The Disciples Were Not Present at the Alleged Trial Before Pilate

THE TRIAL BEFORE PILATE IS HISTORICALLY DUBIOUS

In Chapter 6 of my book Thinking Critically about the Resurrection of Jesus, Volume 1: The Resuscitation of the Swoon Theory, in the subsection called "TEN HISTORICAL CLAIMS ABOUT AN ALLEGED TRIAL BEFORE PILATE", I show that there are several good reasons to doubt the historicity or historical reliability of the Gospel accounts of the alleged trial of Jesus before Pilate.[1]  This means that there are good reasons to doubt that the disciples of Jesus witnessed alleged events at a trial of Jesus before Pilate. If there was no trial of Jesus before Pilate, then obviously there were no disciples present at that fictional trial.  

IF THERE WAS A TRIAL BEFORE PILATE, THE ALLEGED EVENTS IN THE TRIAL ARE DUBIOUS

On the other hand, if there was a trial of Jesus before Pilate, then it is likely that some of the alleged events and details of that trial as presented in the Gospels did not actually occur and thus were not observed by anyone, including Jesus' disciples.  For example, if Jesus was not actually scourged by a Roman soldier during or immediately following the trial before Pilate, then none of Jesus' disciples observed Jesus being scourged by a Roman soldier.

JESUS DISCIPLES WERE IN HIDING DURING THE TRIAL

No Gospel account mentions that any of Jesus' disciples were present at the alleged trial of Jesus before Pilate. Furthermore, the Gospel of Mark indicates that the disciples fled and abandoned Jesus when he was arrested, and the Gospel of Matthew agrees with Mark on this point (Mark 14:48-50 & Matthew 26:55-56). The Gospel of Mark also indicates that only some of the women who followed Jesus were present at the crucifixion and the Gospel of Matthew agrees with Mark on this point (Mark 15:40-41 & Matthew 27:55-56), implying that the twelve disciples of Jesus were still in hiding at that time. If Jesus' twelve disciples fled and abandoned Jesus when he was arrested, and if Jesus' twelve disciples were not present during his crucifixion, then it is unlikely that they were present at the alleged trial before Pilate.

END NOTES

1. You can read a DRAFT of Chapter 6 of my book here:

https://thinkingcriticallyabout.podbean.com/e/chapter-6-three-objections-to-the-swoon-theory-by-william-craig/