The Judas Brief: A Critical Investigation Into the Arrest and Trials of Jesus and the Role of the Jews - Softcover

Greenberg Dr, Gary

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0981496644 ISBN 13: 9780981496641

Publisher: Pereset Press, 2014

Synopsis

Based on detailed historical evidence and logical analysis of inconsistencies within the gospel accounts of the events leading up to the arrest and execution of Jesus, Greenberg argues that Judas never betrayed Jesus and that the Jewish priests never sought to have Jesus executed. According to Greenberg, Judas, acting on behalf of Jesus, together with the Jewish High Priest, negotiated a deal with Pilate to avoid Roman military assaults in a crowded city by keeping Jesus under house arrest with the High Priest until after the Passover holiday and then allowing him to go back to Galilee. But Herod Antipas, ruler of Galilee, feared Jesus' popularity back home and successfully pressured Pilate to break the agreement and execute Jesus. This landmark study is the first major historically-based challenge to Christian accusations of Jewish involvement in the death of Jesus. Catholic Biblical Quarterly wrote that Greenberg "has a keen eye for the ways religious and political motives have shaped the story of Jesus' arrest and execution."

About this title

About the Author:

Gary Greenberg is the author of four books on biblical and ancient Near Eastern history and has served as President of the Biblical Archaeology Society of New York for several years. He is a criminal defense attorney in New York.

Review:

"The pivotal historical occasion of the arrest, trial, and crucifixion of Christ provides the heart of this apologia by attorney and independent historian Greenberg (president, Biblical Archaeology Soc. of New York). His vigorous defense of the Palestinian Jews of Jesus's time rests on his complex ... theory of a peace-keeping arrangement between Pontius Pilate and Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee—with the now-vindicated disciple Judas as conscientious go-between—for the Jewish community to hold Jesus in protective custody over the chaotic Passover holiday. However, it was Herod, jealous over Jesus's popularity at home, who threatened and bullied Pilate into revoking his promises to the Jews and, ultimately, into executing Jesus. Thus, over time, "the Jews" becomes a textual metaphor for the hated client-king and Roman puppet Herod. This well-documented work ... presents some interesting history and is clearly written...Recommended for seminary and religion collections."
—Library Journal

"The book is very accessible in terms of the manner in which it readsand is well-argued, reflecting a revisionary examination of the ancientliterature. It deals head-on with many of the problems that havetroubled scholars for years, including the difficult and inconsistentstories of Judas Iscariot, the involvement of Jewish authorities inJesus' death, and the increasing tendency of the gospel authors to findways to exonerate Pilate."
—April DeConick, The Forbidden Gospels Blog

The Judas Brief challenges the fundamental Gospel concept that at least some leading Jews played a key role in having Jesus executed. Gary Greenberg provides a detailed examination of all Gospel accounts of hostile interaction between Jesus and the Jews, with special attention to the Jewish and Roman trials of Jesus.
—Shofar

"...a spirited defense of first-century Jewish people and leaders by way of a historical reassessment of the NT Gospel accounts of the death of Jesus. Although the book's title centers on Judas, the recasting of his role in the passion drama, as Greenberg (re)constructs it, is only a minor element of a larger project of historical retrieval."
—John T. Carroll, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, 2009

Mention - International Review of Biblical Studies, vol. 54:2007/08

Mention in PostScripts, July 2009

"The Judas Brief is a spirited defense of first-century Jewish people and leaders by way of a historical reassessment of the [New Testament] Gospel accounts of the death of Jesus."
—John T. Carroll, The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, Vol. 71, Jan. 2009

'A fascinating read posing deep questions about some of the basic concepts of Jesus and his mission.'
—Journey Online

About this edition

• Publisher: Pereset Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0981496644
• ISBN 13: 9780981496641
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 300