Explain why many of the religious leaders came to the conclusion that Jesus should be put to death
Describe the main characteristics of the Jewish religious leaders at the time of Jesus. Explain why Jesus came into conflict with the religious leaders.
Explain why many of the religious leaders came to the conclusion that Jesus should be put to death
At the time of Jesus, the main religious leaders were the Pharisees and the Sadducees. I will explain in this essay, their main characteristics, and why they came into conflict with Jesus and to the conclusion, that he should be put to death.
To start with, I will describe the Pharisees. The word 'Pharisee' literally means 'separated one'. They believed that they were better and more important the other, ordinary Jews, because they were extremely religious. They were also very well educated, and taught the religious scriptures all over Palestine, in the synagogues. They were, therefore, well in touch with the ordinary people. They were quite a large group of people.
The Pharisees, because they were so religious, were very keen on keeping to the 'letter of the Law'. That is, taking The Torah, ( God's law) -the Law that was given to Moses by God- word for word, letter for letter - sticking by it no matter what.
They interpreted the Torah, however, into what was known as the 'Oral Tradition'. The Oral Tradition was a set of 613 rules and regulations that conformed to God's law, but also suited the everyday lives of the people. They were extremely strict and just so. For instance, God's original Law - "Keep Holy The Sabbath Day", was interpreted in the Oral Tradition as - Do not walk more than 2000 steps on the Sabbath - enough to walk to the Synagogue for mass and back. As the Sabbath was a non-work day, simply dragging a chair across a floor was forbidden, as it was seen as a form of ploughing. The rules of the Oral Tradition went on, in this stricter-than-strict way.
The Pharisees believed that they had to abide by their Oral Tradition in every sense. They were so intent on keeping these rules, that it seemed they were more interested in the formalities of their faith, rather than the Spirit. They would not, for example, help somebody who had, say, fallen on the street, if it meant missing the service at the synagogue.
The Pharisees also fasted twice a week, and attended full Temple services. Because they so strongly believed in keeping the Oral Tradition like a good Pharisee, they set themselves apart from anyone who broke it. So even when a person broke a rule in good faith - helping somebody for instance - the Pharisees would disown him or her.
(Except healing, on the Sabbath day, of a person whose life was at risk)
The Oral Tradition was something that Jesus did not really agree with. In The Question about the Sabbath, MK, ch2 v1-12, Jesus is walking through some cornfields on the Sabbath day, with his disciples, who begin to pick the ears of corn.
The Pharisees immediately pick up on this, and say to Jesus
"It is against our Law for your disciples to do that on the Sabbath!"
And Jesus replies, "Have you never read what David did when he and his men were hungry? He went to the house of God and ate the bread offered to God. According to our Law, only the Priests may eat this bread, but David and his men ate it."
Then Jesus says, "The Sabbath was made for the good of human beings; they were not made for the Sabbath."
This was totally against the beliefs of the Pharisees. Jesus was saying here, that the rules that the Pharisees kept to for their dear life, were silly. The Sabbath day was not created to order or punish the people, but it was created to honour God in a nice way. He said that - personal need is greater than the letter of the Law
The Pharisees firmly believed in the coming of a Messiah - which we believe is Jesus. They assumed, and believed they were right because they were so very well read of scriptures, that the Messiah would be a kingly, warrior-like figure. They thought that he would resemble King David- their greatest ever King, who ruled at a time when Palestine was powerful and mighty, and won battles.
Their hope for the coming of a Messiah had now reached its peak. It was their last chance of freedom after being enslaved many times, by the Egyptians, the Babylonians ...
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The Pharisees firmly believed in the coming of a Messiah - which we believe is Jesus. They assumed, and believed they were right because they were so very well read of scriptures, that the Messiah would be a kingly, warrior-like figure. They thought that he would resemble King David- their greatest ever King, who ruled at a time when Palestine was powerful and mighty, and won battles.
Their hope for the coming of a Messiah had now reached its peak. It was their last chance of freedom after being enslaved many times, by the Egyptians, the Babylonians and now the Romans.
They thought that when the Messiah - The Chosen One - finally arrive, he would be instantly recognised, and beforehand, heralded by Elijah the great prophet- who we believe may have been in the form of John the Baptist (the Pharisees didn't).
Therefore, since Jesus was nothing like the Messiah they believed would come, they did not, nor do Jews today, accept Jesus as The Chosen One, and why should they? - Not least because Jesus did not seem to be so religious, or so much in fear of God as them. He was very ordinary.
Now the Pharisees outnumbered the Sadducees in terms of men, but did not have as much power on the Jewish Council - The Sanhedrin.
The Sanhedrin was made of Pharisees (1/3), and Sadducees (2/3), and the High Priest (leader) was also a Sadducee. The Sanhedrin was the Palestinian Government - but it was only a 'Puppet' Government, governed overall by the Romans, who had conquered Palestine. (It was Roman Empire policy to install a Puppet Government in conquered countries.) Basically, this meant that the Sanhedrin had some power and authority over the people, provide they kept them in good check. For important decisions or serious crimes, the Sanhedrin had to consult the Roman authority. This is why the Sanhedrin was not allowed to kill Jesus without asking Pontius Pilate- the Roman Governor - first.
Now I will move on to the Sadducees, who were seen as the Aristocracy of Palestine. The Sadducees were an elite Jewish group, from the upper (or 'Priestly') class of the nation. Their name is possibly originating from the great Priest Zadok, which doesn't really tell us about the nature of the Sadducees, but never mind.
Unlike the Pharisees, the Sadducees were very remote from the Jewish people, and instead of preaching all around the country, they centred in the Temple in Jerusalem. This made them unpopular with ordinary Jews, because they did not like the secrecy and unsociable nature of their group.
They were, however, very much the more powerful of the two religious leader groups. As I said before, they controlled two thirds of the Sanhedrin, the High Priest was a Sadducee, and they were also in charge of the whole Temple and it's treasury (money).
Another important area in which the Pharisees and the Sadducees interests differed, was how the Torah should be comprehended. The Sadducees did not believe that the Torah should be changed in any way, because it was God's given Law, and it was not their place to "adapt" it.
The Sadducees also rejected ideas such as resurrection, angels and demons, which the Pharisees accepted, because there was no mention of them in the Torah.
The Pharisees of course, had to accept that they were, to some extent, under the control of the Sadducees, and therefore sometimes had to do what they said, even when they did not believe in it. But in turn, the Sadducees had to recognise the influence that the Pharisees had on the Jewish people, because they were more liked and known. The Sadducees were not in touch with Jews at all.
The ways in which the Pharisees and the Sadducees differed I suppose you could liken to the ways Catholic and Protestant beliefs differ. They disagreed mainly on Jewish teachings, but their disputes were not too serious, and usually about minor things.
When Jesus came along, blasphemously claiming he was the Son of God, the Messiah, and causing their own followers to follow him and disrupt their ways of life, the two groups united on the same count. They did not like or trust this Jesus character, and this eventually led to his death.
In "The Paralysed Man" MK ch2 v1-12, Jesus was in a house, and a crowd gathered around. The crowd was so big, that when a paralysed man being carried by for people came, they could not get through. So they broke through the roof and lowered him in, to the floor. When Jesus saw how much faith they had, he said to the man
"Son, your sins are forgiven"
And then of course, the Pharisees, who always managed to be there at these times, said
"He is talking blasphemously. No-one can forgive sins except God."
Jesus said, "Which is easier to say? - 'Thy sins are forgiven', or 'Rise up, take thy bed with you, and walk'?"
Then he told the paralysed man to get up and go home, and he did.
The crowd was astonished, and so were the Pharisees. This was one of the first times Jesus and the religious leaders had had some sort of dispute. It was a time when the Pharisees realised that Jesus was too clever for them, and had embarrassed them in front of the crowd. They began to resent Jesus.
Throughout his childhood and as a young man, Jesus led an ordinary life. At the age of thirty, he became a travelling preacher. The Jews thought that Jesus' teaching resembled the Pharisees way of teaching, and so he earned the title 'Pharisaic Rabbi' - that is, a Pharisee-like teacher. Initially, the Pharisees welcomed him. Jesus was a good teacher, and the crowds listened to him. That is, until Jesus started to say things that the Pharisees didn't want to hear. Like 'hypocrites'.
In MK ch7 -'Ritually Unclean', The Pharisees ask Jesus why his disciples don't follow their ancestors' teachings, and eat with their hands unwashed.
Jesus answers: "You hypocrites. Isaiah's prophecy said: 'These people do me honour with their lips, but their hearts are far from me'
Moses said- 'Honour thy father and mother. But you say, all the money that you might get from me is to be offered to God - Corban'
Corban meant a gift to God- usually money- that the Pharisees gave to the Temple so that they wouldn't have to look after their parents.
And now Jesus was saying - You tell us we don't care for our ancestors, when you don't care for your own parents.
Jesus was right. The Pharisees were hypocrites. This was not something that the Pharisees wanted to hear.
And later, Jesus said to the disciples:
"It is what comes out of a man that makes him unclean, not what goes in. Out of the heart come evil thoughts- murder, adultery, and theft. These are what make a man 'unclean'; but eating with unwashed hands does not make him 'unclean' "
The Pharisees basically tried to challenge Jesus in every which way they could. Jesus did not care for the Oral Tradition, - he said that it was wrong how the Jews had made their own laws and regulations, and treated them as they were God's own.
Jews believed you could be considered "ritually unclean" by mixing with sinners, gentiles, outcasts, tax collectors etc.., But of course, Jesus cared for everybody, so mixed with these people all the time.
One time, Jesus was eating with sinners and tax collectors, and Levi, who was hated by the Jews because he tax collected and worked for the Romans.
The Pharisees and scribes asked, " Why do you eat and drink with sinners and tax collectors?"
Jesus answered "It is not those who are in health that need help of the physician (doctor), it is those who are sick. I have come to call sinners, not the just."
What Jesus meant by this was that he wasn't here to see who was good, and who abided by all the rules, and who went to the synagogue every week and so on, but he was here to make sinners not sin. The 'sick' are the people who have sinned. He does not need to help those who are not cast out, because they do not need his help.
This was true, and the Pharisees probably knew it. If they didn't believe it was true, and just plain unbelievable, then why would they worry about Jesus' influence at all?
Jesus criticised the Pharisees all of the time and rightly so. They thought themselves to be superior over everyone except God himself. And they were hypocritical, and they always tried to catch Jesus out. But they always failed.
Jesus tried to re-educate the Jews and the religious leaders, and show them that their knowledge and understanding of God had become overshadowed by their material lives, and their 'Oral Tradition.' Maybe the Pharisees and the Sadducees did see this, and realised what he was saying was convincing, and that their own beliefs that they'd had for so long, were in fact wrong. Or maybe they didn't agree at all.
Either way, the Pharisees and Sadducees disliked and distrusted Jesus, and wanted him out of the way. If Jesus didn't go, and more and more people started to follow him, then The Sanhedrin would lose their power and the Romans would overthrow them.
The religious leaders were not particularly interested in what Jesus had to say, or his so-called miracles. They only saw him as a threat to their own power and influence over the people. They were frightened of the political reprisals of the Romans. What would the Romans do to them if Jesus became to powerful, and the government lost control? Of course Jesus was destined to die on the cross, that was God's plan, but who's to say, in the eyes of the Sanhedrin, what would have happened had Jesus not been put to death? Would there have been an up rise among the people? Would Jesus have taken over?
If the Jews ever saw Jesus as the King, then the Romans would be angry with the Sanhedrin for not doing their job properly, and being too weak. They had a lot to lose both professionally and personally if they were unable to keep control of Palestine.
The Sanhedrin began to watch the popularity of Jesus very closely, and soon after, tried to arrest him whenever they could.
In Mark ch12, we hear about the Parable of the Tenants. This parable is a little hard to understand, but Jesus said it against the teachers of the Law, and they looked for a way to arrest him. However, they were afraid of the large crowd that was gathered around Jesus, and so went away. The Pharisees and the Sadducees went away to Herod to plot to kill Jesus.
So why did the Pharisees and the Sadducees come into conflict with Jesus?
* Jesus was very outspoken. i.e. - he said what he thought. This made the Pharisees and the Sadducees feel insecure about their beliefs - he was contradicting them.
* The more Jesus preached, the more people became his followers. They were abandoning their ways of life, and following Jesus'.
* It became apparent that Jesus' teachings were quite reasonable and convincing, compared to the Jewish teachings.
* Jesus always criticised the teachers of the Law. He was too clever for them and embarrassed them. He said they were hypocrites, and they probably knew this was true.
Why did they come to the conclusion that Jesus should be put to death?
* Jesus was attracting many thousands of people through sheer charisma - people simply wanted to hear him teach. It just wasn't the same with the synagogues.
* Jesus was becoming a major influence on people's lives. Too large an influence in fact.
* The Sanhedrin were in danger of losing their power if Jesus became too powerful
* Life would be so much easier without him.
So, because Jesus was seen as a threat to the Sanhedrin, and unnecessary to them in their lives, they had him killed. And why not? It didn't matter to them if Jesus wasn't around to teach anymore, did it? Maybe if they could have seen how important Jesus would be 2000 years later, they might have thought twice about their actions. But how were they to know? Were they ignorant not to believe Jesus was the Messiah? Would you have believed it?
Jesus was indeed a powerful man. After all he was God, but the Pharisees and Sadducees couldn't see that, because they were so wrapped up in their own well-beings, and their must-keep Laws.
He preached and people listened. He contradicted Jewish beliefs and people listened. And he knew a lot about the Old Testament.
From the Sanhedrin's point of view, it was vital that Jesus be disposed of to protect their own interests and their own authority. But they failed to see what Jesus had been put on earth to do. He had never set out to overthrow anyone, or humiliate anyone. Jesus was the Messiah. They did not understand Isaiah's prophesy of 'The Suffering Servant' - that the Messiah was going to suffer for the good of the people, and be a servant to them. Jesus was a man of peace, not a warrior king. Not a King David.
He never encouraged people to think he was special, or more worthy than anyone else. He didn't ask people to worship him. Many times, Jesus asked his disciples not to tell anyone what they had seen him do - miracles etc - or to tell anyone that he was the Son of God.
And yet people loved him. Thousands of people came from all over just to hear him speak. Jesus was so gentle, yet the Pharisees and the Sadducees were actually worried there would be a revolution amongst the people, that they would be overthrown as the Jewish Council.
How could a man who was so kind and peaceful be capable of doing so much harm to the religious leaders?
Why was he so powerful?
Surely, they must have seen that Jesus was no ordinary man who simply disagreed with their teachings?
This was why they killed him.
