Pilate really does not appear on the scene until he is appointed the Roman prefect of Judaea by the emperor Tiberius in 26 A. A prefect, or governor, also was responsible for tax collection, construction projects and maintaining law and order. As such, he enjoyed the complete confidence of the emperor and wielded substantial power. It was Sejanus who secured the prefect post for Pilate. Pilate would enjoy the protection of Sejanus for only a few years as prefect because Sejanus would die in 31 A.
He would be executed by the emperor and his body dragged through the streets to the cheers of the people and Senate. For example, the New Testament shows a governor who is unsure and wavering. After all, he first declared Jesus to be innocent but then caved in to the crowd and executed him. In contrast, extra-biblical sources, such as Josephus and Tacitus, describe Pilate as a stubborn authoritarian who struggled with exercising constraint and intentionally stepped on Jewish traditions.
Josephus and Tacitus also state that Pilate was finally removed from his office and ordered back to Rome after he used excessive force to squelch a suspected Samaritan revolt. However, after this, he seems to have disappeared from history.
Some traditions hold that he was executed by the emperor Caligula. History says little about Pilate before he served as the Roman prefect of Judea between 26 and 36 A. It is thought he was born into an equestrian family in Italy , but some legends claim Scotland was the land of his birth. One of the earliest—and most scathing—accounts of Pilate comes from the Jewish philosopher Philo of Alexandria.
Writing around 50 A. What Other Proof Exists? The scourging of Jesus, who was tortured prior to his crucifixion. Writing a half-century later, the Jewish historian Flavius Josephus told a similar tale that Pilate permitted troops carrying military standards bearing the likeness of the emperor into Jerusalem, although Jewish law forbade images in the city. In another incident—with a bloodier ending—Josephus recounted that Pilate used funds from the Temple treasury to build an aqueduct to Jerusalem.
This time when protesters amassed, Pilate dispatched plain-clothed soldiers to infiltrate the crowd. On his signal, they removed clubs hidden in their garments and beat many of the protesters to death.
According to the Gospels, the Sanhedrin, an elite council of priestly and lay elders, arrested Jesus during the Jewish festival of Passover , deeply threatened by his teachings. They dragged him before Pilate to be tried for blasphemy—for claiming, they said, to be King of the Jews.
According to Roman sources, Pilate is far from the Christian image attributed to him in the Bible. He knew how to terrify the crowd and maintain order in a disobedient territory.
His first actions as a prosecutor in Judea almost ended in a blood bath. His orders were for Roman soldiers to be sent to Jerusalem. However, the flags they carried violated the first two of the Ten Commandments. The offended Jews protested in front of Pilate who planned ways of scaring them off.
The Roman quelled the discontent by staging a collision. Pilate ordered his soldiers to draw their swords as soon as he brought the Jews into his palace. His hopes were that they would flee. On the contrary, the Jews fell to their knees without trying to fight back or escape. As his primary task was to maintain peace among the population, Pilate receded. The truth is that Jesus was not the first Messiah to appear in Judea.
There were others before him, with other new religious beliefs. The Romans knew about them and always followed them. The trial of Jesus began on the basis of accusations, sent by leading figures in society. This proves that the aristocracy in Jerusalem had a finger in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
There are many different versions of the actual conviction of Christ. According to one, he was convicted on the very next day on the orders of Pilate. After the verdict, Pilate washed his hands and read a few prayers to the gods, which was common practice for Roman rulers to start the day.
According to another, there were several trials before the actual conviction. More interestingly, it is said that Pilate almost agreed to release Jesus during one of the trials.
Other sources claim that Pilate believed that Jesus was innocent and even said it when they arrested him. According to other stories, Pilate did not embrace the truth that Jesus was innocent simply because he was too afraid for himself and his position in the Roman Empire.
Little do we actually know about Pontius Pilate.
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