Discuss and assess the view that according to the author of Lukes gospel it was Jesus conflict with the religious rather than political authorities which led to his crucifixion
Discuss and assess the view that according to the author of Luke’s gospel it was Jesus’ conflict with the religious rather than political authorities which led to his crucifixion Throughout Jesus’ ministry Jesus had been in constant conflict with the political and religious authorities. “ The Gospel show that Jesus’ words and actions created unrest amongst those who encountered him, particularly the Jewish and Roman authorities” ~ S. TylerThe Religious authorities at the time of Jesus were the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Sanhedrin. The Pharisees were religious Jews who kept Jewish laws, traditions and rituals. They believe in life after death and follow the oral laws as well as the written laws. Their name can be interpreted to mean ‘the separated ones’ indicating their desire to be separated from contamination and sin. The Sadducees were the high-priestly aristocracy who served in the temple and followed not only the oral law but also the Torah. Their name sounds like ‘the righteous ones ‘ in Hebrew. They collaborated with the Romans rulers ad were more concerned with politics than religion. Additionally they had no belief in life after death. The Sanhedrin was the Jewish court made up of 71 members and sat in the ‘Great Court’ in the temple. They had limited powers and intervened mainly in religious issues. The Political authorities were the Romans who ruled over Israel at that time. The ultimate leader of the Roman Empire was Caesar who had many powerful people that worked under him ruling provinces such as Herod and Pilate. The Romans had the ultimate power to put someone to death. The government practiced one of the first ‘one country, two systems’ policy, everyone had religious and political freedom yet the Romans maintained strict control. Jesus was often found among the Pharisees discussing and even having meals
