Jesus Christ - a most Holy Heretic

The next morning, Jesus was bound and handed over to be tried by Pontius Pilate, the Roman
governor of the region. (see Matthew 27:1-2, Mark 15:1, Luke 23:1, & John 18:28) Pilate was told of Jesus'
supposed crime and asked him if he indeed considered himself to be “King of the Jews,” whereupon Jesus
responded with the same negation he had used the night before – “You say so.” 85 (see Matthew 27:11, Mark
15:2, Luke 23:3, & John 18:37) It was then that the Jewish priests & elders stepped in and began to openly
accuse Jesus; not only of blasphemy (“saying that he is the Messiah” – the only charge brought at their own hearing)
but also of sedition against the Roman government (accusing Jesus of “perverting our nation” and “forbidding us to
pay taxes to the Emperor” – two extra charges not mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, or John; only in Luke 23:2).
In obvious recognition of the fact that the priests & elders had no moral authority at the time and no legal
authority in that venue 86 , Jesus refused to answer their accusations; remaining stoically silent throughout
their scathing cross examination. (see Matthew 27:12-14 & Mark 15:3-5) According to the Gospel of John,
Pilate then asks Jesus again in he is “King of the Jews” and Jesus again effectively tells him “No,” saying
“My kingdom is not from this world. For if my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to
keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my Kingdom is not from here …For this I was born, and
for this I came into the world, to testify to the Truth. Everyone who belongs to the Truth hears my voice.” (John
18:33-37) Fully befuddled at this point (see Matthew 27:14, Mark 15:5, & John 18:38), Pilate then decided to send
the matter to his superior, Herod (only mentioned in the Gospel of Luke – see Luke 23:6-11), and yet Jesus refused
to speak to Herod at all, and was thus returned to Pilate for sentencing.
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85 Again, at the very least for all Christian conservatives who claim to read the Bible “literally,” Jesus' response of “You
have said so” in this instance is clearly his way of cryptically saying “No, I am not” (or at the very least, “Not in the way
you think”), with the juxtaposition of John 6:15 with Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3, & John 18:37 making this blatantly clear.
86 In John 18:29-31, after asking them what Jesus was accused of doing, the priests & elders avoid answering directly by
passive-aggressively trying to coerce Pilate into accepting their sentence outright without further inquiry. Pilate was
unswayed by this backhanded tactic, and was possibly even a bit annoyed by it – as evidenced by him then attempting to
send the case back to the Sanhedrin from whence it came, saying “Take him yourselves and judge him according to your
own Law.” The priests & elders then reminded Pilate that blasphemy was a capital offense (sedition was as well) , and
that Roman law forbade them from executing anyone without his approval. It was at this point that the Sanhedrin
officially accepted Roman jurisdiction as far as Jesus' punishment was concerned – it was at this point that the priests &
elders abrogated their own Law in order to ensure Jesus' death by eventual crucifixion; a form of capital punishment not
allowed under Jewish Law.
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