to foot washer, the lowest status position at the meal. It would have been embarrassing for him in front of his friends and other disciples, and he refused to comply with Jesus. So, Jesus being Jesus, and against the status of the day, embarrassed Peter by washing his guests’ feet himself. Foot washing was important at mealtime as there were no sewers - waste was simply dumped in the street and sat there until the next rain washed it away. The Seder meal was a family meal where men, women and children were linked together in food, fellowship, and tradition. I strongly suspect women and children joined in when Jesus hosted the Last Supper. Men and boys over 13 would have eaten at one table and the women, girls and young boys at another. The Seder was an educational time and a time to remember. Jewish families all over the world celebrate this time together. I can see no reason it should have been any different in Jesus’ time. What was on the menu? There were traditional foods which were intended to remind the participants of the journey from slavery to freedom. Haroset was a paste made from fruit and nuts and it symbolized the mortar used in their slavery chores. Mar’or was a bitter herb (like horseradish) to remind them of the bitterness of slavery. Karpas was a green vegetable (usually parsley) representing spring. There was a bowl of salt water to remind them of their tears. Other foods were served, and often local traditions dictated what they were. So here we find Jesus hosting the Seder meal, perhaps in the year 28CE. He adds to it with the Eucharist wine and bread, the food of Christian remembering for 2000 plus years. Our Roman Catholic friends celebrate this by ringing a bell to indicate when the host and wine have become human. Protestants do it quite differently; we celebrate Communion during the year but not necessarily each week. All denominations develop their own strategies and theologies. Today in Christian communities, if we practice the last supper it is done on the Thursday prior to Easter Sunday. This day is called Maundy Thursday. Interesting that the word “maundy” means the ceremony of “washing feet” and has nothing to do with the meal. Good Question! My take is that something like it probably did happen because of the circumstances surrounding Passover in the year 30 CE. It is also mentioned in all four Gospels. The date itself has also come to be known as Passion Sunday. Palm Sunday, The Last Supper, The Crucifixion, and The Resurrection all happened in the same week around Passover time in about the year 30 CE. Passover was the most important festival of the Jewish calendar year. It celebrates the liberation of the Children of Israel from their Egyptian bondage hundreds of years before. Each year the story is told, in a family setting, and the words are reinforced with traditional foods to remind them of the bitterness of slavery. It is still done today in Jewish homes. The meal is called a Seder. There is good evidence that The Last Supper was a Seder meal with men, women and children attending. There is a saying at the end of the Seder, “Next year in Jerusalem”! Even in Jesus’ time there were thousands of Jews living throughout the Roman Empire. At Passover in Jesus’ day, the City of Jerusalem would be filled to overflowing with Jewish pilgrims attending the city to celebrate the holiday. In normal times the city would be a hotbed of unrest but during Passover the talk of rebellion would be higher. It was just 40 years later that the Romans would answer the Jewish rebellion with the sacking of Jerusalem, the destruction of the Temple, and the expulsion of the Jewish population to the four corners of the Empire. Because Judea was always in a constant state of unrest, Passover was seen as a time for Rome to flex its muscles toward the indentured population. Indeed, the Roman governor did just that. Each year, according to tradition, the Roman Governor would ride into Jerusalem on a horse with a Roman Legion in tow. It was war-like and aggressive, as if telling the population, “Go ahead, try something”! He came through the West Gate and people silently flocked to see his parade. Through the North Gate, at about the same time of day, came Jesus on a donkey mocking the Roman governor. Many people came to honour him by cheering and throwing down their cloaks and leaves from local palm trees to pave his way. This gesture was more literal than symbolic. In Jerusalem, the streets were either dirt or cobblestones. There were no sewers. Garbage and contents of the chamber pots were thrown into the streets. People had to walk through this filth. People paved Jesus’ way with their garments and leaves so he would not have to walk through the muck and debris. Jesus knew he was safe in Jerusalem at that time of day. The crowd would not have allowed any force to take him. The symbolism was not lost on people, either. The Roman governor rode into town on a horse, an animal of war. There were no cheering crowds welcoming him and his entourage. On the other hand, when Jesus entered there were cheering crowds. He was riding an animal symbolising peace. I am not sure what they expected this man of peace to do, but given his history in the hinterlands of the countryside, people were hopeful. After Jesus’ parade enters the city, he goes to the Temple. We need to remember that Jesus was a Jewish man who takes his responsibilities as a Jewish man seriously and that includes visiting the Temple. On his way through the Courts of the Gentiles he discovers the money changer, where one would expect them, changing money at exorbitant rates of exchange. Today we would call that gouging. Jewish pilgrims, visiting the city, were charged more and could do nothing about it. The members of the Sanhedrin were also in on the take. So, Jesus exercised some muscle against those fraudulent merchants. So why was he not arrested immediately? Because there were too many people around who would have come to his defense. He made sure he left the Temple each day before they locked the gates and was not arrested until after the Last Supper when he either chose to stay in the city or he missed the closing gates and was forced to stay. Good question! However, I am not sure there were actually two. Perhaps before I answer, we need to look at the conditions of first century Palestine. There were two ruling groups in the Promised Land: The Romans and the Sanhedrin. The Romans were in charge and the Sanhedrin needed to fall in with them. The first “trial” of Jesus was before the Chief Priest Caiaphas and the Sanhedrin, a Jewish tribunal which was composed of the ruling clergy of the day at the Temple. Jesus was brought before this group on the days we either call Maundy Thursday or Good Friday. Why them? Because Jesus was accused of blasphemy - that is, cursing God or elevating himself to God’s stature. Ultimately, Jesus is found guilty of: healing on the Sabbath (Friday sundown to Sunday sunrise); threatening to destroy the Temple; practicing magic, exorcising people by the control of demons (believed to be the cause of illness in his day); and not denying that he was the Messiah. The standard punishment for the crimes Jesus was accused of was being Stoned to Death. The guilty party was put up against a wall. Men would be on top of the wall armed with stones which would be dropped on the condemned man or woman. Others would hurl stones at the victim from ground level. Although there were several offences for which stoning was the assigned punishment, it rarely happened for two reasons: firstly, because often the evidence was not clear enough from reputable people. There was a second and much more important reason. Jesus was a very popular figure in the Holy Land at the time. He brought hope to the masses. The Sanhedrin were not popular and did not wish to give the populace anything that they could use against them. As well, the members of the Sanhedrin had an economic position which they did not want to lose. Talk about political hacks at the trough! They did not want to be responsible for killing the most popular man in the country. During Jesus’ travels the Sanhedrin, in an attempt to paint Jesus in a bad light, even sent spies from Jerusalem to catch him doing deeds which were not approved by the authorities (with no success.) So, in the end, they passed the buck! Enter Pontius Pilate, the Roman ruler of all of Judea, including Jerusalem. How accurate is the description of Jesus’ trial in the gospels? I am unsure. I feel that there has been some revisionist writing taking place. We should, however, look at the history of the event. Jesus was a pain in the Roman’s gluteus maximus. He was preaching a totally different way of life which would be more liberating to the Children of Israel and less subservient to the Romans. In Jesus’ day, loving and forgiving did not fit the Roman way of life. One glaring “misdeed” done by Jesus occurred when he arrived in Jerusalem a week before. He had fisticuffs with the money changers. This occurred in the temple grounds, and according to best understanding, in the outer court of the Gentiles. The money changers were carrying out a legitimate trade. Jewish rule forbade foreign coinage in the confines of the Temple. Money changers were needed to provide the appropriate coinage to the pilgrims. Since many of the pilgrims came from distant points of the Roman Empire, this service was necessary for the variety of money exchanged. And in doing the cleansing, Jesus was uncharacteristically rough. I cannot recall any other time he was as harsh. So, what angered him? It seems that their just being present in the Temple bothered him and the grift which was going on. Pilate saw that this man needed to be disposed of, so he ordered his death. That satisfied his need for law and order and placated the Sanhedrin. Whether all the emotions of the moment as described in the gospels had played out or not, ultimately Jesus was condemned to be crucified. Pilate was rewritten as a good guy while the Jewish officials were recast as the bad. One more note you might be interested in: When the narrative continues as to who the Judeans want excused from crucifixion, they all shout Barabbas; when translated means “Son of God”. It seems like there are plenty of times we wait for a Christian event. Waiting for Easter Sunday is no exception. The expectation of waiting for Easter Sunday begins with Shrove Tuesday. Shrove Tuesday is a day of feasting as Christians begin to get rid of all the food at home which is given up during Lent. This feast has another name: Mardi Gras or in English, Fat Tuesday. The next day is Ash Wednesday which is the first day of a period called Lent; Lent, characterized by self denial, has been widely practiced by Christians over the centuries. Jesus was crucified on Good Friday. It was his facing the cross and his own denial of self which prompted this Lenten practice of self giving. Lent is all about self denial. In today’s world, many Christians use the time to give up certain foods or habits. Traditionally it was called the Great Fast. It was designed to prepare Christians for the Good Friday to Easter morning experience. Lent lasts 40 days when you don’t count weekends. Forty days is a long-held number in the Bible. It’s a code word. Forty equals a long time; it could be hours, or it could be days. Forty days is not necessarily 40 days but a long time OVER 40 days. Goliath taunted the Israelites for 40 days before David showed up. Jesus went out into the desert, after his baptism, for 40 days. The rains of the great flood lasted 40 days. Moses fasted 40 days. Kings Saul, David and Solomon ruled for 40 years. The number 40 appears 159 times in the Bible. The only other number which appears more frequently is 12 with 187 appearances. Every Christian denomination seems to have carved out its own list of what to eat and to give up for Lent, and there were different prohibitions added to the list. Meat and products from animals were often given up. Some faith communities allowed themselves only one meal a day. A few communities even restricted sex for the 40 days which led to a drop in the birthrate in many places. Alms giving, or supporting the poor through donations, was another popular practice associated with Lent. Attached to all of this is prayer. Men and women pray for a number of things at this time. Jesus came to us calling for us to live in communion with each other. We are to be loving and forgiving neighbours. Our prayers at this time would be for us to have the strength to be loving and forgiving. For many churches, times are set aside each day for corporate prayer (prayers for the church) or community prayer (prayers for individuals’ needs). Churches may find individuals praying for peace and brotherhood as members are scattered about the sanctuary. Perhaps in this new age, where yesterday’s values are slowly devalued to the point where they mean very little, the power of Lenten observance is just a scratch on the surface. I remember a congregant who stated to the congregation on Ash Wednesday that he was giving up Cuban cigars, lima beans and avocados. When I pressed him years later why, he responded, “I never cared for any of them and would safely walk the path of Lent without fear of falling off.” |
AuthorI'm Rev. Dr. Pirie Mitchell and I live in Ontario, Canada. Archives
May 2023
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