What happened when Jesus was before Pilate? Held 2,000 years ago in Judea, a Roman province inhabited by Jews and ruled by a Jewish. Theocratic dictatorship, the trial of Jesus, is the best known in human history.
There is no other trial that touched so many hearts. Unjustly condemned to death, first for the supposed guilt of calling himself the Son of God and then for the invented responsibility of having substituted himself for the Roman authority; even though Christ had clearly stated that his kingdom was not of this world, Jesus is executed by a legal act that does not respect the legal prescriptions existing at the time.
In this article, you will find information about the charges against the Saviour. So what can we understand from Matthew’s testimony about Yaishua’s trial?
Jesus and the crowds
The Saviour was generally regarded by the simple people of that time in Israel as a great prophet. Greater than His forerunner John the Baptist. Jesus spoke and worked in the name, with the authority and power of God. The Gospel preached by Him was a religious-moral message, not a social-political one. What did Pilate think of Jesus?
The central idea of His preaching was the kingdom of God or heaven. He renewed and ennobled the religious-moral Old Testament Law and created a new religion with a new morality.
Who was Pontius Pilate?
Pontius Pilate, governor of Judea, King Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee, and Perea, one of Herod the Great’s sons. They all had particular interests in Christ’s position before the people at that time. Except for Pilate, who was a leader blackmailed by the Judaic structures that were against Christ. He was married to the niece of the Roman Emperor Tiberius, Claudia Procula, and was given the governorship of the province of Judea as a wedding gift. Why was Jesus brought in front of him, and what happened when Jesus was before Pilate?
Origin of Pontius Pilate
According to ancient tradition, Pontius Pilate was born in the town of Bisenti, in the Samnite region, now Abruzzo, in central Italy, where the ruins of a Roman building known as the “House of Pilate” are located. It has also been claimed that he was born in the village of Fortingall in the Perthshire area of Scotland as the illegitimate son of a Roman ambassador and that he first saw the light of day in a town in Spain or Germany.
Some scholars believe that the governor of Judea belonged to the Ponti lineage, an ancient surname found in the Samnite region.
The end of Pilate
There are many versions of the end of Pontius Pilate, but we do not know for sure which one is true or whether any of them are close to the truth.
The former prefect of Judea was condemned to death by the emperor Caligula for his deeds, while others say the Jews of Rome murdered him. Some say Tiberius’ successor exiled him to Gaul, where he allegedly committed suicide. Others claim that he ended his life before being imprisoned by the new emperor. And that his dismembered body was thrown into the waters of the Tiber in Rome.
According to some medieval legends, after committing suicide, his body ended up in modern-day Switzerland. There are three variants at a place that has since borne his name: Pilatusberg, in the Lucerne highlands.
Facts about Herodians. Why did they take Jesus to death?
Jesus, during His activity, was closely watched by the Herodians, Herod’s followers, and the Pharisees’ close associates. They, at one point, summoned Christ when He was in Galilee, telling Him He was being pursued by Herod and must leave those parts.
Jesus’ preaching, which took place over no more than three years, did not delay troubling the Pharisees and Sadducees. The former was irritated by His freedom from the Torah. At the same time, the latter wanted to avoid suspicious disturbances due to messianic propaganda. The kingdom of God preached by Jesus, however, corresponded to the zealots’ desire to be sons of the heavenly God in the eternal kingdom.
The conflict between the Temple authorities and Christ
What happened when Jesus was taken to Pilate? Although the Saviour Jesus Christ was not educated in a rabbinical school. The teaching He transmitted was superior to that of the rabbis or the consecrated persons of the Temple, even to that of the high priest, who had a different message. Christ’s criticism of the political-religious parties led to this conflict of authority outbreak.
What are the stages of Christ’s process?
The trial of the Saviour has two aspects: a religious one, a problem of alleged religious guilt, and a political one invented by political rap. When was Jesus before Pilate?
First, at the trial of Caiaphas, the Saviour was brought up on a religious charge, blasphemy, for calling Himself the Son of God. According to the prescriptions of the Law, the punishment for this was stoning. Still, they could not put the Sanhedrin’s decision into practice since they were representative of the Roman authority. Pontius Pilate held absolute power.
Extorted, Pilate pronounced a political sentence. Christ was not a Roman citizen. And therefore, the death penalty could not be imposed on him by cutting off his head. But by crucifixion, the most humiliating punishment of all that existed in the Roman code.
Christ’s trial was not a classical one. In the first case, the classical one, the trial had to be judged by a praetor in Caesarea or another locality. If it was an “extra ordinem” trial, it had to be considered in the palace of Caesarea Palestine by Pontius Pilate. All these formalities were violated. The trial was speedy.
According to the Bible, it took no more than 14-15 hours for when Anna heard Jesus. To the final sentencing by Pontius Pilate. Let us not forget that Pilate washed his hands and said he was not guilty of Jesus’ crucifixion.
How did the trial of Jesus go?
The procedure was violated and, from the accounts of the Holy Gospels, but also the Apocryphal Gospels, we learn several details: the witnesses for the defense were not heard, the hearings took place at night, not during the day, the sentence was not given the next day, but immediately after the trial. Legally speaking, Jesus was a Peregrin of the Empire without Roman citizenship. He was, therefore, at the discretion of the governor, the first and only judge of His case. And as such, He would not have been allowed, as in the case of the Apostle Paul. To appeal to the supreme judicial court, the emperor. What did Pilate do when Jesus was brought at him?
Since there was no right of appeal, the sentence had to be carried out immediately, but the three conditions had to be respected: it had to be public, it had to be given on the day, and it had to be a holiday. Roman practice, which did not allow hearings at night, should also be known.
The Roman authority had no jurisdiction in the religious sphere. And therefore, it could not impose a punishment, whether death or not, for a religious fault. His guilt then had to be changed to a political one where the Roman authority had jurisdiction and could give the ultimate sentence or verdict.
What were the accusations against Jesus?
When he entered Jerusalem, he was hailed as the king of Israel and received great acclaim, but in no more than five days, the same people were shouting, “Crucifixion for Him, crucify Him!”.
The Jews’ accusation against Jesus was that he was ‘king of the Jews.’ The governor Pontius Pilate reversed that He was king in place of Caesar. Who orders a tablet to be placed on the Cross with the sign: ‘Jesus of Nazareth, king of the Jews.
In the history of the modern world, both contemporary and ancient, there have been people who have manipulated the masses. The first to try to use the Sanhedrin, controlled mainly by the Sadducee party, was Anna, followed by Caiaphas, who dictated the condemnation of the Saviour. They made use of zealots angry that Christ had not accepted to be their leader. They stirred up the people to demand the release of Barabbas. So they were a Zealot, one of the movement’s leaders against the Romans.
Did Pontius Pilate repent?
The Ethiopian Church is not in communion with the Orthodox Churches. He made Pilate a saint, celebrating him on 25 June with his wife.
According to biblical accounts, Pontius Pilate repented and embraced the faith of Christ. And it was said he had suffered a martyr’s death, and it happened during the anti-Christian persecution of Emperor Nero.
Since Pilate’s wife sent him the message during the Savior’s trial. To not hurt Jesus because she was in pain all night for His sake. She became a disciple of the Holy Apostles. And endured countless sufferings for her faith in Jesus Christ. The Greek Church counts Claudia Procula among the saints.
Have a great day, and thank you for your time!
