Pilate, Pontius

(first century)

   Procurator.

   Pilate was governor, or procurator, of Judaea between 26 and 36. He is remembered as the Roman ruler who condemned Jesus to death by crucifixion. According to the Gospels, he was reluctant to pass the death sentence, but was pressurised into it by the Jewish crowd. This scenario is highly unlikely. We know from the works of the Jewish historian, Josephus, that Pilate was a harsh and cruel man who did not hesitate to execute any possible rebels against the Roman Empire. According to eusebius of caesarea, he committed suicide in remorse and in the Coptic Church he is regarded as a saint. The apocryphal Acts of Pilate probably dates back only to the fourth century.

   The Four Gospels;

   S. Brock, ‘A fragment of the Acta Pilati in Christian Palestinian Aramaic’, Journal of Theological Studies, n.s. xxii (1971);

   G. Schofield, Crime before Calvary: Herodias, Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate: A New Interpretation (1960);

   P. Winter, On the Trial of Jesus, 2^nd edn (1974).