Jesus was a threat to the authority of both the Jewish religious establishment and to the Roman political establishment. This combination was deadly. After a sham religious trial Jesus was turned over to the provincial governor, Pontius Pilate. Pilate found no grounds to execute Jesus. The crowds insisted that Jesus was guilty of treason to the emperor and should be put to death. Pilate ordered Jesus’ death by hanging on a cross or crucifixion. On the right is the Temple. When Jesus died the sanctuary curtain was torn from top to bottom. Symbolically this means through Jesus we are no longer separated from the presence of God. The lamb leaping from the cross on the left reminds us that death will have no hold on Jesus. the Lamb of God.
