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Pontius Pilate (Latin: Pontius Pilatus; Greek: Πόντιος Πιλᾶτος, Pontios Pilatos) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ultimately ordered his crucifixion.
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- Pilate's court
- Overview
- Historical and traditional accounts of the life of Pontius Pilate
- Pilate in the New Testament
Pontius Pilate was the Roman prefect (governor) of Judaea (26–36 CE) who presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order for his crucifixion.
What did Pontius Pilate do?
As the prefect of Roman-occupied Palestine, he insulted the religious sensibilities of his Jewish subjects by promoting Roman religion and emperor worship. He provoked both Jews and Samaritans to rioting during his tenure, and he later had to stand trial in Rome for cruelty and oppression.
How did Pontius Pilate die?
According to Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History, Pontius Pilate killed himself on orders from the emperor Caligula sometime after 36 CE.
Pontius Pilate (died after 36 ce) Roman prefect (governor) of Judaea (26–36 ce) under the emperor Tiberius who presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order for his crucifixion.
According to the traditional account of his life, Pilate was a Roman equestrian (knight) of the Samnite clan of the Pontii (hence his name Pontius). He was appointed prefect of Judaea through the intervention of Sejanus, a favourite of the Roman emperor Tiberius. (That his title was prefect is confirmed by an inscription from Caesarea in ancient Palestine.)
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Protected by Sejanus, Pilate incurred the enmity of Jews in Roman-occupied Palestine by insulting their religious sensibilities, as when he hung worship images of the emperor throughout Jerusalem and had coins bearing pagan religious symbols minted. After Sejanus’s fall (31 ce), Pilate was exposed to sharper criticism from certain Jews, who may have capitalized on his vulnerability to obtain a legal death sentence on Jesus (John 19:12). The Samaritans reported Pilate to Vitellius, legate of Syria, after he attacked them on Mount Gerizim (36 ce). He was then ordered back to Rome to stand trial for cruelty and oppression, particularly on the charge that he had executed men without proper trial. According to Eusebius of Caesarea’s Ecclesiastical History, Pilate killed himself on orders from the emperor Caligula.
Judgments of the man himself must be made inferentially, almost entirely on the basis of later Jewish and Christian writings, chiefly those of Josephus and the New Testament. Josephus’s references appear to be consistent. They seem to picture a headstrong strict authoritarian Roman leader who, although both rational and practical, never knew how far he should go in a given case. He provoked both Jews and Samaritans to riot. Josephus tells us that “in order to abolish Jewish laws,” and with the intent of diminishing privileges Jews had hitherto enjoyed, Pilate ordered his troops to encamp in Jerusalem and sent them into the city with images of the emperor attached to their ensigns. When Jewish representatives demonstrated in Caesarea, Pilate’s city of residence, he threatened them with death unless they desisted, but, when they showed their readiness to die, he ordered the images removed. Josephus states his inferential judgment that Pilate “was deeply affected with their firm resolution,” suggesting his own strength of character.
The New Testament suggests that Pilate had a weak, vacillating personality. Would the mob be just as happy if he released Barabbas instead of Jesus on the feast day (Mark 15:6 ff.)? Pilate weakly capitulates. His wife sends him word of a revelatory dream she has had about Jesus and urges him to “have nothing to do with that innocent man” (Matthew 27:19), and Pilate abdicates his responsibility to the emperor. In John (19:7–11), Pilate is depicted as having accepted the Christian interpretation of the meaning of Jesus, and he rejects Jewish leaders’ reminder that Jesus has merely said that he is “the king of the Jews” (19:21). On the other hand, John’s picture of Pilate delivering judgment from a tribunal in front of the prefect’s mansion fits typical Roman procedure. Clearly, as an index to the character and personality of Pilate, the New Testament is devastating, but it is preoccupied with concerns of the nascent Christian communities, increasingly making their way among the Gentiles and eager to avoid giving offense to Roman authorities.
An early church tradition that had taken a favourable opinion of Pilate persisted in some churches into the early 21st century. He and his wife are venerated in the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; their feast day is June 25.
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Oct 25, 2022 · Definition. Pontius Pilate was the fifth magistrate to serve in the Roman province of Judea, created in 6 CE by Roman emperor Augustus (r. 27 BCE to 14 CE). His term of office was during the subsequent reign of Tiberius from 26-36 CE. He became famous for the trial and crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth (c. 30 CE).
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Mar 6, 2019 · Why Did Pontius Pilate Have Jesus Executed? Historical accounts of the man who sentenced Jesus to death paint him as arrogant and cruel; the Bible goes easier on him, shifting the blame. By ...
Apr 2, 2014 · Pontius Pilate was a Roman governor under the emperor of Tiberius in the 1st century. He is best known as the judge of Jesus' trial. Updated: Jun 13, 2022. Photo: Heritage Art/Heritage Images...
Apr 11, 2022 · Pontius Pilate is one of the exceptions. Pilate presided for 10 years as the governor or "prefect" of Judea, from 26 to 36 C.E., and his name is immortalized in the New Testament as the man who oversaw the trial and crucifixion of Jesus.
Pontius Pilate, (died c. 36 ce ), Roman prefect of Judaea (26–36 ce) who presided at the trial of Jesus and gave the order for his crucifixion. The New Testament represents Pilate as a weak and vacillating man who found no fault with Jesus but ordered his execution to please the mob calling for his death.
