A VERY PUBLIC EVENT
During this month we are again remembering two public events in the life of
Jesus, on Palm Sunday his processional entry into Jerusalem, on Good Friday
his very public exit from this city on the way to Golgotha, which means the Place
of the Scull, where they crucified him.
Those who were watching these events were not the first nor the last of those
who seem to enjoy gaping at other men’s misery and taking it as entertainment It
is a very old and also quite modern phenomenon. The onlookers have a part to
play as witnesses, in the story of Jesus, but they are also important for reality TV
or gathering when there is an accident or a fire in town. It seems that the urge to
view such events is something which is part of human life. And the bigger the
crowd of onlookers, the fewer are those willing to help.
When we consider the Crucifixion, other things are central to the story, like the
last supper, the arrest of Jesus, the part played by Pilate, the betrayal by Judas,
the behaviour of the disciples.
Those gathered nearby without a name are only playing a part when asked by
Pilate which of the delinquents he should release, Jesus or Barabbas. Apart
from these, there are the Roman soldiers who aggressively encounter Jesus,
who mock him, spit at him and beat him. He also receives from them the Crown
of Thorns. At the Crucifixion itself we first meet those gapers, of whom Matthew
writes that they went by shaking their heads and calling on him to come down
from the cross to prove that he is the Son of God. Luke has an interesting
variation in saying that a large crown went with Jesus on the way to the place of
execution, among them women weeping and lamenting. It is clear that the crowd
has different motivation for being there, some had pity with the condemned,
others just made fun of him. There is no indication in the account of the
Evangelists that the presence of the crowd was something unusual. It is a fact
that this form of execution was always a public event. Those presenting the
body of an adversary as visible as this have always relied on the public to be
there.
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