High Stakes Page 10

  The true story of the Passion of Christ is one of the most controversial secrets Christianity has tried to hide for almost two thousand years. Nothing that is truth can be hidden forever, because it will work its way to the top for everyone to see.

  The Sanhedrin and Pharisees started to put pressure on the Roman government to arrest Jesus and bring him in for trial. The incidents that occurred on Palm Sunday, as the Church now calls it, put the Sanhedrin and Pharisees over the proverbial edge. Jesus did come into the city with great fanfare on the Sabbath, which was one week before Passover. This seemed like a blasphemy to the Judaic elders. He then incurred more of their wrath by visiting the Temple and driving out the moneylenders with a whip, citing their hypocrisy in the process. The Sanhedrin met in a special council and decided to petition Pontius Pilate to arrest Jesus and put him on trial for blasphemy and sedition. This took a few days, as even then there were many in the Sanhedrin who felt the charges unjustified.

  In the interim period, Jesus told Judas Iscariot to arrange a private meeting with Pilate if possible, as he knew what was coming. Pilate agreed to the meeting mostly out of curiosity, but also because his beloved wife had had a dream about Jesus that said Jesus should not be harmed, and he respected his wife’s counsel. The meeting was arranged with only Pilate, Jesus, Judas Iscariot and Joseph of Arimathaea in attendance. This meeting was several days before the erroneous story of Judas’s betrayal was to take place. If you use your logic, why would Judas have to betray him with a kiss and receive thirty pieces of silver when the Romans already knew who he was and where he was? Jesus was not exactly hiding when he preached to the people in Jerusalem for all to see.

  This private meeting set into motion one of the greatest plots in the history of mankind. Pilate, in meeting Jesus for the first time, was profoundly curious about this man who seemed to attract huge multitudes to just hear him speak. After questioning him about his intentions toward Rome, he was satisfied that Christ had no seditious intent and was frankly quite impressed with him, as most people who came into contact with Jesus were similarly impressed. Pilate could find no wrong in him and found him to be a gentle and charming man. Pilate, however, was also the governor of Israel and certainly knew the political climate from his many spies in the Sanhedrin and Pharisees, as well as throughout Galilee and Judea, and therein was the problem—how was he to keep order and avoid possible rioting or insurrection?

  Pontius Pilate was intelligent, decisive and cunning. He had to be or he would not be governor of Israel for long and would not maintain his stature. He knew that Rome wanted peace above all else, for otherwise trade would be disrupted and Roman resources would have to be spent on downing any uprisings. He also knew the atmosphere in Israel was potentially very explosive. He knew the Sanhedrin and Pharisees wanted Christ condemned, but Pilate also knew Jesus had many followers and he was afraid there could be rioting and possible revolution on either side if Jesus was condemned or set free. Pilate was faced with a great dilemma—what to do with this man known as Jesus?

  Francine says Pilate came up with an ingenious plan. Finding no wrong in Jesus, he proposed an audacious scheme that would depend upon complete secrecy, but most of all would depend on Christ’s cooperation.

  According to Francine, Pilate explained to Christ that he found him to be no threat, but he had to maintain peace with the ruling religious structure (Sanhedrin and Pharisees) within Israel. Pilate outlined to Jesus that they wanted him to be arrested and put on trial and that he would do all he could to get a verdict of innocence for him. If they found him guilty he would try to keep him alive, even though he would have to enact the penalty of scourging and crucifixion as per the law; but there were no guarantees that he would be able to do so. Jesus understood what Pilate was saying and knew his fate was sealed. He held out a slight hope nonetheless that this plan might succeed, even though it would involve a great deal of pain and suffering. The four of them then talked for some time on the contingencies of the plan and the role of each in it. The plan depended upon mutual trust and precise actions on the part of all involved, but at least Christ had a slight hope that he might escape his preordained mission—not without pain and suffering, but with his life. Jesus would have to be strong in not only enduring what he must endure, but also in his belief that God would be merciful and allow him to live, for as Pilate said, there were no guarantees.

  This seems to put Pilate in a good light, but Francine says he was just being careful and expedient. Pilate knew he had nothing to lose in this gamble to keep the peace. If Jesus was found innocent, so be it. If Jesus was found guilty and crucified, it would appease the Sanhedrin and Pharisees, and if he was able to keep him alive it would appease Christ’s followers. No one would dare to accuse him of trying to keep Christ alive, and if the plot was discovered it could easily be blamed on Christ’s followers. Francine says God did intervene here, however, because he sent the dream to Pilate’s wife and also implanted the plan in Pilate’s mind and caused him to go through with it.

  Jesus knew beforehand what his fate was to be, but this plot devised by Pilate was a surprise to him. Francine says that we must remember that despite the divinity of Jesus and despite his knowing what he would have to go through, only God knows everything and knows the outcome of events that happen. We see divine intervention even today in situations that seem to be impossible in our understanding, but that turn out to be what we call miracles.

  With this faint hope of survival in him, Jesus, knowing all involved had to keep this plan secret, advised both Judas and Joseph to not say anything to anyone, especially his disciples. Jesus did tell Mary Magdalene of the plan because she was his wife and closest confidante. Francine says her anguish was great. She knew that once he was turned over to the Sanhedrin anything could happen, even though the Romans were the only ones in power to carry out the final sentence of execution. In a small way it’s like a surgery that you know has to be done and you hope you will survive, but the agony of going through it and the aftermath is still frightening because you know anything can go wrong. Jesus didn’t trust his disciples with any of this knowledge because he worried that any one of them, either out of stupidity or fear, would tell the wrong person.

  Jesus also held what we refer to as the last supper because he knew that no matter how things turned out, it was likely to be the last time his disciples would be able to convene with him fully in one place. He knew if he survived he would have to leave Israel and his disciples behind or risk recapture and death. It is interesting to note that where most scholars believe he held this last supper was in the Essene compound on Mount Sion, which insured privacy because the Essenes were a secular group.

  Francine says that although Christ held a slight hope of survival in his mind, he was really mentally prepared to die. She says he felt his chances were very slim at best to survive and that what sustained him was the fact that he was doing all this for God. With this in mind, at the last supper, when he did tell them to remember everything he said and when they broke bread and drank wine to remember him, he really thought this would be the last time they would be together in life. I’m sure some of the disciples must have been puzzled over this, even though he had already told them about what he had to go through, and, as planned, he did say, “One of you will betray me.” This, of course, was ordained by prophecy, and Judas had already agreed to do it as part of the secret plot. Even though the Roman soldiers knew whom they were looking for, it made the plot more believable that one of his own would point him out.

  Jesus did go to the garden at Gethsemane and ask God to remove this chalice (or pain) from him. Christ was referring to his probable execution, which he knew was coming. This also proves you can’t get out of your Chart. After he petitioned God, we are also pretty sure that God said no because our Lord, again invoking Christ’s Chart, said, “Thy will be done.” Eventually, after finding the disciples with him asleep, soldiers came to arrest him, and after a brief skirmish in which a disciple c
ut off the ear of a servant of the high priest (which Christ immediately healed), they bound Jesus and took him away.

  Jesus was taken to the high priest of the Sanhedrin by the soldiers of the Temple (it was not the Romans who arrested Jesus but the Jewish soldiers who stood guard at the Jewish Temple, sent by the Sanhedrin). The Sanhedrin priests then questioned Jesus all night, and supposedly many false witnesses were brought to testify against him. The Sanhedrin also beat Jesus during his questioning and trial. My guide says this was done out of frustration and anger and they knew they had no other punishment but to beat and flog him.

  Here is where we get into inconsistency again, as the four gospels differ on a key question put forth to Jesus. In the gospels of Matthew (Matthew 26:63–64), Mark (Mark 14:61–62) and Luke (Luke 22:66–70), Christ is asked by the high priest of the Sanhedrin whether or not he is the Son of God. Matthew has Christ saying, “Thou hast said it. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming upon the clouds of heaven.” Luke has Jesus answering, “If I tell you, you will not believe me: and if I question you, you will not answer me, or let me go. But henceforth, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. And they all said, ‘Art thou, then, the Son of God?’ He answered, ‘You yourselves say that I am.’” Mark, however, has Christ answering, “I am. And you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming with the clouds of heaven.” John makes no mention at all of this question in his gospel, relating only that Jesus was asked questions concerning his disciples and teaching. This omission by John of this very important question again raises the issue of whether or not the question was even asked, especially as the question directly relates to his divinity and Jewish prophecy.

  We also have inconsistency in the response to the question. Mark has Jesus answering that he is the Christ and Son of God and then, in the next sentence, referring to himself as the Son of Man. Both Matthew and Luke have Christ saying that the Sanhedrin says he is the Son of God and then he also refers to himself as the Son of Man. This is a very important inconsistency, because it has always been a huge theological question: was Christ the Son of God or the Son of Man? If Christ was the Son of God (although all of us are sons and daughters of God) and the Christ, then he indeed would be divine and the Savior that the Jews had waited for. If Christ was the Son of Man, then his divinity would be in question and he would not necessarily be the Christ. This issue was debated hotly in the early Church, and Jewish Christians always maintained that Jesus was a great prophet and teacher but not divine, being a Son of Man. Pauline Christians took the view that he was the Son of God and thereby divine and the Savior. Early Gnostic Christians seemed to be split on the issue.

  Francine says that Jesus knew he was a special entity on a mission for God and that it was preordained that he go through these tribulations. She says he also knew that all of humankind were technically sons and daughters of God, but also knew full well that he was ordained by God to be the Christ that the Jewish prophecies had foretold was coming. He also knew that the Sanhedrin would not accept this fact, so he gave them an ambiguous answer (except for Mark’s rendition).

  We do know that Jesus definitely said he was the Son of Man, but he also said he was the Christ. I have often wondered whether this was just a question of semantics, as the Judaic people believed that the Christ would be the Son of God, while Jesus just thought he was a special mission entity from God that was the Christ of the Judaic people. Francine says that he was indeed the Christ for the Judaic people and that his teachings were so full of truth that they eventually spread throughout the world in the form of Christianity. On the one hand you could say that Jesus had only partial success in his mission, as the Judaic people did not accept him as the Christ or their savior. On the other hand you could say his mission was an overwhelming success in that many Jews converted to Christianity and his message spread throughout the world.

  The Sanhedrin then took Jesus to Pontius Pilate and they demanded that he be crucified as a judgment for blasphemy. The Sanhedrin knew that only Pilate could make a final judgment on any person accused of a crime, as the Romans occupied Israel. Pilate made a valiant effort to try to save and free Christ and truly hoped to stop the situation right there by declaring he could not find fault with this man. He even sent him to Herod for judgment in the hope that he would be freed (Luke 23:7–12) and the issue resolved. Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate after mocking him, not wanting the responsibility.

  Pilate then tried to use the tradition of freeing a prisoner at Passover to gain the freedom of Christ by having the crowd choose between Jesus and Barabbas. He was trying everything he could to live up to the promise that he had made to Jesus. Nothing worked, and the Sanhedrin-controlled crowd was now a mob shouting to crucify Jesus. Seeing the mob getting uglier, Pilate knew he would have to fall back to other planned contingencies in his effort to help Jesus survive. Knowing he could no longer free Jesus and keep him from being crucified, he only now hoped he could keep him alive. As a final gesture of frustration and self-protection, Pilate ordered a bowl of water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just man; see to it yourselves” (Matthew 27:24).

  Matthew’s is the only gospel to mention Pilate washing his hands of the matter, and Luke’s is the only gospel that doesn’t mention the scourging of Christ. The gospels of Matthew, Mark and John all have Pilate scourging Christ before he delivers him to the Sanhedrin for crucifixion. Luke says nothing about Jesus being scourged at all and just has him delivered by Pilate to the crowd to be crucified. Is this just an omission on Luke’s part? Francine says that Pilate had Jesus whipped for the sake of appearances and also because he hoped that the beating would pacify the crowd and allow him to set Jesus free. Pilate had given orders to not scourge Jesus heavily, as Jesus had already taken some abuse from the Sanhedrin in his trial earlier, and he wanted Jesus as strong as possible to survive his ordeal of crucifixion if necessary. Pilate also was very adamant to his soldiers that this man was not to die.

  The Sanhedrin-controlled crowd took Jesus and made him carry his own cross, but there were people who at intervals would help him when he fell. Even Joseph of Arimathaea helped him. This is not ever to lead you to believe that Christ’s suffering was not excruciating. When they flogged him they even dumped water with heavy concentrations of salt over his wounds, which was very painful, and yet it helped staunch the bleeding.

  Jesus was weak from having no food and very little water. If he had not been in good condition he would have died from the trauma of the beatings and having no sustenance. Francine says this is where his training in India helped him. He was able to put himself in an altered state of consciousness much like meditation or self-hypnosis, which helped to sustain him through his whole ordeal.

  When they finally got him to Golgotha (the place of the skull), the Roman soldiers did nail Christ’s wrists and feet to the cross; but they were very adept at missing the main arteries so that he wouldn’t bleed out heavily. Pilate had given orders that this man was not to die, so unlike the two thieves crucified with him (to fulfill prophecy once again), Jesus had ropes tied under his armpits to give him more support. They also gave him a footrest, which the others did not have, and did not break his legs. According to the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Christ was on the cross for about three hours and it was also part of Pilates’ plan to only have him on the cross for a short period of time.

  Before we go any further, let’s review some facts about crucifixion. Most scholars agree that crucifixions are an agonizing and slow death. Most of the deaths from crucifixion are due to suffocation from too much pressure on the diaphragm. Most people who were crucified took several days to die and eventually either suffocated, by not being able to lift themselves up to breathe because of exhaustion, or died due to trauma and a lack of water in being exposed to the elements of sun and wind. The Roman
s had perfected this manner of execution at that time. If they wanted a person to die a quick death, they would break their legs so they couldn’t push with their legs to breathe. Victims who had their legs broken usually lasted only from six to twelve hours, as opposed to those who lasted several days without their legs being broken. Victims of crucifixion were usually hung on the cross with ropes after being scourged. A few were nailed to the cross by their wrists and usually had the heels of their feet also nailed to the cross.

  One of the fortuitous circumstances surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus was that he was crucified on the day before the Sabbath, known as Preparation Day. Pilate had delayed giving Jesus over for crucifixion, so that he was crucified in mid afternoon. With the Sabbath being a holy day, Jewish law forbade bodies being on the cross on the Sabbath, which started in the evening of Preparation Day, so the bodies of Jesus and the two thieves had to be down from the cross by evening. This fit in perfectly with Pilate’s plan, as you will see.

  Some of the gospels relate how Christ was crowned with thorns by Roman soldiers before his crucifixion. According to Francine one centurion did weave a crown of thorns and put it on Christ’s head, for which he was later disciplined by Pilate. Above his head on the cross the Romans put a sign that read, JESUS, KING OF THE JEWS. You would think even if this was mocking, it would have made the Jews mad, but the Sanhedrin and Pharisees who witnessed the crucifixion mocked Jesus over it and jeered to him that if he was the Christ to save himself and get off the cross and they would believe. It was also at this time that some of the priests of the Sanhedrin started worrying over the lateness of the hour. They knew the bodies of Jesus and the two thieves had to be taken down from the cross before the Sabbath commenced or Jewish law concerning the Sabbath would be broken. They went to Pilate and asked that the legs of the victims be broken to hasten their deaths (John 19:31–33). Pilate sent soldiers to do this but also gave them orders not to break the legs of Christ because he was already dead. You will see why he gave these strange orders shortly.