In 2010 Bryan Bruce decided to apply his criminal investigative methods to the ultimate cold case : Who Killed Jesus and Why?

Black Sheep

TVNZ tonight, Sunday, at 8:30pm

http://tvnz.co.nz/the-investigator/4202530

Jesus The Cold Case screens 24th July at 8.30pm

There will be a live discussion of this programme online after it's screened. Click here to join the debate after 10.30pm on Sunday.

In 2010 Bryan Bruce decided to apply his criminal investigative methods to the ultimate cold case : Who Killed Jesus and Why?

The traditional answer - the Jews - has just been rejected by Pope Benedict XVI, who endorses the finding of Vatican II in 1965 that the Jewish people "as a whole " were not responsible for the death of Jesus. Rather that it was the Jewish authorities who organised for Jesus to be executed by the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate.

But Bruce doubts that even this version of events ever happened.

In an investigation that ranges across three continents, Bruce sets out to discover who Jesus was and what he did that resulted in his death on a Roman cross. The impressive list of scholars he consults includes:

- Emeritus Prof. Geza Vermes (Oxford)
- Emeritus Prof John Dominic Crossan ( St Pauls)
- Prof. Elaine Paigels (Princeton)
- Bishop John Shelby- Spong (USA)
- Prof. Lloyd Geering (New Zealand)
- Dr Helen Bond ( Edinburgh)
- Prof . Israel Herschkovitz (Tel Aviv)
- Dr Shimon Gibson (London )

You can watch a preview of Jesus The Cold Case here.

Intel

"Dr. Watson, we have three suspects in the Jesus case. Have you noticed that suspect No. 2 has the wrong hat?" I think, I'm into something...

bohm

...chemtrails?

still thinking

cool black sheep...thanks for the reminder and the link...

Doug Mason

Account has to be taken of the person who wrote the account, when it was written, who edited it, and the conditions at each time.

Some parts could not have been known by the original writer (such as what Pilate's wife said); the disciples abandoned Jesus, so how did they know what happened?; and most seriously, the accounts differ. They are not reliable eyewitness accounts.

As the Christian movements evolved from being simply a splinter Jewish movement, animosity grew. (Not that the movement was a united bunch, even from the start.) By the time some of these accounts were written, it was decided that the Jews should take the blame, so their writings reflected that later anti-Semitism.

Who killed Jesus? The Romans murdered him. This fate was not uncommon for any person appearing whom the Romans might consider posed a potential threat to their control.

Doug

steve2

Apparently there is more historical "proof" that Mohammed existed than Jesus. It wil be interesting if the documentary concludes that the historical support for Jesus even existed in the first place is meagre.

glenster

The charge of deicide against Jewish people as a whole is bigotry and has led to
Jewish persecution.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish_deicide
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deicide

God is responsible: “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene,
a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God
performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—this Man,
delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to
a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death." (Acts 2:22,23)

Jesus was executed by Roman authorities as a show of Roman authority over a
perceived threat to it. (1 Cor.2:7,8)
http://larryhurtado.wordpress.com/2011/04/22/crucifixion/

The Bible refers to Jewish followers and detractors and other circumstances.

A number of Jesus' Jewish contemporaries basically shared Paul's initial
offense to Jesus. Saul of Tarsus (Paul) sought with "zeal" to destroy members
of the early Christian group ("all who call upon Jesus' name," Acts 9:14, and
"seeking to make them blaspheme," 26:11) as a perceived deviation of proper
Jewish monotheism. "In Jewish tradition of the time, 'zeal' (which features in
Paul’s statements about his persecution of Jewish believers) typically alludes
to Phinehas’ violent action against a fellow Israelite (Num. 25:1-13), whom he
saw as collaborating in the efforts of the Moabites to promote worship of their
gods among Israel; and similar forceful actions could be justified, even re-
quired, in cases where fellow Jews were guilty of serious violations of Torah
such as idolatry, apostasy, seduction by false prophets, and perjury."
http://larryhurtado.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/dunn-was-jesus-worshipped-review.pdf
http://larryhurtado.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/nishan-forum-early-christianity.pdf

Paul was brought before Jewish authorities (2 Cor,11:16-33), etc. See pp.15-
17 at the next link.
http://larryhurtado.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/early-devotion-to-jesus2.pdf

Paul prayed to Jesus once joining the Christians (2 Cor.12:7-9).

The best indicated direct reason for the crucifixion: "So the most likely
crime for which Jesus was crucified is reflected in the Gospels' account of the
charge attached to Jesus' cross: 'King of the Jews.' That is, either Jesus
himself claimed to be the Jewish royal messiah, or his followers put out this
claim. That would do to get yourself crucified by the Romans."
http://www.slate.com/id/2214800/

steve2

The documentary was too long by half and sagged due to an excess of talking heads who spouted their own theories. The academic who spoke - at length - about John the Baptist was probably closer to the "truth" than the biblical stories of the man; but their theories about Jesus's attitude towards John were pure speculation. I could imagine fundamentalists' eyes glazing over as BB took assorted potshots at the g.ospels rather than sticking to the topic (using investigative methods to estalish who kill the man called Jesus).

This documentary was ready for screening last Easter - but apparently TVNZ backed away (and so did a lot of advertisers then) until now

cameo-d

Others may have instigated the plot and arranged the trials and fraudulent witnesses.... but the scriptures very clearly state who sentenced Jesus to death.

It was by popular vote of the masses.

"Jesus or Barnabas?"

The people spoke and apparently, the majority pronounced the death decree.

Aussie Oz

think that was

Barabbas.... ;)

oz

In 2010 Bryan Bruce decided to apply his criminal investigative methods to the ultimate cold case : Who Killed Jesus and Why?

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