PILATE, PONTIUS (pi'late, p6n'ti-us), (Gr. IltAtiros, 115mo% pon'tee-os), was the sixth Roman Procurator of Judea (Matt. xxvii:2; Mark xv:i; Luke John xviii-xix), under whom our Lord taught, suffered, and died (Acts iii:i3; iv:27; xiii:28; i Tim. vi:i3; Tacit. Anna/ xv:44).
The testimony of Tacitus on this point is no less clear than it is important ; for it fixes be yond a doubt the time when the foundations of our religion were laid. The words of the great historian are: Auctor nominis ems Christi's, Tiberio imperitonte, per Procuratorem Pontium Pilatum supplicio affectus est. 'The author of that name (Christian) or sect was Christ, who was capitally punished in the reign of Tiberius by Pontius Pilate.' I. Personal History. Pilate was the successor of Valerius Gratus, and governed Judaea, as we have seen, in the reign of Tiberius. He held his office for a period of ten years. The agreement on this point between the accounts in the New Testament and those supplied by Josephus, is en tire and satisfactory. It has been exhibited in de tail by the learned, accurate, and candid Lardner (vol. i. I50-389, Lond. 1827).
(1) Official Mistakes. Pilate's conduct in his office was in many respects highly culpa ble. Josephus has recorded two instances in which Pilate acted very tyrannically (Antiq. xviii.
3. i; comp. De Bell. Jud. ii. g. 2. sq.) in regard to the Jews. His own misconduct led the Samari tans to take a step which in itself does not ap pear seditious or revolutionary, when Pilate seized the opportunity to slay many of the people, not only in the fight which ensued, but also in cold blood after they had given themselves up. 'But when this tumult was appeased, the Samaritan Senate sent an embassy to Vitellius, now Presi dent of Syria, and accused Pilate of the murder of those who had been slain. So Vitellius sent Marcellus, a friend of his, to take care of the af fairs of Judaea, and ordered Pilate to go to Rome to answer before the emperor to the accusations of the Jews. Pilate, when he had tarried ten years in Judaea, made haste to Rome, and this in obedience to the orders of Vitellius, which he durst not contradict; but before he could get to Rome, Tiberius was dead' (Joseph. Antiq. xviii.
4. 2). This removal took place before the Pass over in A. D. 36, probably about September or October, A. D. 35 ; Pilate must, therefore, as he spent ten years in Judma, have entered on his government about October, A. D. 25, or at least before the Passover, A. D. 26, in the twelfth year of Tiberius' sole empire (comp. Lardner, i. 391, sq.
To be put out of his government by Vitellius, on the complaints of the people of his province, must have been a very grievous mortification to Pilate; and though the emperor was dead before he reached Rome, he did not long enjoy the im munity as he anticipated; for, as Ersebius (Caron.
p. 78) states, he shortly afterwards made away with himself (out of vexation for his many mis fortunes).
Owing to the atrocity of the deed in which Pilate took a principal part, and to the wounded feelings of piety with which that deed has been naturally regarded by Christians, a very dark idea has been formed of the char acter of this Roman governor. That char acter was undoubtedly bad; but moral de pravity has its degrees, and the cause of re ligion is too sacred to admit any spurious aid from exaggeration. It is therefore desirable to form a just conception of the character of Pilate, and to learn specifically what were the vices un dtr which he labored. For this purpose a brief outline of the evangelical account, such as will en able the student to obtain a comprehensive view of the conditions, seems necessary.
(2) Evangelical Account. The narratives on which the following statement is founded may be found in John xviii, xix; Matt. xxvii; Mark xv; Luke xxiii.
Jesus having been betrayed, apprehended, and found guilty of blasphemy by the Jewish San hedrim, is delivered to Pilate in order to undergo the punishment of death, according to the law in that case provided. (See CRUCIFIXION.) This tradi tion of Jesus to Pilate was rendered necessary by the fact that the Jews did not at that time possess on their own authority the power of life and death. Pilate could not have been ignorant of Jesus and his pretensions. He might, had he chosen, have immediately ordered Jesus to be ex ecuted, for he had been tried and condemned to death by the laws of the land; but he had an al ternative. As the execution of the laws, in the case at least of capital punishments, was in the hands of the Roman Procurator, so without any violent straining might his tribunal be converted into a court of appeal in the last instance. At any rate, remonstrance against an unjust verdict w•-a easy and proper on the part of a high officer, who, as having to inflict the punishment, was in a measure responsible for its character. And remonstrance might easily lead to a revision of the grounds on which the verdict had been given, and thus a cause might virtually be brought, de novo,before the Procurator; this took place in the case of our Lord. Pilate gave him the benefit of a new trial, and pronounced him innocent.