Scholars over the past 200 years have intensely debated the question of why the authorities–whether Jewish or Roman, moved at Passover in 30 CE to have Jesus brutally executed. The traditional theological answer, of course, is that he gave his life as an atonement for the sins of the world–John 3:16 stuff. The stages of his arrest and “trials” in our two main traditions–Synoptics and John, are complex, but basically one has Mark and John–as is so often the case.
In this video I explore the view that I tend to favor–though I fully admit the complexity. Most historians prefer the view that the Romans killed Jesus for sedition–like all the other “Messiahs” of the time. I think it had to do first and foremost, not with any blasphemous Messianic/Son of God titles or claims, but his threat to the Herodian Temple operations, and their corruption and oppression of the people. I hope we can discuss that in a future Zoom meeting as one of our monthly topics. That said, he foresees an overthrow of the whole system and the establishing of the Kingdom of God, with a House of Prayer for all peoples spoken of by the Prophets.
This is #9 in an ongoing series on Youtube dealing with “Jesus Archaeology.” You can visit the entire series here: https://jamestabor.com/JesusArchaeology
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