Pontius Pilate: A Human Heart Confronted With The Numinous
by Rev. Michael Dogali
The Roman procurator had his residence in Caesaria, but came at Passover to Jerusalem to prevent riots. Whether Pilate was actually housed in the Hasmonean palace or in the fortress Antonia is not known. Roman judiciary tribunals began at early morning. It may not be irrelevant to draw attention to the fact that in John's entire presentation there is no crowd present as in Mark's account. The entire drama is played out between Jesus, Pilate and the Jewish religious leaders: the attendant temple-police and Roman soldiers play only minor roles.
Jesus' Jewish enemies did not themselves enter headquarters, that is the temporary praetorium, where Pilate for the moment resided. The reason for this Jewish refusal to enter a Gentile establishment is important in the eyes of St. John: "that they may not incur defilement, and so could eat the Passover supper" that same evening after Jesus' death.
This first scene is played outside (Pilate's first concession to the accusers of Jesus. "What charge do you prefer against this fellow?" Roman jurisprudence required that such a court case open with a formal statement such as this by the plaintiffs. In order to arrange the hearing, the Jews would have undoubtedly informed the procurator previously of the reason they sought a trial. The charge that Jesus has been an habitual criminal is simply a piece of political chicanery shortly to be exposed by Pilate. The Jews are forced to admit, "We are not allowed to put anyone to death." In the provinces of the Empire the Romans reserved the death sentence to their own officials.
The scene now shifts to the hall inside the praetorium where Jesus had been conducted under guard. Pilate is known in history to have been contemptuous of the Jewish people; for his repeated acts of cruelty to them he was later recalled in 36 A.D. by the imperial government to answer for crimes against Samaritans. The judge comes at once to the principal indictment, Jesus' alleged claim to be "king of the Jews." Jesus explains his kingship in terms of its origin, kingship not kingdom. Jesus proposes an argument that even a non-believing Roman bureaucrat can grasp: he is no revolutionary, has caused no insurrection to threaten the pax Romana.
Pilate, seemingly impressed, appears to accept Jesus as some kind of king, and Jesus at once points that out to him, "It is you yourself who say I am king!" Jesus proceeds by defining the meaning of his kingship: he is emissary from his father, to whose "truth" - disclosure of the divine plan of salvation - he continues to testify. Belief in Jesus' pre-existence as eternal "Word of God" and in his Incarnation are necessary presuppositions for the most fundamental insight into what Jesus says here.
At this point, Pilate, apparently at a loss and also perhaps experiencing fear for the first time in the interview, is made to ask a question, which St. John has been putting to his reader throughout his entire book, "What is truth?" Pilate's famous question is meant to express neither philosophical skepticism nor cold irony and certainly not a serious search for truth. With that question, the Roman judge has already decided against Jesus.
In scene three, once more the locality shifts to the outside where Pilate again addresses the Jews. Pilate's verdict: Jesus is innocent. He is prepared to release Jesus, but unfortunately he now proposes a barter involving Barabbas. Pilate's eventual condemnation of Jesus was his own free act, not simply the result of Jewish pressure or mere vacillation on his part. Jesus' death was no mere accident: it was the result of deliberate choice on the part of the Roman judge. With Pilate there is the awe, even terror, in a human heart confronted with the numinous.
Later, in somewhat melodramatic fashion now emphasizes his conviction that Jesus is not a revolutionary. He puts Jesus on display - shabby and beaten, no more than a caricature of kingship. Pilate does this to demonstrate his conviction that Jesus is no threat to Roman rule. His very appearance in the tattered robe of mock-royalty with a thorny crown is surely proof of that!
Pilate now returns to speak to Jesus for the last time and poses the question: "Where do you come from?" The query manifests Pilate's insecurity and fear. The judge is still pictured as trying to let Jesus go. However the shouting of the Jews penetrates the courtroom; and they now play their last card. "If you let this fellow go, you are no friend of the Emperor." Amicus Caesaris (Emperor's friend) was a prerogative of those of senatorial rank. Pilate a member of the equestrian order, was well aware that his only hope of being granted this title rested precariously on the favor of the suspicious Tiberius, who reacted brutally to any hint of high treason. The Jews also were not ignorant of this facet of the Emperor's character, and so began to shout, "Any man who makes himself king is defying the Emperor!" The procurator had indeed left himself open to an accusation of being accessory to the fact by his dramatic presentation of Jesus as mock-king. The case is as good as finished: there remains only the official sentence of death. We now move "outside" to "the pavement." Pilate's capitulation to Jesus' enemies is symbolized by his having the magistrate's chair moved out of the courtroom to the courtyard where the Jews had remained.
The trenchant dialogue between Pilate and the Jews places emphasis on the word "king," the theme which dominates the entire Passion story. Here it reaches a climax in the apostasy of the religious leaders, "We have no king but the Emperor!" The traditional faith of Israel proclaimed almighty God as the unique King of His people. By closing themselves to believe in Jesus, his bitter antagonists have denied their faith in God. For as Jesus had taught the disciples at the Last Supper, the single way of maintaining faith in the God of Israel is by believing in himself: "You believe in God - believe also in me."