Some good points, here, just up above.

To put it in a less intellecual way, there is a great tradition
of the powers-that-be amongst any people f***ing their own people
over.

A similar tradition in the powers-that-be, once they finish
f***ing their own people over, going out and f***ing other people
over.

Such is tha nature of powers-that-be.

The Egyptions and Babylonians did it to the Jews. After they did
it to themselves.

The Greeks did it to each other, then to the non-Greeks, then the
Romans came along and did it to them.

The Jews did it to one another, then got it done to them by the
Romans, and kept doing it to one another, (as did the Romans).

Eventually the Romans got it done to them, but first they did it
to nearly everyone else.

Britain did it to the Indians and some of the Africans while France
did it to the rest of the Africans.

The Americans did it to the Native Americans (to the extent that
they're stuck with being called something-Americans to this day)
and to a bunch of the Africans, whom we still screw over. Then we
did it to a whole bunch of other people in Asia, and it looks like
we're still at it.

The Christians and Muslims have done it to the Jews for a coupla thousand years, but then again, the Jews have found ways to stick it
to the Muslims (who continue to commit violence against one another)
and the Catholics and Protestants while the latter have been at one
anothers' throats for a few centuries or more. While the Orthodox,
Conservative, and Reformed give one another hell and deny each
others' legitimacy, the Shiites and Sunis kill each others' babies,
and the Papists, Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians etc., find fault
with one another.

It just so happens that, in the Christian world, one of these
inevitable screwings-over at the hand of the local and remote
screwers-over has been super-mythologized.

And nearly every Christian and Jew misses the point that it wasn't
about who did what to whom but the fact that when some SOB actually
stands up and speaks the truth nearly everyone gets up and says
'crucify him' in order to break the mirror that said SOB holds
up to us so we can see ourselves at our worst...while calling us
to be better.

For us Christians, the lesson isn't so much 'the Jews killed
Jesus' but rather (to borrow a phrase) 'everybody must get
stoned.'

Most of the time, when we get offended, it isn't so much that
someone is really doing us wrong as the fact that someone is
holding a mirror up to us that we really can't handle.

Me, I'd rather do the tune as 'Simple Gifts' than 'Lord of the
Dance.'

But heck... let's all get offended. Then angry. Then really mad.
Then let's get a cross or a noose or a boycott or some such
violent crap and get rid of the guy who upsets our little apple-cart.

The thing about this historical Jesus, is that he was at least
one guy who said 'enough,' cut it out. As did a lot of other guys
who got done in before their times.

So he was an archetype.

Get past the whole Jew/Roman thing and understand that the Passion
Play is all about what man does to his fellow man...again and
again and again and again.

And you know what?

It usually starts with some a**h*** taking "offense."