Pontius Pilate

Pilate in the Gospels

According to the Gospel S, Jesus is led in front of Pilate by the Jewish religious leaders so that he judges it and condemns it.

Indeed, the night before, Jesus had been stopped with Gethsémani, by the Roman troop. One then trails it in front of the former high priest Anne, chief of the sacerdotal clan, then in front of his son-in-law, the high priest Caïphe who convened urgently the Great Council or Sanhédrin. One then makes him a lawsuit around a charge of blasphemy. But, the country being occupied by the Romans, it is necessary to obtain another judgment, this time in front of the court of the Roman Préfet, Pontius Pilate, to arrive to a death sentence.

One thus introduces Jesus to Pilate like Galiléen, rebellious dangerous, of which the claims with the royalty threaten the capacity of the emperor Tibère.

Having questioned, Pontius Pilate does not see any reason for judgment. Undoubtedly believing to have found the means of saving Jesus, he proposes with crowd to release a prisoner at the time of the Passover, like wanted it the habit. But, contrairemement so that it waited, crowd shouts “ Libérez Barabbas ”, of the name of another defendant of which Pilate informed the lawsuit at the same time, presented by the Gospels like a rioter and a murderer. Thus the Gospel according to Matthieu known as (27: 24):

And Pilate, indicator which it gained nothing, but that rather it rose a tumult, took water and washed the hands in front of crowd, saying: “I am innocent blood of this Juste; you, you will warn there. ”.

The texts of Flavius Josèphe report that Pontius Pilate had already repressed in a bloody way two Jewish revolts (see below). He could thus want to avoid a new “tumult”. Its bitter reflection “What the truth? ” makes some for certain authors, of which Ernest Renan, one of the characters more human introduced in the Gospels, because of its sincere doubt, whereas it is rather the Foi or the indifference which is described among other protagonists.

Pilate in Flavius Josèphe

'' Guerre of the Jews '', delivers II

2. Pilate, that Tibère sent as procurator in Judaea, introduced nuitamment in Jerusalem, glazes of a veil, the effigies of César, that signs are named. The come day, this spectacle excited among the Jews a great tumult: there the inhabitants present were struck of stupor, seeing a violation of their laws, which do not make it possible to raise any image in their city; the indignation of people of the city was communicated to the people of the countryside, which ran of all shares. The Jews assembled themselves around Pilate, has Césarée, to beg it to withdraw the signs of Jerusalem and to maintain the laws of their ancestors. As Pilate refused, they lay down around its house and remained prostrate there, without movement, during five days whole and five nights.

3. The day which followed, Pilate sat down on its court in the great stage and convened the people under pretext of answer him: there, it gave to the soldiers of weapons the agreed signal to encircle the Jews. When they transfer the troop massed around them on three rows, the Jews remained dumb in front of this unforeseen spectacle. Pilate, after having declared that it would make them cut the throat of if they did not receive the images of César, beckoned with the soldiers to fire their swords. But the Jews, like by mutual agreement, threw themselves to ground in tight rows and tightened the neck, stating themselves near to die rather than to violate the law. Struck astonishment in front of such a burning religious zeal, Pilate gave the order to withdraw the signs of Jerusalem at once.

4. A little later it raised a new riot while exhausting, for the construction of an aqueduct, the crowned treasure which one calls Korbónas; water was taken along of a distance from 400 stages. With this news, the people were indignant: he spread himself while vociferating around the court of Pilate, which was then in Jerusalem. This one, envisaging sedition, had taken care to interfere with the multitude a troop armed soldiers, but vêtus of civil clothes, and, all in their defendant to make use of the sword, ordered to them to strike the demonstrators with clubs. Top of its court it gave an agreed sign. The Jews perished in great number, the ones under the blows, others while being crushed mutually in the escape. The multitude, astounded by this massacre, fell down in silence.

Pilate and mythology

Little knowledge arrived on Pilate, but the accounts abound. The Gospels giving few details on Pilate, from the legends were born around this key character from the dramatic episodes from Passion.

Eusèbe de Césarée (in Historia Ecclesiae ), quotes accounts apocryphal books evoking misfortunes of Pilate under the reign of Caligula (year 37 - 41). Exiled as a Gaulle, it would have finally committed suicide in the the Rhone with Vienna. A monument of the city (the Tomb of Pilate) evokes this account. Others allot also the name of the solid mass of the Pilat, which starts in Vienna, to this origin.

Other accounts come from more doubtful sources. According to the Mors Pilati (“Death of Pilate”) its body was initially thrown in the the Tiber. Water reacted so highly to the malignant spirits, that its corpse was led to Vienna and jeté in the Rhone. Here also water reacted and its body had to be drowned in the Léman with Lausanne. According to this tradition, the broken up body was lastly buried with the foot of the Pilatus which dominates Lucerne and the Lac of the Four Cantons.

The legend wants that each Good Friday, the body emerges from water of the lake and washes the hands.

The Church Copte commemorates Pontius Pilate like Saint. According to this tradition, it is converted into secrecy with Christianity, under the influence of his Claudia wife. It are both celebrated the June 25th.
The Orthodoxe Church , honors only Claudia with holiness, by considering Pilate unworthy since it was satisfied anything to have to make with Jesus.

Acts of Pilate

According to divergent traditions, it would have then converted and died Martyr, or would have been punished by Tibère and is carried out. A document named Actes of Pilate was regarded as of the origins as apocryphal book.

Posterity

The character of Pontius Pilate inspired many works. One can quote the Gospel according to Pilate of Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Procurateur of Judaea of Anatole France or Pontius Pilate of Roger Caillois, Uchronie in which the author imagines that pardoned Pilate Jesus and thus transforms the history of the world.

In the same way, the character of Pontius Pilate is one of the central figures of the novel the Master and Marguerite of Mikhaïl Boulgakov, where it is a sad, deeply human character, overpowered by its load and leaving crucifier Jesus with back-plate which is described.

With the cinema, Pontius Pilate was the subject of many incarnations in films on the passion of Jesus: Jean Gabin in Golgotha , Rod Steiger in Jesus de Nazareth of Free Zefirelli, or Michael Palin in Monty Python: Life of Brian . In 1962, Gian Paolo Callegari carried out Ponzio Pilato evoking the life of Pilate with Jean Marais in the role of the prefect of Judaea.

In the book the Brother of blood of Eric Giacometti, Pilate is introduced as a freemason who plotted with the Jews for crucifier Christ, initiating the Complot then judeo-maconnic.

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