27:1-2 When they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius Pilate―(1) When the morning was come, all the chief priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus to
put him to death: (2) And when they had bound him, they led him away, and delivered him to Pontius
Pilate the governor.‖
Because the Jews were a captive people under the rule of the Roman Empire, it was unlawful for the
Sanhedrin to execute anyone found guilty of violating their religious law without first obtaining Roman
approval. Therefore, they sent Y‘shua to Pontius Pilate to be sentenced to death. However, after Pilate had
spoken to Y‘shua, he could find nothing that would be worthy of death and he wanted to release him.
Background on Pontius PilateWho was the man who commanded the execution of Y‘shua? He has been described as the best-known
Roman of all time, more famous than Julius Caesar or Nero. Millions of Christians throughout the world
remember him when every Sunday they recite the words of the creed, ̳I believe in Jesus Christ... who...
suffered under Pontius Pilate.‘ But until recently, apart from reference to Pilate in the Gospels and the
writings of the Jewish historian Josephus, there was no evidence that Pilate ever existed.
Then during the summer of 1961, some Italian archeologists were excavating an ancient theatre at Caesarea
- the port in the Mediterranean that used to be the Roman capital of Palestine. As they worked, they
unearthed a large stone which had part of an inscription on it. When it was cleaned, they were able to
construct the original inscription. There in three-inch lettering were the Latin words:
Caesareans Tiberievm
Pontivs Pilatvs
praefectvs ivdaeae
̳Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea, presented this tiberieum to the Caesareans.‘ Much to their amazement, the
Italians had found the first archaeological evidence for the existence of Pontius Pilate. It is significant that he
was presented as the Prefect of Judea. As such, he was not only a Roman administrator but also a governor
with military responsibility.
What sort of a man was Pilate?He became governor of Palestine with the governor of Syria as his immediate superior, in around A.D. 26.
The previous governor, Valerius Gratus, was recalled to Rome because he had had trouble with the Jews.
Palestine was a frontier province of the Roman Empire and already had the reputation of being not an easy
place to govern.
Though we know nothing about the career of Pilate before he came to Palestine, he must have been a man
of some ability before he was posted by the Roman emperor Tiberius to such a difficult post in the empire.
Sadly, from the beginning of his term of office, Pilate (like his predecessor) was in trouble with the Jews.
Somehow he failed to understand them and was lacking in diplomacy.
Apart from the trial of Y‘shua, we know of four other incidents in which Pilate and the Jews were in conflict.
#1. The affair of the Roman standards:As the occupying power, the Romans respected the religious view of the Jews; including their abhorrence of
idols. YHWH had said in the 10 commandments:
―You shall not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath
or in the waters below. You shall not bow to them or worship them.‖
But at the time of Pilate‘s governorship, emperor worship was beginning in the Roman Empire and Roman
soldiers were being encouraged not only to recognise the emperor as king, but also to worship him as one of
their Gods. As a result, they carried on their shields little images of the emperor as a sign of his power.
To the Jews, these were graven images and so deeply offensive. Up to the time of Pilate, every Roman
commander had marched his troops in Jerusalem without the image of the emperor their standards. But,
soon after his arrival, Pilate sent a fresh garrison of troops to Jerusalem by night and ordered them to take