after five days, pilate calls out his troops. he expects that they are going to just disband because who wouldn t disband when there s a threat of death so eminently? instead, the jews bear their necks to pilate. and they say that they are willing to die for the law if necessary. pilate realizes he s been outmaneuvered, he might be prepared to execute a few people here, but he doesn t to want massacre people. it s interesting that pilate backs down. does this show astute political
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
teaching throughout all judaea. pilate is really trying to figure out, is this a rabbi from galilee and followers who think he s special, or is this someone who has come specifically in order to overthrow roman power? are you the king of the jews? he s trying to ascertain whether jesus is a political threat to roman power in judaea. if you say so. blasphemy. in luke s account of the trial, pilate s verdict is swift. i find no basis for an accusation against this man. i think that pilate himself had grave doubts that jesus was really a military threat. so how dangerous could he really be? no, no, he stirs up the people throughout all judaea from galilee where he began even to this place. bring him to me.
the pilate of history is occasionally blood thirsty and can be very brutal. the pilate of the gospels is uncertain. a couple of the gospels suggest that the jewish authorities pressurized a reluctant pilate into sending jesus to the cross. are you the king of the jews? in reality, i think, this is not at all realistic. and i don t think it would have taken very much for pilate to be convinced that jesus had to be sent to the cross. we can see the gospel accounts of the trial of jesus in some ways as fictional courtroom dramas. then why does the pilate of the bible try to avoid crucifying jesus? i have the authority to set you free. the gospels are all written several decades of the death of jesus.
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.