Was Jesus Put to Death for Committing a Crime?

Before Jesus was crucified he was brought to trial.  But trial for what?  Did he even do anything wrong?  Could anyone bring a charge against him?

There were many false witnesses claiming he did things he never did (Matt. 26:60).

The false witnesses also couldn't get their stories straight and contradicted one another (Mark 14:56).

Pilate didn't find him guilty of anything worthy of death (Luke 23:4, Luke 23:13-14).

But they did bring a charge against him.  The one thing that eventually led the Pharisees and the chief priests to sentence Jesus to be crucified was that Jesus claimed to be divine; he claimed to be God!  And in the eyes of the Jews, this was blasphemy worthy of death.

Jesus claimed that he and God the Father were one (John 10:30).

Jesus also claimed that he was eternally pre-existent with God (John 8:57-58).

He also claimed the authority to forgive sins, of which only God has.
And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."  Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, "Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?"  And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, "Why do you question these things in your hearts? Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Rise, take up your bed and walk.'? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins" - he said to the paralytic - "I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home."  (Mark 2:5-11)
Now it's not hard to see why this infuriated the Jews.  The Old Testament is clear.  There is only one God (Deut. 6:4) and blaspheming his name is punishable by death (Lev. 24:16).

You could make a case that in Jesus' day, anyone making the claims that Jesus was making actually should have been put to death.

And they tried many times.

After his claim that he and the Father were one.  (John 10:31-33)

After his claim that he was eternally pre-existent with God.  (John 8:59)

John 5:18 also shows they were seeking other opportunities as well because of Jesus' claim to be God.

And finally, they could take it no more.  They conspired with Judas to arrest Jesus in the middle of the night, and at his impromptu trial they charged him...
Again the high priest asked him, "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?"  And Jesus said, "I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven."  And the high priest tore his garments and said, "What further witnesses do we need?  You have heard his blasphemy.  What is your decision?"  And they all condemned him as deserving death.  (Mark 14:61-64)
So did Jesus commit a crime?

Well in the eyes of the Jews, yes, he was blaspheming the name of God, claiming to be God himself, an action God said in the OT was punishable by death.

But it's not a crime if Jesus really is God.  And that's the key.  Jesus was simply telling the truth.  But it was a very hard truth for many people to swallow.

But oddly enough, that was God's plan.  We needed Jesus to be delivered up to the Roman guards and killed because without that we would have no hope, no forgiveness, no chance to be reconciled to God.

John Davis

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