Crucified King

The iconic event that made your world

The New York Stock Exchange is closed today in observance of the death of Jesus of Nazareth—one of the most historically attested events in human history.

Roman senator, Publius Cornelius Tacitus (56-120 A.D.) wrote that when Rome was burned in 67 A.D., Nero denied responsibility and made the Christians scapegoats. Tacitus explained, “Christus, from whom [Christians] derive their name, was executed at the hands of the procurator Pontius Pilate in the reign of Tiberius.”

Before Tacitus, the historian, Flavius Josephus (37-100), wrote, “[W]hen, upon the accusation of the principal men among us, Pilate had condemned [Jesus] to a cross, those who had first come to love him did not cease. He appeared to them spending a third day restored to life.”

The earliest written record is reliably dated ca. 55 A.D. and speaks already of a decades-old tradition: “I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: and that he was seen of Cephas, then of the twelve: after that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once; of whom the greater part remain unto this present, but some are fallen asleep. After that, he was seen of James; then of all the apostles. And last of all he was seen of me also. . .” (1 Corinthians 15:3-8, KJV).

This historical event, unlike any other, made our world. Without it, the corrupt and failing Roman Empire would never have turned to worship the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It would, more likely, be an historical curiosity like ancient Egypt, or totally forgotten like the Hittites and countless other civilizations lost in the sands of time.

Absent the crucifixion of Jesus, the Byzantine Empire would not have endured until 1453 and Western Europe would not have experienced the Renaissance or the Reformation. Without it, the world would still be without the scientific method, religious freedom or the American Revolution.

Before Christ’s death the world did not know hospitals or human rights. The rape of slaves—male and female—was considered a right of ownership. And infanticide was the right of a father. All of this is well-documented in books like, “Under the Influence,” by Alvin J. Schmidt, “The Book that Made Your World,” by Vishal Mangalwadi, and “Return of the God Hypothesis,” by Stephen C. Meyer.

So, at a time when chaotic and destructive forces are working to burn down the world that was created by the death and resurrection of Christ, let us revisit its first principles. We should at least understand its value before letting it pass through our fingers like sand.

Begin with the title that Pontius Pilate wrote above the scene: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” These words were written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin. They were written that all should know that this man, affixed to the cross, is king of the Jews and, therefore, king of the world.

All other monarchs, from Nero to now, are subject to Him alone. They may boast the largest army ever assembled. They may invent the most powerful destructive force that humans can unleash. They may create the most totalitarian mind-control system imaginable.

But their power will never beat the power of the Crucified One. That is the truth that made your world. It is the twin confession that: 1) kings are good and 2) that true kingship is not exercised in killing but in dying.

Satan, the ruler of hell, denies both. He hates submission to authority—wherever it may be found—parents and children, police and citizens, husbands and wives. Above all, he hates the submission of man to God.

This satanic aversion to authority leads to an insatiable lust for power. In Satan’s kingdom, the powerful do not submit themselves to the authority of the God who put them in place or to the constituents who consented to their rule. Rather, they defy every limit and every rule for personal advantage. Might makes right—men over women, mothers over children, presidents over the populace. This is the hell that awaits those civilizations that reject the crucified King.

But Jesus submitted to the Father and willingly died for His subjects. This set the pattern for Western Civilization. All who submit to Him find, under His Kingship, not merely a tolerance for others, but the genuine love and harmony that every heart longs for.

As the stock market takes a day of silence, let us use it to ponder the roots of American life. Let us recognize that it is worth keeping. And let us fight for it as Jesus fought—by submitting to God in everything and by laying down our lives for others—even our enemies.