3 - The trial of Jesus

Summary

Near the close of his Gospel, Luke describes the moving story of two disciples conversing with their risen, but veiled and apparently uninformed, master. The disciples say to their fellow-traveler on the road to Emmaus: ‘Jesus of Nazareth was a prophet mighty in deed and word … but our chief priests and rulers handed him over to a judgment of death and they crucified him’ (Luke 24:19–20). This statement is the earliest explicit declaration which blames the Jewish leaders for the death of Jesus. A close examination of the trial and death of Jesus in the Third Gospel reveals how sharply Luke has carved the contrast between Jewish and Roman judicial process, subtly shifting the burden of responsibility for Jesus' death from the Romans to the Jews. According to Luke, the Jewish ‘trial’ was not a trial at all, but the chaotic prelude to an unjust execution which even Roman jurisprudence could not overcome. The will of God, the δ∈ῖ of the Gospel, was to be accomplished in spite of the finest and the worst of human judicial institutions. Four sections of the trial narrative clearly exhibit the Lucan perspective: the Sanhedrin hearing, the Roman trial, Jesus before Herod, and finally the mocking, crucifixion, and ultimate verdict.

The Sanhedrin hearing

The shift of responsibility for Jesus' death from the Roman prefect to the Jewish leadership is but one illustration of the way in which Luke has modified his Marcan source to conform with his political perspective.