Josephus and other contemporaries on Jesus

[Succubus]

Jesus' sentencing has always been unique. But this is the first place I'm hearing an argument that a Roman prefect would not do what Pilate is depicted doing in the Gospel accounts. Can you elaborate on this a bit?

It's simple really. It would be very unusual for a Roman official to so visibly step on the toes of local officials in a client state of the empire, especially when (if you accept the bible account) Jesus was one of the jewish preachers least likely to upset the Roman applecart in the area.

One thing Rome very successfully did was to allow their subjects at the periphery have a sense of independence and self-determination, when all it was was an illusion.

Unless of course Jesus crime was insurrection then the Romans would have killed him on the spot. If you're living in Roman occupied territory and you have a large crowd following you around then your countdown to the beyond will be in single figures. If his crime was blasphemy then why would Pilate give any sort of a fuck?

The sermon on the mount, the preaching on the shore of lake Galilee, the triumphant entry into Jerusalem...
There is no fucking way the Romans would have allowed this, certainly not under Pilate who was a brutal bastard, even his own generals wrote to Tiberius about his over the top methods of control.

Christianity; the greatest story ever sold.