Introduction to The Hebraic biography of Y'shua

with them their standards with the emperor‘s image on them. When the Jews awoke the next morning to find
these shields under the shadow of the Temple, they were outraged.

Immediately there was uproar, and many of them marched in protest from Jerusalem to the Roman
headquarters at Caesarea. There they staged a five-day mass demonstration, protesting to Pilate about this
gross violation of Jewish religious law.

Instead of showing respect, Pilate was stubborn and would not yield to their request. He ordered his troops
to surround the protestors and threatened them with instant death if they did not disband at once. But the
Jews were made of sterner stuff and refused to go away. They bared their necks and challenged the Roman
soldiers to cut their heads off. They would rather die than have these images in Jerusalem.

Pilate, who had obviously not expected this depth of feeling, could not risk a wholesale massacre. He then
had to climb down and order the offensive standards to be removed. His first test of strength with the Jews
had ended in a humiliating defeat. This did not augur well for the future.

#2. The affair of the aqueduct

For a long time the water supply in Jerusalem had been inadequate and Pilate constructed a new aqueduct
to improve the water supply. At first sight, this should have been popular and a worthy cause. But Pilate
financed the construction of the aqueduct with funds from the Jewish Temple treasury. This enraged the
Jews, who felt that their funds should not have been used for this purpose.

While this action of Pilate must have been made with some co-operation from the priest in Jerusalem, riots
soon broke out all over the city. Pilate acted quickly. He surrounded the rioters with Roman soldiers
disguised as civilians. At a given signal they beat the mob with their staffs and, their swords. As a result there
was bloodshed and order was restored very soon. This time Pilate had won, but the price was too high and
the relationship between him and the Jews had continued to worsen.

#3. The affair of the wooden shields

On another occasion, Pilate set up some wooden shields in the Roman headquarters in Jerusalem. Unlike
the Roman standards, they bore no image but they were dedicated to the emperor Tiberius. Again the Jews
protested, seeing this as an affront to their religion.

In their eyes, it was a subtle attempt to introduce emperor worship within the holy city itself. Again they
protested to Pilate, but again he stubbornly refused to have the shields removed. The Jews then appealed to
the Roman emperor himself and wrote a letter of protest to him. In a strongly-worded reply, the emperor
wrote back, ordering Pilate to remove the shields and to transfer them at once to Caesarea. He also ordered
Pilate to uphold the religious customs of the Jews. Thus Pilate had been soundly and humiliatingly defeated
by the Jews.

It was after this incident that he had to make the decision about the trial of Y‘shua, and this helps to explain
his conduct.

#4. The last conflict

The last incident in Pilate‘s career involved the Samaritans, a tribe of people related to the Jews (who still
exist to this day) who were discriminated against by the Jews.

A false prophet arose among them who promised he would uncover the sacred vessels of the Tabernacle –
the Ark of the Covenant. According to tradition, these had been hidden by Moses in Mount Gerizim. This
caused a sensation among Samaritans, and many of them assembled to go up this mountain together. Some
of them arrived with weapons, which alarmed Roman authorities.

Pilate ordered his troops to block all the roads leading to Mount Gerizim. A pitched battle then began and
many of the Samaritan senate protested to Pilate‘s immediate superior (the governor of Syria), accusing him
of murder and using excessive force.

The governor of Syria ordered Pilate to return to Rome and to answer to the emperor Tiberius the charges
made against him. Pilate had no choice and departed to Rome. But before he reached there, the emperor
died. History does not record what subsequently happened. Was the judge, Pontius Pilate, himself judged in
Rome? We simply do not know.