Biblical Profile: Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate

Pontius Pilate was the Roman governor of Judea from AD 26 to 36, including the time of Jesus’ death in AD 30 or 33. Pilate gave the official order for Jesus to be crucified.

As the governor of Judea, Pilate was in control of all the Roman occupation forces as well as the Temple and its funds. He was the only one who had the authority to execute criminals (see John 18:31), so the Jewish authorities were compelled to bring charges before Pilate in order to have Jesus executed (Mark 15:1-4).

Pilate was sometimes abusive as governor. He appropriated Temple funds to construct a thirty-five-mile aqueduct for Jerusalem, provoking a major protest. In response, Pilate had soldiers infiltrate the crowds in disguise and beat the offenders to death with clubs (Josephus, War 2.9.4; Antiquities 18.3.2). Another time, Pilate murdered some Galileans “as they were offering sacrifices at the Temple” (Luke 13:1); this incident might have estranged him from the Galilean ruler Herod Antipas. Pilate also tried to bring images of Caesar into Jerusalem for worship. Later (AD 36), Pilate slaughtered pilgrims who followed a Samaritan false prophet, an event that led to his dismissal by the emperor Tiberius in the same year.

Each Gospel records Pilate’s role in the death of Jesus (Matt 27:11-26; Mark 15:1:1-15; Luke 23:1-25; John 18:28–19:16; see also Acts 3:13; 4:27; 13:28; 1 Tim 6:13). After interrogating Jesus, he was convinced that Jesus had done nothing deserving of death, so he tried to return the case to the Jewish authorities. When they resisted, he tried to pass Jesus to Herod Antipas for judgment—but he, too, refused the case. Pilate finally tried appealing to a traditional Roman custom of freeing a prisoner on Passover. Meanwhile, his wife had been deeply troubled by a dream about “that innocent man” (Matt 27:19). But the clamor of the crowd became threatening, and the Jewish leaders began insinuating that Pilate was not taking Jesus’ threat to Rome seriously. Pilate yielded to Jewish pressure. He ordered that Jesus be whipped and then crucified, with the title “King of the Jews” posted on a sign over his head—but only after strenuously objecting and declaring himself to be innocent of the guilt of such an unjust death (Matt 27:18-25; Mark 15:14; Luke 23:4, 13-23; John 18:38); 19:4-16. Pilate’s attitude toward Jesus stands as a testimony that Jesus posed no threat to the Roman government but only to the Jewish leadership. This may have been a helpful point for later Christians who were portrayed as a threat to Rome.

Shortly after Jesus’ death, Pilate gave special permission to Joseph of Arimathea to take the body of Jesus from the cross and bury it (Matt 27:57-61; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38-42). He also gave permission to the Jewish authorities to seal the tomb to make sure no one would steal the body or make false claims about Jesus coming back to life (Matt 27:62-66).

Little is known of Pilate after his dismissal in AD 36; Eusebius reports that Pilate committed suicide during the reign of Caligula, AD 37–41 (Eusebius, Church History 2.7).

Passages for Further Study

Matt 27:2, 11-26, 57-58, 62-65; Mark 15:1-15, 43-45; Luke 3:1; 13:1; 23:1-25, 52; 18:28–19:16; 19:31, 38; Acts 3:13; 4:27; 13:28; 1 Tim 6:13