Why Did Roman and Jews Dislike Jesus?

Jesus is so important in world history today that we often fail to realize his unimportance during his own lifetime. Jesus was not so popular that his message, or even his death, would have made the news in Rome. To the average Jewish citizen, Jesus was a teacher and healer who preached sermons about hope, love, and peace and tranquility; to the Roman administrators and Jewish religious authorities, Jesus was a rabble-rouser, maybe a magician, who preached to large gatherings of oppressed Jews about peace and freedom from tyranny and oppression -- a new kingdom. The birth of Jesus as the "king of kings" so threatened King Herod with the loss of his throne that he ordered the "Slaughter of the Innocents" -- the murder of all boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. As the Messiah a person who was anointed by God, Jewish religious leaders felt Jesus would usurp their power to control the people; Roman administrators felt a loss of control by Jewish religious leaders would eventually lead to open rebellion by the Jews.

Judea had been under Roman rule since Pompey conquered the region around 67 B.C.E. Rome ruled the outposts of Judea and Galilee indirectly through a puppet king, Herod, and through a resident governor, also known as a "prefect" or a "procurator", who utilized the Jewish high priest as a "middle man" to maintain order. Pontius Pilate was the prefect charged by Rome to keep the peace in Judea. Pilate is said to have displayed a complete lack of empathy for Jewish sensibilities, for example by displaying Roman religious symbols and by appropriating Temple funds for the construction of an aqueduct. He is also responsible for the cruel and harsh response to the resulting civil unrest.

The Jewish high priest had a dual role. He was responsible for maintaining order in Jerusalem while representing the Jews before the prefect. If he failed in the role of peacekeeper, the Romans would use the military to restore order and, since Roman authorities dealt with riots and revolts harshly, this would result in many deaths. If the high priest failed in his role of representing the Jewish people to the prefect, the Jews and their religion would lose what few freedoms and rights they retained. To protect the people, and his job, he had to maintain tight control of people and events.

Toward the end of his life, Jesus was becoming a popular teacher, appealing to throngs of people. Indeed, the Bible describes Jesus feeding five thousand followers on the Golan Heights (John 6:1-14). Jesus' claim that "all who are on the side of truth listen to my voice" (John 18:37) seemed to be correct. Jesus was slowly eroding the power and influence of the Jewish priests and it is this reason that John (John 11:47-50) gives as the reason the priests sought the crucifixion of Christ. Jesus was a popular teacher, who, in the minds of the high priest, could sway the thinking of the masses, the average citizens of the region, toward rebellion against Rome.

In the days of Jesus, Judea was a region of increasing political unrest. Because of their monotheistic religion, Jews refused to worship the emperor as a god as was required by Roman law. Because of their ethnic nationalism, revolt against Roman authority was possible at any provocation. The Zealots and Pharisees made no attempt to hide their resentment of Roman occupation and the communal Essenes, believing in a Messiah coming to deliver them from the Romans, added to the political tension. Jesus was a spark in close proximity to a powder keg. He was a threat to the relative peace, a potential inciter of rebellion, and, as such, a threat to Pilate's job and the jobs of the Jewish high priests.

So, why would Pontius Pilate, who presided at the trial of Jesus, find him not guilty of a crime meriting death, yet hand him over to the Jews for crucifixion? Pilate realized that, to restore and maintain the political and religious stability of Judea, Jesus had to be executed. But, if a Roman prefect sentenced Jesus to death, Jesus would become a martyr, increasing the feelings of injustice and fueling the flames of revolution. Pilate needed Jesus to be crucified by his own people. In this manner, Jesus would still serve as an example of the consequences of questioning Roman authority without direct Roman involvement in his death -- in fact it would be Pilate, the Roman prefect, who had recommended that Jesus be freed. Thus, Pilate demonstrated his shrewdness as well as his cruelty. A rabble-rouser was put to death and Roman hands were clean of the incident.