The Events of Easter
Nearly 2,000 years ago, Jesus Christ was crucified in the land now called Israel by the order of Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the then Roman province of Judea. Jesus had been falsely accused by the Jewish high priest and other Jewish religious leaders of blasphemy against the Jewish religion. This was not a crime under Roman law, and Pilate was inclined to release Jesus. But after being reminded that leniency toward someone regarded as a troublemaker could be viewed as disloyalty to Rome, and upon hearing the clamor of an incited mob that called for Jesus to be crucified, Pilate bowed to the accusers' demands. Jesus' execution took place right before the Jewish holy day of Passover.