Jesus Christ Superstar

Recently there has been a group in my area performing Jesus Christ Superstar. It was awesome! I saw it 3 times and the last time was their last performance. They didn't wear costumes or have sets or anything like that, but had a complete cast (including a chorus that had several featured singing roles).

I have one question about it. During the show Jesus is passed around from one authority to the next, each one questioning his divinity or powers and passing him off to the next (as I believe the story goes naturally). When he is finally turned over to Pilot (for the last time) they go into my favorite guitar riff in the show and Pilot counts out to 39. What's that all about, the counting to 39 that is?

Is there a special meaning to the number 39 in relation to Jesus that has followed through to present day? I (thought I) knew Jesus was 33 when he died. I also (thought I) knew that Pilot told him to do something supernatural to save him self and prove his claims, but he wouldn't debase himself for the Romans gratification, was there a 39 second time limit to this?

I want to bump this one time... Surely somebody know the answer to this?

Hey whargoul, I've loved Jesus Christ Superstar for years, but have never gotten a chance to see it live.

Anyway, the 39 lashes in JCS are representative of when Jesus was scourged by the Romans before being crucified. From what I know, 40 lashes was considered a sentence of "sure death", so Jesus was whipped 39 times - considered "merciful" according to Jewish custom at the time.

See this for more explanation.

[edit on 20-6-2007 by blackholebrain]

Oh thanks! I didn't get that they were scourging him at that time! Heh, that has to be my favorite part too...