Why did the Pharisees want Jesus crucified? He had preached what was in their own law: love for God and love for one's neighbor. But he had brought the law of love into the realm of practical thinking and living. His Sermon on the Mount gave individuals the basis for judging themselves in the light of Truth. It showed them a supreme judge, divine Mind, God, who cared for each one of His children with mercy and with love.
When a lawyer questioned him concerning the neighbor in the law, who he was, Jesus told the story of the wounded man and the good Samaritan, who went to his aid while others "passed by on the other side" (Luke 10:31). When a woman was taken in adultery and the scribes and Pharisees attempted to trap him into saying something contrary to the law that said she should be stoned, the Master caused them to be convicted by their own conscience, saying (John 8:7), "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her." And they left, one by one. His doctrine brought every man face to face with the one Mind, God. Mere preaching would not have stirred his enemies so, but his great healing works proved he was right. This would upset the status quo. He must be destroyed.
On the cross, Jesus cried out (Matt. 27:46), "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" In Science and Health, Mrs. Eddy writes (pp. 50, 51): "The real cross, which Jesus bore up the hill of grief, was the world's hatred of Truth and Love. Not the spear nor the material cross wrung from his faithful lips the plaintive cry, 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' It was the possible loss of something more important than human life which moved him,—the possible misapprehension of the sublimest influence of his career. This dread added the drop of gall to his cup."
