OT Reading: 1 Kings 3-5
NT Reading: Luke 23:1-26
When we read Mark 15 I blogged a number of details rapid-fire style about the crucifixion of Jesus, including the fact that Pilate had Jesus crucified to appease the crowd rather than because of any crime committed. Here, I'd like to elaborate on Pilate a bit.
Rome often appointed governors over regions that they ruled. These governors had authority to represent Rome and had the responsibility to ensure that peace was maintained and taxes were collected. Into this context Pontius Pilate was placed as the governor of Judea from AD 26-36.
From the moment Pilate arrived in Judea, he had a very tenuous relationship with the Jews. Secular historians recount for us a variety of incidents that describe his cruelty toward the subjects he ruled. Allow me to list a few:
- Immediately upon moving in to Jerusalem, Pilate erected standards (or hung shields according to some accounts) immediately opposite the temple hailing the name of Caesar on them. If you know anything about Jewish zeal regarding their temple, you probably understand that this would not fly.
- Years later Pilate ordered an aqueduct to be built and took funds from the Jewish temple to do so. Obviously there was tremendous opposition from the Jews, so Pilate had Roman soldiers dress as civilians and infiltrate the crowd. Upon his command many Jews were killed as the soldiers beat the protesters.
- The gospel writer Luke himself records an event in Luke 13 which speaks about how Pilate had mixed the blood of some Galileans with their sacrifices. While this event is not corroborated outside the Bible, this event seems right up Pilate's alley.
So needless to say Pilate was not doing a very fair job of keeping the Jewish people quiet and happy like Rome wanted. Therefore when the Jewish leaders came with Jesus, Pilate had a decision to make.
One one hand, seeing no reason to crucify this man he could stand up for justice and set him free. However given the mob-like state the crowd was in already, that would probably have led to rioting for which Rome would not be happy. In fact the religious leaders tried to play into this when they said, "If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar..." (John 19:12, NIV)
On the other hand Pilate could try to gain some favor with the locals by giving in to their demands. Pilate could really use some good PR right now, and I mean hey...isn't one man's life worth a peaceful region in the Roman empire?
Ultimately Pilate was removed from power in AD 36 when he had a group of heavily armed soldiers take down an offshoot religious sect of Samaritans. While no historian confirms what happens to Pilate after his removal, it is believed he committed suicide a few years later.
And that is a profile of the man you know as Pontius Pilate.
There was one verse in this passage that caught my attention, Luke 23:12 says "(Herod and Pilate, who had been enemies before, became friends that day.)" Was that because Pilate dealt with Jesus' sentence when Herod didn't want to & sent him to Pilate?
ReplyDeleteGood question Melissa. There is not a lot of detail we can pull from the text regarding this situation with Herod and Pilate, but here are some things that we may be able to read into it. Regarding their opposition to one another, generally the opinion is that it was for one of a couple reasons:
ReplyDelete* They were both ambitious rulers who would have run into each other on multiple occasions, and in this case egos would have been colliding. In fact each may have been a bit power-hungry, wanting Rome to hand over the other's area to their own control.
* Pilate had openly shown disdain for the Jewish people, of whom Herod was one (less likely since Herod wasn't exactly what you call a "company man")
But to your question, why were they suddenly friends. That too has a few theories behind it.
* The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Jesus may have brought them together out of the fact they both had him as an "issue" to deal with.
* Pilate sent Jesus to Herod, and Herod had wanted to see Jesus for some time. In fact, look back at Luke 9:9 and you will see that this has been the case for some time. Herod may have been grateful for Pilate fulfilling his wish.
* This may have been seen (whether intentional or not) as a gesture of respect by each. The excuse Pilate gives for sending Jesus to Herod is that he is a Galilean. That could have been seen as a nod to Herod's authority in ruling Galilee. Herod then returned Jesus back to Pilate. This too, could have been seen as a nod to authority as this would recognize that the events in question had been taking place in Pilate's area of jurisdiction.
In short, we are not given a lot of details about the relationship between Pilate and Herod, so we have to fill in some of the blanks ourselves. But that's part of what makes this fun (for me at least) :-).