distortion of historical reality has been the bane not only of the Christians, but of the Jewish people themselves as it drove them headlong into each other with unnecessary hatred and recriminations. The Jewish people have their proud pedigree and heritage, but little to do with Israel and the Israelites. This is a modern concept that would have not gone well with anyone involved in the repatriation and conservation of its cultural heritage from the time of Abraham (who was most definitely not a Jew).
Jesus´s attitude to the occupying forces was one of respect which is, if anything, surprising to many. He was horrified at the attack on the centurion when he was apprehended and he moved Pilate to embarrassing confusion when he refused to acknowledge or deny the things that the priests had accused him of. Pilate recognised nobility and spiritual conviction but was in any case well acquainted with this popular figure who acted very much as he would have expected him to. Pilate’s problem was that as Procurator of Judea (his only territorial authority) and in bad terms with the Roman Emperor, the last thing he could cope with was insurrection. The fierceness of the religious leaders forced him to take some sort of palliative, diplomatic action. Jesus was obviously well aware of what he was causing but it is not clear that he expected his life to be put at risk at that point. If he had wanted to provoke the Roman authorities directly, he could have chosen multiple other ways. Herod did not disturb Jesus either, who again, saw him as a much admired figure and according to the bible texts, “someone he was looking forward to meeting so much that he became Pilate’s friend for life for giving him the opportunity”. This a very curious thing indeed
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