In this “Theology Unpacked” episode, Dr John Moffatt SJ compares the two significantly different Gospel accounts of the Roman trial, with Luke focusing on the legal process and the distinctive episode of Jesus before Herod, while John centres the drama on an extended, searching dialogue between Jesus and Pilate.

Luke presents Jesus as repeatedly declared innocent by Roman and Jewish authorities, situating his trial within a wider theme of reconciliation and a divinely guided history, even as political pressure leads to a serious failure of justice. John, by contrast, frames the trial as a cosmic confrontation about kingship, truth, and authority, in which Jesus knowingly accepts being handed over, revealing that beneath human decisions and guilt, the events unfold according to the saving will of God.

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