Pontius Pilate

This was a paper that I wrote for a class earlier on this semester. Now I know that there is plenty of grammatical errors in it but I can't find my final draft and this was just a rough draft. Anyways I'm just posting it so yall can read it and tell me what you think. It's mostly about how I think Pontius gets a bad rap sometimes because he tried almost all he could to save Jesus' life and also if he had saved his life then Christianity wouldn't be here today. So here it is.

Many people know the story of the Crucifixion, but few know the political struggle and the reluctant decisions that Pontius Pilate was forced to make. In this paper I will discuss the political issues that led to the Crucifixion, the hesitance from Pontius Pilate and the reasons why he made the decision to allow for the crucifixion of Jesus. Ultimately these points will show the theme of reluctance that was shown by Pontius Pilate.

During the times of Jesus, right before the Crucifixion, Pontius Pilate, who was the Procurator of Judea during this time, was constantly battling with riots and uproars from the Jews within his city. Pilate was appointed by Tiberius, and was on his last straw with Caesar during this time. Pilate sent Jesus Christ to Herod, since Jesus was a citizen of Galilee, and he was mocked by Herod instead of being sentenced to death. Jesus was brought back to Pilate, and the Jews would not settle for anything less than death. (Josephus pp. 590-592)

Pilate had sent Jesus to Galilee in hope that Herod would be able to handle the situation for him. The Jews of the city were out for Jesus’ blood and Pilate did not want to be the one to sentence him. However, due to the constant uprising of the Jews, Pilate was unable to compromise. This political struggle was so out of hand that the Jewish population was on the verge of rioting and Pilate would even hide soldiers within the crowds in order to keep them under control. (Josephus pp. 591-592)

The account of Pilate allowing for Jesus’ death can be found in Matthew 27: 11-26. This was after Herod had sent Jesus back to Pilate. At the judgment of Christ held before the Jewish leaders, Pilate asked Jesus if he was truly the king of the Jews. Jesus answered that he was and the Jewish leaders lost control. Pilate then gave them the option of releasing Jesus or a notorious criminal named Barabbas. Pilate gave them this option because he felt that Jesus was innocent of all crimes. To Pilates’ surprise the Jews chose to have Barabbas released. He then asked what they wanted done with Jesus and they called for him to be crucified. Pilate tried pleading with the crowds but uproar was starting so Pilate washed his hands and said that his hands were clean of Jesus’ blood.

Looking at the attempts of Pilate to have Jesus released you can see his reluctance in having him crucified. After not only sending Jesus to Herod he also gave the Jews the option of having Jesus released or one of the most notorious criminals of their time. Pilate thought for sure that they would choose Jesus to be released, but to his surprise they chose Barabbas. He then pleaded with the crowds asking them exactly what crime Jesus had committed. The crowds persisted to have their way and began to get out of control. When Pontius saw that there was little left to do before a revolt he washed his hands clean and said that the life of Jesus was now in their hands.

In conclusion, after reading this passage in the New Testament I feel that in the past Pilate has gotten a bad reputation for having Jesus killed. It was clear that he did almost everything that he could to stop this from happening but in order to save his life and stop a revolt he gave in to the Jews. Pilate washed his hands clean and left the decision up to the religious leaders, and in my opinion I believe that he did this in order to feel less convicted of what was being allowed. Pilate was just a pawn in God’s plan for salvation.