“Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law,” the “Jews” answer, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death” (18:31). Some scholars insist that this last statement is wrong. Richard Husband claims that under first-century Roman law the Jewish Sanhedrin retained its traditional right to execute people for certain crimes defined as religious, such as violating the Temple precincts, transgressing the law, and adultery.
