The Seven Trials Against Jesus

By Rolando José Olivo

Jesus was a TRUE INNOCENT. He faced seven trials: 1) Annas, without sentence, 2) Sanhedrin, found guilty (invalid for many violations of Jewish law), 3) Sanhedrin, repeated at dawn, before the nullity of the previous one, found guilty (it is also invalid), 4) Pontius Pilate declared Him innocent, 5) Herod Antipas, without sentence, 6) Pontius Pilate declared Him innocent again, and 7) legal aberration by Pontius Pilate and the court of the crowd. Without filing charges neither presenting condemnatory proofs, Jesus was sentenced to death.

Pontius Pilate issued two final sentences of innocence in favor of Jesus, which were later unknown, and none of his accusers could present a single proof against Jesus.

Furthermore, Pontius Pilate, in addition to evading his responsibilities as judge and improperly handling a conflict of interests, committed serious crimes in the last trial: a) initiated an atypical, irregular, invalid, illegal and illegitimate trial against Jesus, b) awarded an angry crowd the power to act as a court of law, c) accepted a death sentence without charges nor proofs, and d) authorized the crucifixion of Jesus or the application of a method of execution, intended only for those convicted in Roman courts.

Obviously, there is a flagrant lack of competence of this court of the crowd, and also prevails a great responsibility of the Jewish authorities, who disowned the two sentences of innocence favorable to Jesus, and insisted on condemning Him, without respecting his legal rights.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Rolando José Olivo
• Release date: Jan 11, 2021
• ISBN: 9780463640661

Rolando José Olivo

[e-mail] Instagram: @rolandojolivo Systems Engineer with 3 postgraduate degrees: Master's Degree in Applied Economics, Diploma in General Management and Specialization in Management of Social Programs (Summa Cum Laude). Work experience in companies in the oil sector, occupying these positions: Planning and Logistics Manager, Project Coordinator, Financial Advisor and Consultant. Consultant in the economic and financial area. Writer of books on economics, management, self-help, novels and Christianity, among others.

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I. INTRODUCTION

Too much has been written and spoken about Jesus, the most influential human being in history. His impressive legacy and religious, philosophical and even political thought (which was ahead of that of several centuries) are truly extraordinary. So much so that the social and religious movement of Christianity, the forerunner of human rights, is responsible for:

a) the return to monotheism: some anthropologists maintain that the first generations of human beings worshiped a Unique Creator God and this belief was lost, and therefore, the next generations of different cultures worshiped various gods. Even in the 6th century before Christ, the prophet Zechariah (12:10-11) indicated that with the death of the Messiah, the human beings would return to worship God,

b) the division of human history: the Western calendar is separated into two eras (before and after Christ),

c) the origin and development of science: the scientific thought emerged from medieval Christianity, based on theology and later on the use of reason. In addition, medieval Christian churches promoted the development of research in convents and the creation of universities in Europe,

d) the constitution of a new religious, political, social and economic system: sensationally, Jesus said that He and his disciples are not part of the world (John 15:19 and 17:16), and also expressed that He has conquered the world (John 16:33). Jesus referred to the world (place, people and human organization or religious, political, social and economic system) of that time, mainly polytheistic and obsolete Judaist, and not to the current one. In that sense, the Christian religion is a continuation or new version of Judaism that shares principles of democracy and capitalism, based on human rights and meritocracy (recognition of personal and professional merits),

e) the defense of human rights: the long road that led to the consideration of human rights in constitutions, together with the formulation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, began with Christianity,

f) the non-discrimination based on gender: at a time when women were extremely marginalized, and could not even present their testimony in courts, Jesus treated them as real human beings, which surprised his disciples,

g) the definitive rejection of violence: Jesus' phrase of turning the other cheek to the enemy is famous (Matthew 5:38-39 and Luke 6:27-29), in order to desist from revenges, not respond badly with evil, and avoid violent actions at all costs, which produce more harm than good,

h) the universal sense of human justice: the historian and philosopher René Girard recognized that Christianity is unprecedented and highly innovative, stating that without this movement, it might not have been possible to end with human sacrifices, neither with the legitimacy of punishing innocent victims, which was common in other times,

i) the dignity of work: the medieval-Christian conception of work indicates that it dignifies the human being, and is a pillar of the progress of society. Even the founders of classical economics, Adam Smith, David Ricardo and Thomas Malthus, ratified this Christian notion, and transferred it to the modern thought,

j) the non-deification of rulers: Christianity endorses that the rulers don´t have divine character. This position has been confirmed by democratic governments, which consider rulers as public servants and administrators of society's resources, who must be respectful of citizens and take care of public goods,

k) the celebration of Holy Week and Christmas: the traditional religious festivals of Holy Week or Greater Week (commemoration of the sacrifice of Christ) and Christmas (celebration in honor of the birth of Jesus), so popular in the Western world, are part of the Christian religion, and

l) the implementation of Christian ethics: which includes religious foundations, principles and moral values. Broadly speaking, the Christian must: l.1) be a faithful religious believer and a good person, l.2) love the fellow and God, and l.3) fulfill his religious obligations and duties to society; leading an exemplary and virtuous life. Therefore, Christian ethics is responsible for promoting an honorable, exemplary, and virtuous lifestyle, in which the Christian serves others and the Lord, seeking meaning to life, and acting in accordance with this relevant existential purpose. It also makes a call to love others, not to harm them, and don´t act violently, for the sake of living in a worthy, just and more human way.

On the one hand, despite this sensational influence, some skeptical scholars doubt about the existence of Jesus. And on the other hand, the majority accept the existence of the historical Jesus, and have different opinions about the religious Jesus, whose existence, like that of God, can´t be proven by science and is a matter of faith.

However, from a legal perspective, a matter analyzed by few authors and researchers is the issue of the trials that Jesus faced, before being crucified.

In general terms, according to information presented by the canonical gospels, Jesus was judged seven times, during the last week of his life:

1. The trial of Annas (John 18:13-24).

2. The first trial of the Sanhedrin or Jewish court (Matthew 26:57-68, Mark 14:53-65 and Luke 22:54-65).

3. The second trial of the Sanhedrin (Matthew 27:1-2, Mark 15:1 and Luke 22:66-71 and 23:1).

4. The first trial of Pontius Pilate (Matthew 27:11-14, Mark 15:2-5, Luke 23:2-7 and John 18:28-38).

5. The trial of Herod Antipas (Luke 23:8-12).

6. The second trial of Pontius Pilate (Luke 23:13-16).

7. The trial of Pontius Pilate and the crowd (Matthew 27:15-26, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23:18-25 and John 18:39-40 and 19:1-16).

Jesus faced three religious-Jewish trials (trial of Annas, first and second Sanhedrin trials).

In the first, there was no sentence, while in the second and third, invalid death sentences were handed down.