5 - The Trial

Summary

The account of the judicial proceedings follows the same general scheme in all four gospels. They are reported in two stages, the first in a Jewish court, the second in a Roman. So far all agree. They differ in the ways in which they have interwoven with the main narrative two subordinate themes, those of Peter's denial and of the maltreatment and mockery to which Jesus is subjected during the proceedings. In all this Matthew follows Mark closely, with a large amount of verbal agreement, interpolating certain episodes without any dislocation of the Marcan sequence. Luke also has interpolated an episode, that of the interview with Herod, but apart from that he diverges substantially from the Marcan order. While Mark places Peter's threefold denial after the examination in the Jewish court, Luke places it before this examination, in the interval of waiting for the Sanhedrin to assemble at daybreak. Again, Mark recounts two scenes of mockery, the first by the hangers-on of the Jewish court, immediately after the conclusion of the hearing, the second by Roman soldiers after Pilate has passed sentence. In the former Jesus is mocked as a would-be prophet, in the latter as a would-be king.