Paul Barnett, The Trials of Jesus: Evidence, Conclusions, and Aftermath

Barnett, Paul. The Trials of Jesus: Evidence, Conclusions, and Aftermath. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans, 2024. viii+223 pp.; Pb.; $24.99. Link to Eerdmans.

Paul Barnett’s new book on the trials of Jesus joins three similar size books on the origins of Christianity: The Birth of Christianity: The First Twenty Years (Eerdmans 2005), Paul, Missionary of Jesus (Eerdmans 2008), Finding the Historical Christ (Eerdmans 2009). Barnett also wrote the 2 Corinthians volume in the NICNT series (Eerdmans 1997). Formerly the Anglican Bishop of North Sydney (1990 to 2001), Barnett is now a fellow in ancient history at Macquarie University and a teaching fellow at Regent College.

How did Jesus get crucified for a political crime? Barnett traces hundreds of years of political and social change in Judea that led to Jesus’s trial as a rebel against Rome. The first half of the book describes this political struggle in detail. Barnett argues that the power of the high priest had increased in the early first century, and the Pilate lost his support in Rome. This allowed Caiaphas to manipulate Pilate into crucifying Christ.

The Trials of Jesus is divided into twenty-seven short chapters in four sections. Part one, Barnett describes the dynastic background of the New Testament. He begins with Israel’s return from exile and life under the Persian Empire and the rise of Hellenism leading up to the Maccabean Revolt. Some readers might question the need to go this far back into backgrounds to describe the trials of Jesus. However, as he warns in his concluding reflections, “Reading the gospels easily gives the impression that their narrative picks up where the leader books of kings end” (203), but this is not the case. This background material is necessary to understand the power struggle between the Herodians, Rome, and the high priests in Jerusalem. The clash between these powerful forces resulted in the crucifixion of Jesus.

In part two, Barnett tracks the end of Herod the Great’s reign and the division of his land between his three sons, which led to political chaos. It was to this world that Jesus came as a “prophet and rabbi” in Galilee. He introduces political players in Jesus’s crucifixion: the two high priests (Annas and Caiaphas), Pontius Pilate, and Herod Antipas. Barnett emphasizes the role of an often-overlooked figure, Judas the Galilean. In his concluding reflections, he stresses that the crucifixion results from political jealousy (207). In A.D. 6, Judas led a rebellion against Rome when Herod Archelaus was deposed. Jesus would have been a teenager at the time. Judas is sometimes associated with Josephus’s Fourth Philosophy, a group that argued Jews ought to recognize no king but God.

In part three, Barnett describes the various trials of Jesus. Beginning with a chapter on the Jewish trial, he has separate chapters on the Roman trial in the synoptic gospels and the same trial in the gospel of John. Barnett includes a chapter on Josephus’s account of the trials. The problem for historians is that Josephus’s brief paragraph on Jesus contains clear Christian additions. Barnett thinks these Christian additions can be removed so that Josephus can be used as a witness to the trial of Jesus.

In part four, Barnett begins with a chapter on the theology of the gospel of Marc, the earliest Gospel written. Mark presents Jesus as the spotless lamb and a new sacrifice leading to a love-based ethic. Chapter 24 tracks what he calls “Annas Vendetta” against Jesus’s disciples, who continued to preach the resurrection of Jesus despite being warned by the high priests to be silent. This is basically an overview of the first nine chapters of the Book of Acts leading up to the conversion of Saul. He observes that Galatians is “arguably the most important documentary evidence for earliest Christianity” (193), describing Paul’s revelation on the way to Damascus (which Barnett dates to A.D. 34). He compares information from Galatians to the gospel of John, one of the last books written in the New Testament.

Conclusion. For a book entitled The Trials of Jesus, there is less on the trials than expected (as little as three short chapters). However, the book’s goal is not a complete explanation of the trial sections of the Gospels. Barnett wants to explain why Jesus came to be tried as a political prisoner. To do this, he must necessarily review the remote background to the entire New Testament so that readers can understand the political machinations of the Herodians, the high priests Annas and Caiaphas, and Pilate. Readers should appreciate his short explanations of detailed history. Barnett connects often complicated history to the events of the New Testament. Although some chapters seem like tangents, they all contribute to the larger project of offering the political background to the trials of Jesus.

NB: Thanks to Eerdmans for kindly providing me with a review copy of this book. This did not influence my thoughts regarding the work.