March 30, Good Friday (John 18:1-19:42)
Who were the people who watched Jesus' crucifixion?
When many of us hear the word crucify or crucifixion, we think of Jesus. We think about the excruciating death Jesus suffered at the hands of the Roman authorities. We think about the religious leaders who plotted to have Jesus killed. We think about Jesus’ betrayal by Judas that led to his death. We think about the Roman soldiers who cast lots for Jesus’ clothes.
But what about the crowd? Crucifixion was a public spectacle, which means there had to be a public willing to watch people be tortured and killed. Who were the people who came out to witness crucifixions? Why did they watch?
When Ell Persons was lynched in Memphis in 1917, it was a brutal public spectacle. Persons was an African American man accused of rape and murder. Twenty-five men seized him from a train on which he was being transported to stand trial. The men had decided there would be no trial. Instead, they had spread the word that there would be a public lynching. They publicized the time and the place in advance.
