Christianity focuses very specifically on the belief that Jesus came to mankind as the Son of God.
Many people worshipped Jesus and said he was the Messiah, the savior the Jews had been waiting for. However, Jesus made many enemies. The Jewish religious leaders did not believe he was the Messiah, and were angry with him because he sometimes broke Jewish laws that he didn’t think were important. The Pharisees, Jewish leaders who held strictly to the laws of Moses, felt threatened by him and spoke against him. The Romans also felt threatened by Jesus because they wanted only one religion, to help keep their Empire stronger. They were also offended at the idea of worshipping only one god, and not the emperor.
Jesus was considered such a threat that he was eventually arrested and killed.
Below is a passage from the book of Mark in the New Testament of the Bible. It is an account of Jesus going before Pontius Pilate who was governor of a region near Jerusalem. He is the Roman official that orders Jesus to be crucified. The people wanted a known murderer, Barabbus to be released in exchange for Jesus being killed.
Assignment
You have learned a great deal about the Roman people and how the emperors did whatever it took to make sure that the people worshiped them as if they were gods. Why do you think a man that preached about love and peace was so hated by the rulers? How do you think the Roman rulers convinced the people to hate Jesus more than a murderer?
Write a 200 word essay in response to this question.
Mark 15
New International Version (NIV)
Jesus Before Pilate
15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate.
2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
3 The chief priests accused him of many things.4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.”
5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested.7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising.8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate,10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him.11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
13 “Crucify him!” they shouted.
14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
