The Characters of the Crucifixion

April 1—Characters of the Crucifixion 

Easter is upon us, so I want to spend a little time surveying some (not all) of the characters in the Easter story. I have chosen these ones specifically because they demonstrate a point that I think will edify us this Holy week. I hope you will be encouraged as I was doing this study. 

Chief Priests and Scribes

The first character we will examine isn’t an individual, but a group. The Chief Priests and Scribes are mentioned several times throughout the Gospel accounts. They are collectively portrayed as the antagonist to Jesus during His earthly ministry. The focus is not on individuals, but on the group as a whole. So, what do we know about them? This group of men was made up of members of the Pharisees and Sadducees and had representatives in the Sanhedrin. They are the group who plotted together to put Jesus to death (Jn. 11:47-53). It is to this group of conspirators that Judas receives his payment for the betrayal of Jesus (Jn. 18:3). They are the ones who confront Pilate and rile up the crowd to call for Jesus’ crucifixion and the release of Barabbas (Matthew 27:20-23). They are directly responsible for delivering Jesus to die on the cross.[1] They were incredibly hypocritical, associating together solely because of their shared hatred of Jesus.[2] Their hypocrisy reached a staggering state when they affiliated themselves with Caesar solely to compel Pilate to crucify Jesus (Jn. 19:12-16). 

Judas

Secondly, we can turn our attention to Judas. He was a member of the twelve and was in charge of the group’s money. Most notably, though, he is synonymous with betrayal. He, the Son of Perdition, was indwelled by Satan himself (Lk. 22:3), and handed over Jesus to His enemies for 30 pieces of silver. As the trial of Jesus heads towards its climax, he is overwhelmed with regret and attempts to give the money back. Overcome with the evil he has done, he tragically ends his life (Mt. 27:3-5). 

Peter

The next character is Peter, the apostle with the foot-shaped mouth.[3] Peter confessed that Jesus was the Christ. He was given the keys to the Kingdom and would go on to preach a sermon where thousands were saved. But at Calvary, he was guilty of being brash and denying Jesus. Before Christ was arrested, Peter boldly claimed that he would never forsake Jesus (Mk. 14:26-31). But Mark records for us just a few verses later how he denied Jesus three times, going so far as to invoke a curse on himself if he was lying (Mark 14:66-72), a tragic turn for the apostle. Unlike Judas, Peter repents and is later restored by his Lord and commissioned to serve Him faithfully until his martyrdom. 

Pilate

Another notable character in the Easter account is Pilate. He famously declares Jesus’ innocence before wavering to the pressure of the Jews and handing Him over for crucifixion. Pilate is a complex character who was tasked with governing the region. He had found himself in political hot water with his Roman superiors because he was responsible for some uprisings of the Jews. The most notable concerned how “Pilate used Jewish sacred funds to construct an aqueduct, and he encountered Jewish opposition which his troops put down bloodily.”[4] His political missteps gave the Jews the leverage they needed to compel him to crucify Jesus. They claimed, “…If you release this man, you are not Caesar’s friend. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar (John 19:12).”^[5] Fearing the political consequences (even the loss of his own life), Pilate gives in to the crowd even though he had declared he saw no reason to crucify Jesus. He faltered and handed Jesus over. 

Barabbas

The final character we will look at briefly is the prisoner released in the place of Jesus. He was an insurrectionist and a murderer (Lk. 23:25) and yet went free so Jesus would be put to death. There isn’t much else to know about Barabbas, but what is told is all we need: a guilty man went free so an innocent man would be condemned. 

The Point

At this point, you may be wondering why I bothered to examine all these characters. They all seem so disappointing and sinful. My point is that you and I can likely identify with one of several of these characters in one way or another. It was our sin that put Jesus to death, like the Chief Priests and Scribes. We have betrayed Jesus as Judas did. Maybe you have denied Jesus in a moment where you could’ve proclaimed Him like Peter. Maybe you have given in to social pressure and compromised like Pilate. At the very least, all of us have stood condemned like Barabbas. 

The one character at Calvary that we cannot identify with is Jesus. None of us is the sinless Son of God, Who is equally God and equally man. We simply cannot say that if we were to play a part in this story, we could play Jesus. But the glorious truth of Calvary is that even though we don’t deserve it, we couldn’t earn it, we do get to identify with Jesus. Paul wrote, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Gal. 2:20)”, showing how we can identify with Jesus. In another letter he wrote, “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21)”. These are just two verses that show that although we don’t deserve it, we can identify with Jesus. That is the miracle of salvation, that is the glory of the Cross. That through the grotesque injustice perpetrated against the Son of God, His enemies are reconciled, adopted, and justified. As Jesus prayed, we are in Him (Jn.17:21). My prayer is that you reflect on the precious truth of Calvary. That although you and I should have identified with anyone else, we have the privilege to identify with Jesus, our Lord and Saviour