Who really killed Jesus?

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

We had a documentary on this subject last night. Interesting but a bit of a ragbag of mixed information. Some tomb has been discovered in Jerusalem and the ossuaries (bone boxes) bear an remarkable range of names like Jesus, Mary, Joseph, Marianne (Mary Magdalene?) and Judah, described as the son of Jesus. Well remarkable until some statistician tells you that all those names were as common as muck in 1st century Judea.

In between all this, there is a discussion on whether or not Pontius Pilate was reluctant to put Jesus to the cross. Couldn't see the connection with the tomb bit but maybe I am thick. Some said Pilate was heartless and ambitious; I could buy that. They also said that the 4 gospels painted him in white in order to kiss arse with the Romans; I could buy that too.

But twice, it was suggested that blaming the Jews for killing JC lead to their persecution over the next 2,000 years. Really? I don't recall the rationale for Hitler's Final Solution being to punish the Jews for the crucifixion. Indeed, I don't think that argument has ever been cited to justify any pogrom.

No, the Jews have copped it throughout history because they tend to stick together, clannish even and, in many cases have been successful in numbers disproportionate to their population. Yes, there is always the nagging doubt as to where their ultimate loyalty lies but that's no reason to go around killing them.