Corpus-Paul

["Jeff Peterson" <peterson AT austingrad.edu>]

Hyam Maccoby wrote;

 [Jesus] was not
> condemned by a Jewish court (the Gospel of John omits the alleged Sanhedrin
> trial altogether) but by the Roman procurator, to whom he was handed over as
> a rebel by the quisling High Priest, who was a Roman appointee and had no
> religious authority among the Jews.

It seems a considerable overstatement to say that the High Priest had no 
religious 
authority whatsoever. Certainly his authority was contested, and some Judeans 
challenged his legitimacy and aspects of his administration of the temple; 
the DSS 
document what common sense would lead us to suppose anyway. But as the High 
Priest 
did exercise authority over the temple, his judgment was perforce heeded by 
all those 
Jews who continued to regard it as the site where, the Torah taught, God had 
chosen as 
the dwelling for his name. Acts, in which Prof. Maccoby expresses some 
confidence as a 
source, depicts a mixed assembly of Pharisees and Sadducees expressing 
outrage at 
disrespect shown to "God's high priest" (23:4). E. P. Sanders among others 
has offered a 
needed corrective to the undue credit traditionally afforded the rabbis' 
tendency to exalt 
their Pharisaic precursors at the expense of the priestly elite.

US residents are familiar with the a situation in which the chief executive's 
legitimacy 
and governance persist in dispute, with a vocal minority insisting he has no 
claim to an 
office in which his performance has been a disgrace. But it would be a 
mistake to 
conclude from the persistence of such criticism that George W. Bush has "no 
political or 
moral authority" in American life or indeed hasn't accomplished quite a bit, 
whether one 
agrees or disagrees with his policies.

I hope it won't be thought out of place if I take this opportunity to express 
appreciation 
to Prof. Maccoby, whose EARLY RABBINIC WRITINGS helped me survive 
comprehensive 
exams a few years ago and whose post contains material for a number of 
interesting 
discussions.

Jeff Peterson
Austin School of Theology
Austin, Texas