Did Jews kill Jesus?
Judaism in Five Minutes - Sarah Imhoff
Eric Vanden Eykel [+]
Ferrum College
Eric Vanden Eykel is associate professor of religious studies at Ferrum College in Virginia. His research focuses on Christian apocryphal literature, with a special emphasis on texts and traditions about the infancies and childhoods of Jesus and Mary. He is the author of “But Their Faces Were All Looking Up”: Author and Reader in the Protevangelium of James (T&T Clark, 2016), coeditor of Sex, Violence, and Early Christian Texts (Lexington, 2022), and author of The Magi: Who They Were, How They’ve Been Remembered, and Why They Still Fascinate (Fortress, 2022).
Description
This article examines the question of who bears responsibility for the crucifixion of Jesus, addressing the tension between Roman authority and New Testament accounts that implicate Jewish leaders. By analyzing the historical context of Roman crucifixion, the role of Pontius Pilate, and the political dynamics of first-century Judea, it establishes that the Romans were ultimately responsible for Jesus’s death. Additionally, the discussion explores how certain Gospel passages may reflect later Christian attempts to distance themselves from Judaism, contributing to longstanding misunderstandings about Jewish involvement and fueling anti-Judaism throughout history.