NT – the whole Pilate drama is one of the 7 stories that are common to all 4 Gospels. Wikipedia has an incredibly interesting article about Pilate, much of which I did not know. Click here if you would like to read it.
By far, the most interesting part of the arrest and trial scene to me is the dialogue between Pilate and Jesus. Pilate is the Prefect of Judea. That means, in essence, that he is the Roman ruler of Judea. There is a “Jewish” king, Herod, but he is merely a puppet of the Romans. The real power was Pilate.
There are 3 extra-Biblical references to Pilate. One is Josephus, one is Philo, and the other is a stone with an inscription that references Pilate as Prefect of Jerusalem. Both Josephus and Philo have extremely unkind words to say about Pilate and his methods of maintaining order. And he was in Jerusalem that day because he needed to maintain order.
The Old City of Jerusalem is very small – less than .35 of a square mile. Put a couple of thousand extra people in the city to celebrate – having drunk all those glasses of Passover wine – and you get a mob.
Pilate’s job was to keep the people, not at ‘peace’ but not in rebellion.
This makes the exchange between Pilate and Jesus all the more compelling. Both Philo and Josephus mention other rebellions that Pilate brutally put down. Not Jesus. Pilate was willing to let him go. Even Pilate recognized someone startlingly different from your ordinary rabble-rouser.
Psalm – My son, Cole, and I went to see Red Tail this evening. I highly recommend the movie. It is about the Tuskegee Airmen of WWII. They embody this Psalm.
May your Sunday be filled with worship and rejoicing
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