1. The topographical problem. — This includes tiie question of Pilate's Praetorium (see vol. i. p. 859, and Pr^torium), the precise meaning of Gabbatha (Jn 19'^ cf. Gabbatha and Pavement), the problem whether Annas and Caiaphas had separate residences or stayed together in an official house, and the site of the meeting-place of the Sanhedrin (in the house of Caiaphas or elsewhere). These details are discussed elsewhere in this Dictionary, and it is unnecessary to examine them afresh, particularly as the decisive evidence, such as it is, has to be draAvn as a rule from considera- tions which lie outside the words of the Gospels. The same remark applies, though in a less degree, to
2. The legal problem. — The question whether Jesus was legally condemned to death starts an interesting problem in historical jurisprudence, but it was not present to the minds of the Evangelists or of the original reporters of the Passion ; and this, combined with the condensed, fragmentary, and even discrepant character of their traditions, renders it extremely difficult to answer the ques- tion with any confidence in the affirmative or the negative. If the Talmudic law was in force in Palestine during the lifetime of Jesus, there would be no course open but to agree with some savants of last century that the Sanhedrin acted illegally, t But the Talmud represents a much later phase of Jewish jurisprudence, and it is probable that, viewed in the light of contemporary jjractice, the Council were careful on the whole to observe the letter, though not the spirit, of justice, and to practise most of the forms of legality. t Thus it is far from certain that they met formally at night, though it seems as if they passed their resolution before daybreak ; and the main coiuij;s against them are the neglect to warn the witnesses solemnly before giving evidence, the judicial use of the prisoner's confession, and the undue haste with which the proceedings were rushed through. They were kept within judicial limits only so far as it was necessary to save appearances.
The proceedings before Pilate are less obscure. It was necessary for the Jewish authorities to obtain the governor's sanction for the execution of the death sentence, and this involved a fresh trial of the accused. Pilate seems to have acquitted
* The relevant passages are Mk 1453-1520, Mt 2657-2731, Lk 22^4- 23-'5, Jn 1812-1916.
t Thus the ablest of recent jurists who have discussed the pro- blem, Mr. A. Taylor Innes, sums up his inquiry in the words : ' A process, begun, continued, and apparently finished in the course of one night, commencing with witnesses against the accused who were sought for by the judges, but whose e\ idence was not sustained even by them ; continuing by interrogations which Hebrew law does not sanction ; and ending with a demand for confession which its doctors expressly forbid ; all followed, twenty-four hours too soon, by a sentence which described a claim to be the fulfiller of the hopes of Israel as blasi)hemy — such a process had neither the form nor the fairness of a judicial trial.' This needs to be qualified, but substantially it seems accurate.
I Contrast, on this point, the juristic colouring of the Acta Pilati (cf. von Dobschiitz, ZNTW, 1902, 89-114, and Mommsen, ib. 198 f.).
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TKIAL OF JESUS
TRIAL OF JESUS
Jesus of the majestas or high treason whicli the Council first brought forward against Him, but there is some doubt as to whether the acquittal was formally pronounced in accordance with law. In the Markan tradition, followed by Matthew, Pilate never pronounces Jesus to be innocent, al- though it is plain that he did not believe Him to be guilty. His reason for allowing Him to be crucified is a desire to curry favour with the people. When he discovers that they prefer Barabbas to Jesus^j and that the latter is not after all a popular in- fatuated leader, he has little or no scruples about handing Him over to the tender mercies of His com- patriots. His blood be on their heads !
The Lukan tradition, followed substantially in the Fourth Gospel, raises the problem of juris- prudence definitely by affirming that Pilate thrice pronounced Jesus innocent (23'*- "• ^-). If so, the first acquittal makes the reference of Jesus to Herod illegal. But, as we shall see, it is probable that this formal verdict is at least antedated, and that Jesus was not finally acquitted, if He was acquitted at all, until He had been sent back from Herod. Thereafter the proceedings are destitute of justice ; Pilate is concerned not with his legal duty, but with the interests of his personal safety and popularity, which were endangered by his con- scientious desire to release the prisoner.
Only a critical analysis and comparison of these early Christian traditions can yield evidence for estimating ariglit the problems of the jurisprudence of the trials ; and even the results of such an inquiry are not final, especially in the case of the Jewish trial. It is with a preliminary caution of this kind that we enter on the third and most important stage of our discussion.
3. The historical problem. — The confusing and even conflicting features in the narratives of the trial of Jesus, which followed His arrest (cf. Arrest and Betrayal), are due to the fact that no uni- form or complete account of it was ever circulated among the early Christians. The Gospels betray different currents of tradition, and these currents do not always flow in the same channel. Here and there, in different circles, different phases or reminiscences of the trial were preserved ; but not even in the Markan narrative, with its Petrine basis, does an exhaustive, accurate record of the proceedings lie embedded. The later Gospels treat the account in their own way, omitting, adapting, and adding, to suit their own religious interests ; and one of the tasks of criticism is to determine how far these may preserve some authentic traits, for it is as erroneous to presuppose that all later additions to the Markan outline are unhistorical as to assume that the details of the four canonical stories can be harmonized into a protocol of the actual laroceedings.