Why was Jesus crucified?

He was crucified, then, because He confessed He was the Son of God and a King. As Son of God He is the One who brought the revelation of God into the world, as the King He is the One who is to establish and maintain the rights of God in the world. The former is LOVE, the latter is RIGHTEOUSNESS. But neither the love of God nor the righteousness of God could be tolerated when they were set forth in all their perfection in Jesus. The love was spurned and the righteousness flouted. Caesar, the Roman tyrant, was preferable to God, revealed in Jesus, and so they crucified Him.

He was crucified, then, because He confessed He was the Son of God and a King. As Son of God He is the One who brought the revelation of God into the world, as the King He is the One who is to establish and maintain the rights of God in the world. The former is LOVE, the latter is RIGHTEOUSNESS. But neither the love of God nor the righteousness of God could be tolerated when they were set forth in all their perfection in Jesus. The love was spurned and the righteousness flouted. Caesar, the Roman tyrant, was preferable to God, revealed in Jesus, and so they crucified Him.

We shall come in a moment to another side of His death, to the most important side of it, that side that has to do with the expiation of our sin, but He not only died to expiate our sins, He died as the Faithful Witness. Men crucified Him because of His faithfulness to God.

We shall come in a moment to another side of His death, to the most important side of it, that side that has to do with the expiation of our sin, but He not only died to expiate our sins, He died as the Faithful Witness. Men crucified Him because of His faithfulness to God.

Christ is now before men's judgment-seats, the ecclesiastical, as we call it, and the civil; before the high priest and the governor; the Jew and the Gentile. The charge before each is different: in the one case, blasphemy; in the other, rebellion. The last was to the Jew every way a false charge, made to serve a purpose, and by the Roman so fully seen through that it was but like mocking him to his face to prefer it. The whole land as soon to go up in flames in opposition to the hated tyranny of the Gentile; and Pilate had already tasted the temper of these men now so careful to maintain the authority of Caesar. Nay, they were using him in all this for their own purposes, as he well knew, and making him the instrument of their malice. For an upright man the escape for him was easy; but being the man he was, it was impossible.

There was more that took place at this time, during the three hour period, as the other Gospels indicate, but John shows plainly the deciding factors, both on the part of the Jews and of Pilate. The Jews claimed He should die because He acknowledged the truth that He is the Son of God. This was no valid charge under Roman law, so before Pilate they put him in opposition to Caesar, as claiming to be King. Pilate knew that only envy prompted this hostility (Matt. 27:18), but fearing for his own position, he acceded to their harshly unjust demands and passed sentence that the Lord of glory should be crucified (v. 16)

Luke 23 sets the scene. Having accused the Lord before the religious authorities (the Sanhedrin, Luke 22:66), the Lord's enemies 'arose, and led him unto Pilate' (23:1), the Roman governor who ruled the province of Judæa. 'And they began to accuse him' (v. 2). The accusation brought forward-that the Lord 'perverted the nation, forbidding to give tribute to Caesar.' -was entirely unfounded (compare 20:25), but designed to achieve their objective. When accusing the Lord before the religious council, they used the charge of blasphemy. Before Pilate, they used a political charge.

We come to the "good confession" before Pilate. The charge, it will be remembered, upon which He was convicted by the council, was blasphemy against God. This would not do to present before a secular ruler. Another charge must therefore be made which would involve Him before the Roman tribunal. Rebellion against Caesar, in setting Himself up as a king, is the charge. Here again the element of truth perverted into actual falsehood shows the crooked ways of those who were determined to carry out their own wicked will.

You notice that the chapter begins with the charge which they bring to the Roman governor, Pilate, against the blessed Lord. They accuse Him of saying that He was a King. What was their object in bringing that accusation before Pilate? When the Lord was before the chief priests and scribes it was another thing. Nothing would so arouse the prejudice, the hatred, and the animosity of the Jews as for Him to assert that He was God's Son; because that was to claim the Messiahship, the very thing they would not allow. But to accuse Him of saying He was a King, to bring that charge against Him, was to excite the jealousy and prejudice of the Romans.

THEN SECOND, they led Him to Pilate to get the Roman sanction for the execution of this sentence. Here they changed their ground completely, and charged Him as being an insurrectionary and a rival to Caesar. Jesus confessed Himself to be the King of the Jews, yet Pilate declared Him to be faultless. This might seem a surprising declaration, but Mark gives us a peep behind the scenes when he tells us that Pilate knew that the fierce hatred of the religious leaders was inspired by envy. Hence he began by refusing to be the tool of their grudge, and availed himself of the Lord's connection with Galilee to send Him to Herod. The accusation, "He stirs up the people," was indeed true; but He stirred them up towards God, and not against Caesar.