The Trials of Jesus and Jeremiah

The trial of Jesus is, by far, the most difficult problem of ancient legal history. Many famous scholars have quite deliberately avoided writing and talking about it because of its immense complexity. Although I will not be able to solve the problem of the trial of Jesus, the important thing is for us to understand why it is insoluble, to understand the methodological difficulties which cause us to draw that conclusion. This article therefore includes a summary of some of the difficulties that confront historical interpretations of the trial, as well as the suggestion that important literary connections are to be found between the trial of Jesus and the trial of Jeremiah.