The Divine Plan The Passion of the Christ, a Hollywood portrayal of the judgement and crucifixion of Jesus Christ, brings to life the Gospel’s narration of the most important day of mankind. This paper will demonstrate that although the movie’s depiction slanted towards a bias of the Jewish people being against Jesus, the Sanhedrin were not representatives of the sediment of the Jews. It will also show that Pontius Pilate, a man of consciousness, was ultimately used as a pawn by God to carry out the inevitable death of Jesus. Finally, this paper will demonstrate that the death of Jesus was not a result of the Sanhedrin or Pontius Pilot, but rather the inevitable result of the sins of man.
The Sanhedrin The Passion of the Christ begins at the end of Jesus’ life. There are many elements that are critical for the uneducated Christian to know about Jesus, his life, and his interactions with the Sanhedrin to understand the unimaginable actions that took place in the trial of Jesus. Jesus arrived at a time of a spiritual drought. There had been no prophesies made for 400 years before John the Baptist prophesized the arrival of the Messiah (Stein, 1996, p. 93). When word of the King of kings arriving was heard by the people of Israel and the Jewish leaders, each of them had their own idea of who would be arriving. The Sanhedrin’s idea of a king was one of political power, a Messiah that would overrule the Roman Empire. Jesus’ gentle manner, servant character, and teacher of love, were not what they had in mind. In the movie, there is an assumption made that Jesus’ teachings of the Kingdom were already known to the Jews and gentiles in Jerusalem, that Jesus had threatened to destroy the temple, and that he claimed to be the Son of God. The Sanhedrin could not fathom this to be true but they feared that many Jews believed and worshipped Jesus, so they arrested him in the middle of the night and proceeded with a trial before most of the Jews were even awake. When Jesus was questioned whether he was the Messiah, by the high priest, Caiaphas, Jesus’ response confirmed the claims. The high priest responded to the crowd, "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They all condemned him as worthy of death” (Mark 14:64). However, the Sanhedrin’s first attempt of getting the Pilate to sentence Jesus to death due to blasphemy failed so they charged Jesus with insurrection and threatened Pilate that he may lose control over Jerusalem should Jesus be free to reign over the Jews (Stein, 1996, p. 230). The fact that the Sanhedrin made it a point to arrest, charge and begin the trial of Jesus in the middle of the night and early the next morning, was a clear attempt to have the proceedings before the Jews awoke. They knew that there would be an uprising of people standing in defense of their perceived Messiah. Stein concludes, “The Gospel accounts clearly indicate that it was not the Jewish people who sought Jesus’ death. Rather, it was certain leaders who did so contrary to the people as a …show more content…
It takes the viewer on a dark path of deceit, violence, inhumane behavior displayed by the Roman soldiers, and cowardliness displayed by the Sanhedrin and the Roman Governor, Pilate. The lack of character and plot development left viewers with assumptions that were not accurate to the Gospel. The majority of the Jews in Jerusalem hailed Jesus as their Messiah. It was the Jewish leaders that feared the impact that Jesus could have over their people so they arrested and tried Jesus while they were asleep. Pilate, too, was a greedy, selfish emperor. Only when he was faced with the Son of God did he display a conscious and fear what that he did not understand. In the scheme of things, he was a pawn in the final act controlled by God. His insecurity and need for power were the final triggers that called for Jesus’ death. The events played out in the movie and in life, of that dreadful evening, were an inevitable close to Jesus life on this earth and an open door for Christians to eternal
The Sanhedrin The Passion of the Christ begins at the end of Jesus’ life. There are many elements that are critical for the uneducated Christian to know about Jesus, his life, and his interactions with the Sanhedrin to understand the unimaginable actions that took place in the trial of Jesus. Jesus arrived at a time of a spiritual drought. There had been no prophesies made for 400 years before John the Baptist prophesized the arrival of the Messiah (Stein, 1996, p. 93). When word of the King of kings arriving was heard by the people of Israel and the Jewish leaders, each of them had their own idea of who would be arriving. The Sanhedrin’s idea of a king was one of political power, a Messiah that would overrule the Roman Empire. Jesus’ gentle manner, servant character, and teacher of love, were not what they had in mind. In the movie, there is an assumption made that Jesus’ teachings of the Kingdom were already known to the Jews and gentiles in Jerusalem, that Jesus had threatened to destroy the temple, and that he claimed to be the Son of God. The Sanhedrin could not fathom this to be true but they feared that many Jews believed and worshipped Jesus, so they arrested him in the middle of the night and proceeded with a trial before most of the Jews were even awake. When Jesus was questioned whether he was the Messiah, by the high priest, Caiaphas, Jesus’ response confirmed the claims. The high priest responded to the crowd, "You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?" They all condemned him as worthy of death” (Mark 14:64). However, the Sanhedrin’s first attempt of getting the Pilate to sentence Jesus to death due to blasphemy failed so they charged Jesus with insurrection and threatened Pilate that he may lose control over Jerusalem should Jesus be free to reign over the Jews (Stein, 1996, p. 230). The fact that the Sanhedrin made it a point to arrest, charge and begin the trial of Jesus in the middle of the night and early the next morning, was a clear attempt to have the proceedings before the Jews awoke. They knew that there would be an uprising of people standing in defense of their perceived Messiah. Stein concludes, “The Gospel accounts clearly indicate that it was not the Jewish people who sought Jesus’ death. Rather, it was certain leaders who did so contrary to the people as a …show more content…
It takes the viewer on a dark path of deceit, violence, inhumane behavior displayed by the Roman soldiers, and cowardliness displayed by the Sanhedrin and the Roman Governor, Pilate. The lack of character and plot development left viewers with assumptions that were not accurate to the Gospel. The majority of the Jews in Jerusalem hailed Jesus as their Messiah. It was the Jewish leaders that feared the impact that Jesus could have over their people so they arrested and tried Jesus while they were asleep. Pilate, too, was a greedy, selfish emperor. Only when he was faced with the Son of God did he display a conscious and fear what that he did not understand. In the scheme of things, he was a pawn in the final act controlled by God. His insecurity and need for power were the final triggers that called for Jesus’ death. The events played out in the movie and in life, of that dreadful evening, were an inevitable close to Jesus life on this earth and an open door for Christians to eternal