Barnes in Common

the magazine of Churches Together in Barnes
March/April 2007

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Book Review

The Passion: The true story of an event that changed human history

Geza Vermes

Penguin Books £6.99

Christ Carrying the Cross, painted by Hieronymus Bosch in 1515, is a disturbing image. A serene Christ shouldering his cross is almost hidden amongst the distorted, malicious faces of the crowd. What is more disturbing for the contemporary viewers is the obvious anti-Semitism in the depiction of his tormenters.
It is an apt image for the cover of Geza Vermes' book The Passion. Vermes, once a Catholic priest, later reaffirming his own Jewish roots and becoming the first professor of Jewish studies at Oxford, is well known for his writing about Jesus the Jew. In this short book, he turns his attention to the four Gospel narratives of the Passion. Why, he asks, did the same crowds who flocked to Jesus during his ministry and who welcomed him into Jerusalem with waving palm branches, suddenly turn into the braying, blood thirsty mob that was ready to swap him for the criminal Barabbas?

Vermes casts himself in the role of 'historian detective', interrogating the four evangelists' accounts of Jesus' last week, examining their differences and inconsistencies. Most importantly, he draws on his extensive knowledge of the legal and political situation at the time to establish which of the various levels of authority (Sanhedrin, Jewish King or Roman governor) would have exercised the authority to pass sentence. In the end his finger is firmly pointed towards Pontius Pilate.

Pilate, he argues, got off lightly because, by the time the Gospels were written down, it was in the interest of the early Christian church to curry favour with the Roman Empire. The corresponding denigration of the Jews has left a bloody trail in Christian-Jewish relations for centuries.

Vermes' perspective makes valuable reading, especially at this time of year, when the passion narratives are so central to Christian liturgies. It is, fortunately, rare these days to hear of 'the Jews' being blamed for deicide. Moreover, the fact that many churches now hold Passover meals on Maundy Thursday is a reflection of how academic trends to reaffirm Jesus' Jewish identity have entered mainstream Christian practice. But perhaps the most effective way of overcoming this idea of 'them' killing 'our' Lord is the way that in liturgies such as that held in Catholic churches on Passion Sunday, the congregation take the part of the crowd crying out 'Crucify him!'. We recognise our own failings as we become part of the braying mob.

Theresa Munford

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