Transcript Notes on Trial of Jesus

Caiaphas the high priest
While Judaea was a Roman province (from 6 CE)
and had been under Roman control from 63
BCE, the Jews continued to practice their
religion and their religious leader, the high
priest, continued to have some power. Caiaphas
and the other religious leaders can be seen as
collaborators with the Romans.
Peter
Peter was a disciple of Jesus. He was sentenced
to death during Nero’s reign. St Peter’s Basilica
in Rome was built on the supposed site of his
tomb.
St Peter’s Basilica
the chief priests and the whole
council
Also known as the Sanhedrin – the governing
body of the Judaism, in charge of the Temple
Christ
Christ or Christos are Greek words for messiah.
The TaNaKh prophesied the coming of a messiah
who would precede the apocalypse. Christians
were those Jews (initially) who believed Jesus of
Nazareth was the prophesied messiah.
the Son of man sitting at the right
hand of Power
This can be read as ‘an eternal ruler at the right
hand of God’.
Jesus the Galilaean
Jesus was from Nazareth in Galilee in the north
of modern day Israel (although he was born in
Bethlehem which is south of Jerusalem).
Pilate the governor
Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect in charge
of Judaea from 26 – 36 CE.
Judas
Disciple of Jesus who betrayed him to the Jewish
authorities for thirty pieces of silver.
One man caught on a barbed wire fence/ One
man he resist/ One man washed on an empty
beach/ One man betrayed with a kiss
Jeremiah
Jeremiah was a prophet and a book in the
TaNaKh is named after him. Amongst other
things, he prophesied the destruction of
Solomon’s Temple.
Barabbas
Barabbas was another Galilean who had been
arrested after involvement in an insurrection in
recent days.
Caesar
The Roman Emperor (at the time, Tiberius)
he was of Herod's jurisdiction
Galilee was immediately north of the Roman
province of Judaea. It was ruled by Herod
Antipas, a son of Herod the Great.
Now when Herod saw Jesus, he was
exceeding glad
Herod had imprisoned and then executed John
the Baptist. John the Baptist was Jesus’ first
cousin and, in a sense, Jesus was John’s
successor.
‘Salome with the Head of John the
Baptist’, Luini Bernardino 1525
Now he must needs release unto
them at the feast one prisoner.
The feast refers to the Passover festival which
had brought multitudes to Jerusalem and during
which Jesus was tried.
Questions
1. What was Jesus tried for? Who by?
2. In both biblical accounts, Pilate offers to release one prisoner.
What reasons does Simon Sebag Montefiore give to suggest it is
unlikely this really occurred?
3. How is Pilate portrayed in each of the gospel accounts of Jesus’
trial?
4. Who appears to be responsible for Jesus’ death in the two
accounts?
5. Explain why the gospels, written in the second half of the first
century CE, might have attributed responsibility for Jesus’s death in
the way they did?