Calvary As Political Execution

Our reading this week is from the gospel of Luke:

When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

The people stood watching, and the rulers even sneered at him. They said, “He saved others; let him save himself if he is God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers also came up and mocked him. They offered him wine vinegar and said, “If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself.”

There was a written notice above him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.

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This is Part 1 of the series A Political Execution: Beyond Atoning Sacrifice

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you today, you will be with me in paradise.” (Luke 23:33-43)

Our reading this week is Luke’s version of Jesus’ crucifixion by the Roman Empire. The execution of Jesus can be understood not as a substitutionary atonement for sin (though many have only encountered this way of understanding Jesus’ death), but as a political execution carried out by the Roman state because it perceived Jesus as a threat to Rome’s imperial order. In1st Century Judea, crucifixion was a punishment reserved for rebels, insurrectionists, and those who challenged Roman authority. Jesus’ message of the “kingdom of God” was not merely spiritual—it carried radical social and political implications too. His teachings about justice, equality, and the reversal of power structures directly confronted both the Roman occupation and the collaboration of local religious elite families. When Jesus entered Jerusalem and was hailed as king, he symbolically opposed Caesar’s claim to ultimate authority.

Luke’s version includes the charge against Jesus that he claimed to be “King of the Jews.” This is a political claim, not a theological or religious one. In Luke’s version of this story, Pilate’s inscription on the cross confirms that Jesus was executed for being seen as a threat to the status quo and to the Roman stability of the Pax Romana. Within this interpretive lens, the crucifixion was an act of state violence meant to silence Jesus as a revolutionary figure and discourage others from following him. One of the strengths of interpreting Jesus’ death as a political execution is that it highlights the historical realities of Roman imperial power and the subversive nature of Jesus’ ministry in solidarity with the marginalized of his society. This interpretation shifts the focus from a metaphysical transaction for sin in a heavenly accountant’s books to a Jesus who modeled confrontation with systemic injustice and oppression.

In the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ crucifixion there are two more political hints. We’ll consider those in Part 2.

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