Reflections on the Trials of Jesus
*Introduction
If anything at all is certain about the earthly life of Jesus, it is that he was a Jew
who expressed original and disturbing conceptions of what Judaism ought
to mean, and was executed on the orders of a Romanpraefectuswho had little
or no conception of what Judaism meant. The varied and contradictory ac-
counts which the Gospels provide of how Jesus came to suffer crucifixion
may thus be a suitable topic for me, as a Roman historian, to offer in hon-
our of Geza Vermes, just over two decades since our joint work on the new
Schürer began.
It could hardly be disputed that if wecouldrecover exactly what was said
and done, around the time of Passover in an indeterminate year,^1 to bring
about the crucifixion, the results would be of almost limitless importance.
But no such claim will be made here. Nor will the discussion take detailed ac-
count of the endless ‘‘bibliography of the subject.’’^2 Instead, the emphasis will
*First published in P. R. Davies and R. T. White, eds.,A Tribute to Geza Vermes: Essays on
Jewish and Christian Literature and History( Journal for the Study of the Old Testament, supp.
ser. , ), –.
. I do not wish to enter into this question, but draw attention to the powerful converg-
ing arguments advanced for Passover of.. by N. Kokkinos, ‘‘Crucifixion in..: The
Keystone for Dating the Birth of Jesus,’’ in J. Vardaman and E. M. Yamauchi, eds.,Chronos,
Kairos, Christos: Nativity and Chronological Studies Presented to Jack Finegan(), .
. I should note here the use I have made over the years of A. Wikenhauser,Einleitung
in das Neue Testament^5 (), and D. Guthrie,New Testament Introduction(), and more
recently L. T. Johnson,The Writings of the New Testament(). On the specific question
of the trial narratives, see especially E. Bickerman, ‘‘Utilitas crucis,’’RHR ():
Studies in Jewish and Christian HistoryIII (), ; A. N. Sherwin-White,Roman Society
and Roman Law in the New Testament(); P. Winter,On the Trial of Jesus^2 (); O. Betz,
‘‘Probleme des Prozesses Jesus,’’ANRWII, . (), .