Suđenje Isusu iz Nazareta

In this classic study, the British historian of religion Samuel G. F. Brandon reconstructs the trial of Jesus on the basis of the Gospels, but critically: the Gospel accounts are not history, but theological propaganda written after the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE, in order to portray the Roman occupiers as benevolent and the Jews as guilty of the cross.

Continuing the thesis of the book Jesus and the Zealots (1967), Brandon sees Jesus as a Jewish revolutionary, the leader of the Zealots against the Romans. The Gospels (especially Mark's) modify the events: Pilate did not hesitate to condemn Jesus (as in Luke), but quickly executed the rebel for threatening the emperor ("The king is a Jew"). The Jewish Sanhedrin did not have the right to the death penalty, so the trial was Roman, not religious (against the Pharisees).

The book analyzes the discrepancies: Matthew and Luke soften Mark in order to attribute guilt to the Jews ("His blood be upon us"), and John adds theological motives. Using Josephus and archaeology, Brandon explains the context: Judea from 4 BC to 70 AD was under Roman occupation, rife with rebellion. The Gospels protect Christians from persecution by portraying Jesus as a victim of the Jews, not Rome.