Timothy Birdnow

Here is a fascinating essay discussing the political and financial motivations that led to the death of Jesus on the Cross.

In 31 a.d. Roman consul Sejanus was accused by the Emperor Tiberius of treason and subsequently executed - along with his entire family and most of his friends. Sejanus had been the head of the Praetorian Guard, a post he had passed along to one of his abler underlings, a man named Pontius Pilate, who was then sent to a very difficult post as governor of Judea.

Pilate greatly feared being recalled to Rome, wehre he would likely wind up dead, and was under considerable pressure at the time Jesus was brought before him. But Pilate was under other pressures, as indeed was the entire Roman Empire, a result of an economic panic that started in the the eastern regions and swept across the whole empire. Disasters struck in Egypt, in Tyre, in antioch, ones that caused considerable harm to large merchant groups and the like - ones that were "too big to fail" with the result being a full blown panic. And Tiberius imposed draconian regulations on land speculation and investment, forcing Senators to invest one third of all of their fortunes in Italian farmland. This was done to punish and weaken the allies of Sejanus, who were still backing his successors and who could be formidable since they were often well off financially. So Tiberius took steps to strip them of their wealth via this ridiculous mandate, and the end result was a financial panic.

A wave of bank failures ensued. With the collapse of the credit market a desperate investor class found itself suddenly in bankruptcy and reduced to poverty.

And it was this class that was the power base of one Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea. Pilate was essentially friendless and faced a possible head extraction from his boss, the angry emperor.

In times of great crisis someone's head often has to roll to show that action is being taken. Pilate's head was a logical target. His neck wasn't too safe, either. Nor was the central nervous system of his wife and children and cousins and aunts and uncles, etc.

So when the rent a mob showed up with Jesus in tow and said to Pilate "we have no King but Caesar" they were making a none-too-veiled threat, one that Pilate simply could not ignore.

In point of fact, Pilate went well beyond the call of duty, arguing for Jesus' life at his own peril and has been thus rewarded with Sainthood in the Orthodox Churches, and is considered important even to Catholics. His wife Procula is a Catholic saint, having converted to Christianity in the following years and being one of the early founders of the Roman Church.

Tiberius proceeded to bail out the big banks and quelled the panic. He also recalled Pilate to Rome shortly thereafter when Pilate had to use force to end a rebellion in Samaria and the locals sent an appeal to the Emperor. On the way back to Rome Tiberius died, and the new Emperor Gaius Caligula issued a general amnesty, sparing Pilate's life.

The article at Townhall is a fascinating read, the intersection of religion, politics, and economics. As the author points out, Jesus Himself warned about the dangers of worshipping money and power and he wound up being killed by just that menace. Had Pilate been under less personal pressure he would have probably refused to execute Jesus. He was a hard man, no doubt, but not a monster. But had he failed to do that the Divine Plan would not have been fulfilled,, and as Christians believe Man would still be exiled from the Throne of God. Our salvation stemmed from a real estate crash.

Read the whole piece.

Posted by: Timothy Birdnow at 09:50 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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