"Good Friday"?

Why was Jesus of Nazareth crucified on a cross, a form of capital punishment used by empires or other domination systems before and after the time of Jesus? The most simple explanation is that the Romans, who were the prevalent domination system during and after Jesus's time, in association with the ruling elites of Jerusalem, felt it expedient to kill Jesus by crucifixion, just as the Romans had crucified thousands of people before him and after him. Death by crucifixion, following compulsory scourging and maiming, was used as a public demonstration for what happens to anyone who opposed or challenged Roman authority; what happens to someone who, like Jesus, was proclaimed or accused of being "King of the Jews." It was a very slow and painful death. Besides Jesus, the names of most of the other persons who were ever crucified are lost to history. Crucifixion was finally outlawed by the Roman Emperor Constantine in the fourth century C.E.

Has much really changed since the death of Jesus? Even today, there continue to be domination systems and their ruling elites that seek to control, exploit, enslave, discriminate against and marginalize people, and who harm, punish, and murder people who seek to challenge these systems. We continue to see political, economic, sexual, social, gender, ethnic, racial, religious, physical, psychological, emotional, and other forms of exploitation throughout the world.

As we observe "Good Friday" today, let us also remember and pray for those women, men, children, and classes of people who continue to be exploited by and suffer from the domination systems and their ruling elites of our day. Let us also pray for the wisdom and courage to join in solidarity  with those who are victimized and to seek justice for them against such systems.  

Christianity offers reasons to explain the purpose of Jesus's suffering, crucifixion and death, and the hope of salvation arising from faith in Jesus and his resurrection. We will discuss these later when we consider Chapter 8, The Saving Death and Resurrection of Christ," from the United States Catholic Catechism for Adults.