The central theme of Christianity is the death and resurrection of Christ. Every Christian ought to know the politics that led to it and how they affect modern politics.
The apostle John, who had connections to the High Priest (John 18:15), reports with authority what was said about Jesus (Y'shua, Yeshua),
So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the Council and said, "What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation." But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all. Nor do you understand that it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish." (John 11:47-50)
The word 'Christ' is Anglicised from Greek, and means the same as Messiah. It means “anointed” (with oil) as either a king or high priest. Both were the top political roles, and were at that time controlled by the Romans, and had been increasingly controlled by them since 63BCE when the Romans supported the Pharisees in a Jewish civil war that cost Jews political independence. Roman control was confirmed by 36BCE, when Rome supported the Idumean Herod's kingship over Judea.
John does not denigrate the Judean leaders' thinking. In fact history has justified the concern that these Jewish rulers in Jerusalem in 31CE felt, as in 66CE when Jews stood up for self rule, the Romans did precisely as they had feared. Romans did 'take away both their place and their nation'.
All else that is said at the trial reinforces that the core issue was that the common people wanted to make Y'shua their king and reinstall the dynasty of David in a revived kingdom of Israel. This is seen when Y'shua comes into Jerusalem riding a donkey.
As he was drawing near--already on the way down the Mount of Olives--the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples." He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out." (Luke 19:37-40)
The Pharisees (having been bought by the Romans) were nervous of the political implications, but Y'shua confirms his claim to being a king.
The centre of the trial of Christ (the Anointed) is the kingship,
So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, "Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered, "Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?"
Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?"
Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world."
Then Pilate said to him, "So you are a king?"
Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world--to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." (John 18:33-37)
Pilate had no love for the people he ruled, at one point sacrificing Galileans (Luke 13:1). The Jewish disturbance due to the chief priests was more of a problem to him than a potential king, who hadn't begun an insurrection.
Y'shua is called “the king of the Jews” 17 times in the gospels. The most notable is at the time of his birth (Matthew 2:2). Pilate wrote his crime was that he was “king of the Jews”.
Over his head they put the charge against him, which read, "This is Jesus, the King of the Jews." (Matthew 27:37)
And the inscription of the charge against him read, "The King of the Jews." (Mark 15:26)
There was also an inscription over him, "This is the King of the Jews." (Luke 23:38)
Pilate also wrote an inscription and put it on the cross. It read, "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." Many of the Jews read this inscription, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Aramaic, in Latin, and in Greek. (John 19:19-20)
Being king of the Jews was synonymous with the king of Israel,
Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe." Those who were crucified with him also reviled him. (Mark 15:32)
He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. (Matthew 27:42)
The idea of Y'shua ruling politically over Jews cannot be ignored due to a promise he twice gave. As a man who is an exemplar of integrity, he would keep his promise, and he promised his inner circle of 12 they would rule over Israel,
"You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke 22:28-30 compare Matthew 19:28)
It is to be noted that the Israel promised to the 12 is not the perfected Church, but humans in need of the dispensation of justice. When the resurrected Y'shua gathers the 11 apostles on the Mt of Olives where previously he had prophesied of the fate of Jerusalem, they asked him,
"Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?"
He said to them, "It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight.
And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, "Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven." (Acts 1:6-11)
Y'shua did not say the apostles were wrong in asking about his restoration of the kingdom to Israel, merely that it would be a while before it would happen. Israel existed at that time, and even had a deposed royal family.
Few understand the point of Matthew's list of Joseph's family tree to start his record. The point was important to Jews and Matthew's record was the only gospel record also written in Hebrew. The point is that Mary (Miriam) married the heir of the royal throne, and her firstborn was therefore a king in waiting. As Mary was also of the royal line, 2 branches of king David's royal family were re-united in Mary and Joseph and therefore in Y'shua, Mary's firstborn.
But Y'shua said to his disciples that the kingdom was not to be restored to Israel at that time. The king was going to be absent.
He (Y'shua) said therefore, "A nobleman (not yet a king) went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom (and become a king) and then return.” (Luke 19:12)
Y'shua was to come back in the same way as he left. To Israel.
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