They Suffered under Pontius Pilate - by Fernando Bermejo-Rubio (Hardcover)

About the Book

The Gospel reports about several men crucified under Pilate seem to have a reliable core. Taking seriously into account the collective nature of that execution, this book carries out a bold reconstruction of Jesus of Nazareth's story in the framework of Jewish anti-Roman resis...

Book Synopsis

The Gospel reports about several men crucified under Pilate seem to have a reliable core. Taking seriously into account the collective nature of that execution, this book carries out a bold reconstruction of Jesus of Nazareth's story in the framework of Jewish anti-Roman resistance, thereby making sense of that crucifixion.

Review Quotes

They were three indeed. Three who suffered on three crosses under Pontius Pilate. Bermejo-Rubio seeks to understand the event of Golgotha from a historical perspective as the collective execution of three individuals who endangered the order imposed by Roman domination. If Jesus loses in singularity, he gains in historical plausibility. By anchoring him firmly in the history of his time, this reading does not shake the foundations of Christianity, since Christian faith is based on the announcement of the resurrection, which completely escapes historical criticism. This book is essential reading for anyone interested in the historical Jesus.

They Suffered under Pontius Pilate is a fresh, challenging, and convincing re-assessment of the issue of the historical circumstances leading to the execution of Jesus of Nazareth. Although Bermejo Rubio follows in the footsteps of Reimarus and Brandon, he comes to the topic with sophistication and acuity lacking in his predecessors, avoiding both naïve historicism and apologetics. His case is forceful: historians must come to terms with Jesus's execution along with insurrectionists, and with the fact that the gospel writers and later Christian visual representations worked very hard to neutralize that fact. This is an important book that deserves a very serious engagement.

About the Author

Fernando Bermejo-Rubio is associate professor in the Department of Ancient History at the Universidad Nacional de Educación a Distancia (Madrid).