We can't carry out the sentence of death

[Guest shiloh357]

This seems a little convoluted to me... As Deacon said, I don't see why they'd need to do this if they could have just stoned him as a blasphemer...?

Because He was not a blasphemer, and they knew it. They had His trial in secret, if you recall, because they feared the people's reaction. The people loved Jesus, and many considered Him as prophet, and most wanted to make Him a King. They feared a riot if word got out. They had NO evidence to put Him on trial, which is why they had to break nearly 200 laws in both the Talmud, and the OT just put Him on trial in the first place. If he was a blasphemer, they would have had no problem stoning Him in front of everyone.

They trumped up a charge that He was a threat to Roman rule in order to make Him an enemy of the state and get the Roman Empire to put Him to death, so that they would not be blamed. It was less likely that the populace of Israel would rise up against Rome. Had they simply stoned Him as a blasphemer, the people, would have been more like to riot and rise up against their Jewish leaders.

You do have a point that they might have been worried about the reaction to such an execution, but I don't think the crowd yelling "crucify!" were too upset that Jesus had been arrested and was about to be killed; it seems that as far as Jesus' popularity went it was not a problem for the Jewish leaders to sway people against him.

The "crowd" yelling "Crucily Him" was not the general Jewish populace. Again, this was being done in secret away from the knowledge or consent of general populace in Israel. The "crowd" was made up primarily of Jesus' detractor's and their disciples. We get impression from a lot of the "Jesus" movies, that all of Israel was there calling for His death, and that simply was not so. Actually there less than 500 people there. The location where this event took place would have held a maximum number of 500 IF they were standing shoulder to shoulder with no room to walk about. Again, it was not a large of group, and did not include the general populace who loved Jesus. The notion that all of Israel was so fickle, one day declaring Him King, and on another, calling for His death, is simply fictiotious. People see that kind of inaccuracies from the movies made about Jesus, and then read what they see into the text of Scripture.

I just thought the most likely scenario was that the execution of Stephen, and the other persecutions described in Acts, were illegal as far as Roman law went. (This was what M45510G1C said.) After all Stephen's stoning is hardly the result of careful legal consideration - "But they covered their ears, and with a loud shout all rushed together against him."

Stephen was considered a blasphemer, and did not have the popularity that Jesus did. The execution of Stephen, on the grounds that he insulted the religious sensitivities of the Jewish leadership, did not violate Roman law. It would have been illegal, under Roman law, for them to execute Stephen if he were the leader of an uprising to usurp Roman rule. Only Rome could enact the death penalty under those circumstances.

[fenwar]

The "crowd" yelling "Crucily Him" was not the general Jewish populace.  Again, this was being done in secret away from the knowledge or consent of general populace in Israel.  The "crowd" was made up primarily of Jesus' detractor's and their disciples.  We get impression from a lot of the "Jesus" movies, that all of Israel was there calling for His death, and that simply was not so.  Actually there less than 500 people there.  The location where this event took place would have held a maximum number of 500 IF they were standing shoulder to shoulder with no room to walk about.  Again, it was not a large of group, and did not include the general populace who loved Jesus.  The notion that all of Israel was so fickle, one day declaring Him King, and on another, calling for His death, is simply fictiotious.

Thanks, that's helpful.