in our excavation, we find enormous walls, and we interpreted them as the foundations, as the retaining wall to herod s palace. and if this was king herod s palace, it also is likely the spot where pontius pilate held the trial of jesus. jesus was sentenced here in jerusalem in the praetorium, meaning the residence of the roman government. herod s long lost palace, the most lavish in the city, is the obvious spot for pilate s headquarters. it s enormous. it s royal. this is the place where pontius pilatus should sit in jerusalem, only here. the possible discovery of herod s palace is incredibly exciting.
under the tower of david museum. in our excavation, we find enormous walls and we interpreted them as the foundations, it s the retaining wall to herod s palace. and if this was the palace, it was also likely the spot where pilate held the trial of jesus. jesus was sentenced here in jerusalem in this area, meaning the residents of the roman government. herod s long lost palace, the most lavish in the city, is the obvious spot for pilate s headquarters. it s enormous. it s royal. this is the place where pontius pilate should sit in jerusalem, only here.
i think he had resolved well before he ever entered the city on the donkey to do whatever it took to accomplish the mission. matthew describes the whole city of jerusalem being in turmoil with people saying, who is this, and the crowds answer, this is jesus the prophet from nazareth. he arrives as the city prepares for passover. passover is the largest religious event of the jewish calendar. language like king of the jews and promises of a new kingdom is very powerful, especially when people are celebrating the liberation of the jewish people from a tyrannical power. now we really can understand why the more zealotic disciples say get ready to rumble. we re going to kick the romans out of town, we re going to get our capital city back. jesus riding into jerusalem through the streets on the back of a donkey isn t just simple
if caiaphas is not able to maintain stability and law and order in jerusalem, he might be deemed an inadequate high priest, and he would be replaced. he is challenged to repeat the charge against him. are you the king of the jews? this is really the crucial question. are you a political messiah? do you have intentions to overthrow us? do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me? i am not a jew. am i? your own nation and chief priests have handed you over to me. pilate is almost having a conversation in which he s asking genuine questions of jesus, as opposed to interrogating someone. are you the king of the jews? my kingdom is not of this
jerusalem. the location in the bible for the ultimate act in the life of jesus. this place was the defining event of jesus ministry. it s where he was crucified by the romans. millions of pilgrims have come here to follow in the footsteps of jesus, but his passion would never have reached its climax were it not for one man, pontius pilate. questions of pilate s culpability and his desire to execute jesus is a complicated one. it needs to be remembered that only pontius pilate had the authority to crucify jesus. in the bible, the way to the crucifixion begins on palm sunday when jesus enters jerusalem.