Question:
At the time
of Jesus' death, it was law that a person executed by the method of hanging
was not permitted to have a proper burial. It is stated in Roman documents
that that person remained on the cross until the body decomposed. Why
then with the fear of Jesus' body being stolen, would Caesar permit a proper
burial for this one case? Also, in the bible the festival that allowed
one prisoner go free a year, actually did not exist at all in any Roman
documents. Are there any other records of this festival? Thank you
so much for your time.
I
would have to see the documents you are referring to. Different regions of the
Roman empire allowed different leniencies towards the disposal of the
corpses of criminals. Yes, they were not supposed to allow proper burials, but
remember, Joseph had to BEG the body of Jesus (and maybe bribe). Pilate had
the guilty conscience of handing over an innocent man to a riotous mob to be
murdered. He allowed Jesus to be buired because of all the extenuating
circumstances.
As
far as "Caesar"
permitting a proper burial, I think you meant "Pilate," and Pilate
at the point of granting Joseph the right to bury Jesus' body did not know of
any threat to Jesus' body being stolen. It was only when the Pharisees brought
it to his attention, that he allowed four soldiers to be placed at the tomb.
To Pilate, a dead man was DEAD. Pilate saw the crowd's reaction to Jesus, and
thought nothing more would come of this man Jesus, or so he thought!
Concerning
the festival custom of allowing a prisoner to go free at the Passover, it was
not a Roman custom - it was only Pilate's custom with the Jews in Jerusalem.
It was Pilate's way of showing benevolence towards them. Since he was
governor, he had a lot of lee-way to do what needed to be done to keep the
peace with his region. He did not make it a law, or a perpetual practice.