Galatians 4:4–5 (ESV)
But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
That Monty Python skit is a heck of a way to introduce the case for Christ, but go for it.
The Roman Empire wasn’t just a conquered empire; it was a built empire. That’s why we have clichés like, “Rome wasn’t built in a day,” and, “All roads lead to Rome.” People living in the Roman empire at that time marveled at all their blessings just like how we marvel at ours. They didn’t have knee replacements and smartphones, but they were amazed by what they did have. No other civilization at that time could measure up.
I get that. Crucifixion may have been nasty, but it was part of a flourishing civilization. Crucifixion was their way of making that built empire run smoothly, and it worked. It did make the trains run on time.
And notice that it wasn’t easy to get crucified. Pontius Pilate resisted sending Jesus to the cross. He did not want to run a kangaroo court—but he ended up getting outmaneuvered.
Crucifixion was there to intimidate serious criminals. Rome wanted their roads to be safe, so they would often crucify robbers they caught right where they committed their crime—beside the road. Back then robbers weren’t petty criminals, they were thugs—literally highwaymen.
Then Jesus answered and said: “A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, who stripped him of his clothing, wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.” — Luke 10:30 (NKJV)
Crucifixion was effective at making the roads safe. You can’t unsee the image of someone being crucified on the side of the road. Even worse was the smell. Why bother to remove the corpse from the cross? So, they let them rot. The Romans would even leave the stipes (the vertical part of a cross) there permanently to remind potential thieves, “You could be here.”
Yeah, you don’t want to be that guy.
Thus, crucifixion played a role in Christianity that we don’t often talk about. Mary and Joseph needed safe roads to get to Bethlehem. In fact, without crucifixion making the roads safe, Caesar Augustus would have been nuts to call for a census that required everyone to travel to their hometown.
Yeah, the robbers feasting on easy pickings would’ve been like grizzly bears at a salmon run.
It’d be creepy to say something like, “Thank God for crucifixion,” but crucifixion is one of the many things that seem to have been perfectly orchestrated in how the life of Jesus played out.
Galatians 5:4–5 says that Jesus came in the fullness of time. Part of the fullness of time is the structure of the Roman Empire, particularly the Roman practice of crucifixion.
Caesar Augustus needed crucifixion to make the roads safe so that he could call for a census. We need crucifixion so that Jesus could be sacrificed for our sins.
You’re making it sound like crucifixion was a good thing. Or is this another one of those things where you think God used evil for good?
Exactly. More the second thing you said than the first. I don’t want to call crucifixion a good thing—it was wicked—but in the fullness of time, it was part of a symphony of extraordinary situations. They formed a sequence of events that led to what I call the turning point of history.
Anyone living under Roman rule knew exactly what Jesus meant when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.” — Matthew 16:24b (ESV)
He meant, “suffer martyrdom.” Crucifixion was a familiar practice in the Roman world. Rome wanted it to be familiar.
During the siege of Jerusalem, they crucified thousands of people. That gets pretty familiar after a while.
Insurrection is the quintessential crucifiable offense. Rome would crucify people for being highwaymen, because the roads were the backbone of Roman commerce. Those road functioned as the trains that needed to run on time.
But insurrection attacks more than just one element of the Roman economy; it strikes at the existence of the whole system. A successful insurrection means Rome is no more.
Yeah, as brutal as these guys were, give them a good reason to be brutal, and they’re going to go nuclear.
Ultimately, insurrection has to be the charge that Jesus is convicted of; no way is He a highwayman. So, as we’ll see, His accusers have to twist themselves into pretzels to make that case.
Sounds dumb.
Yeah, it is dumb, but they manage to pull it off. I’ve give you the details tomorrow.
See you then.
