Under the laws of which regime was Jesus sentenced to death on the cross?

Question

We read in Matt 27 how Jesus was put to trial before the Roman Governor:

Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?” But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed......... For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. ....... The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” Pilate said to them, “Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” All of them said, “Let him be crucified!” Then he asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!” So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.”

The charges levelled against Jesus were blasphemy and misleading of the Jews against Roman empire, calling himself their king. The first one would come under Hebrew law and the trial & punishment was of summary nature, as we see in Jn 8:58-59:

Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, before Abraham was, I am.” So they picked up stones to throw at him, but Jesus hid himself and went out of the temple.

And we see the Jewish leaders saying to Pilate:

The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die because he has claimed to be the Son of God.” (Jn 19:7)

Those days, only the Romans had the power to award death sentence to Jews (Jn 18:31). But blasphemy was not listed by Romans as a crime demanding death sentence.

The second charge could not be substantiated, as we see Pilate putting up the sign of INRI over Jesus' cross, much to the embarrassment of the Jewish leaders (Jn 19:22).

In effect, Jesus was convicted for allegedly breaking Hebrew laws, but was awarded death sentence under Roman laws.

My question therefore, is: Under the laws of which regime was Jesus sentenced to death on the cross? Inputs from any denomination are welcome.

Answer 1

Under the laws of which regime was Jesus sentenced to death on the cross?

The Jews tried to condemn Jesus to death for breaking their own religious laws. But Pilate initially rebuffed them saying: “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.” (John 18:)

Both before and after Pilate had Jesus flogged, he repeated to the Jewish leaders that he found no crime in Jesus.

It was not until the Jewish populace stated one last thing that made Pilate change his mind.

12 From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”

13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. John 19:12-14

No one can claim to be recognized as a king save by Caesar's authority! This is the trump card the Jews used to get Jesus crucified.

Ultimately, Jesus was condemned to death under Roman law and was crucified for our salvation. The Jews even appealed Pilate to crucify Jesus as they could not put someone to death. Only the Roman Governor had that authority, as Palestine was under his authority as established by Caesar.

Crucifixion is a Roman form of punishment and not a Jewish form of execution. The Jewish form of execution would be by stoning.

Thus to answer your question: Jesus was condemned to death under the Roman regime. Nevertheless, it was initiated by the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem.

Answer 2

Roman Jurisdiction When the Roman conquered a territory it was required that only the Procurator had the power of execution. There were times when the Jews side-stepped this---like when the Roman ruler was out of the territory---. An example is the execution of James the step-brother of Jesus by the corrupt high priest, Ananias (See Josephus for historical notation) When the ruler returned, the priest was deposed for violating the Law.

Note that under Herod---who killed with abandon---the territory was considered a Kingship. But after Herod, Judea became a Roman province, and the Laws about executions changed. {Some territories like Alexandria, Egypt were, at times, more lax in this legal action. But still, Roman citizens were allowed appeal to Caesar (a trial) before any action could be taken.

The Jews didn't want Jesus just punished (Scourged or flogged), they wanted to make sure He was executed. The Romans had a sure method for this, so they made up an accusation of insurrection that Pilate had to act upon in a Roman way: crucifixion.

So it was under ultimate Roman jurisdiction that Jesus was crucified.