He is famous for crucifying the Christ, and many dramatic interpretations have tried to discern what sort of a man he was. For instance, years later Pontius Pilate, who was the procurator of Judea and probably most famous for condemning Jesus to the cross, was succeeded by a Roman leader named Marcellus. [190], The older Byzantine model of depicting Pilate washing his hands continues to appear on artwork into the tenth century;[191] beginning in the seventh century, however, a new iconography of Pilate also emerges, which does not always show him washing his hands, includes him in additional scenes, and is based on contemporary medieval rather than Roman models. [258] Pilate's burden of guilt is finally lifted by the Master when he encounters him at the end of Bulgakov's novel. In Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages, Pilate became the focus of a large group of New Testament apocrypha expanding on his role in the Gospels, the Pilate cycle. Would the mob be just as happy if he released Barabbas instead of Jesus on the feast day (Mark 15:6 ff.)? [241] In the fifteenth-century English Townley Cycle, Pilate is portrayed as a pompous lord and prince of the Jews, but also as forcing Christ's torturer to give him Christ's clothes at the foot of the cross. Oh, come on, loosen up a little. [246] In the York passion cycle, Pilate describes himself as a courtier, but in most English passion plays he proclaims his royal ancestry. Josephus tells us that in order to abolish Jewish laws, and with the intent of diminishing privileges Jews had hitherto enjoyed, Pilate ordered his troops to encamp in Jerusalem and sent them into the city with images of the emperor attached to their ensigns. [140][141], Beginning in the fourth century, a large body of Christian apocryphal texts developed concerning Pilate, making up one of the largest groups of surviving New Testament Apocrypha. [251], John Masefield's play in verse, Good Friday was written in 1916. What happened to Pontius Pilate after the death of the Lord Jesus Christ? Nothing is known about what happened to him after this event. Pontius Pilate was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea. Pilate's times were very different from our own. [191] The majority of depictions from this time period come from France or Germany, belonging to Carolingian or later Ottonian art,[192] and are mostly on ivory, with some in frescoes, but no longer on sculpture except in Ireland. A non-profit, 501(c)3 corporation. The novel centers on an extended dialogue between Pilate and Jesus witnessed in a vision by the narrator Avdii Kallistratov, a former seminarian. He met people whom Pilate had governed, people who had known Pilate from close quarters and could give reliable reports which were based on immediate experience. In 2010, the Christian Broadcasting Network made the 52 . For more information about the Acts of Pilate, visit Pontius Pilate refers to Christ in official records.. [192] From the eleventh century onward, Pilate is frequently represented as a Jewish king, wearing a beard and a Jewish hat. The sons of Herod the Great petitioned him to remove the shields, but Pilate refused. [286] These include John 18:35 (numquid ego Iudaeus sum? "[138] An earlier reference to Pilate's records of Jesus's trial is given by the Christian apologist Justin Martyr around 160. [68] Bond argues that the number of Galileans killed does not seem to have been particularly high. In addition to Mainz, Bamberg, Hausen, Upper Franconia were also claimed to be his place of birth, while some traditions place his death in the Saarland. Pilate was also afraid of Jesus. [169] The legend exists in many different versions and was extremely widespread in both Latin and the vernacular, and each version contains significant variation, often relating to local traditions.[170]. [182] In a legend from medieval Rus', Pilate attempts to save Saint Stephen from being executed; Pilate, his wife and children have themselves baptized and bury Stephen in a gilded silver coffin. "), John 19:14 (Ecce rex vester, "Behold your king! . Truth is whatever you decide it is, whatever is most pragmatic, kind of like throwing darts at the wall and drawing targets around them. Due to the Gospels' portrayal of Pilate as reluctant to execute Jesus, the Ethiopian Church believes that Pilate became a Christian and venerates him as both a martyr and a saint, a belief which is historically shared by the Coptic Church. He nonetheless washes his hands of guilt after the tortures have been administered. . [126] Lnnqvist notes that the Talmud (Lamentations Rabbah 4.4) records the destruction of an aqueduct from Solomon's Pools by the Sicarii, a group of fanatical religious Zealots, during the First Jewish-Roman War (6673); he suggests that if the aqueduct had been funded by the temple treasury as recorded in Josephus, this might explain the Sicarii's targeting of this particular aqueduct. The quote reveals that many Greeks considered Pilates misfortunes to be divine justice for the death of Jesus Christ. Pontius Pilate, therefore, by the command of Csar, is taken and brought through to Rome. In some cases, it is unclear if they may be referring to the same event,[54] and it is difficult to establish a chronology of events for Pilate's rule. [255] Among other topics, the two anachronistically discuss the meaning of the last judgment and the second coming; Pilate fails to comprehend Jesus's teachings and is complacent as he sends him to his death. For he was a doer of surprising feats a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. [235] In the 1493 Frankfurter Passionsspiel, on the other hand, Pilate himself accuses Christ. In a newly deciphered 1,200-year-old telling of the Passion story, Jesus has supper with Pontius Pilate before his crucifixion. "), John 18:38 (Quid est veritas? There are many different conceptions of what it means to be human. [97] J. P. Lmonon argues that the fact that Pilate was not reinstated by Caligula does not mean that his trial went badly, but may simply have been because after ten years in the position it was time for him to take a new posting. . Pontius Pilate [b] ( Latin: Pontius Pilatus; Greek: , Pontios Pilatos) was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius from 26/27 to 36/37 AD. None of these texts survive, but Tibor Grll argues that their contents can be reconstructed from Christian apologetic texts. The Samaritans reported Pilate to Vitellius, legate of Syria, after he attacked them on Mount Gerizim (36 ce). Pontius was in charge of Judea for about 10 years and was eventually deposed. First Apology 35. [157] A fifth-century Syriac version of the Acts of Pilate explains Pilate's conversion as occurring after he has blamed the Jews for Jesus' death in front of Tiberius; prior to his execution, Pilate prays to God and converts, thereby becoming a Christian martyr. Dusenbury examines the fact of Jesus's trial and Pilate's judgment of him, as well as its interpretation by different thinkers. This may mean they were close, since life in the administrative center of Caesarea would certainly have been more comfortable for her. [59] Daniel Schwartz and Alexander Demandt both suggest that this incident is in fact identical with "the incident with the shields" reported in Philo's Embassy to Gaius, an identification first made by the early church historian Eusebius. And that it was predicted that our Christ should heal all diseases and raise the dead, hear what was said. His decision may have also been made to avoid a bad report to Rome. Almost immediately, troubles started: soldiers had brought statues of the emperor into Jerusalem, and almost the entire population of Jerusalem marched to Caesarea, imploring the new governor to remove the effigies. Pilate's Life This article was most recently revised and updated by, Historical and traditional accounts of the life of Pontius Pilate, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Pontius-Pilate, World History Encyclopedia - Pontius Pilate, McClintock and Strong Biblical Cyclopedia - Pontius Pilate, Sagrada Famlia: sculpture of Pontius Pilate. According to some, Pilate killed himself while in exile to Gallia. Sources on Pontius Pilate are limited, although modern scholars know more about him than about other Roman governors of Judaea. [84] Yet other scholars, such as Brian McGing and Bond, have argued that there is no real discrepancy between Pilate's behavior in Josephus and Philo and that in the Gospels. [9] Modern historians have differing assessments of Pilate as an effective ruler: while some believe that he was a particularly brutal and ineffective governor, others believe that his long time in office implies reasonable competence. Pilate has frequently been a subject of artistic representation. Others suggest that he was executed during the reign of Emperor Nero. Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week . Still others believe Pontius Pilate's fate involved his conversion to Christianity and subsequent canonization. Eusebius, quoting from apocryphal accounts, said that Pilate suffered misfortune in the reign of Caligula (37 - 41 AD), was exiled to Gaul and eventually committed suicide in Vienne. Both Daniel Schwartz and Alexander Demandt do not think this especially likely. [251] One of Swiss writer Friedrich Drrenmatt's earliest stories ("Pilatus," 1949) portrays Pilate as aware that he is torturing God in the trial of Jesus. [19], The sources give no indication of Pilate's life prior to his becoming governor of Judaea. [257] Because he betrayed his desire to follow his morality and free Jesus, Pilate must suffer for eternity. "[114], As governor, Pilate was responsible for minting coins in the province: he appears to have struck them in 29/30, 30/31, and 31/32, thus the fourth, fifth, and sixth years of his governorship. He provoked both Jews and Samaritans to riot. Yet the Bible isn't the only ancient source of information about Pilate. [263] In the 1927 silent film The King of Kings, Pilate is played by Hungarian-American actor Victor Varconi, who is introduced seated under an enormous 37 feet high Roman eagle, which Christopher McDonough argues symbolizes "not power that he possesses but power that possesses him". His rule began in 26 CE and lasted until early in 37 CE (Josephus, Antiquities 18.32f, 35, 89). In them, Pilate is portrayed as wishing to save Jesus, being affected by his charisma, but as too cowardly to do so. [149] Another claims that the records were made by Pilate himself, relying on reports made to him by Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea. Pilate is nevertheless forced to execute Jesus by the increasingly angry crowd, but Jesus tells Pilate that he does not hold him responsible. [64][65] Bond dates the incident to 31, sometime after Sejanus's death in 17 October. [116] At the turn of the 20th century, it was generally held to be fake, a forgery in support of a local legend that Pontius Pilate died in exile in Ameria. Pontius Pilate is best known for presiding over Jesus ' trial and ordering his crucifixion. Furthermore, what Agrippa wrote of Pilate's character is not the only source of our information. [89], Others have tried to explain Pilate's behavior in the Gospels as motivated by a change of circumstances from that shown in Josephus and Philo, usually presupposing a connection between Pilate's caution and the death of Sejanus. [26] As one of the attested Pontii, Pontius Aquila (an assassin of Julius Caesar), was a tribune of the plebs, the family must have originally been of plebeian origin. Reportedly, his father sent him to Rome as a hostage. It became acceptable to cast Pilate as a villain and a range of myths developed describing his grisly end. As punishment he is sent to the island of Pontius, whose inhabitants he subjugates, thus acquiring the name Pontius Pilate. On the other hand, Johns picture of Pilate delivering judgment from a tribunal in front of the prefects mansion fits typical Roman procedure. [129] The name Pilatus is rare, so the ring could be associated with Pontius Pilate; however, given the cheap material, it is unlikely that he would have owned it. [32] As Tiberius had retired to the island of Capri in 26, scholars such as E. Stauffer have argued that Pilate may have actually been appointed by the powerful Praetorian Prefect Sejanus, who was executed for treason in 31. The insurrection in which Barabbas was caught up, if historical, may well be another example. While there he was charged with murdering someone and was sent to Pontus, which is on the southeastern border of the Black Sea. "[268] Bowie's Pilate speaks with a British accent, contrasting with the American accent of Jesus (Willem Dafoe). He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ultimately ordered his crucifixion. In Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Pilate is played by David Bowie, who appears as "gaunt and eerily hermaphrodite. [33] Other scholars have cast doubt on any link between Pilate and Sejanus. 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