Unbelief and Mocking Jesus

from Google Images

For practical purposes the Romans needed an accusation to charge Jesus in order to crucify him, because such a thing would become a matter of public record. In the second century AD Justin Martyr, while addressing the Emperor, Pius, mentioned that proof of what he said could be obtained from the Acts of Pilate,^[1] something that hardly could be so, if Pilate wasn’t required to record the reasons for the executions he commanded. Therefore, Pilate’s official verdict was: Jesus of Nazareth was the King of the Jews—a political crime, something for which he had earlier found him innocent. Nevertheless, he could hardly mention in a public record that he had executed Jesus for claiming to be the Son of God, a religious crime, according to the Jews (John 19:7, 13-16), but a matter of harmless superstition, according to Rome (cf. Acts 25:18-20).

 

Should We Pay Tribute to Caesar?

from Google Images

Everybody loves a debate between friends and enemies they know. Presidential debates in the United States are some of the most watched of televised controversies. The Kennedy-Nixon debates preceding the 1960 Presidential Election are probably the most famous in modern times, and may even be responsible for our present interest in seeing the presidential candidates go toe-to-toe in taking on the important issues that face the leaders of our world today. The problem is that most politicians, while making a great show of answering these questions, in reality evade taking a stand on any of the issues, because they fear what effect their words will have on the electorate. In other words, they fear the people. Such was true in Jesus’ day, as well, except for one thing. Jesus went toe-to-toe with his accusers and didn’t evade anything. It cost him his life, but the Gospel narratives show that Jesus did, indeed, stand for something, unlike what we see today in American politics or in 1^st century AD Judaism.

 

Where is the Kingdom of God?

from Google Images

The Pharisees asked Jesus when the Kingdom of God would come (G2034), which, according to Thayer’s Greek Lexicon, means: “to come into being, arise, come forth, show itself, find place or influence” (Luke 17:20). It makes no difference whether or not the Pharisee’s question was sincere. Whether they sought to lay a trap for Jesus or sincerely wanted to know when the Kingdom of God would come, the point is their question cannot be answered according to its intent. It would be similar to asking a conservative politician if he is still a flaming liberal. How could he reply to the question’s intent? In order to reply at all, the main term must be redefined, so the question appears is illogical.