Consider this…a purely secular view of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ. We as Christians believe, accept and give thanks that as was the will of our Father God, his only son would die on the Cross that our sins might be forgiven and we should have life everlasting in Heaven… with all the Saints and our Father and his son and our Redeemer, Jesus Christ. So…for your consideration the other side, “the rest of the story”. 

The rest of the story occurs well before the crucifixion of Jesus but is really the reason for my view. In today’s “speak” there is in this time before the entrance of “Politics Of The Cross” a developing story we just skim over. Of course there was before, during and after an uncertainty about this man from Nazareth. But make no mistake he was beloved by the people, Jews and Gentiles alike and even some Romans.There was the Roman Government which was not tolerant of anything that might lessen the “the power of Rome”. Here also we must include the Pharisees and the Sadducees.They were a big part of those who planted this seed of organized opposition to Jesus. It was planed, planted and nourished buy these three very powerful factions who had as their only goal to squash this “Jesus” who threatened their power and influence. I believe that the Sadducees and the Pharisees were in many ways the driving force in this triumvirate of power that Jesus was facing. The Sadducees were a religious group that held a great deal of power among the Jews in Israel and worked with Rome to keep the peace. Sadducees confronted Jesus on many occasions which are documented in the New Testament. They were members of the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of the Jewish people. The Pharisees were influential within Judaism in the time of Christ and the early church. They were a minority in the Sanhedrin but seemed to to somewhat control the decision-making of the Sanhedrin because they were popular among the people. I share this with you by using an excerpt from Got Questions because of its clarity. “The Pharisees were an influential religious sect within Judaism in the time of Christ and the early church. They were known for their emphasis on personal piety (the word Pharisee comes from a Hebrew word meaning “separated”), their acceptance of oral tradition in addition to the written Law, and their teaching that all Jews should observe all 600-plus laws in the Torah, including the rituals concerning ceremonial purification.”

So there you have it Rome, Sadducees, Pharisees, a triumvirate of power upon which I rest the reason for my view “Politics Of The Cross.” The road to Golgotha was laid out by the actions, lack of actions and the pursuit of power and influence coupled with Romes determination to maintain its power over their  territories. These three things are there in the background of the greatest story ever told. I have never been particularly fond of that “story thing” which might put me a little in the Pharisees group. The story here is that there is no story here…It is a record of oral and written history…real places and real people. Tomorrow is Palm Sunday, in the secular view you might say this is the day that “Jesus was on Parade”.

Life is Good

jk