The True Story of Jesus — Page 67
Chapter Ten— Chronology of Jesus’ Trial The events leading up to and of the trial of Jesus as are of great importance, but they are not easy to ascertain. ‘The Gospels appear to report two different trials of Jesus. One was before the Jewish authorities, when he was charged with a religious offence. The other was before the Roman prefect Pontius Pilate, where he was charged with a political offence. Probably the Jews had no authority to carry out a death sentence themselves, and this was why they needed the support of the Roman prefect It certainly makes good sense to suppose that Jesus’ enemies would make much of the charge of blasphemy before a Jewish court and then change to a charge of political revolt as the one most likely to secure the death sentence from a Roman official. ’1 ‘In Mark, and Matthew who probably used him, Jesus is arrested by a group of unspecified status which is organised by the 1. An Introduction to the Bible, by John Drane, p. 413