Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate was the fifth Roman governor of the province of Judea, serving from 26 to 36 AD. He was the highest-ranking representative of the Roman emperor in Judea. Pilate had military authority, commanding a force of 3,000 Roman soldiers. He was typically stationed in Caesarea but would move to Jerusalem during the Passover festival to prevent any potential riots.

According to the Jewish historian Josephus, Pilate was a cowardly, greedy, short-tempered, stubborn, and ruthless man who had no understanding of Jewish culture. He frequently used force and disrespected Jewish traditions, which almost led to large-scale rebellions. Because Jewish tradition strictly prohibited idols, none of Pilate’s predecessors had ever placed Roman statues inside Jerusalem. However, during Pilate’s term, such statues appeared frequently. When the Jews demanded that Pilate remove the statues of Caesar from the city, he had his soldiers threaten them with force. After a five-day standoff, Pilate was forced to order the statues to be removed. During his governorship, there were multiple Jewish uprisings. The instability in Judea also led to dissatisfaction with Pilate’s rule in the Roman government, which warned him that he would be removed from office if another riot occurred.

At that time, under Roman rule, the Jews were granted limited self-governance. The Sanhedrin did not have the authority to carry out the death penalty (John 18:31), except for Gentiles who trespassed into the inner court of the Temple. Therefore, they had to hand Jesus over to the Roman governor to be condemned and executed under Roman law. According to the New Testament, Pilate questioned Jesus multiple times and found no fault in Him. Pilate, who dealt only with political criminals, did not want to get involved in a religious dispute and wanted to release Jesus. However, the Jews threatened Pilate, saying that if he released Jesus, they would report him to Caesar. The naturally suspicious Roman emperor would certainly have been wary of Pilate. Thus, under pressure from the Jewish religious leaders, who were hostile to Jesus and fearing another riot, Pilate finally ordered Jesus to be crucified.

There has been a long-standing historical debate about whether Pontius Pilate actually existed. This was settled in 1961 with the archaeological discovery of a limestone tablet in the ruins of a Roman theater in Caesarea Maritima, in modern-day Israel. It was clearly inscribed with a dedication from the province of Judea and an imprint of Pilate’s name, confirming his existence.