[186] Pilate first appears in art on a Christian sarcophagus in 330 CE; in the earliest depictions he is shown washing his hands without Jesus being present. The fate of Pontius Pilate after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is disputed among historians. [185] He is, however, entirely absent from the earliest Christian art; all images postdate the emperor Constantine and can be classified as early Byzantine art. [286], The Gospels' deflection of responsibility for Jesus's crucifixion from Pilate to the Jews has been blamed for fomenting antisemitism from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. [168] The tradition may go back to a misread Latin inscription on the tower. The leader of the Samaritan group had promised that He would show them those sacred vessels which were laid under that place, because Moses put them there.[9] But Pilate sent his troops and defeated them before they arrived at Mt. Others suggest that he was executed during the reign of Emperor Nero. Eusebius reported that Pontius Pilate committed suicide during the reign of Caius or Emperor Caligula. [187] In later images he is typically shown washing his hands of guilt in Jesus' presence. [56] Schwartz suggests that Pilate's entire tenure was characterized by "continued underlying tension between governor and governed, now and again breaking out in brief incidents. [271] Speaking of Dennen's portrayal in the trial scene, McDonough describes him as a "cornered animal. [69] She argues that "[i]t is not only possible but quite likely that Pilate's governorship contained many such brief outbreaks of trouble about which we know nothing. Pilate was a politician and an administrator, probably in that order. [183] In the medieval Slavonic Josephus, an Old Church Slavonic translation of Josephus, with legendary additions, Pilate kills many of Jesus's followers but finds Jesus innocent. Copyright Like The Master Ministries. [123] Joan Taylor has argued that the symbolism on the coins show how Pilate attempted to promote the Roman imperial cult in Judaea, in spite of local Jewish and Samaritan religious sensitivities. [210] Pilate's characterization varies greatly from play to play, but later plays frequently portray Pilate somewhat ambiguously, though he is usually a negative character, and sometimes an evil villain. Antiquities of the Jews 18.4.2. [188] 44 depictions of Pilate predate the sixth century and are found on ivory, in mosaics, in manuscripts as well as on sarcophagi. 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. His wife sends him word of a revelatory dream she has had about Jesus and urges him to have nothing to do with that innocent man (Matthew 27:19), and Pilate abdicates his responsibility to the emperor. [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. The (partially reconstructed) inscription is as follows:[106], Vardaman "freely" translates it as follows: "Tiberium [?of the Caesareans?] [201] Pilate also comes to be frequently depicted as present at the crucifixion, by the fifteenth century being a standard element of crucifixion artwork. However, the body is surrounded by demons and storms, so that it is removed from the Tiber and instead cast into the Rhone, where the same thing happens. 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. As governor, it was Pilate's job to pass judgement in capital cases: he was the one who condemned Jesus to suffer on the cross. [257] Because he betrayed his desire to follow his morality and free Jesus, Pilate must suffer for eternity. [64][65] Bond dates the incident to 31, sometime after Sejanus's death in 17 October. [281], He is venerated as a saint by the Ethiopian Church with a feast day on 19 June,[159][282] and was historically venerated by the Coptic Church, with a feast day of 25 June. Historical references suggest Claudia was the illegitimate daughter of Julia, Augustus Caesar's only natural offspring. [206] Colum Hourihane argues that all of these plays supported antisemitic tropes and were written at times when persecution of Jews on the continent were high. Some people told Jesus about a group of Galileans who had come to the temple to sacrifice, and Pontius Pilate slaughtered them, probably due to a public disturbance the Galileans were causing (Luke 13:1). Perhaps the earliest apocryphal texts attributed to Pilate are denunciations of Christianity and of Jesus that claim to be Pilate's report on the crucifixion. [87] Bart Ehrman argues that the Gospel of Mark, the earliest one, shows the Jews and Pilate to be in agreement about executing Jesus (Mark 15:15), while the later gospels progressively reduce Pilate's culpability, culminating in Pilate allowing the Jews to crucify Jesus in John (John 19:16). [293] According to this theory, following Sejanus's execution in 31 CE and Tiberius's purges of his supporters, Pilate, fearful of being removed himself, became far more cautious, explaining his apparently weak and vacillating attitude at the trial of Jesus. [260] Swiss playwright Max Frisch's comedy Die chinesische Mauer portrays Pilate as a skeptical intellectual who refuses to take responsibility for the suffering he has caused. On the basis of events which were documented by the second-century pagan philosopher Celsus and the Christian apologist Origen, most modern historians believe that Pilate simply retired after his dismissal. The Jewish historian Flavius Josephus records these words about Pilate, Now, there was about this time Jesus, a wise man, if it be lawful to call him a man. And that these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate. Tradition adds that Pilate died in Vienne, France on the Rhone or on Mount Pilatus, Switzerland. [230] In the Italian passion plays, Pilate never identifies himself as a Jew, condemning them in the fifteenth-century Resurrezione and stressing the Jews' fear of the "new law" of Christ. So Vitellius sent Marcellus, a friend of his, to take care of the affairs of Judea, and ordered Pilate to go to Rome, to answer before the emperor to the accusation of the Jews. They became ennobled as equestrians. Without his protector in power, Pilate made a major error and suppressed a small uprising in Samaria. What happened to Pontius Pilate after the death of Christ? [5], While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him a message, saying, Have nothing to do with that righteous Man; for last night I suffered greatly in a dream because of Him. Matthew 27:19(NASB). If the tradition is true, she dreamed of the countless recitations and liturgical chants of . Answer (1 of 5): Pilate had a political benefactor in Rome named, Lucius Aelius Sejanus. Pontius Pilate served as the prefect of Judaea from 26 to 36 A.D. The post of governor of Judaea was of relatively low prestige and nothing is known of how Pilate obtained the office. For he was a doer of surprising feats a teacher of such men as receive the truth with pleasure. [86] Paul Winter explained the discrepancy between Pilate in other sources and Pilate in the gospels by arguing that Christians became more and more eager to portray Pontius Pilate as a witness to Jesus' innocence, as persecution of Christians by the Roman authorities increased. [181], Pilate was also the subject of legends in Eastern Christianity. The body is first thrown in the Tiber, but because it causes storms it is then moved to Vienne, and then thrown in a lake in the high Alps. [147], In the most common version of the passion narrative in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus (also called the Acts of Pilate), Pilate is portrayed as forced to execute Jesus by the Jews and as distraught at having done so. In this video we dig into the facts, and the moun. Others suggest that he was executed during the reign of Emperor Nero. [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. Nothing is known about his life before he became governor of Judaea, and nothing is known about the circumstances that led to his appointment to the governorship. The angel said to the women, Do not be afraid; for I know that you are looking for Jesus who has been crucified. "[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. This reference has been variously interpreted as referring to one of the incidents recorded by Josephus, or to an entirely unknown incident. 11. 3. [63] It is unclear why the shields offended against Jewish law: it is likely that they contained an inscription referring to Tiberius as divi Augusti filius (son of divine Augustus). November 9 is the feast-day of Claudia Procula, Pontius Pilate's wife. [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. The episode connected with her is perhaps among the most mysterious. He is best known for being the official who presided over the trial of Jesus and ultimately ordered his crucifixion.Pilate's importance in modern Christianity is underscored by his . [120] Earlier coins read on the obverse and on the reverse, referring to the emperor Tiberius and his mother Livia (Julia Augusta). "[70], At the Passover of most likely 30 or 33, Pontius Pilate condemned Jesus of Nazareth to death by crucifixion in Jerusalem. Pilate dies seven months later. But in 31 AD, Sejanus ended up on the wrong side of a political feud and was sentenced to . [80] Pilate may have judged Jesus according to the cognitio extra ordinem, a form of trial for capital punishment used in the Roman provinces and applied to non-Roman citizens that provided the prefect with greater flexibility in handling the case. [152] Another early text is an apocryphal letter attributed to "Herod" (a composite character of the various Herods in the Bible), which claims to respond to a letter from Pilate in which Pilate spoke of his remorse for Jesus' crucifixion and of having had a vision of the risen Christ; "Herod" asks Pilate to pray for him. [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. [72] The main sources on the crucifixion are the four canonical Christian Gospels, the accounts of which vary. Ignatius of Antioch mentions him in his epistles to the Trallians, Magnesians, and Smyrnaeans[13] (composed between 105110 AD). [117][116] MacAdam argues that "[i]t is far easier to believe that this very fragmentary inscription prompted the legend of Pontius Pilate's association with the Italian village of Ameria [] than it is to posit someone forging the inscription two centuries agoquite creatively, it would seemto provide substance for the legend. "[54], According to Josephus in his The Jewish War (2.9.2) and Antiquities of the Jews (18.3.1), Pilate offended the Jews by moving imperial standards with the image of Caesar into Jerusalem. His patron in Rome was Sejanus, who virtually governed Rome after the Emperor Tiberius retired to his villa at Capri. [249] The Mystre de la Passion d'Angers by Jean Michel includes legendary scenes of Pilate's life before the passion. [192] Depictions continue to be greatly influenced by the Acts of Pilate, and the number of situations in which Pilate is depicted also increases. Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week . And in my sweat of pity, for Pontius was a just man and very learned, I woke. Pilate died 39. Deadline reports that WB has purchased a script called Pontias Pilate from Woman on Top writer Vera Blasi, a new take on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as told through the eyes of the man who . He is sometimes replaced by Herod, Annas, and Caiaphas in the trial scene. [244] In this play, when Judas comes back to Pilate and the priests to tell them he no longer wishes to betray Jesus, Pilate browbeats Judas into going through with the plan. [160] The Evangelium Gamalielis, possibly of medieval origin and preserved in Arabic, Coptic, and Ge'ez,[161] says Jesus was crucified by Herod, whereas Pilate was a true believer in Christ who was martyred for his faith; similarly, the Martyrium Pilati, possibly medieval and preserved in Arabic, Coptic, and Ge'ez,[161] portrays Pilate, as well as his wife and two children, as being crucified twice, once by the Jews and once by Tiberius, for his faith. He was appointed prefect of Judaea through the intervention of Sejanus, a favourite of the Roman emperor Tiberius. [153], In the so-called Book of the Cock, a late-antique apocryphal passion Gospel only preserved in Ge'ez (Ethiopic) but translated from Arabic,[154] Pilate attempts to avoid Jesus's execution by sending him to Herod and writing further letters arguing with Herod not to execute Jesus. First Apology 48. [280] The mention of Pilate in the creeds serves to mark the passion as a historical event. . [224][225][226], Pilate plays a major role in the medieval passion play. Wroe, Ann. Following Livia's death, the coins only read . There are these words: At His coming the lame shall leap as an hart, and the tongue of the stammerer shall be clear speaking: the blind shall see, and the lepers shall be cleansed; and the dead shall rise, and walk about. And that He did those things, you can learn from the Acts of Pontius Pilate. [287], The main ancient sources on Pilate offer very different views on his governorship and personality. According to Eusebius of Caesareas Ecclesiastical History, Pontius Pilate killed himself on orders from the emperor Caligula sometime after 36 CE. Because of this subject matter, the Master has been attacked for "Pilatism" by the Soviet literary establishment. [283][284], Pilate's washing his hands of responsibility for Jesus's death in Matthew 27:24 is a commonly encountered image in the popular imagination,[75] and is the origin of the English phrase "to wash one's hands of (the matter)", meaning to refuse further involvement with or responsibility for something. Many of these legends connected Pilate's place of birth or death to particular locations around Western Europe, such as claiming his body was buried in a particularly dangerous or cursed local area. The sons of Herod the Great petitioned him to remove the shields, but Pilate refused. Pilate was the first who brought those images to Jerusalem, and set them up there; which was done without the knowledge of the people, because it was done in the nighttime; but as soon as they knew it, they came in multitudes to Cesarea, and interceded with Pilate many days, that he would remove the images; and when he would not grant their requests, because it would tend to the injury of Caesar, while yet they persevered in their request, on the sixth day he ordered his soldiers to have their weapons privately, while he came and sat upon his judgment seat, which seat was so prepared in the open place of the city, that it concealed the army that lay ready to oppress them: and when the Jews petitioned him again, he gave a signal to the soldiers to encompass them round, and threatened that their punishment should be no less than immediate death, unless they would leave off disturbing him, and go their ways home. [67] The dating of the incident is unknown, but Bond argues that it must have occurred between 26 and 30 or 33, based on Josephus's chronology. Five chapters of the novel are featured as chapters of The Master and Margarita. In the Cura sanitatis Tiberii (dated variously 5th to 7th century),[162] the emperor Tiberius is healed by an image of Jesus brought by Saint Veronica, Saint Peter then confirms Pilate's report on Jesus's miracles, and Pilate is exiled by the emperor Nero, after which he commits suicide. Pontius Pilate was definitely a real historical figure. [171] Howard Martin summarizes the general content of these legendary biographies as follows: a king who was skilled in astrology and named Atus lived in Mainz. [234] The 1517 Alsfelder Passionsspiel portrays Pilate as condemning Christ to death out of fear of losing Herod's friendship and to earn the Jews' good will, despite his long dialogues with the Jews in which he professes Christ's innocence. After Jesus died on the cross, the gospels record that Pilate allowed several members of the Sanhedrin, Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus, to bury Jesus (Mark 15:43; John 3:1; 19:38-40). But the Jewish leaders did care. Resurrection Accounts Resurrection of Christ, Thus says the LORD, Let not a wise man boast of his wisdom, and let not the mighty man boast of his might, let not a rich man boast of his riches; but let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me . It is possible that the ring belonged to another individual named Pilate,[130] or that it belonged to someone who worked for Pontius Pilate. [7], And the expression, They pierced my hands and my feet, was used in reference to the nails of the cross which were fixed in His hands and feet. [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]. The quote reveals that many Greeks considered Pilates misfortunes to be divine justice for the death of Jesus Christ. [212] Pilate continued to be represented in various manuscript picture bibles and devotional works as well, often with innovative iconography, sometimes depicting scenes from the Pilate legends. They seem to picture a headstrong strict authoritarian Roman leader who, although both rational and practical, never knew how far he should go in a given case. [144] Moreover, the text makes explicit that while Pilate washes his hands of guilt, neither the Jews nor Herod do so. He also finds historical the information that their relationship mended following the execution of Jesus. As punishment he is sent to the island of Pontius, whose inhabitants he subjugates, thus acquiring the name Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate. And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. [168] This connection to Mount Pilatus is attested from 1273 CE onwards, while Lake Lucerne has been called "Pilatus-See" (Pilate Lake) beginning in the fourteenth century. Please select which sections you would like to print: Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. A second inscription, which has since been lost,[114] has historically been associated with Pontius Pilate. An early church tradition that had taken a favourable opinion of Pilate persisted in some churches into the early 21st century. Tiberius died in Misenum on the 16th of March in 37, in his seventy-eighth year (Tacitus, Annals VI.50, VI.51). [151] Two of these include purported reports made by Pilate to the emperor (the Anaphora Pilati to Emperor Tiberius and the Letter of Pilate to Claudius to Claudius) on the crucifixion, in which Pilate recounts Jesus' death and resurrection, blaming the Jews. 1887, p. 199. [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. McClintock and Strong. He and his wife are portrayed as Christian converts and sometimes martyrs. King Herod hears of this accomplishment and asks him to come to Palestine to aid his rule there; Pilate comes but soon usurps Herod's power. [275] McDonough argues that "Shopov gives us a very subtle Pilate, one who manages to appear alarmed though not panicked before the crowd, but who betrays far greater misgivings in private conversation with his wife. [274], Mel Gibson's 2004 film The Passion of the Christ portrays Pilate, played by Hristo Shopov, as a sympathetic, noble-minded character,[275] fearful that the Jewish priest Caiaphas will start an uprising if he does not give in to his demands. [43] He seems to have been free to govern the province as he wished, with intervention by the legate of Syria only coming at the end of his tenure, after the appointment of Lucius Vitellius to the post in 35. [286] These include John 18:35 (numquid ego Iudaeus sum? "[278] These creeds are recited weekly by many Christians. 238 views, 4 likes, 5 loves, 3 comments, 5 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from First Presbyterian Church of Tyler, Texas: FPC Tyler | Sunday Service |. Pontius Pilate, and the infamous trial he presided over, have become the stuff not only of legend, but of historical reconstructions and speculations ranging from the ingenious to the absurd, but. [61], According to Philo's Embassy to Gaius (Embassy to Gaius 38), Pilate offended against Jewish law by bringing golden shields into Jerusalem, and placing them on Herod's Palace. [106] The fragmentary nature of the inscription has led to some disagreement about the correct reconstruction, so that "apart from Pilate's name and title the inscription is unclear. [192] From the eleventh century onward, Pilate is frequently represented as a Jewish king, wearing a beard and a Jewish hat. Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. [23] In the Gospels of Mark and John, Pilate is only called by his cognomen, which Marie-Joseph Ollivier takes to mean that this was the name by which he was generally known in common speech. [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. They wanted Jesus dead. So Pilate, when he had tarried ten years in Judea, made haste to Rome, and this in obedience to the orders of Vitellius, which he dare not contradict; but before he could get to Rome, Tiberius was dead.[10]. (Behold the man! On the other hand, Johns picture of Pilate delivering judgment from a tribunal in front of the prefects mansion fits typical Roman procedure.