38 Jesus, Prophet ofIslam
The part played by Pontius Pilate, the Roman Magistrate, is hard
to determine. His indecisiveness, as described in the Bible, his par
tiality towards the [ewish leaders, together with his good will to
wards Jesus, make a story hard to believe. It has been suggested
that this could be the result of an attempt by the writers of the
Gospels to twist the facts in order to shift the responsibility of the
'crucifixion' entirely onto the whole Jewish nation and so to exon
erate the Romans completely from their part in [esus's supposed
death." The only way an official account of [esus's life could sur
vive would be by describing it in a manner which was not offen
sive to the foreign rulers, and by either omitting, disguising, or
even changing those details which would be displeasing to those
in authority.
Another possible explanation is provided by a strong tradition
that Pilate was 'got al' with a sizeable bribe amounting to the
equivalent of f30,OOO. If what is described in the Gospels is true,
thenit is obvious that Pilate did have a vested interest in the drama
enacted that day in [erusalem,
There is one other significant fact which it is interesting to note
in passing: Inthe calendars of the Saints of the Coptic Church, both
in Egypt and in Ethiopia, Pilate and his wife appear as 'saints'.
This can only make sense if we accept that Pilate, knowing full
weIl that his soldiers had made a wrong arrest, knowingly con
demned Judas in place of Jesus, and aHowed the latter to escape.
In the account givenby Barnabas, we are told that at the time of
the arrest, which took place after the Last Supper -and which ac
cording to him took place 'in the house of Nicodemus beyond the
brook Cedron', outside [erusalem - Judas was transformed by the
Creator so that not only his enemies but even his mother and his
closest followers believed him to he Jesus:
Having gone forth from the house, Jesus retired into the
garden to pray, according as his custom was to pray,
bowing his knees an hundred times and prostrating him
self upon his face.Judas, accordingly, knowing the place
where Jesus was with his disciples, went to the high
priest, and said: 'If you will give me what was prom
ised, this night will 1give into your hand Jesus whom
you seek; for he is alone with eleven companions.'
The high priest answered: 'How much do you seek?'http://www.islamicbulletin.com