Original scientific paper

The Condemnation and Death of Jesus of Nazareth, Christ

Ivan Karlić ; Catholic Faculty of Theology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Abstract

The Christological tradition often exceedingly quickly passed from a contemplation of the mystery of Christ's incarnation to his redemptive death, having lost sight of a good part the discourse of revelation, redemption and the salvation in Jesus' life. Likewise, in the history of Christology often there was not enough care taken concerning the indivisibility between, on the one hand, Jesus' life the proclamation of the Kingdom of God and on the other hand, his condemnation and death on the cross. Indeed, the relationship between Jesus' preaching and his condemnation and death retains all the more attention in this article which observes this relationship in the historical and theological perspective.
Even though the primary interest of the evangelists was kerygmatic and parenthetic and not the writing of a dossier for history's sake, their accounts and witnesses have a historical value. Based on these facts and with the help of other historical sources it is possible to reconstruct the historical framework of Jesus' last days of his life, and the causes that brought about his death on the cross. Namely, the condemnation of Jesus and his death should not be looked upon and interpreted abstractly nor astoriated; they should be accepted in a theological and historical context. This leads us to a contemplation and deeper awareness of Jesus' historical work, which also in a particular way, was the cause of his condemnation and death. Jesus' death wasn 't by chance, but was caused by the reaction of his contemporaries opposing his action during public preaching and works. He was condemned to death because of the way he lived and workerd, and that fact resists every attempt at reduction, de-historization, and depoliticizing Jesus' crucifixion. Furthermore, Jesus' historical endeavoring and works are specially treated and should not be regarded as some kind of presumption for his redemptive death and resurrection, but as a place and way in which he showed men an authentic humanity, founded on God. If we observe Jesus' condemnation and death through such a prism, then we can talk of a triple cause or motive of the Nazareen's condemnation and death, in other words, the three causae cruces: religious, political and theological causes.
Jesus' proclamation of the Kingdom of Mercy, his »sketching« a new »face of God«, his interpretation of the Law and the Temple cult, and placing himself »above« these fundamental Jewish institutions, his behavior towards people »the marginalized«, led him into conflict with the Jewish religious authorities, the »keepers of the Law«. They rejected Jesus, proclaiming him to be a »false prophet and blasphemer« and planning to kill him.
Due to the fact, that Jesus was condemned to death by crucifixion by the Roman political authorities, his life, condemnation and death receive a definite social and political connotation. Questioning all that was in contradiction to the Kingdom of God (injustice, violence, discrimination, oppression...) Jesus' message was not directed only towards the religious, but also the political, social and cultural entities. Evidently, the Romans crucified Jesus as a »self-proclaimed king«, as some »political agitator«. It was in this light that the supreme Jewish religious authorities presented Jesus as such, with the aim of having him executed. Therefore, they condemned him due to religious motives, having »distorted« these motives into political ones.
However, neither the religious not the political perspective (i.e. historical causes) of Jesus' condemnation and death reveal the fundamental cause and fundamental meaning of his death on the cross. Besides the fact that his condemnation and death have historical causes and a historical significance, they primarily contain a theological motive, and an important theological value: they are a part of God's providential plan for the salvation of the world. Jesus' violent death was not just some incident or absence of luck, neither was it a political protest, but rather a theological and soteriological event, part of God's plan of salvation.

Keywords

Jesus Christ; Gospel; condemnation and death; religious authorities; political authorities, God's plan of salvation

Hrčak ID:

25601

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/25601

Publication date:

11.1.2005.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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