Trial Of Jesus Research Articles

An Afro-Christian contextual analysis of presidential pardon in post-colonial African politics

Presidential or royal pardon is an age-long practice in precolonial Africa as well as in biblical times. This practice has never been without criticisms because of how, and on whom the pardon is granted. The trial of Jesus has been vastly studied within an African theo-interpretive model. However, the demand for the release of Barabbas rather than Jesus has not been adequately studied in a contextual or comparative theo-political manner in Africa. This is the thrust of this article. Using the desktop method, the article argues that presidential pardon granted to convicted criminals who are not allowed to serve judicial punishment is a stimulant for inveterate corruption in the polity. The theoretical argument of this article is that many African political leaders often resort to this kind of pardon that has adversely affected the polity. The significance of this is that this behaviour emboldens political leaders to continue to corrupt the system with dire consequences for the people.

Historical and Legal Context and Significance… of Selected Roman Public Law Institutions of the Early Principate Described in Canonical Gospels of the New Testament

The article analyses the issues in question by means of a method used in the legal sciences which in the Polish methodology is called “the historical and legal method.” It involves presentation and analysis of selected legal institutions and of their evolution in time. The following issues—identified across the pages of the Gospel—are analysed in this article: political and systemic context of evangelical events (section 1), the role of censuses in the implementation of Roman administrative and systemic principles (section 2), Roman tax law in the context of tax burdens resting on residents of Judea (section 3) and the Roman judicial procedure in the context of the trial of Jesus (section 4). In the summary the author answers the research question asked in the introduction: to what degree does the historical and legal significance of selected institutions of Roman law, inspired by the description of these institutions in canonical gospels of the New Testament, determine the contemporary understanding of the gospels themselves?

The Trial of Jesus before Pilate in the Fourth Gospel

Abstract This article proceeds through a series of integrated sections. First, the problem of the Fourth Gospel’s (FG) positioning of the scourging of Jesus and the Roman soldiers’ mocking of him in the midst of the trial is compared with Mark’s account of the trial. Second, by drawing on contemporary sources the methods of Roman crucifixion are examined to provide a guide for interpreting the Biblical data. Third, the efforts to harmonize the FG with the other Gospels by suggesting it referred to a lighter lashing are examined and found wanting. The next four sections develop John’s approach to the Trial as a drama; not as fiction, but as a creative reshaping of his data. By placing the mocking as well as the scourging of Jesus prior to Pilate’s handing him over to be crucified allows the FG to climax the drama with Jesus finally exiting from the praetorium to face his accusers for the first time as their King (Messiah).

Pilate as the Legal ‘Other’ in the N-Town Cycle Passion Plays

In the late medieval N-Town Cycle Passion Plays, the trial of Jesus is presented in the context of a medieval courtroom, where Jesus is brought by Annas and Cayphas to be judged by Pontius Pilate. However, while the priests through abuses of the legal procedures attempt to ensure Jesus’s demise, Pilate opposes their intent by remaining true to his judicial duties, which presents him as a lonely Other in the presented world of legal misconduct. This paper explores the concept of otherness in a legal context of the plays, as well as the legal and social significance of Pilate’s actions.

Maximus and Socrates on Trial

Although the similarities between the trial of Socrates and the trial of Jesus have been discussed since the age of the Apologists, the same cannot be said about the anonymously written Trial of Maximus the Confessor and Plato’s Apology. My paper seeks to start this discussion. First I look at the historical context of each trial, finding that each was preceded by a rebellion that the accused was suspected of inciting (the Thirty Tyrants’ in one, the Exarch Gregory’s in the other). Then I summarize the Trial, noting numerous similarities between it and the Apology. After this, I examine some of these similarities in detail. In particular, I show that the defense speeches of both Socrates and Maximus reveal a layer of duplicity endemic to the text: while both Socrates and Maximus appear to exonerate themselves, their defense speeches actually contain harsh mockeries of their accusers. Next, I elucidate the consanguinity between the defendants’ opposition to their cities’ god(s), whom they feel compelled to reject, and their introduction of new gods into their cities (the god of reason and the Christ of Dyothelitism)—a charge for which both defendants were tragically convicted. Finally, I examine the manner in which both figures play gadfly to their city.

Zu den Toponymen Lithostroton und Gabbatha in Joh 19,13. Mit einem Lokalisierungsversuch des Prätoriums des Pilatus

Abstract: This study examines two toponyms that only occur in the story of Jesus’ Passion in the Gospel of John (19,13), Λιθόστρωτον and Gabbatha. Based on a range of sources the argument is made for their definition as and their location at the outer court of the Gentiles of the Temple (λιθόστρωτον; cf. 2Chron 7,3; Josephus, Bell. 6,85.189) on Mount Zion (Gabbatha; presumably deriving from ,גִּבְעָתָהּ „her [Zion’s] hill“ from Isa 31,4). The result has also consequences for the location of Pilate’s Praetorium at Jerusalem in so far as it is topographically connected to the above mentioned toponyms. Hence the locality where the flagellation, interrogation and trial of Jesus took place was the Fortress Antonia which stood directly adjoined to the Temple plateau at its north-west corner – at least if we follow the Gospel of John.

The Trial of Jesus(Luke 22:66-23:25) and Racial Conflict in the Lukan Community - Focusing on the Psychological Mechanism of Inevitableness and the Question of Who Is Responsible for Jesus’ Death -

The Trial of Jesus(Luke 22:66-23:25) and Racial Conflict in the Lukan Community - Focusing on the Psychological Mechanism of Inevitableness and the Question of Who Is Responsible for Jesus’ Death -

Between the Image and the Word. Research Methods Applied to the Study of the Depictions of Iudicium Sanguinarium Iudaeorum contra Jesum Christum Salvatorem Mundi

The article presents the method of indirect comparative research, which was applied to study the iconography of the images presenting the trial of Jesus in a unique convention. These depictions appeared first on the German territory in 1580 and could be found in many countries of Christian Europe until the 19th century. The depicted scene takes place in praetorium where the trial of Jesus takes place, his judges being Pilate, Caiaphas and 19 members of the Sanhedrin, as well as a crowd of Jews. The statements of individual judges were written in the depiction in the form of concise inscriptions. The method is based on presenting the mutual influence between literature and art created at the same time and within the same subject. Applying this method has allowed us to include the depictions in the group of propaganda works of art. The article presents the most important findings concerning the circumstances in which the works were created, as well as their function. Collecting approximately 100 works of ar...

Tratti messianici a confronto: applicazione del metodo intertestuale a 4QpIsa (4Q161) fr. 8–10,17-25 e Gv 19,2-5

Research on the relationship between the Fourth Gospel and the Dead Sea Scrolls has made a significant progress, enlightening correspondences and differences. This article analyses the synonymic expressions in 4Q161 fr. 8-10,17- 25 and John 19:2-5 by applying the intertextual criteria proposed by M. Pfister. The study has revealed a meaningful background to the trial of Jesus, enlightening the relationship between kingship, conflict, priesthood and cult. The double level of the Johannine presentation of Jesus during the trial, shows an anointed king who establishes his kingdom and executing his victory and judgment without violence. It is possible to argue that a hypothetical reader of 4Q161 may have been able to recognise John’s messianic description, however, this does not necessarily mean an adhesion of faith.

Sarah Beckwith Shakespeare and the Grammar of ForgivenessShakespeare and the Grammar of Forgiveness. Sarah Beckwith. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2011. Pp. xv+228.

<i>Sarah Beckwith</i> Shakespeare and the Grammar of Forgiveness<i>Shakespeare and the Grammar of Forgiveness</i>. Sarah Beckwith. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2011. Pp. xv+228.

“The Trial of Jesus” and Jesus on Death Row

“The Trial of Jesus” and <i>Jesus on Death Row</i>

"We have a law …": The Trials of Jesus of Nazareth

"We have a law …": The Trials of Jesus of Nazareth

“Good” Friday: In the Face of Death (Psalm 22; Psalm 31:5; Luke 23:33–43, 46)

This sermon was preached at Bay Leaf Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC, at the noon Good Friday service on April 6, 2007, as the final session of a three-part Holy Week series entitled “Why The Cross?” The other two presentations had been made earlier in the week by Don Garner's two brothers, Dan, an attorney (“Legal Aspects of The Trial of Jesus”) and Tim, a surgeon (“Physiological Aspects of the Death of Jesus”). Immediately following the sermon, the congregation shared the Lord's Supper.

The Trial of Jesus: An Account

Providing an account of the trial of Jesus presents challenges unlike that for any of the other trials on the Famous Trials Website. First, there is the challenge of determining what actually happened nearly 2,000 years ago before the Sanhedrin and the Roman prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate. The task is daunting because almost our entire understanding of events comes from five divergent accounts, each of which was written by a Christian (who did not witness the final days of Jesus directly) for a distinct audience from fifteen (at least) to seventy years after the trial. Second, there is the challenge that comes from knowing that readers of this account are likely to have prior understandings of trial events that come from their own religious training - and that any account of the trial provided here that varies substantially from these prior understandings may not be easily accepted. Nonetheless, I believe the trial of Jesus merits analysis for the simple reason that no other trial in human history has so significantly affected the course of human events.

The Jewish Jesus: A Partisan's Imagination

My own approach to finding the historical Jesus in the text of the New Testament may appear to some as extreme. It seems to me that Mark, the earliest gospel version on the life of Jesus compiled shortly after the destruction of the Second Jewish by the Romans in 70 C.E., contains authentic traces of the historical Jesus shrouded in repeated motifs of secrecy which are intended to obscure the role of Jesus as a political revolutionary sympathizer involved in the Jewish national struggle against Rome. When the Gospel of Mark is analyzed in its own light, without recourse to the special status which canonical tradition confers, it is less history and biography and more historiosophy and parable. It also features an astute polemic against the Jewish Christian believers in Jerusalem, whose influence diminished considerably following the fall of Jerusalem in 70 C.E., and a clever apology to make early Christianity palatable to Rome by not identifying Jesus with the national aspirations of the Jews. The Markan account on the trial of Jesus and his execution, along with the portrait of a pacifistic Christ, are for the most part historically questioned by S. G. F. Brandon, who sees in these narratives attempts by the Gentile Church to win Roman favor by exculpating Pontius Pilate from his share in the crucifixion of Jesus.(64) I agree. Regarding the Synoptic Gospels' (Mathew, Mark, Luke) account of Jesus before the Sanhedrin,(65) the trial before Pilate,(66) and the sentence of death,(67) the question of historical fairness intrudes into these accounts. Jesus is tried three times (the Sanhedrin night-trial which found him guilty of blasphemy, the trial before Herod Antipas, and the dawn-trial before Pilate), and so which court decisively condemned Jesus?(68) Where in the biblical-talmudic tradition is blasphemy defined by claiming that one is the the Son of the Blessed?(69) Lev 24:13-23 and Sanhedrin 7.5 proclaim that whoever curses God is guilty of blasphemy.(70) Rarely recorded are malediction and impious profanity by one who claims to be a messianic figure. True, Josephus reported many messianic pretenders between 6 and 70 C.E., but we have no record of any put to death. Bar-Kochba was called Messiah by Akiba, but tradition does not speak ill of either second-century hero. And no less a personality than Maimonides relegated the messianic doctrine to a secondary position among the articles of faith rendered in his name. Also, one guilty of blasphemy was stoned to death and not killed by crucifixion as recorded by Mark.(71) That Jesus was sympathetic to the Zealot cause may explain why the charges of sedition were not overtly denied by Jesus when asked, Are you the King of the Jews?(72) Other references support this view. One of the trusted disciples was Simon the Zealot.(73) The Zealot Movement, rooted in the tradition of being zealous for the Lord,(74) arose in the Galilee in the first decade of the first century. It may be assumed that the child Jesus raised in Nazareth would have listened often to tales of Zealot exploits against the hated Romans and how many of the former died martyrs' deaths in a futile attempt to replace the bondage of Rome with the yoke of the kingdom of heaven.(75) These childhood experiences listened to in earnest and awe caused the adult Jesus to sympathize with the anti-Roman feelings of his people. Thus, the cleansing of the Temple pericope is not to be read as anti-Temple but rather as a critique of the functionaries who collaborated with Rome.(76) This episode appears to have coincided with an insurrection in Jerusalem during the period of Gaius Caligula (34-41), in which the Zealots appear to have been involved.(77) The famous question concerning tribute to Caesar has Jesus saying, Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's and to God the things that are God's,(78) thereby implying Jewish support of Roman fiscal and political policy. This is an assimilable position and it is very doubtful that the historical Jesus identified with it. …

Book Reviews : The Trial of Jesus Re-Investigated

Book Reviews : The Trial of Jesus Re-Investigated

La divinité du Christ est-elle une question centrale dans Ie procés de Jésus rapporté par les Acta Pilati?

Reconsidering G. ~ H. Lampe's study on the trial of Jesus in the Acta Pilati, thi,~ article shows that it is not the question of Christ's divinity which constitutes the central motive of this part of the text (Acts of Pilate, greek version A, 1-9) but the theme of his royalty. The author concludes that only a literary analysis of the whole of the Acts of Pilate, which takes in account all the different literary levels and devices, will allow a better appreciation of the different parts of the narrative. To conduct this study scholars need a new, reliable editil?n of the Acta Pilati.

The Trial of Jesus

Journal Article The Trial of Jesus Get access Watson Alan, The Trial of Jesus. Athens, Ga. and London: The University of Georgia Press, 1995. xiii, 219 pp. $24.95. Daniel J. Gargola Daniel J. Gargola University of Kentucky Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar American Journal of Legal History, Volume 41, Issue 1, January 1997, Pages 157–158, https://doi.org/10.2307/845493 Published: 01 January 1997

Le procès de Jésus vu par les Manichéens

Manichaean documents often refer to the trial of Jesus. Besides the New Testament they use also the Gospel of Peter. Systematically they show an anti-Jewish bias, since they excuse Pilatus, charging exclusively the Jews with Jesus' death.

The trial of Jesus

The trial of Jesus