Or so the Roman court declared, and despite some dissent by members of the court, he was executed via the cross for the the high crime of treason. While our criminal justice system has made some progress over the original Roman system of justice — it’s hard to argue that all that much has changed since the days when the Romans laughed as Jesus died in agony on the cross.

Government, even in so-called representative democracies, is the sovereign with power justified by law. What happened — the lawful murder of Jesus Christ by the state — could happen even in our modern times. Law can not determine whether or not something is moral, only what is justified as force by government actions against the people.

Whether or not Jesus was a menace to God and mankind is debatable, indeed millions honor Christ for his organizing of the working man against the rich man. For confronting the Alderman and politicians, for raising his voice. Jesus, the son of God wasn’t afraid to confront power, with acidic attacks on power, confronting comfortable ideas with truth.

Did Jesus argue for the over-throw of the government, the treasonous acts that the Roman court claimed was supported by evidence? We may never know, as much is lost in history. But we do know that Jesus organized the carpenter, the weaver, the farmer, as a voice against the rich and powerful. His power, through the people, confronted old ways of thinking, put established ways of thinking at risk.