Antisocial elements, crimes and rebellions have always been parts of human society. Over the centuries, different civilizations evolved their own methodology and systems to deal with these issues. People accused of the worst crimes or high treason are given capital punishment. In many societies, hanging by neck has been widely used as the method to execute convicts convicted of serious crimes or high treason. Likewise, killing convicts by firing squad has also been widely practiced especially during war times and in countries ruled by the military. In some countries like the United States, the electric chair and lethal injection have also been used for carrying out capital punishment.
In all the above cases, after the convict is executed, the dead body is usually handed over to the relatives in a respectful and honorable manner after the completion of all formalities. This is done so because every human society has deep reverence for the human body and almost every society believes that everybody deserves a decent last rite and burial and that the near and dear ones of the dead should be given the opportunity to say their last goodbyes. In other words, deaths and dead bodies are usually not abhorrently displayed in public in civilized societies.
Of course, in some countries where the political system was toppled by violent revolutions, we have seen cases of dead bodied being displayed in public squares and humiliated by angry mobs. But any society which is still in order and abiding by the established system does not indulge in such practices because every man believes that dead bodies are to be respected and disposed of properly.
In the history of mankind, there was another method of capital punishment which is no longer in practice because it is now considered too barbaric and appalling by all civilizations. It is the one called the “crucifixion”. Undoubtedly, this was the most brutal, the most excruciating, the most humiliating and the most public method of capital punishment ever known to mankind. Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment where the condemned person is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross and left to hang until death, often resulting from asphyxiation and shock.
The practice of crucifixion as a brutal method of capital punishment is believed to have originated with the Assyrians and Babylonians. The Persians adopted and systematized the method in the 6th century BC. However, today, the crucifixion method is most associated with the Romans who adopted the method as a method of punishment for non-Romans and slaves.
Many historians are not willing to agree that the Roman Empire is the greatest empire in history. They say that in terms of land area coverage and population, the Mongol Empire and the British Empire were greater than the Roman Empire. This is true. But the Mongol Empire was predominantly an Asian empire as it did not significantly intrude into other continents or civilizations. Likewise, the British Empire was also basically an empire of colonies in Asia and Africa which the British were able to subdue and administer for their own economic interest.
But when it comes to making an impact on the global stage in the flow of history and reaching out to other continents and civilizations in due course of time, the Roman Empire is certainly the one which catches our attention. The Roman Empire had its headquarters at Rome and covered most of Europe, Western Asia, North Africa and almost the whole of the Middle East. In other words, it encompassed the most crucial and epicenter part of the world where all civilizations converged and where people from all over the world came and interacted for trade and commerce and also for exchange of ideas.
As early as the second century BC, mankind had come to know that the earth is round or spherical in shape. And that makes the area which we now call as the Middle East the centre of the earth. It is no wonder that the Middle East is called the “Cradle of Civilization” as great civilizations and religions flourished here. All great international routes converged here both by sea and land and no other place on earth could have served the purpose better when it comes to spreading out a message to all corners of the world.
So, if you are God and you want a story or a message to spread throughout the whole world, where would you orchestrate that story and at what point of time in history would you orchestrate that story or during the time of which empire would you orchestrate that story?
Thus, it is no wonder that the promised Messiah was born and lived during the time when the Romans were the masters of the world and in that part of the world where ideas and philosophies from all different civilizations converged as well as spread out all over both by sea and land.
If we look at human history we would find that one of the most epoch-making events that took place during the Roman Empire era was the crucifixion of a man named Jesus Christ. All condemned men who were crucified by the Romans were hardcore violent criminals or aggressive rebels who understood only the language of violence and brutality.
But in total contrast to this, this man Jesus was known to be a harmless non-violent man. All historical accounts say that Jesus was a teacher who spoke only kind and loving words. All historical accounts say that Jesus was a healer who healed the sick, the lame, the deaf and the blind wherever he went. All historical accounts say that Jesus was a peaceful non-violent man who did not even slap or punch anybody. Then why was he made to die such a brutal violent death on a Roman Cross? It was to show the righteousness of God and the wickedness of man.
Think about this, if you were God and you want the story of Jesus to spread throughout the world, would you allow Jesus to be born or live in a remote village or corner of China or Cambodia? Or would you orchestrate the story of Jesus in a distant and backward colony in Asia or Africa? If Jesus was born and lived in a remote corner of Asia during the Mongol Empire or if his story was orchestrated in a distant colony during the British Empire, I believe this story would lose its universal appeal. And this is why I believe that Jesus Christ was born and lived during the time of an Empire which was keeping all the continents and known civilizations interconnected and reaching out and extending its branches to all corners of the earth. Yes, this is why I believe that the story of Jesus was orchestrated in that part of the world which is now considered the centre of the planet earth.
In almost every society, the mystery of death has boggled the human mind since time immemorial. Mankind has always wondered whether death is really the end or whether there is hope beyond the grave also. So, it is no wonder that God chose the centre of geography and the centre of human history to orchestrate the birth, life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
It is said that a picture is worth more than a thousand words. If we consider the image of a crucified man with his hands stretched out and nailed to the cross, with his feet joined and nailed to the post of the cross and with his head hung in between his stretched out hands, everybody will agree that the image itself speaks volumes even to our subconscious minds. And maybe this is why Billy Graham frequently said “anyone who looks at the picture of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross and is not moved has a heart of stone”. So, if God intended the death of Jesus Christ to be a watershed moment in history, he would certainly not choose Jesus to be hung by neck in public or to be executed by a firing squad or by the electric chair or lethal injection. Thus the only way through which the death of this innocent man could reverberate and resonate throughout history and touch mankind and turn the whole world upside down was through the crucifixion on a Roman Cross. And that was exactly what happened on Good Friday.
Thus, from all these analysis and accounts, it is amply clear that the Good Friday story was “A Public Display of Death” which was orchestrated for all mankind. Whether we view the Good Friday story from the historical, geographical or philosophical perspective, we cannot deny that the death of Jesus on Good Friday was to be a public display which was planned from the beginning and which is meant to echo though out mankind’s history……..
