Pontius Pilate

Roman governor

• Born: c. 10 b.c.e.
• Birthplace: Rome (now in Italy)
• Died: After 36 c.e.
• Place of death: probably Vienna, Gaul (now Vienne, France)

A provincial Roman official, Pontius Pilate became infamous as the magistrate who presided over the trial of Jesus Christ.

Early Life

Nothing is known of the life of Pontius Pilate (PI-laht) before he was appointed prefect of Judaea and Samaria; even subsequent references to him, except in the New Testament and religious writings, are cursory. He belonged to none of the great Roman families and apparently left no descendants. Even his first or given name is unknown. The name Pontius, representing his gens, or tribe, would indicate that he was not Roman in ancestry but Samnite. The Samnites were an Italian people conquered by the Romans in 295 b.c.e. His family name, Pilate, means “cap,” “helmet,” or “spear,” a fact that is of little help in tracing his lineage.

Pilate was of the equestrian class, a rank roughly equivalent to the knighthood of later European history. Because of this social rank and the fact that his patron Lucius Aelius Sejanus was commander of the Praetorian Guard, the elite troops who protected the emperor and served as the local police force, it is almost certain that Pilate gained recognition through military service, most likely in the Praetorian Guard itself.

The military background and apparent lack of any administrative or political experience would explain Pilate’s mistakes in governance. One of the reasons for the success of the Roman Empire was that it respected, or at least permitted, the exercise of the religions, customs, and laws of subject peoples as long as these did not interfere with Roman control. While they could be ruthless, the Romans did not impose a totalitarian regime on conquered peoples, who had their own local officials and were generally free of Roman control in their day-to-day lives. The function of a Roman governor was to maintain order and to see that taxes were collected and sent to Rome. Pilate, however, would needlessly provoke the local Jewish population; a more experienced or more competent official would probably have had a better understanding of his subjects, their religion, and their sensibilities.

Life’s Work

Pilate was appointed the fifth prefect of Judaea and Samaria in 26 c.e., during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. Pilate succeeded Valerius Gratus, who had a relatively quiet term of office and managed to avoid conflict between the Roman troops and the turbulent Jewish revolutionaries, or zealots. Gratus resided in Caesarea; his primary concern was the acquisition of wealth, which he managed to secure through his control of appointments, especially to the office of high priest. During his tenure, he made four appointments to the office.

On assuming his duties, however, Pilate took a more hands-on—and more confrontational—approach toward the Jewish people. On his arrival in Palestine, the new governor, in accordance with plans made beforehand with Sejanus, moved the headquarters of the Roman garrison from Caesarea to Jerusalem. Pilate himself also was to take up winter residence there.

The Roman army entered Jerusalem with their standards under cover of darkness. The standard consisted of the figure of an eagle with outspread wings and a thunderbolt in the claws mounted on the end of a spear. A banner or bust with the likeness of the emperor was attached. When the city awoke to find the Roman eagles before the Herodian palace, which was to be Pilate’s residence, the populace was furious. To bring the standards with their graven images almost within the precincts of Holy Temple was, to the Jews, an abomination of abominations, a gross violation of God’s commandment.

Because Pilate had not yet taken up residence in Jerusalem but was still in Caesarea, a good part of the crowd, together with Jews from other areas, hurried to Caesarea. There, they surrounded Pilate’s house, demanding that the standards be removed. After five days of demonstrations, Pilate lost patience. The demonstrators were asked to move to an open area where Pilate would speak to them and respond to their grievances. This was part of a plan by Pilate to get the demonstrators in an area where they could be surrounded by his troops, who had weapons concealed under their mantles. When his troops were in position, Pilate told the crowd that unless they dispersed and left him in peace, he would order the soldiers to cut them down. To Pilate’s chagrin, they reportedly answered that they would rather die than permit idolatry and disobedience to a commandment of their God; they then lay down and bared their necks, ready to die as martyrs. At this point, Pilate relented and ordered the standards removed from Jerusalem.

Another disturbance arose when Pilate ordered temple funds to be used for the construction of an aqueduct to bring water into Jerusalem. This time Pilate did not relent and ordered his troops to use force to disperse a crowd of protesters. The Roman soldiers showed no mercy, killing many Jews with blows with their cudgels; many others were killed in the stampede that followed. Other massacres are mentioned by Flavius Josephus, a Jewish historian of the period. Still others are set forth in the Talmud and in the Gospel of St. Luke (13.1), which refers to the massacre of Galilean pilgrims who were in the act of sacrificing. Galilean zealots frequently took a leading part in the insurrections. As Galilee was not under Pilate’s jurisdiction but ruled by Herod Antipas, a puppet king, the inability of Herod to control his subjects was a source of friction with Pilate.

Pilate would be little more than a footnote in history except for his role in the trial and execution of Jesus. Pilate’s role and actions during the trial are set forth in the Gospel accounts of the four evangelists in the New Testament. There are no other historical accounts in existence.

Following the crucifixion of Jesus, it is almost certain that Pilate made a written report to Emperor Tiberius. Such correspondence between Roman officials and the emperor was routine. Justin Martyr, defending himself and his fellow Christians before Antonius Pius around 140 c.e., refers to reports from Pilate that were at that time in the Roman archives. This was confirmed forty years later by Tertullian, a Christian writer.

In the year 311, Emperor Maximian was engaged in persecuting the Christians. To discredit them, he caused to be circulated throughout the Empire a forgery called the “Acts of Pilate.” If the genuine reports and correspondence from Pilate were still in existence, they would likely have been destroyed by the emperor, as they might have been used to debunk the forgery.

In 36 c.e., Pilate was deposed by his immediate superior, Vitellius, the legate of Syria. The reason for Vitellius’s action was Pilate’s gross mishandling of an incident involving the Samaritans, a people who were loyal and submissive to Rome. The incident arose out of a visionary’s claim that Moses had hidden certain golden vessels on Mount Gerizim, on which the Samaritans worshiped. This caused a large group of armed Samaritans to begin a search for the golden vessels. Pilate dispatched his troops, who surrounded the treasure seekers and killed many of them. Pilate then had several of the organizers of the treasure search beheaded.

A Samaritan delegation went to Vitellius to complain about the atrocities. After hearing the complaint, Vitellius sent one of his subordinates to relieve Pilate of his duties and ordered Pilate to return to Rome to answer the charges. By the time Pilate arrived in Rome after removal from his office, Tiberius had died and had been succeeded by Caligula. Pilate was held in prison and was ultimately banished from Rome, reportedly to Vienne in Gaul. Eusebius of Caesarea, a historian of the early Christian church, says that Pilate ended his life by suicide; other sources allege that he converted to Christianity. The Coptic church even honors him as a saint.

Significance

Pilate made his mark in history by presiding over the trial of Jesus Christ. The biblical account has Jesus condemned to death against Pilate’s better judgment. Pilate at first sought to save Jesus by having him scourged, thinking that this would satisfy the mob. He then, according to custom, gave the mob the choice of releasing either Jesus or Barrabas, a notorious murderer; the crowd chose Barrabas. Pilate’s wife then intervened and cautioned him to have no part of the blood of this innocent man. Pilate, failing in all attempts, then washed his hands and said that he was free of Christ’s blood. He agreed to the Crucifixion only when his loyalty to Caesar was questioned. Pilate is portrayed as a weakling unable to withstand the clamor of the crowd.

Critics of the biblical account, who became especially vocal in the 1990’s, dismissed it as Christian propaganda. These critics contended that Jesus was a fanatic who posed a threat to Roman rule and that Pilate had no scruples about having such people executed. At the time the Gospels were being written, Christianity was spreading throughout the Roman Empire. According to the critics, the Gospels were slanted in favor of Pilate because the Christian cause would not have been furthered by blaming Rome for Jesus’ execution.

There is, however, nothing other than the biblical accounts to relate what happened at the trial. There are passing references to the event by Josephus, Eusebius, and other writers, but these are of little help. Everything written about the matter since is based on interpretation and conjecture.

Bibliography

Brown, Raymond E. The Death of the Messiah: From Gethsemane to the Grave. New York: Doubleday, 1994. A comprehensive and definitive two-volume work on the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus.

Crossan, John Dominic. Who Killed Jesus? Exposing the Roots of Anti-Semitism in the Gospel Story of the Death of Jesus. San Franciso: HarperSanFrancisco, 1995. Crossan argues that it was the Roman government that tried and executed Jesus as a social agitator and views the Gospel accounts of the trial of Jesus as anti-Semitic and nonhistorical.

Latimer, Elizabeth Wormeley. Judaea from Cyrus to Titus: 537 b.c. to 70 a.d. Chicago: A. C. McClurg, 1900. Covers six centuries of Jewish history. Chapter 18 is devoted exclusively to Pontius Pilate. Written in a flowery and hortatory nineteenth century style.

Maier, Paul L., ed. and trans. Josephus: The Essential Writings. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Kregel, 1988. Covers Jewish history from its beginning to the fall of the Masada fortress in the first century. Easy reading; highly recommended for anyone who enjoys history. Contains only a few references to Pilate but is important because it is one of the few primary sources.

Philo of Alexandria. The Works of Philo. Translated by C. D. Yonge. Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson, 1993. The Jewish scholar Philo makes several references to Pilate in a writing titled “On the Embassy to Gaius.” Philo is not easy reading.

Sanders, E. P. The Historical Figure of Jesus. London: Penguin Group, 1993. A comprehensive account of the life of Jesus. Sanders contends that Pilate ordered the execution of Jesus because his fanaticism posed a threat to law and order. He argues that the biblical accounts of Pilate’s reluctance and weakness of will are best explained as Christian propaganda meant to lessen conflict between the Christian movement and Roman authority.

Watson, Alan. The Trial of Jesus. Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1995. Argues that the Sanhedrin, or supreme Jewish court, had the authority to put Jesus to death but could not convict him because of stringent trial procedures. He was therefore handed over to Pilate, who had no scruples about ordering an execution.