In (Mark 11:15-19) Jesus drives all of the people out of the temple because they are using it as a temple, this angered the religious leaders because they thought that he had no right to do this as it was their job to teach and not his. After this it says that the Chief Priests and teachers of the law began looking for a way to kill him. They did this because the crowds were amazed at his teaching, and they feared this.
The main motives for Jesus’ death were therefore religious conflicts, and jealousy, not due to blasphemy as the leaders persuaded the people of the time.
How Jesus was unfairly treated at the time
Jesus was treated unfairly at the time of his death in many ways; the main way was that he was given an unfair trial. The Sanhedrin Tract is a list of rules that shows the procedure that should have taken place in every trial by law, but below are details of these rules, followed by what whether these rules were upheld at Jesus’ trial:
- The court had to meet in a place called the Hall of the Hewn Stone, which was inside the Temple Buildings.
(Mark 14:54) proves that this didn’t happen because it says “Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest”, and the high priests house was no where near the Hewn Stone.
- The trial should not be held the day before the Sabbath.
The trial was held on the evening before the Sabbath, this is shown because (Mark 14:12) says that everyone celebrated the feast of unleavened bread by sacrificing a lamb and eating it together, and it was after they had eaten that Jesus’ trial took place.
- The trial had to be held in the daytime.
This didn’t happen, because Jesus was seized in the middle of the night, and (Mark 15:1) says “Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision.” this shows that the trial must have been during the night.
- The witness’s evidence should be held the day before the trial.
The bible is unclear as to whether the witness’s evidence was heard before the trial, but it isn’t mentioned.
- The evidence of at least two witnesses had to be exactly the same.
(Mark 14:56) shows that this did not happen because it says “many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree”.
- The case for the defence had to be heard.
No where in Mark’s gospel does it show any case for the defence being heard, but in (Mark 14:55) it says “they were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death.”
- The accused person could not be asked a question which would show they were guilty.
(Mark 14:61) shows that this happened, because it says the high priest asked Jesus “ Are you the Christ, the son of the Blessed One?”
- Each member of the Sanhedrin had his verdict separately, starting with the youngest person and ending with the oldest.
It is unclear whether or not this happened, but it is unlikely as it isn’t mentioned anywhere, and no other rules seem to have been followed.
- A verdict had to be reached in the daytime.
(Mark 15:1) says “Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision.” this shows that this law was broken because it wasn’t considered to be daytime.
- The court had to meet again the next day to check they still agreed the person was guilty.
Jesus was killed the next day.
Other things that were unfair was that the sanhedrin changed Jesus’s charge from a religious to a political one so that he would definitely be convicted.
How Christians understand the death of Jesus, and how this effects their relationship with God.
Christians believe that Jesus died so that God can forgive all our sins. (Mark 10:45) says, “For even the son of Man did not come to be served; he came to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.” The word redeem is important, and means that the point of Jesus dying can be taken in three main ways, these being:
- That Jesus dyed to show God how sorry we are for our sins, as a form of sacrifice.
- By dying we no longer have to pay the price for our sins.
- All humans are slaves of sin- this started with Adam and Eve, and we are all born having committed Original Sin. Jesus dying for us releases us from slavery.
The fact that Jesus died for us makes a Christians relationship with God much stronger, because if God was willing to sacrifice his son for the love of humanity, then it shows how much he cares, and Christians find this important.
(Mark 15:34) Says “ At the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, sabachthani?”- Which means, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” This shows that he was suffering, and that he was doing something against his will to save us, which also shows us the importance of his actions.
What Jesus said at the last supper was important, this was “this is the blood, the blood of the covenant shed for the many”(mark 14:24), this shows that he died as a sacrifice- this is shown as covenant refers to the time of moses.
Jesus dying for us also shows us that we are reconciled with God, and this is important, because if God can forgive us our sins by using such a major sign, then he obviously loves us a great deal. Christians believe that Jesus dying is a sign that God is willing to forgive us for our sins.
Evaluation
I think that the belief in the resurrection is necessary to be a Christian because of the whole meaning of the resurrection. People that believe in the resurrection believe that Jesus was crucified so that death is no longer the end. He died so that all of mans sins can be forgiven, and that death is actually the start of eternal life. While you can still be a good Christian in the sense of living a good life, and following Jesus’ example, you still won’t really have a meaning to your life as you’ll think that death is the end and might not see the point of living the way Jesus taught. If Jesus had just died his life would have had no meaning, he would not have achieved anything, because his whole life was based on bringing people closer to God, and teaching of the Kingdom of God. If you do not believe in Jesus being resurrected, then you can not believe in the kingdom of God, and its importance.