Fortress Press

"Unraveling theological and historical strands in the sources of the Gospel narratives, Sloyan seeks to disclose the social and political realities of the trial of Jesus. Let a new generation of Christian and Jewish interpreters take notice!"
— David L. Tiede, Augsburg College

"This new edition of Sloyan's classic study offers a significant contribution to historical Jesus research and to ongoing efforts at improving the climate of contemporary Christian-Jewish relations. His exegetical expertise and knowledge of extra-biblical sources are matched by a dispassionate commitment to inquiry that refuses to settle for convenient solutions or to claim more than the evidence will allow.... Taking issue with many recent studies on the execution of Jesus, Sloyan demonstrates an exemplary devotion to critical responsibility, which, in the long run, will prove more satisfying than the 'quick fix' suggestions that have been proffered."
— Mark Allan Powell, Professor of New Testament, Trinity Lutheran Seminary, Columbus, OH

"I am convinced that a serious and dispassionate inquiry into the trial of Jesus from the Gospels and contemporary sources is capable of doing something — however little — to improve the climate of Christian-Jewish discourse. This is true if only because so much that has been written on the trial that is harmful to good relations is demonstrably false."

— from Chapter 1

1. Scholarship Regarding Jesus' Sentence to Death
   Some Historical and Theological Presuppositions
   A Scholarly "Bent" in All Writing on the Trail?
   The Kind of Writing That the Gospels Are
   
   
2. What Roman Law Allowed
   Something of the History of Roman Palestine in the Period
   What Can Be Known of Pilate's Legal Powers
   The Pilate of Jewish History versus the Pilate of the Gospels
   A Thoroughgoing Historical Skepticism
   
   
3. The Interrogation and Trial according to Mark
   Some Theories on Mark's Target Audience
   Belief in a Suffering Son of Man Rather than Historical Concern
   The Roles of Judas, the Sanhedrin, and the High Priest
   The Use Mark Made of Daniel &:13 and Psalm 110
   Jesus' Confession before the Hight Priest and the Church's End-Time Faith
   challenge and Response: Mark's Faith in Who Jesus Is
   The Charge of Blasphemy
   Jesus Mocked, Betrayed
   Mark's Setting of Times and Places; The Barabbas Story
   The Unavailability of Clear Answers to Clearly Posed Questions
   
   
4. The History of the Tradition of the Interrogatino and Trial in Matthew
   Jesus' Conduct in Trial and Passion Consistent with His Teachings
   A Commonplace on the Temple's End-Time Destruction Made a Charge against Jesus
   Matthew's Further Modifications of Mark and Special Insertions
   Matthew's Primary Concerns Theological
   
   
5. The Inquest and Trial Narratives in the Gospel according to Luke
   The Lukan Supper and Gethsemane Narratives; Peter's Denials
   Jesus before the Sanhedrin, Pilate, and Herod Antipas
   Luke's Hypothetical Passion Source Distingquished from Mark
   Theology and Historical Tradition Blended in Luke's Passion Source
   Luke's Christology Requires That Jesus Be Found Guilty and Pilate Innocent
   The Final Days
   
   
6. The Caiaphas and Pilate Narratives in John
   Theories of a Mark-John and a Luke-John Relation
   What John Added to His Hypothetical Source
   John as Master Dramatist
   
   
7. Conclusions
   Acknowledging the Biases of the Gospels as They Come to Us
   Can Gospel Scholarship Reduce Christian Anti-Semitism?