Pontius Pilate and the Jews - Part 3 By Pastor Eli James

In the third and last installment of the series on Pontius Pilate and the Jews, we witness Nicodemus, a member of the infamous Sanhedrin and a Pharisee, instructing Pontius Pilate on how to successfully conspire against Jesus Christ. The Jewish High Priest council frequently acted independently of the Romans and rendered decisions without the approval of the Central Government. They wielded considerable power and frequently defied Roman decrees. This includes carrying out extra-judicial assassinations without the approval of the Romans, who ruled the world at the time. As a result, they functioned as a state within a state, as well as a fifth column. Furthermore, these Jewish elites were all related to one another in an extended family network. In current usage, the term "mishpucka" is used to refer to similar types of ethnic and family connection and networking.

In the course of the narrative, Jesus gives himself over to the Roman authorities and, under pressure from the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, is tried in a kangaroo court and declared guilty. Jesus didn't mind being crucified because, unlike the Jews who wanted to kill him, he wasn't materialistic or power-hungry. Although Nicodemus saw that Jesus was a righteous man and that it was wrong to execute him via crucifixion, he was helpless to stop it. Jesus' spiritual teachings posed a threat to the political control of the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin. It was vital to get rid of him because of this.Jesus was initially going to be put on trial in one of the Jews' own Kangaroo courts and put to death, becoming an outcast and no longer being a Judean. However, this would reveal them to be puppet masters and the Romans to be their servants or tools. Not only that, but if Pontius Pilate did not put Jesus to death for the alleged act of treason against the State, the Jews may demand money or scare him with betraying the Emperor. Pontius was unable to find a shred of evidence against Jesus for betrayal, but in order to quell the wrath and vengeance of the Jews, he was ready to convict him for a far smaller offense.

Jesus eventually surrenders to Roman authorities in the course of the story, and under the pressure of the Pharisees and Sanhedrin, he is tried and found guilty in a kangaroo court. Jesus wasn't power-hungry or materialistic like the Jews who tried to kill him, so he didn't mind being crucified. Nicodemus acknowledged that Jesus was a just man and that it was wicked to put him to death by crucifixion, but he was powerless to stop it. The Pharisees and the Sanhedrin's political hegemony were threatened by Jesus' spiritual teachings. That is why it was necessary to get rid of him. The Jews first intended to trial and execute Jesus in one of their own Kangaroo courts, casting him as an outcast - no longer a Judean. However, this would expose them as puppeteers, and the Romans as subservient to or manipulated by them. Not only that, but the Jews would potentially blackmail or threaten Pontius Pilate with disloyalty to the Emperor if he did not carry out the execution of Jesus for the supposed crime of treason against the State. Pontius couldn't uncover a scrap of proof against Jesus for treachery, but he was willing to convict him for a much lesser crime in order to appease the Jews' bloodlust and vindictiveness.

According to Pontus Pilate, he was so horrified by the Jews' behavior that he decided to ritualistically and practically wash his hands before Christ was crucified to symbolize that his hands were clean of the offense of unfairly executing an innocent man. Jesus most likely received a beating before being nailed on a cross. When Jesus was said to have disappeared from the tomb by Saturday morning, the guards who were supposed to maintain watch over the burial were shocked. The guards asserted that they had been on duty all night keeping watch over the grave, but Pontius Pilate perceived that Divine Intervention had taken place as the huge stone with ropes surrounding it, which was also blocking the entrance to the grave, had been rolled over in the morning and Jesus' body had disappeared. It's strange that Pontius Pilate described Jesus' physical characteristics as not being Jewish but rather being of a mixed or blended Greek kind.