Killing Jesus: A History

Jesus endures an interrogation by Annas. A wealthy Sadducee, Annas has maneuvered his way to power by compromising with Rome. His ancestral line was spared from slaughter by Pompey in 80 BCE in exchange for following Rome’s orders. In exchange, Annas and his family make money from the sale of sacrificial animals and money changing at the Temple.

Jesus’s act of flipping the money changers’ tables constituted a “grave offense” to Annas, since it interrupted the flow of money to Annas and from Annas to Rome. Annas is determined to make an example out of Jesus.

Annas’s guards take Jesus away and blindfold him. They beat him, asking him to “prophesy” and tell them which one of them just struck him. Jesus does not respond, silently enduring the beating. Bloodied, Jesus is led back into the Annas’s home to stand trial before the Sanhedrin. Caiaphas presents witnesses who falsely testify in a “litany of lies” (232). Jesus does not reply to any of the accusations, which angers Caiaphas. Caiaphas demands that Jesus tell him whether he is the Son of God. Understanding that there is no right answer, Jesus finally agrees that he is, while implying that Caiaphas is the enemy of God.