Understanding Crucifixion in a Time of Oppression

It’s Holy Week in the Christian tradition. This week, we remember the days leading up to and including Jesus’ death by crucifixion. We hear about religious people in power collaborating with Roman imperial authorities to silence Jesus and his liberating message. We hear Jesus pray to God with fear and trembling in the Garden of Gethsemane. We see one of his followers betray him, joining leaders who collude and oppress. We see others of Jesus’ closest followers deny and desert him, running and hiding in fear. We see still others remain steadfast, keeping vigil at the foot of the cross.

In all this appropriate focus on Jesus, we can lose sight of the fact that crucifixion was common in the Roman Empire. This form of torturous execution was the Roman version of the electric chair. Through crucifixion, Romans enforced what historians call the Pax Romana, their repressive practice of maintaining an illusory, superficial peace through military power. Thousands of rebels, enslaved people, and others who were not Roman citizens were killed on crosses to “keep the peace.”

Jesus, in contrast, preached an authentic, prophetic peace. He proclaimed the justice and righteousness that were deeply embedded in his faith tradition. He encouraged his disempowered followers to resist Roman oppression in ways that wouldn’t get them crucified—and he didn’t promote violence against the Romans. He chose instead to focus on social justice and fostering right relationships. Unfortunately, none of this kept him from being crucified. He was still seen as a threat, and those in power responded by killing him to keep their “peace.”

We are living in a similar time of oppression in America today. The US government currently seeks to “keep the peace” by cultivating fear, arresting and detaining powerless people without just cause or due process. The fortunate ones make the news. Publicity sometimes results in their release and restoration. Yet many more suffer, their plights unpublicized. The public stories reinforce the culture of fear that I believe is the oppressors’ bigger goal.

Every week is a holy week. Every week, people will suffer crucifixion, whether their stories make the news or not. Every week, we get to choose whether we stand down or speak up. We get to choose whether we betray our arrested fellow citizens, deny them and disappear, or publicly stand, bear witness, and grieve at the foot of each cross.