Pilate's Relationship with the Jews

Here is the lesson I had yesterday. Thanks for your patience.

Matthew 27:1-2, 11-26

The first two verses describe what must have been a very short meeting of the Sanhedrin to formally charge Jesus. The Jews could handle completely ordinary charges, but this major charge had to go through appropriate Roman legal channels to execute the death penalty.

Pilate was the Roman governor who Jesus was handed from the chief priests. Pilate did not see any reason to condemn Jesus. He gave the Jews one more way out trying to help Jesus. The chief priests convinced the people to release Barabbas instead of Jesus sealing his fate. Pilate washed his hands of him and handed him over to be crucified.

The charge that we last heard was blasphemy but the Sanhedrin knew that Pilot would never listen to the charge of blasphemy. He would have told them to take him back and settle your own religious differences (Matthew 26:65-66). Luke tells us that they charged Jesus first with being a revolutionary, second, with inciting the people not to pay their taxes, and third, with claiming to be the king (Luke 23:2). They fabricated these three charges from lies because they knew that Pilate would have to act on these three charges.

So everything hinged on the Roman governor. What kind of man was Pilate?

Pilate was officially the procurator of the province; and he was responsible directly to the Roman Emperor. He had to have been at least 27 years of age because this was the minimum age for the position he occupied in government. He must have had considerable experience because of the ladder of offices he would have had to climb before becoming governor. He would have been tried as a military official and an administrative official. History tells us that he held the office for 10 years in AD 26. Then, he was recalled.

Pilate caused much of his own problems in his office because he was totally out of sympathy with the Jew who had such a large population in his province. The result was much bitter opposition between he and the Jewish leadership. Some time after his initial march into town with Roman standards and all ( an affront to the Jews), he decided that Jerusalem needed a better water supply which they did. He decided to pay for the project out of the temple treasury instead of the Roman government which was another problem with the local Jews.

Philo, the great Jewish Alexandrian scholar, has a character study of Pilate. He tells us that the Jews threatened Pilate to exercise their right to report him to the emperor for his misdeeds. This threat exasperated Pilate to the greatest possible degree because they might go to the emperor and might be impeached from his position. Pilate had a bad record when dealing with Jews. The Jews help Pilate in complete contempt. His career came to an end in Samaria where he dealt with a situation with unnecessary savagery.

Next week we will finish out the discussion of Pilate and turn toward the cross.

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