Caesarea, Israel
New Testament Period
Pontius Pilate, (26-37 AD)
Limestone,
inscribed
82.0 cm H, 65.0 cm W
Building Dedication
4 Lines of Writing (Latin)
Date of Discovery: 1961
Israel Museum (Jerusalem)
AE 1963 no. 104
Inscription by
Pontius Pilate
It wasn't long ago when
many scholars were questioning the actual existence of a Roman Governor
with the name Pontius Pilate, the procurator who ordered Jesus'
crucifixion. In June 1961 Italian archaeologists led by Dr. Frova were
excavating an ancient Roman amphitheatre near Caesarea-on-the-Sea
(Maritima) and uncovered this interesting limestone block. On the face
is a monumental inscription which is part of a larger dedication to
Tiberius Caesar which clearly says that it was from "Pontius
Pilate, Prefect of Judea."
It reads:
Line One:
TIBERIEUM,,
Line
Two: (PON) TIUS
Line
Three: (PRAEF)
ECTUS IUDA (EAE)
This is the only known
occurrence of the name Pontius Pilate in any ancient inscription.
Visitors to Caesarea's theater today see a replica, the original is in
the Israel Museum in Jerusalem. It is interesting as well that there
have been a few bronze coins found that were struck form 29-32 AD by
Pontius Pilate.
Who was Pontius
Pilate?
Pontius Pilate's family name, Pontius,
indicates that he was of the tribe of Pontii. It was one of the most
famous of the ancient Samnite names. The surname or cognomen Pilatus
indicates the familia, or branch of the gens Pontius. The name is
uncertain, though some think it may have meant "armed with the
pilum" (a spear or javelin). One interesting note is about another
man in Roman history bearing the name. Lucius Pontius Aquila was a
friend of Cicero and one of the assassins of Julius Caesar on the Ides
of March (44 BC) when the would-be king was murdered.
The only information
regarding Pontius Pilate is the New Testament and two Jewish writers:
Josephus and Philo of Alexandria. By far our greatest amount of
information comes from the Jewish writer Flavius Josephus who composed
his two great works, the Antiquities of the Jews and the Jewish War,
towards the end of the first century. There are also several "less
reliable" traditions and legends. One
early German legend says that
Pilate was an illegitimate son of Tyrus, king of Mayence, who had
Pilate taken to Rome as a prisoner. After he had apparently committed a
murder he was sent to Pontus, where he enlisted in the Roman Army and
proved himself by winning many victories against the barbarous tribes
in the north.
Tacitus, when speaking
of the cruel punishments inflicted by Nero upon the Christians, tells
us that Christ, from whom the name "Christian" was derived,
was put to death when Tiberius was emperor by the procurator Pontius
Pilate (Annals xv.44). Apart from this reference and what is told us in
the New Testament, all our knowledge of him is derived from two Jewish
writers, Josephus the historian and Philo of Alexandria.
The Roman Procurator
Tiberius Caesar, who
succeeded Augustus in AD 14, appointed Pontius Pilate as governor of
Judea in 26 AD. Pilate arrived and made his official residence in
Caesarea Maritima, the Roman capital of Judea. Pilate was the 5th
procurator of Judea. The province of Judea, formerly the kingdom of
Archelaus, was formed in 6 AD when Archelaus was exiled and his
territory transformed into a Roman province. Although it included
Samaria and Idumaea, the new province was known simply as Judea or
Judaea. It generally covered the S. half of Palestine, including
Samaria. Judea was an imperial province (i.e. under the direct control
of the emperor), and was governed by a procurator.
The procurator was
devoted to the emperor and directly responsible to him. His primary
responsibility was financial. The authority of the Roman procurators
varied according to the appointment of the emperor. Pilate was a
procurator cum porestate, (possessed civil, military, and criminal
jurisdiction). The procurator of Judea was somehow under the authority
of the legate of Syria. Usually a procurator had to be of equestrian
rank and experienced in military affairs.
Under the rule of a
procurator cum porestate like Pontius Pilate, the Jews were allowed as
much self-government as possible under imperial authority. The
Jewish judicial system was run by the Sanhedrin and court met in
the "hall of hewn stone", but if they desired to inflict the
death penalty, the sentence had to be given and executed by the Roman
procurator.
Pontius Pilate and
the Jews
According to history
Pilate made an immediate
impression upon the Jews when he moved his army headquarters from
Caesarea to Jerusalem. They marched into the city with their Roman
standards, bearing the image of the "divine emperor" and set
up their headquarters right in the corner of the Temple in a
palace-fortress called "Antonia," which outraged the Jews.
Pilate quickly learned their zealous nature and political power within
the province and, according to Josephus, ordered the standards to be
returned to Caesarea (Josephus Ant. 18.3.1-2; Wars 2.9.2-4).
Pilate made some other
mistakes according to history before the time when he ordered the
crucifixion of Jesus. One time he placed on the walls of his palace on
Mt. Zion golden shields bearing inscriptions of the names of various
gods. Tiberius had to personally order the removal of the shields.
Another time Pilate used Temple revenue to build his aqueduct. There is
another incident only recorded in the Bible where Pilate ordered the
slaughter of certain Galileans (Luke 13:1) who had supposedly been
offering sacrifices in the Temple. Here are some details:
"On one occasion, when the soldiers under his command came to
Jerusalem, he caused them to bring with them their ensigns, upon
which were the usual images of the emperor. The ensigns were
brought in privily by night, put their presence was soon
discovered. Immediately multitudes of excited Jews hastened to
Caesarea to petition him for the removal of the obnoxious ensigns.
For five days he refused to hear them, but on the sixth he took his
place on the judgment seat, and when the Jews were admitted he had
them surrounded with soldiers and threatened them with instant
death unless they ceased to trouble him with the matter. The Jews
thereupon flung themselves on the ground and bared their necks,
declaring that they preferred death to the violation of their laws.
Pilate, unwilling to slay so many, yielded the point and removed
the ensigns."
(The Standards-
Josephus, War 2.169-174, Antiq 18.55-59)
"At another time
he used the sacred treasure of the temple, called corban (qorban),
to pay for bringing water into Jerusalem by an aqueduct. A crowd
came together and clamored against him; but he had caused soldiers
dressed as civilians to mingle with the multitude, and at a given
signal they fell upon the rioters and beat them so severely with
staves that the riot was quelled."
(The Aqueduct-
Josephus, War 2.175-177, Antiq 18.60-62)).
"Philo tells us
(Legatio ad Caium, xxxviii) that on other occasion he dedicated some
gilt shields in the palace of Herod in honor of the emperor. On
these shields there was no representation of any forbidden thing,
but simply an inscription of the name of the donor and of him in
whose honor they were set up. The Jews petitioned him to have them
removed; when he refused, they appealed to Tiberius, who sent an
order that they should be removed to Caesarea."
(from International
Standard Bible Encyclopaedia)
The Trial of Jesus and Pontius Pilate
Pilate had traveled to Jerusalem in order to maintain order during the
huge festival of Passover. This festival was always a problem time for
the Romans, especially since Jewish resentment had always run
especially high during national or religious holidays.
According to the
Scriptures the Jewish authorities brought Jesus to Pontius Pilate and
began prosecution by saying,
"Luke 23:1-2
Then the whole multitude of them arose and led Him to Pilate. And they
began to accuse Him, saying, "We found this fellow perverting the
nation, and forbidding to pay taxes to Caesar, saying that He Himself
is Christ, a King."
The main charges brought
before Pilate about Jesus were political and not religious. Jesus was
accused of being a political threat to Rome and to Caesar's authority.
Pilate spoke with Jesus
(see John 18:33-19:12) and considered the charges being brought against
Jesus.
1. He subverts the
nation
2. He opposes payment of taxes
3. He claims to be a King
These were, of course,
false accusations because Jesus refused the title of king in a
political sense, and did not oppose paying taxes. He criticized the
leaders on religious issues, not political.
Pilate's verdict on all
three counts were "I find no case against Him." For
whatever reason Pilate tried to avoid judging Jesus. He wanted to give
the responsibility to the Jewish authorities, then he tried to detour
the responsibility to Herod. He also tried to invoke the custom of
releasing a prisoner in honor of the Jewish Passover and let the
multitudes decide, but they chose a murderous criminal named Barabbas.
Finally he had Jesus scourged in hope that the Jewish Sanhedrin would
feel pity.
John 19:15-16
"But they cried out, "Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify
Him!" Pilate said to them, "Shall I crucify your King?"
The chief priests answered, "We have no king but Caesar!"
Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and
led Him away."
Pilate did not want to
be responsible for the death of Jesus, and he would not until the
Jewish rulers threatened to report him to Caesar, which they had done
before. They cried "let His blood be upon us and on our
children" (Matt 27:25) and how fearfully this was fulfilled. (See Masada)
When all else failed
Pilate washed his hands of the whole situation in the presence of all
the people and turned Jesus over to his soldiers for crucifixion and
ordered a sign made for Jesus' cross. The sign on the vertical beam of
the cross read in Greek, Latin and Hebrew: "Jesus of Nazareth, the
King of the Jews." The Sanhedrin were outraged and the chief
priests came to Pilate and said:
John 19:21-23 "Do
not write, 'The King of the Jews,' but, 'He said, "I am the King
of the Jews." ' "Pilate answered, "What I have written,
I have written."
What Happened to
Pontius Pilate?
Scripture gives us no
further information concerning Pilate, but Josephus, the Jewish
historian records that Pilate, the Roman procurator of Judea succeeded
Gratus. According to Josephus (Ant, XVIII, iv, 2) Pilate held office in
Judea for 10 years. Afterwards he was removed from office by Vitellius,
the legate of Syria, and traveled in haste to Rome to defend himself
before Tiberius against certain complaints. Before he reached Rome the
Tiberius had died and Gaius (Caligula) was on the throne, AD 36.
Josephus adds that Vitellius came in the year 36 AD to Judea to be
present at Jerusalem at the time of the Passover. This would indicate
that Pilate had already left for Rome.
Josephus (Ant, XVIII,
iv, 1, 2) gives an account of what really happened to Pontius Pilate
and his removal from office. A religious fanatic arose in Samaria who
promised the Samaritans that if they would assemble on Mt. Gerizim, he
would show them the sacred vessels which Moses had hidden there. A
great multitude of people came to the "sacred mountain" of
the Samaritans ready to ascend the mountain, but before they could they
were attacked by Pilate's cavalry, and many of them were slaughtered.
The Samaritans therefore sent an embassy to Vitellius, the legate of
Syria, to accuse Pilate of murdering innocent people. Vitellius, who
wanted to maintain friendship with the Jews, removed Pilate from office
and appointed Marcellus in his place.
Pilate was ordered to go
to Rome and answer the charges made against him before the emperor.
Pilate set out for Rome, but, before he could reach it, Tiberius had
died.
From this point onward
history knows nothing more of Pilate.
Tradition and Legend
Eusebius (4th cent AD)
tells us (Historia Ecclesiastica, II), based on the writings of certain
Greek historians, that Pilate soon afterward, "wearied with
misfortunes," had killed himself. (Hist. Eccl. 2.7.1).
Various apocryphal
writings have come down to us, written from the 3rd-5th centuries AD,
giving legendary details about Pontius Pilate becoming a Christian, and
his wife, traditionally named Claudia Procula, was a Jewish proselyte
at the time of the death of Jesus and afterward became a Christian.
There are other
traditions mentioned in the false Gospels (non-canonical Apocryphal
Gospels) concerning Pontius Pilate.
Church tradition
portrayed Pilate in very favorable terms. In the second century Gospel
of Peter, Jesus is condemned not by Pilate but by Herod Antipas.
Tertullian asserted that Pilate was a Christian at heart and that he
wrote a letter to Tiberius to explain what had happened at Jesus' trial
(Apology 21). The fourth or fifth century Gospel of Nicodemus
(which contains the Acts of Pilate), does not make Pilate a Christian,
but depicts him as more friendly towards Jesus than any of the
canonical gospels. Pilate was soon canonized by the Coptic and Ethiopic
churches.
The Biblical
Comparison
The Bible clearly
mentions Pontius Pilate as the Roman procurator of Judea at the time of
Jesus Christ. Since this dedication stone found in Caesarea Maritima
was the first inscription mentioning his actual name, and that he
indeed was the Roman procurator who had made his official residence in
Caesarea, the discovery of The Pilate Inscription is a monumental
discovery that verifies again that the Bible is a Book of history.
The Evidence of Archaeology
The evidence of
archaeology helps to give us:
1. Confidence that the
places and people mentioned in the Bible are accurate, even though
those places and people existed thousands of years in the past.
2. Confidence that the
details of the Biblical accounts have not changed over the centuries
since it was written as we have a "fixed fact" in
history.
3. Confidence that
everything that the Lord speaks will be fulfilled in its time.
Isa 46:8-10
"Remember this, and show yourselves men; Recall to mind, O you
transgressors. Remember the former things of old, For I am God, and
there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me, Declaring the
end from the beginning, And from ancient times things that are not yet
done, Saying, 'My counsel shall stand, And I will do all My
pleasure,'
