Editing Josephus on Jesus (section)

==== Lack of Jewish deicide ====
[[Craig A. Evans]] states that an argument in favor of the partial authenticity of the ''{{lang|la|Testimonium}}'' is that the passage does not stress the role played by the Jewish leaders in the death of Jesus. According to Evans, if the passage had been an interpolation after the emergence of conflicts between Jews and Christians, it would have had a more accusatory tone, but in its current form reads as one would expect it to read for a passage composed by Josephus towards the end of the first century.{{sfn|Evans|2001|p=43}} [[Géza Vermes]] concurs, arguing that if the ''{{lang|la|Testimonium}}'' had been the work of a Christian forger, it would have placed blame on the Jewish leaders, but as is it is "perfectly in line" with the attitude of Josephus towards Pilate.<ref name=Geza35 /> Vermes also states that the detached depiction of the followers of Jesus is not the work of a Christian interpolator.<ref name=Geza35 /> Vermes calls the Jesus notice in the ''{{lang|la|Testimonium}}'' a "veritable tour de force" in which Josephus plays the role of a neutral witness.<ref name=Geza35 />