Why did Jesus have to die? Flashcards
Background to conflict between Jesus and authorities
• authorities didn’t understand who he was
• his message challenged their power and authority
• he was seen as a threat to peace and power of the region
—these worried the Romans and the Jews
Main reasons for conflict
-Jesus challenged the system of Jewish Law
• spoke against the rituals of worship and sacrifice and hot it was controlled by the temple
• this made him a threat to the stability of Judaism
-Jesus challenged their position of authority and power
• spoke against the power and authority of those in power - calling them hypocrites and questioning their position in the Kingdom of God
-Jesus claimed to be the ‘Son of God’
• perhaps most crucially, blasphemy. Claiming a unique relationship with God (John 10:30 “I and the father and one”)
• this was against the most sacred of Jewish teachings: Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear oh Israel, The Lord our God, the Lord is one”
Context of the Roman Religion
• had beliefs (such as emperor worship) which were against Jewish beliefs
• the Romans gave the Temple hierarchy authority to rule the day to day lives of the people
• in return, they expected the Religious authorities to keep peace
• Jewish authorities saw it as their duty to preserve Judaism by:
-Following the law of Moses
-keeping the covenant
-keeping the peace with the Romans
—when Jesus claimed to be divine, Jews would be sceptical, having previously been oppressed by polytheists. Concept of a human God was a big no no
Deuteronomy 18:2-5
“if the sign or wonder spoken of takes place, and the prophet says, “Let us follow other gods…and let us worship them”, you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer…That prophet or dreamer tried to turn you from the way the Lord your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you”
Deuteronomy 18:20
“a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, is to be put to death”
Leviticus 24:16
“anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death”
John 2:16-21
“…get these out of here! Stop turning my Father’s house into a market!” His disciples remembered that it is written: ‘Zeal for your house will consume me’…’Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days’”
-Worth noting that John moves this to be earlier in Jesus ministry to establish Jesus’ conflict with the Jewish authorities
-the temple market was where faithful Jews could buy animals for sacrifice to God for atonement and forgiveness
-the market traders were exploiting them by charging too much- which the authorities were accused of allowing and benefiting from
-Jesus objected to animal sacrifice because it doesn’t necessarily allow a true, hear-felt faith
-Psalm 51:16-17: “you do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, o God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite hear you, God, will not despise”
• links to sacrament of penance
Malachi 3:1
“I will send my messenger, who will prepare the way before me. Then suddenly the Lord you are seeking will come to his temple; the messenger of the covenant, whom you desire, will come” says the Lord Almighty”
• A clear message is given in this: Salvation is not through Jewish rituals but through faith in Jesus
Alan Culpepper
The religious authorities saw Jesus as a physical man and could not grasp his spiritual significance.
“By not having heard or seen the Father, they are Jesus’ opposite; in their response to Jesus they are the opposite of the disciples. The pathos of their unbelief is that they are the religious leaders, some even the religious authorities, who had all the advantages of the heritage of Israel” (Anatomy of the Fourth Gospel 1983)
