Home › Opinion › Opinion
Tragedy of trial good news for Christians
STORY TOOLS 
More from OpinionDuring Holy Week, Christians reflect on the last moments of Jesus' life — from his Last Supper on Thursday evening to his Crucifixion on Friday afternoon.
Often overlooked in that reflection is the legal process that condemned Jesus. It involved two trials — one Jewish, one Roman — in the span between dinner and lunch. Over the years, these proceedings have bedeviled scholars and historians who, in parsing through fewer than 3,000 words in the combined Gospel accounts, have struggled to comprehend the greatest trial in history.
The Jewish Sanhedrin (Greek for "assembly") was the highest legal authority in ancient Israel, styled after the assembly of Moses and the 70 elders. How it conducted trials is subject to considerable speculation because Sadducees (who were more interested in politics) predominated over Pharisees (who were more interested in religion) and we don't know much about Sadducee procedures, especially after the Romans wiped out their line in 70 A.D. Pharisee writings in the second century (the Mishna) detail Pharisee procedures, but using those to extrapolate backward is like trying to figure out Whig Party procedures by looking at current Republican ones.
With these caveats, we can imagine a trial with Jesus in a semi-circle of 70 "priests, scribes, and elders," with the high priest, Joseph Caiaphas, presiding. Rows of witnesses line up behind the defendant and testimony from these witnesses is freely elicited by Sanhedrin members.
The proceeding takes place at Caiphas' house, and not at the temple, the Sanhedrin's normal venue. Whether a quorum is present — 23 — as later required under the Mishna, is unknown. But we know that many witnesses are brought forth to testify against Jesus.
Ordinarily, conflicting witness testimony is dismissed, and in Jesus' case, the witnesses couldn't agree. Was that due to the efforts of the Pharisee lawyer, Joseph of Arimathea — a "secret disciple," who hours later would arrange for custody and burial of Jesus' body?
Proceedings go on through the night and come to an impasse. The defendant is silent. No evidence supports conviction on any crime. Caiaphas rises and addresses the defendant. He adjures him to answer whether he is the Messiah. An adjurement from the high priest is inescapable; no Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination exists.
Jesus answers, "I am."
Caiaphas tears his robes — as rabbinic law would declare he should on hearing blasphemy. But has Jesus uttered blasphemy? Not according to any known standards. And what if he has? Is that a capital offense? Not by Roman standards and only Romans wield the "right of the sword" — that is, the right to execute subjects.
But a verdict is rendered; the charge would be recast into something else later, as Romans have no jurisdiction over blasphemy crimes. It is daybreak when they bring him to Pilate, the normal time when trials are heard. Roman governors conduct their own trials with considerable freedom in the Eastern Provinces. Pilate, who appears to have been briefed on Jesus' case, hears the charge, questions the defendant, and concludes: "I find no guilt in him." As noted, blasphemy crimes won't work in this court.
But the crowd is testy, so Pilate bounces Jesus, a Galilean, to Herod, ruler of Galilee. Herod only makes sport of him and bounces him back to Pilate. Pilate stews. Maybe they'll accept him as a Passover release? No, they want Barabbas, a murderous insurrectionist. Maybe they'll relent if he's mocked and scourged? No, they want him crucified.
Pilate is anxious. And spooked when this other-worldly defendant now tells him, "My kingdom is not of this world." Sensing waver, the rabble pulls their trump card (their amended indictment). "If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar!" Pilate thinks of his boss, Tiberius, the fickle, ruthless emperor who might flay him alive for freeing an alleged enemy of the state.
With a riot about to break, Pilate washes his hands of guilt, urges the crowd to "Behold the Man," and turns the defendant over to be crucified. No appeal.
Was legal process followed? Very probably not. Was justice rendered? Most observers agree: No. But happily for Christians, the tragedy of Good Friday was vanquished Easter Sunday, and the Resurrection occurred precisely because of flawed legal process.
— David A. Shaneyfelt is senior litigation counsel at Wood & Bender in Ventura; for more than 10 years, he has studied and lectured on the trial of Jesus.
Posted by schlederdecopan on March 20, 2008 at 1:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Excellent article!
It's a shame to see that the courts and justice haven't changed much in 2000 years.
God have mercy on us.
Posted by del on March 20, 2008 at 7:21 a.m. (Suggest removal)
That is correct. We still crucify revolutionaries and try to squash the ideas.
Posted by shaver_one on March 20, 2008 at 9:18 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Just think...
If the crowd had not been so blood-thirsty...If they had been a little more tolerant, a little more understanding...If they had listened to ANYTHING that Jesus had said, while alive...there would be no Chistianity.
There would have been no crucifixtion.
There would have been no Crusades.
There would have been no Catholic priests preying on little boys.
Self-fulfilling prophecy? Pre-ordination? Or, just man's attempt to shed blame for his own actions?
Posted by shaver_one on March 20, 2008 at 9:26 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And...
There would be no Jehovah's Witnesses knocking on your door.
Posted by venturapagan on March 20, 2008 at 10:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
At least he got a trial; the early followers of Ashtoreth (sp?) were tricked into attending a religious meeting and then summarily murdered by early Isrealites before Jesus. They were goddess/earth worshipping peaceful people who refused to convert, so they were killed. Conveniently forgotten history within the bible itself. The attitude towards us (pagans) hasn't changed much....sorry to say. Oh, well, ancient history. Happy Eostara/Easter!
Posted by shaver_one on March 20, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And, have a joyous Vernal Equinox.
Posted by jd1511 on March 20, 2008 at 11:01 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Shaver,
Your anti religion bigotry is sad.
If you are that filled with hate you should post elsewhere.
This is an impressive article about the most important day in Christian history.
You are free to believe what you believe,
Leave us to believe what we believe.
Posted by shaver_one on March 20, 2008 at 11:32 a.m. (Suggest removal)
jd1511...
I don't hate the Christians. I don't hate the Jews. I don't hate the Muslims. I don't hate the Buddhists. I don't hate the Hindus. I don't hate the Atheists. I don't hate the Agnostics. I don't hate the Wicans. I don't hate the Pagans. I don't hate the Shintos. I don't hate any other member of any other religion I may have left out.
I am a Taoist. We don't believe in religious hate or sectarian bigotry.
Can your religion say the same?
Posted by shaver_one on March 20, 2008 at 11:35 a.m. (Suggest removal)
And, remember...
Jesus as not a Chrstian. Jesus was a Jew.
Posted by venturapagan on March 20, 2008 at 1:53 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Amen, Shaver! I don't hate anyone either, but it seems a lot of violence in the world has had some major religion in the middle of it or another. Thankfully, there has never been a war in the name of Wicca, and there never will be. Boyfriend, who is a recovering J.Witness, remarked how much of an uproar there would be if pagans went door to door like he had to as a kid. From personal experience, some of the most religious ppl tend to be the most closed minded elitists, but there still are some good Xtians out there who try to live by the "book" and we get along just fine :)
Posted by jd1511 on March 20, 2008 at 2:01 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Your original post was out of line.
And does not seem consistent with your comment;
I am a Taoist. We don't believe in religious hate or sectarian bigotry.
And yes I can say Christians do not believe in religious hate or sectarian bigotry, either.
If you understood Christianity you would understand that.
And Yes Jesus was a Jew, your point being what?
Posted by jd1511 on March 20, 2008 at 2:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Wars are usually about land power or money, and never really about religion.
Christ was a pacifist, remember.
Many people have tried to falsely use religion as an excess for war.
Christ said” give unto Caesar (government) that which is Caesar’s, and give unto God that which is Gods”
Posted by venturapagan on March 21, 2008 at 9:16 a.m. (Suggest removal)
jd1511-Ah, yes, but religions spend too much time getting involved in politics, and conflicts in politics create war. Any religion who gets involved with politics isn't doing it for God, they're doing it for power, and power corrupts. I have no problem with Christianity's teachings (which are fundamentally the same as most religions' teachings of love & respect), but a lot of the followers I've come across do not live by example. That's sad. Very poor example they set for their faith. Does not the church perpetuate the lie that pagans/Wiccans are devil-worshippers? Passing judgement on others is reserved for God only, isn't it? We've been on "trial" for 1,000s of years....and still many of us live in fear because of it.
Article discussions on this site are to support community debates of issues related to our stories and editorials.
Discussions should not stray from the subject of the story or editorial.
We do not allow the following:
- Posts that degrade others on the basis of gender, race, class, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sexual orientation or disability.
- Disparaging remarks, abusive language or obscene comments.
- Threats, whether obvious or veiled.
We reserve the right to delete threads and/or ban users for these or other reasons we deem necessary.
Opinions are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.
There are 13 comments to this article.
Comments are found beneath the Yahoo! ad below.