KNOW ABOUT PONTIUS PILATE (WHO WAS PONTIUS PILATE?)

Who Was Pontius Pilate?

"PATIENT was a shy, a skeptical, and astonishing man. Some people consider themselves to be holy, some view it as a weak person, a politician who was ready to justify one person to avoid conflicts. "- Pontius Pilate, a book by Ann Wroe.

Whether you agree with that opinion, Pontius Pilate was well-known because of his dealings with Jesus Christ. Who was Pilate? What do we know about him? Knowing his title well will help us to understand the most important events ever to happen on earth.

Place, Task, and Authority

Roman Emperor Tiberio betrayed Pilate as governor of Judea in 26 CE The same pilgrims were soldiers of horseback, which had a low rank, compared with people with high rank positions in the state. Likely Pilate joined the army as a lower rank; then he progressed gradually; and was finally appointed as governor at the age of 30.

At one point, Pilate wearing a military garment, that is, a leather jacket and an iron breastplate. In public he wore a white coat of purple. She may have had short hair and shaved all the beard. Although some believe that he came from Spain, his name suggests that he belonged to the Pontii tribe, the Samnite chiefs of southern Italy.

Pilate's court officials usually were sent into unprecedented places. The Romans considered Judaea one of those places. In addition to maintaining peace, Pilate presided over direct tax and head tax. Jewish courts daily dealt with justice, but cases requiring a death penalty were sent to the governor, who had more authority to judge.

Pilate and his wife, along with a few writers, friends and members, lived in the city of Caesarea. Pilate had five fleet soldiers, each with 500 to 1,000 people and 500 horsemen. His soldiers often embraced people who broke the law. At peace, criminals were killed after a brief hearing, but when there was a riot, rebels were killed on the spot. For example, the Romans arrested 6,000 slaves to end the rebellion led by Spartacus. In the face of difficulties in Judea, the governor usually communicated with a magician representative in Syria who was in charge of the forcesof 3,000 to 6,000 soldiers. However, for a long time Pilate was governor, there was no representative in Syria, so Pilate was forced to stop the riot.

Usually, the officials consulted with the magistrates. Things about his title or any threat to the Roman Empire should be reported to the magistrates, then the royal law would be binding. The governor apparently endeavored to tell him about the affairs of his region before the people complained. When trouble arose in Judea, Pilate was very worried.

Apart from the Gospel accounts, historians Flavio Josephus and Philo have written many things about Pilate. Also, the Roman historian, Tacitus, explained that Pilate had killed Christus, the Christians being called by his name.

The Anger of the Jews Is Moved

Josephus says that because of Jewish anti-idolatrous law, Roman authorities did not bring to Jerusalem military flags that had statue of ridiculers. Since Pilate did not respect the law, angry Jews brought their complaint to Caesarea. For five days, Pilate did not take any action. On the sixth day, he ordered his soldiers to harass them and complain about killing them if they were not scattered. When the Jews said that they should die rather than see their law broken, Pilate lamented and ordered the idols to be taken away.

Pilate did not stop using force. In a parallel account by Josephus, Pilate initiated a project to build a water tunnel in Jerusalem and to develop the project using the treasury of the temple. Pilate did not take the money openly, for he knew that it was blasphemy to burn the temple, and that would make the angry Jews ask Tiberius to seek him. So, he goes to Pilate with the temple administrators. The dedicated money, called "korbani", would be legally used to perform jobs that would benefit the city's inhabitants. But thousands of Jews gathered to express their anger.

Pilate commanded the soldiers and the crowds, and he commanded them not to use the sword but to beat the complainants on the cross. He probably wanted to control the crowd without stimulating murder. He seemed successful, though several people died. The people who told Jesus that Pilate was mixing the blood of the Galatians and their sacrifices were referring to the incident.- Luke 13: 1 .

"What Is It Really?"

Pilate was known for his investigation of the accusations of the chief priests and the older men who said that Jesus had made himself King. Upon hearing that Jesus came to give a witness for the truth, Pilate saw that the prisoner was no threat to Rome. "What is it really?" He asked, thinking that the truth is a mysterious idea and it does not need to be considered too much. What did he say? "I do not see the crime of this man." - John 18:37, 38; Luke 23: 4 .

That would be the end of Jesus' case, but the Jews insisted that he was overthrowing the nation. Envy was what the chief priests accused of Jesus, and Pilate knew it. He also knew that abandoning Jesus would bring trouble, and he wanted to avoid that. Already there were many problems, since Barabbas and others were in prison for instigation and murder. ( Mark 15: 7, 10; Luke 23: 2 ) In addition, the controversy between Pilate and the Jews had contributed to prominence in front of Tiberius, who was known for taking serious action against the wicked governors. However, the agreement with the Jews would indicate weakness. So, Pilate did not know what to do.

After knowing where Jesus was from, Pilate tried to send the case to Herod Antipas, a district ruler of Galilee. When that failed, Pilate tried to persuade people who gathered outside his house to ask Jesus to be released according to his custom to release one prisoner at the Passover. The crowd shouted for Barabbas.- Luke 23: 5-19 .

Pilate may have wanted to do what was right, but he also wanted to defend his position and to delight the crowd. Finally, instead of listening to his conscience and pursuing justice, he began his career. He asked for water, washed his hands and claimed that he was innocent of the death he had commanded. * Although he knew that Jesus was innocent, Pilate ordered him to be whipped and to let the soldiers ridiculed him, beat him, and spit on him.-Read Matthew 27: 24-31 .

Pilate tried at last to release Jesus, but the people shouting that he was unpunished, he was not a friend of Caesar. ( John 19:12 ) When Pilate heard that, he did what they wanted. One scholar said of Pilate's decision: "The solution is simple: kill the person. The only thing that is lost is the life of a Jew who seems to have no meaning; it would be foolish to cause violence because of it. "

What Happened to Pilate?

The last recorded event about Pilate's life was the struggle. Josephus says that many Syrian warriors assembled on Mount Gerizim seeking to collect treasures that they thought were buried there by Moses. Pilate intervened, and his troops killed several people. The Samaritans sent their complaint to Lusio Vitelio, a Syrian governor of higher rank than Pilate. We do not know if Vitelio saw that Pilate had passed by. However, he ordered Pilate to go to Rome to answer the charges before the magistrates. But before arriving there, Tiberius died.

"Thereafter, Pilate will no longer be known in history but in various histories," says one newspaper. But some people have tried to explain more. It was claimed that Pilate became a Christian. Ethiopian "Christians" view him as "holy." Eusebio, who wrote at the end of the third century and at the beginning of the fourth century, was the first among many to say that Pilate himself committed suicide as Judas Iscariot. However, no one really knows Pilate.

Pilate was likely stubborn, irresponsible, and oppressive. However, unlike most of the Judean emperors who had the rank for a short time, Pilate was governor for ten years. In the opinion of the Romans, Pilate was a mighty governor. He was described as a coward man who was guilty of allowing Jesus to be tempted and killed to benefit himself. Others argue that Pilate's work was not to defend justice but to maintain peace and the good condition of the Romans.

The days of Pilate were very different from ours. However, there is no justice judge who can judge a person if he considers himself innocent. If Pontius Pilate had not met Jesus, his name could not have been so popular.

[Footnote]

Hand washing was Jewish or non-Roman custom, a way that showed that no one was innocent of blood.- Deuteronomy 21: 6, 7 .