Good Friday Reading: Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate

My name is Pontius Pilate.

I was the Roman governor of Judea during the time that Jesus of Nazareth was carrying on his ministry.

I went against my conscience.
I went against my wife.
I let myself be manipulated.
I was true to myself.

I let my fears of a bad report to the emperor blind me.

"What is truth?" I asked Jesus.

The only truth I'm really sure of is myself.
Weak.
Stubborn.
Poor judgment.

I know people called me cruel, insolent, insulting, insensitive, corrupt, inhuman, and a murderer.

Some of that is true.
I admit it.

In my defense, I need to say that serving in Judea was a difficult and dangerous assignment. I had risen through the ranks of civil service and was appointed to the post of governor by Emperor Tiberius.

Whatever he saw in me, I didn't want to disappoint him.

And it wasn't just that.
It was also a matter of self-survival.
The Roman Empire did not like failure, especially when it came to the Jews.
The Jews were fanatic about their religion.

That fanaticism was obvious when Jesus of Nazareth came on the scene.
It seemed like everything he did and said was opposed to the Jewish leaders and their priorities.
It took a delicate touch to keep the Jews happy and at the same time to keep the Emperor happy.

So when the Jews brought Jesus to me, I didn't know what to think about him.

I had heard of him, of course. With my network of spies, there was very little that happened in Judea that I didn't hear about.
But what to make of him?

The Jews said he was a blasphemer against their God.
s far as I was concerned, that was a problem for them to deal with.
Their God wasn't my God.

They also said he claimed to be the king of the Jews.
Now that could be my problem.

My concern was the political stability of the empire, and anything that threatened that was my concern, so I questioned him.

He didn't seem dangerous: a little different, almost odd, but not dangerous. I asked him if he was the king of the Jews and he said he was, but added that his kingdom was not of this world. I didn't know what that meant, but I could see nothing in him deserving death. My wife had also sent me a message about Jesus. She called him an innocent man and told me to have nothing to do with him.

What was I supposed to do with him?

I decided to have him whipped, hoping that would satisfy the crowd, but it didn't. They demanded that he be crucified.

I was faced with a difficult choice: I could release him and face a possible riot and a bad report by the Jews to the emperor. Or, I could crucify him and be safe.

Then I thought of a third way. There is a custom at this time of the year for the governor to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time, we were holding a dangerous rebel named Barabbas. I offered the crowd a choice: "Shall I release Jesus or Barabbas?" To my surprise, they shouted for Barabbas to be released.

"What shall I do with Jesus?" I asked.
"Crucify him!" was the answer.

At that, I gave up. I asked for a basin of water, washed my hands, and said that I was innocent of Jesus' blood. And Jesus was taken away and was crucified.

I said I was innocent of his blood, but was I?
I can't afford to be sentimental in a position like mine.
I need to make the hard decisions and carry them out.

But every so often, I think of him and wonder: "What should I have done with him?"

Has that ever been your question?

Sources: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament