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« on: March 4, 2004, 10:06 PM »
I don't think the Jews were all shown to be idiots, spineless or anything else. Some were, some were following those with authority, and some resisted.
At least 2 of the Jewish priests objected to what was happening to Jesus and it was pointed out that the procedure of trying someone at night was highly irregular, and that many other members were not there.
In Pilate's court it appeared that the crowd was not a random sampling of Jews but a group handpicked by the high priests who acted as yes-men (people). Again this was early morning stuff and the movie hinted that perhaps followers of the high priest were pulled out of bed to support this move.
Once Jesus was out on the street carrying his cross he was a convicted criminal. I'm not sure, but from my understanding this was not an unusual sight and many of the people who passed by and were cruel to him just saw a convicted criminal and not as Jesus. They were cruel because he was a criminal and the Romans were picking on him so they joined in. Sure it's mean, but people can be jerks.
My point being that I didn't see the Jews all acting as idiots. Some responded in a normal fashion to the authority and situation. Some showed integrity and some did not. But they were individuals and acted as such.
And of course Jesus, the Marys and the disciples were all Jews, but that point is always oddly left out. People claim that the Jews killed Jesus, but neglect to mention that it was Jews who spread the gospel and helped found the church.