In this work, Laura J. Hunt notes the evidence of local interactions with Rome in important first-century CE cities. The resulting reading of the Johannine trial narrative depicts Jesus in the words and images of a Caesar,and Pilate negotiating his power over 'the Jews' and his vulnerability before Caesar.

In this work, Laura J. Hunt looks at Latin use in Ephesus, Antioch, and Alexandria. The evidence of intersections between Roman and Greek languages in those cities suggests that the Roman cultural encyclopaedia could shed light on the Gospel of John, particularly the trial narrative. Words that intersect with important Roman concepts include , , and . The phrase in John 19:5 approximates hic vir, hic est from Vergil's Aeneid (6.791), marking it as a literary allusion. A semiotic analysis of John 18:28-19:22 reveals a Jesus depicted with the words and images of a Caesar. The Roman Pilate tests the loyalty of both Jesus and 'the Jews' to Caesar, emerging as weak only in relation to Caesar. Although other scholars have looked at empire in the Gospel of John, this study offers a sustained Roman reading of the Johannine trial narrative.

Autorentext
Born 1961; 2009 Masters in Theological Studies from Michigan Theological Seminary; 2017 PhD in New Testament from the University of Wales, Trinity St. David; currently an adjunct for several academic institutions including Ashland Theological Seminary in Detroit, MI, and Spring Arbor University, in Toledo, OH.