Posted on 03/11/2018 11:47:12 PM PDT by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The Sanhedrin and Pilot killed Jesus to keep the Sanhedrin from organizing an uprising. But ultimately he died for the sins of the world to be forgiven through his sacrifice.
Because the part about the Sanhedrin being involved has be used as an excuse for Christians to persecute the Jews, we now play down their role in the killing and blame it all on Pilot. That is fine with me.
The truth is Jesus came to earth to be sacrificed for man’s sin so we could be forgiven by and united with God. Who carried out the killing is meaningless when you realize that.
Hayam Maccoby, “Revolution In Judaea”
Sadly, yes.
In fact, Jesus’ clearing of the temple is widely recognized as the key episode which provoked the Jewish authorities to act against him.
The place had become a den of thieves. The spirit of the Temple tax had been corrupted by the authorities who had other motives that involved the love of money, power, and status. The collection occurred in the month of Adar. Coming up in the next month - first of the religious year (Nisan) - was the pilgrimage festival of Passover. The tax provided the funds for the purchase of the sacrifices.
The original text for the donation is in Exo 30:11-16. It's purpose was to provide a gift for the upkeep of the Tent of Meeting and for the atonement of souls. Twenty was the traditional age for the pursuit of a livelihood. The census (an accounting of souls, aged 20 and up) was routed through this donation, with every man giving the same amount: no more, no less.
This provision for the atonement of souls is placed in the text ahead of the sin of the Golden Calf (when the people gave credit to the gold gods for the Exodus from Egypt, the Passover). It's one of the examples for the Jewish concept that God provides "the cure before the disease."
I mention that detail because it is an important component within the broader crucifixion narrative: the timing, the place, the purpose, and who's to blame for it.
John 19
14 And it was the preparation of the passover, and about the sixth hour: and he saith unto the Jews, Behold your King!
15 But they cried out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Caesar.
16 Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
20 This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
The place where Jesus was crucified was called Golgotha, where what/whom he was accused [of being] was written in Hebrew, and Greek, and Latin.
The truth is crucified (has its character assassinated) at the place of the poll (consensus, popular opinion, or in the fake polls and accountings that are designed to manipulate majority beliefs).
Golgotha, of Aramaic origin:
01538 gulgoleth {gul-go'-leth}
by reduplication from 01556; TWOT - 353l; n f
AV - poll 7, scull 2, every man 2, head 1; 12
1) head, poll, skull
1a) skull
1b) head, poll (of census)
The Temple tax was called the beka la'gulgolet, a beka for every man:
Exodus 38:26 A bekah for every man (beka la'gulgolet, Strong's H1538 above), that is, half a shekel, after the shekel of the sanctuary, for every one that went to be numbered, from twenty years old and upward, for six hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty men.
The bekah of the accounting of souls *was* the Temple tax la'gulgolet, the required donation for every man (i.e. accounting, head count). It literally was the coin of Golgotha, where he was crucified, at the place of the money, because *it* was the object of love and affection from which power and status was derived:
In fact, Jesus’ clearing of the temple is widely recognized as the key episode which provoked the Jewish authorities to act against him.
The atonement money was for the accounting of souls, just not in the way people might have thought. Ostensibly, the money-changers and dove sellers were there to provide for the sacrifices. If the master of the house discovers that his stewards are corrupt, violating the intent of the procedure, then by providing the sacrifice directly, he takes the corrupting influence of money out of the equation. He's not changing the goal by doing that, he's completing it.
Now you'd think folks would have been grateful for and exceedingly humbled by the procedural change, believing in the power of its tranformation (the changing of hearts), and then been happy to keep the place up for the Master. Costs a whole lot less too without all the added layers of bureaucracy. But where's the material profit in that? Say bye to the nice houses and vehicles, the status of being the boss of things, because there goes the entire Establishment swamp that had taken 46 years to build.
John 2
16 And said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not my Father's house an house of merchandise.
17 And his disciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up.
18 Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things?
19 Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
20 Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days?
21 But he spake of the temple of his body.
22 When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.
23 Now when he was in Jerusalem at the passover, in the feast day, many believed in his name, when they saw the miracles which he did.
A miracle of tearing down a 46-year entrenched Establishment ranks right up there. Doing that did not engender love and affection in those who derived their wealth and power from the system. The fix was in, until he arrived.
The money was removed from the equation, but lovers of money, status, and power always find ways around any attempt to thwart their own selfish goals. Somehow they figure out ways to Establish themselves as nessessary -- providing services, knowledge, experience, expertise, scholarship, instruction et al in order for the hoi polloi to know and perform what is required to satisfy the Master. Nobody would have any clue how to perceive Jesus without buying books filled with man's establishment dogma (consensus), for example.
Jesus was crucified between two thieves. It's an appropriate visual representing those who put him there in the first place: "every man" who came before, and also after, whose eyes are focused on a material prize. Those with a personal agenda more important than the truth work by buying and selling opinions in the religious marketplace 24/7/365 and by sticking it to those who won't get with the program.
What wil happen to the Messiah when he shows up to flip over the tables of the Temple of his body? It's not like the merchants and their dedicated followers are going to recognize him, except as a troublemaker with the worst sort of subversive character.
In any case, it's another example where God provided the cure before the disease, the rectification ahead of the problem. Right there at the place named Golgotha, for the atonement of souls. Yet the longer people keep accepting that their permanent default identity is one named "sinner", death awaits. The experts can be counted on to keep hammering in the demoralization and shame, because it keeps business brisk. The Jesus they peddle creates a dependency on dead doctrines that generate confusion and conflict, instead of a Messiah who demonstrates personally with the totality of his being how to love people, which IS the way to life.
Who killed Jesus? It's all fun and games until someone comes along with the answer to the question.
As an aside, I thought it was interesting that the Strong's Hebrew entry number (Aramaic actually) for the word meaning "every man" (source word of Golgotha, #1538) is the same on the Greek side of the concordance that also means "every man".In fact, Jesus’ clearing of the temple is widely recognized as the key episode which provoked the
Jewishauthorities to act against him.
One on this side, one on that side, you might say..
The uses of the Greek word [which are on that link] say a lot.
From "The Pentateuch and Haftorahs", Ed. JH Hertz: 'Other peoples sing songs of triumph after a victory over their enemies; why then did these warriors offer sacrifices of atonement at such an hour?' asks Ehrlich; 'it is another indication of the horror of shedding human blood that the Torah inculcates. It is the same feeling that prompted the Jewish Sages to tell that the angels, when about to break forth in song over the Egyptian hosts drowning in the Red Sea, were silenced by God in the words, "My creatures are perishing, and ye are ready to sing!"'
Thanks much. The cross is a huge point of contention, and no cause for glee certainly. However, there’s a good ending to it. It should also be a dreadful thing to consider that there are those claiming it did a great service, while engaging in the root of the original problem, and making excuses.
Maybe an analogy would be if someone died to save the life of a friend who was drowning in a river (drowning because he was being drunk and stupid), but then the one saved just continues his life being drunk and stupid. If that didn’t sober him up, what will?
Somehow this will all make sense eventually.
We all are responsible for His death...
Yes. Thank You Lord for forgiveness of all of our sins.
Well said.
Yes, and another sin, for sure, is to follow the direction other people have for our thoughts, rather than following what is in our hearts, because “The kingdom of heaven is within.”
+1
I say we’re all guilty but He chose to redeem us. Not all accept His free gift. Most, apparently, do not.
Blessings!
Blessings to you, too!
Yes. If the soldiers had not driven the nails in His hands and feet Jesus would have done it Himself. All mankind is equally guilty - those of us born 2000 years after the fact are as guilty as those there that terrible day. It is meaningless to ask which ethnic, political or religious group of the day was responsible.
Thanks I’ll check it out.
I’m just glad it wasn’t “Praise to the Man” - ;)
Yes, and a clear thought about the futility of war, as well.
Back in the day, before Christians were called Christians, they were antiwar. The main stream political types in Judea were willing to go along with the Romans. And so, the schism developed.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Essenes
The Jews plotted to kill him, bought off someone to betray him, incited the crowd to condemn him, and then stated they wanted his blood to be upon their heads.
Pilate and Herod, though knowing Jesus was innocent, did nothing and passed sentence. The Roman guards hurled insults at him and mock him. They beat him with whips, placed a crown of thrones painfully on his head, striped him naked, and made him carry his cross until he could no longer carry it.
Even believers denied knowing him, ran away, and watched from a distance as our Lord was crucified.
I would say we’re all guilty. Not much has changed.
I think it is as drop 50 and fire for effect said, it was individuals who had Jesus killed.
They knew that Jesus was telling the truth and the truth
was going to make them lose their jobs as soon as every one knew the truth.
Jesus said the religious leaders were the sons of their father “ the devil”
Does any one really believe that they believed in the God they preached?.
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