Pilate, the Roman Governor

Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”  “You have said so,” Jesus replied.  When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer.

Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?”  But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.

When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!"
Matthew 27:11-16, 24

Pontius Pilate was the fifth Prefect (magistrate) of the Roman province of Judaea, from AD 26-36.  Little is known of his history; his primary function would have been military, and overseeing the collection of taxes.  He also fulfilled some small judiciary roles.  According to wikipedia, "Pilate resided in Caesarea but traveled throughout the province, especially to Jerusalem, in the course of performing his duties. During the Passover, a festival of deep national as well as religious significance for the Jews, Pilate, as governor or prefect, would have been expected to be in Jerusalem to keep order."

The Sanhedrin brought Jesus to Pilate; though they considered him blasphemous, they accused him of sedition before Pilate, so that Pilate would be forced to take action.  Pilate found no guilt with Christ, and tried to release him, but the Sanhedrin forced him into irreversible action.

 I wonder if Pilate knows he was a puppet for these men.  They were using him for their own means.  As governor of this smaller, Judaean province, Pilate wasn't high ranking or powerful in Roman circles; he was basically a mid-level bureaucrat.

I think the Sanhedrin knew this and exploited it.  They cashed in on Jesus' statement that he was king, challenging Roman rule and the leadership of Caesar.  But don't think that Pilate was innocent, or naive.  He could have stepped up at any time.  He could have stopped the whole nonsense.  But just like many of the other characters we've looked at thus far, he didn't want to make waves.  He didn't want to offend or cause problems - any bigger problems, that is. 

The bottom line is, he was looking out for himself.  Keep the people quiet, keep the noise to a minimum, keep the higher ups happy. 

He goes so far as to wash his hands, a symbolic show of contempt.  An insistence of innocence.

As if that exonerates him.

No, Pilate was every bit the coward that the others were.  I don't think we can hold him more accountable or less accountable for Jesus' death.  He simply played a role.  And he didn't have to.

History shows that Pilate became an antagonizer of the Jews.  He was called to Rome to account for his actions, and to be rebuked for them.  The ancient Jewish writer Philo writes of Pilate being vindictive and foul-tempered, inflexible and selfish.  Was he always that way?  Or did he become that way after this incident with Jesus?  Did his guilt turn him into a monster? 

Some traditions say the Pilate was later exiled and committed suicide.  That's quite a life.  Or is it?

You know, when God entrusts you with responsibility and status, it's not just so that you can sit around and reap the benefits without doing the work.  Whether you're a small, medium, or big fish - God has duties for you.  Shirking them, striving for popularity, for the path of least resistance - that is the devil's work.  That allows the devil to gain a foothold.

Not hard to see how that happened in Pilate's life, is it?