How Politics Killed Jesus

The Sanhedrin had been crowned, anointed, and named the official power brokers of Israel. When the rogue rabbi from Nazareth showed up, they claimed the right to kill him, as much as a Scot has a right to Scotch. Jesus’ ministry threatens the political arrangement between the Pharisees and Rome. Jerusalem thrives on economic exploitation. It serves as the capital city, the seat of power, and the base of Herod’s operations. The Temple operates as a den of thieves, built on this corrupt relationship. The money changers at the temple only accept the regular half-shekel, which weighs double. As a result, worshipers pay twice the amount. As often happens with a strong centralized government, the nation’s people face heavy taxation, while the ruling class benefits the most.

Jesus’ ministry endangers the fragile alliance between Pilate and Caiaphas. The Sanhedrin wants to protect its position, so they come after Jesus like a pack of howling savages. Caiaphas explains that if the people believe in Jesus, “the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (Jn. 11:48). The Jewish leaders aim to maintain their wealth by staying in Rome’s good graces. As Jesus’ popularity grows, the likelihood increases that the people will try to make him king by force (Jn. 6:15), which could lead to the collapse of the lucrative Jewish temple complex and bring ruin to the nation. The Romans demand compliance from the Jews—no riots, no disruptions, and no repeat of the Maccabean revolution.

What will satisfy both parties? Caiaphas suggests, “You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish” (Jn. 11:50). They find a single victim, a scapegoat that allows the cronyism to continue (from the Sanhedrin’s perspective) and keeps the peace (from Rome’s perspective). With the right victim, the Pharisees remove the threat of Jesus while letting the Jews release their pent-up violence in a way that doesn’t threaten Rome. The solution is simple: kill Jesus so the nation won’t be destroyed. If Jesus dies, Israel survives. The Council kills Jesus to prevent Rome from killing Israel. They substitute Jesus for the Sanhedrin. To an external observer, the high priest condemns a blasphemer, and the Roman governor Pilate maintains the peace. Place the blame on one man. Punish the one man. His guilt doesn’t matter; it’s for the greater good.

Jesus has a history of scrapes with the Scribes but arranging for Jesus’ execution is a question of proportion. When Jesus enters Jerusalem that fateful week, his reputation is the perfect ruse for a common cause among the leaders of the Temple Industrial Complex (Jn. 12:19). Jesus is a troublemaker. The large crowds that follow him create chaos compared to the ordinary foot traffic the Romans prefer. That’s why they can’t arrest Jesus during the day; they must do it at night to avoid an uproar among the people (Mt. 26:4-5) Jesus blasphemes on the level of robe tearing (Mt. 26:65). He eats on the Sabbath (Mt. 12:1), heals on the Sabbath (Mt. 12:10), and instructs people to work on the Sabbath (Jn. 5:9-18). He dines with disreputable people (Mt. 9:10f) and openly challenges the authority of the temple leaders (Mk. 11:27-33). He claims to be the Temple incarnate (Mt. 26:61).

The Jewish Council fears that if Jesus grows in popularity, the Romans will take away their place and their nation (Jn. 11:48). The term “place” refers to the temple (Acts 6:13f; 21:28). Given the Jewish history of repeated and traumatic loss of land, including the sacking of the temple, they have every reason to doubt the stability of their positions. The fear of losing the “nation” refers to the semi-autonomous status the Romans grant the Jews. The Sanhedrin works hard to appease Rome and avoid armed revolt. They believe killing Jesus will end the threat of messianic expectations. Yet the temple falls anyway because they put Jesus to death in a desperate search for political solutions.

The entire episode demonstrates the wickedness that results from unity with the wrong people, for the wrong reasons. It’s no surprise that the High Priest Caiaphas would stoop to Satanic oneness with Rome. The Sanhedrin possesses the hubristic quality of believing in their own power as the salvation of Israel. All teaching, all miracles, all ideas, and all creations have to survive the intoxication of this bald, unvarnished commitment. There are rumors that Caiaphas purchased the high priesthood from Herod. Caiaphas, the son-in-law of Annas, who serves as the high priest for twenty-three years, becomes part of a dynasty. Five of Annas’ sons and his son-in-law, Caiaphas, serve as high priests after Annas leaves office, making Annas a sort of perpetual high priest. John’s gospel says that after Jesus’ arrest, he first meets with Annas, “for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year” (Jn. 18:13). This suggests that Caiaphas’ authority exists in a stratified form, with Annas pulling the strings behind the scenes (Jn. 18:19-24; Lk. 3:2).

The Roman governors can remove the high priest for any reason, and they often do. Some high priests serve only one year before Rome replaces them. Caiaphas remains the high priest for eighteen years (AD 18 – 36), a feat only possible if he is a child of the appetites of the Romans. But Caiaphas’s shady politics are not the only factor behind the death of Jesus. His prophecy about Jesus carries a political meaning with a sacrificial nuance. Where does Caiaphas’s prophecy come from? Is this a genuine prophecy?

In Israel’s history, the high priest hears from God through the oracle of Urim and Thummim. The high priest wears a breastpiece on his robe, containing Urim and Thummim, the shining precious stones (Ex. 28:30; Lev. 8:8; Num. 27:21). God uses this oracle to direct his people throughout their history, going back to the days of Moses and Joshua. When Saul becomes king, he rejects God's commands (1 Sam. 14:3, 18–19, 36–37), and the oracle shifts from Saul to David. Even after God rejects Saul, he tries to return to the oracle, but God does not answer him (1 Sam. 28:6). In contrast, David frequently consults God, hears God’s Word, and obeys the divine directions (14:35-41; 15:26; 22:13, 15; 23:9–10; 30:7–8, 18; 2 Sam. 2:1; 5:19, 23; 21:1; 23:14; 1 Chr. 10:14; 13:31; 14:10, 14).¹

David’s successors do not consistently consult God through this oracle. When the two tribes returned from exile, the right to the oracle was not immediately restored (Neh. 7:61-65).² Josephus wrote that the oracle had been silent for two hundred years before he wrote his Antiquities. According to Josephus, the oracle is temporarily restored during the days of the high priest John Hyrcanus (134 BC – 104 BC), an excellent king, priest, and prophet. Hyrcanus foretells several things that come to pass, but the oracle ceases when he dies.

That doesn’t stop the high priests from wearing the diadems and attempting to hear the will of God. Do these high priests receive secret messages from God? Does Caiaphas’s prophecy of Jesus come from God as a specimen of this ancient oracle? Or does Caiaphas impose his thoughts on the people by claiming to speak for God?³

John’s gospel provides a clue. Caiaphas says, “It is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish.” Then John explains, “He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad” (Jn. 11:50-52). John indicates that Caiaphas prophesies, suggesting that John believes God gave these words.

Receiving God’s words and understanding them are two different things. God has a particular meaning with these words (Mk. 10:32-34), while Caiaphas interprets them differently, in a self-serving, politicized way. God’s meaning is that Jesus’ death and resurrection establish a forever reign for the eternal King. Caiaphas believes Jesus needs to die and be out of the way. This is how politics kills Jesus. The death and resurrection of Christ demonstrate what happens when people who are infatuated with their authority confront the Son of God. Caiaphas is one of those exasperating people who does not understand Jesus’ prophesies, and yet also does not understand his own. What appears as political power overwhelming the Messiah actually becomes the Messiah overwhelming their power. This is how the Kingdom of God operates. When the elites exchange virtue for pernicious schemes, they bring judgment upon themselves (Ps. 2:1-12).

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Footnotes

¹ Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The Works of Josephus, Antiq. 6.12.5. Hendrickson.

² See also 1 Esd. 5:40; 1 Macc. 4:46; 14:41

³ Josephus, F., & Whiston, W. (1987). The Works of Josephus, Antiq. 3.8.9. Hendrickson.