For Good Friday, it's a solemn day for believers when we acknowledge the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Host Rob West points out that while the spiritual implications are enormous, politics and yes, even money, played a role as well.
“Pilate said to them, ‘What shall I do with Jesus?’ They all said, ‘Let Him be crucified!’ ‘Why, what evil has He done?’ But they kept shouting, ‘Let Him be crucified!’”
It’s Good Friday, a solemn day for believers when we acknowledge the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Host Rob West points out that while the spiritual implications are enormous, politics and yes, even money, played a role as well.
Looking at the economics of the crucifixion in no way diminishes its spiritual importance. But as Jerry Bowyer points out in his book, The Maker vs. The Takers, understanding the economic
factors behind Jesus’ execution is valuable as it heightens our understanding of sin and forgiveness. God’s purpose for the crucifixion was to save mankind from sin. However, there were many other actors in this drama: the priests, the Herodians, and the occupying Romans. For them, politics and money played a major role in the decision to murder Jesus because He threatened their monetary interests.
Scripture implies that privately, the Pharisees and the Sadducees did have financial concerns. As Jerry often points out, the ruling class in Jerusalem was based on a corrupt system of extracting money from the lower classes for temple sacrifices. After Jesus drove the money changers from the temple in Mark 11, we read, “And as he taught them, he said, ‘Is it not written: My house will be called a house of prayer for all nations? But you have made it a den of robbers.’ The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.” Jesus was exposing their corrupt system and they feared He would put an end to their affluent lifestyle. But politics played a role as well.
What about Pilate? He was in a precarious situation. He was under suspicion in Rome for possibly being part of an attempted coup against the Emperor Tiberius that had recently been put down. The emperor had crushed his political enemies in Rome, many of whom were part of Rome’s financial class and who also held vast real estate holdings. The result was an economic collapse similar to what we saw in 2008. Many of those wealthy Romans became paupers overnight and feared for their lives. It was from among that financial class that the Roman governor Pilate had his main support. So, he was already on thin ice when the Jerusalem elite came to him demanding that Jesus be executed.
While Jesus’ death is heartbreaking, on Sunday we’ll celebrate His glorious resurrection and the unspeakable gift of His grace that opened the gates of Heaven to believers.
On this program we also answer your questions:
I just sold some stocks that made me over a million dollars. I’m going to owe a lot of taxes on this! Do I pay the IRS up front?
Regarding qualified charitable distributions, I have an RMD for about $1,600. Can I divide this up and give, say, $500 to three different places or do I have to give it all to just one place?
I have about $1 million in life insurance. If I die, my wife gets this. When we both die, our oldest daughter becomes the beneficiary. Is there any way to direct what happens to that pay-out?
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