Jesus
Before the Sanhedrim
Translated
from the French of MM. Lémann
By Julius
Magath
Of the North Georgia Conference, Professor of Emory
College,
Author of The French Verb Simplified
Eighth Edition, Oxford, Georgia
Julius Magath, Publisher
1911
Reprinted
2003 and published by:
Printed
version available for a suggested donation of $5.00.
The manuscript, a photocopy of 1911 edition, was provided through the
courtesy of Tom Hess, Manager of Pilgrim Radio, Carson City, Nevada. His daily radio program, “Readers’ Choice,”
is an engaging reading of good books, cover-to-cover. This gentleman’s labor of love has been an inspiration to
thousands of Christians in the Inter-Mountain West on the Pilgrim Radio
Network.
This book was retyped by Cheryl Nichols, Suzanne
Kieler, Shirley Nickels, and Richard Nickels, during 2002-2003.
Reprinting this book has been one of the most difficult projects ever
attempted by Giving & Sharing. In
order to make the finished product more readable and Internet-friendly, we
incorporated the footnotes into the text, usually within parentheses. We attempted to convert all Roman numerals
into Arabic numerals.
It should be noted that the translator of the French
to English generally used the British equivalents. In American English, we usually refer to the Jewish Supreme Court
as the “Sanhedrin,” while the book uses the British “Sanhedrim.”
In bringing to light the facts surrounding the trial
of Jesus the Messiah, the amoral character of Jewish leaders is exposed. This should not be construed as being in any
way anti-Semitic, for our Savior was, after all, a Jew. — Richard C. Nickels
Among the
ancient assemblies that the public still holds responsible for the conduct of
their affairs, there is one upon which rests a responsibility of a highly
exceptional character. It is that one
which held its sway during the latter days of Jewish national history, and by
which Jesus was condemned to death.
This assembly is known in history under the name of Sanhedrim.
To pronounce
this name before Israelites is to recall to their minds the most learned, the
most equitable, and the most honorable assembly that ever existed. Woe unto that Jew who would dare, in the
presence of his brethren, to attach the least blame to the men or the acts of
that high tribunal. He would indeed be
esteemed less guilty if he spoke against the Ark of the Covenant itself.
Do the
Israelites really know what this assembly was?
We dare affirm that they do not.
Every Jewish child is taught to respect the memory of every individual
composing that body, but who they were and what they did, they ignore. This culpable ignorance is designedly
imposed upon the people by the rabbins, who, according to St. Paul, “hold the
truth in unrighteousness,” Romans 1:18.
We shall endeavor, by the help of God, to tear the
veil asunder, that our Hebrew brethren may at last know the truth. We have consulted Jewish documents of the
highest importance and the most unquestionable authenticity, and we shall make
use of them to show how the dignity of this high tribunal was abused by the
immoral and unjust character of the men composing it.
In order
to form a correct estimate of an assembly, we must know, in the first place,
who and what are the persons composing it; and in the next place, it is
necessary to examine its purposes and methods.
In forming
an opinion of the supreme Jewish court contemporary with Jesus, we shall first
try to find out the personal character of the individuals belonging to it. Second, we shall examine, in the face of the
legislative enactments of the Jews, its proceedings against Christ. This work, then, naturally divides itself
into two parts, the former of which has never yet been undertaken. The difficulty of obtaining Jewish documents
and laborious research involved in deciphering them, have always stood in the
way of the historian’s efforts in this direction, and so our estimate of the
whole assembly has been based, for the most part, on the knowledge obtained
from the Bible of its two principle members — Ananias and Caiaphas.
The second
part of this work was attempted about thirty years ago in a pamphlet entitled “Jesus
devant Caiaphe et Pilate.” This
work is from the pen of the Hon. M. Dupin, late Attorney general of the Supreme
Court of France, and was undertaken for the purpose of refuting the arguments
of Salvador, the Israelite, in his defense of the Sanhedrim in the judgment and
condemnation of Christ. This essay,
although scientific and clear, has not exhausted the subject. M. Dupin has not only not investigated the
individual character of the members of the Sanhedrim, but he has reviewed the
trial in such a hasty manner as to touch only upon its principal points, to the
utter neglect of those of secondary importance. In this work one recognizes the Attorney General of a supreme
court in whose eyes the least irregularity committed in a trial would be
sufficient to invalidate the verdict.
We, however, as sons of Israel, shall examine it step by step. Having studied the subject of Jewish
legislation from its own sources, we shall inquire minutely into the legality
of the proceedings against Christ, as conducted by the Sanhedrim Council. M. Dupin confounds the responsibilities of
the chiefs of the synagogue with those of the whole nation. These were by no means equal. In this work we shall especially single out
the members of the Sanhedrim, and say: “Behold the guilty! These are the men who have led the whole
Jewish nation astray.”