It is not known of what country or family Pontius Pilate was,
but it is believed that he was of Rome, or, at least, of Italy. He was
sent to govern Judea in the room of Gratus, A. D. 26, or 27. He presided
over this province for ten years, from the twelfth or thirteenth year of
Tiberius, to the twenty-second of the same emperor. He is represented,
both by Philo and Josephus, as a man of an impetuous and obstinate
temper, and, as a judge, one who used to sell justice, and, for money,
to pronounce any sentence that was desired. The same authors make
mention of his rapines, his injuries, his murders, the torments that he
inflicted upon the innocent, and the persons he put to death without any
form of process. Philo, in particular, describes him as a man that
exercised an excessive cruelty during the whole time of his government;
who disturbed the repose of Judea; and was the occasion of the troubles
and revolt that followed. St. Luke acquaints us, that Pilate had mingled
the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices; and that the matter,
having been related to Jesus Christ, he introduced the subject into his
discourse, Luke xiii. The reason why Pilate treated them in this manner,
while sacrificing in the temple, is not known. At the time of our
Saviour’s passion, Pilate made some attempts to deliver him out of the
hands of the Jews. He knew the reasons of their enmity against him,
Matthew xxvii, 18. His wife, also, having had a dream that alarmed her,
requested he would not stain his hands with the blood of that just
person, verse 19. He therefore attempted to appease the wrath of the
Jews by scourging Jesus, John xix, 1; Matt. xxvii, 26; and also tried to
take him out of their hands by proposing to deliver him or Barabbas on
the day of the passover. Lastly, be thought to discharge himself from
pronouncing judgment against him, by sending him to Herod, king of
Galilee, Luke xxiii, 7, 8. When he saw all this would not satisfy the
Jews, and that they even threatened him in some manner, saying, he could
be no friend to the emperor if he suffered Jesus to be set at liberty,
John xix, 12–15, he caused water to be brought, and washed his hands
before all the people, and publicly declared himself innocent of the
blood of that just person, Matthew xxvii, 23, 24. Yet at the same time
he delivered him to his soldiers that they might crucify him. This was
enough to justify Jesus Christ, as Calmet observes, and to prove that he
held him as innocent; but it was not enough to vindicate the conscience
and integrity of a judge, whose duty it was as well to assert the cause
of oppressed innocence, as to punish the guilty. He ordered the
inscription to be placed over the head of our Saviour, John xix, 19; and
when requested by the Jews to alter it, peremptorily refused. He also
gave leave for the removal of our Lord’s body, and to place a guard over
the sepulchre, Matthew xxvii, 65. These are all the particulars that we
learn concerning Pilate from the writers of the Gospels.
The extreme reluctance of Pilate to condemn Christ, considering his
merciless character, is signally remarkable, and still more his repeated
protestations of the innocence of his prisoner; although, on occasions
of massacre, he made no scruple of confounding the innocent with the
guilty. But he was unquestionably influenced by the overruling
providence of God, to make the righteousness of his Son appear as clear
as the noon day, even when condemned and executed as a malefactor, by
the fullest, the most authentic, and the most public evidence: 1. By the
testimony even of his judges, Pilate and Herod, after examination of
evidence. 2. By the message of Pilate’s wife, delivered to him on the
tribunal. 3. By the testimony of the traitor Judas, who hanged himself
in despair, for betraying the innocent blood. 4. By the testimony of the
Roman centurion and guard, at his crucifixion, to his divinity and
righteousness. And, 5. Of his fellow sufferer on the cross. Never was
innocence so attested as his innocence.
Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Eusebius, and after them several others, both
ancient and modern, assure us that it was formerly the custom for Roman
magistrates to prepare copies of all verbal processes and judical acts,
which they passed in their several provinces, and to send them to the
emperor. And Pilate, in compliance with the custom, having sent word to
Tiberius of what had passed relating to Jesus Christ, the emperor wrote
an account of it to the senate, in a manner that gave reason to judge
that he thought favourably of the religion of Jesus Christ, and showed
that he should be willing for them to confer divine honours upon him;
but the senate was not of the same opinion, and so the matter dropped.
It appears by what Justin says of these acts, that the miracles of
Christ were mentioned there, and even that the soldiers had divided his
garments among them. Eusebius insinuates that they spoke of his
resurrection and ascension. Tertullian and Justin refer to these acts
with so much confidence, as would make one believe they had read and
handled them. However, neither Eusebius nor Jerom, who were both
inquisitive and understanding persons, nor any other author who wrote
afterward, seems to have seen them, at least not the true and original
acts. For as to what we have now in great number, they are not
authentic, being neither ancient nor uniform. There are also some
pretended letters of Pilate to Tiberius, giving a history of our
Saviour; but they are universally allowed to be spurious. Pilate being a
man who, by his excessive cruelties and rapine, had disturbed the repose
of Judea, during the whole time of his government, was at length deposed
by Vitellius, the proconsul of Syria, A. D. 36, and sent to Rome to give
an account of his conduct to the emperor. But, though Tiberius died
before Pilate arrived at Rome, yet his successor Caligula banished him
to Vienne in Gaul, where he was reduced to such extremity that he laid
violent hands upon himself. The evangelists call him governor, though in
reality he was nothing more than procurator of Judea, not only because
governor was a name of general use, but because Pilate, in effect, acted
as one, by taking upon him to judge in criminal matters, as his
predecessors had done, and as other procurators in the small provinces
of the empire, where there was no proconsul, constantly did.
PILLAR properly means a column raised to support a building; but in
Scripture the term mostly occurs in a metaphorical or figurative sense.
Thus we have a pillar of cloud, a pillar of fire, a pillar of smoke, &c;
signifying a cloud, a fire, a smoke raised up toward heaven in the form
or shape of a pillar, Exod. xiii, 21; Judges xx, 40. Job speaks of the
pillars of heaven and the pillars of the earth, Job ix, 6; xxvi, 11;
which are strong metaphorical expressions, that suppose the heavens and
the earth to be an edifice raised by the hand of the almighty Creator,
and founded upon its basis. St. Paul speaks of the Christian church
under the similitude of a pillar or column on which the truth, or
doctrine of the glorious Gospel is inscribed, 1 Tim. iii, 15.
but it is believed that he was of Rome, or, at least, of Italy. He was
sent to govern Judea in the room of Gratus, A. D. 26, or 27. He presided
over this province for ten years, from the twelfth or thirteenth year of
Tiberius, to the twenty-second of the same emperor. He is represented,
both by Philo and Josephus, as a man of an impetuous and obstinate
temper, and, as a judge, one who used to sell justice, and, for money,
to pronounce any sentence that was desired. The same authors make
mention of his rapines, his injuries, his murders, the torments that he
inflicted upon the innocent, and the persons he put to death without any
form of process. Philo, in particular, describes him as a man that
exercised an excessive cruelty during the whole time of his government;
who disturbed the repose of Judea; and was the occasion of the troubles
and revolt that followed. St. Luke acquaints us, that Pilate had mingled
the blood of the Galileans with their sacrifices; and that the matter,
having been related to Jesus Christ, he introduced the subject into his
discourse, Luke xiii. The reason why Pilate treated them in this manner,
while sacrificing in the temple, is not known. At the time of our
Saviour’s passion, Pilate made some attempts to deliver him out of the
hands of the Jews. He knew the reasons of their enmity against him,
Matthew xxvii, 18. His wife, also, having had a dream that alarmed her,
requested he would not stain his hands with the blood of that just
person, verse 19. He therefore attempted to appease the wrath of the
Jews by scourging Jesus, John xix, 1; Matt. xxvii, 26; and also tried to
take him out of their hands by proposing to deliver him or Barabbas on
the day of the passover. Lastly, be thought to discharge himself from
pronouncing judgment against him, by sending him to Herod, king of
Galilee, Luke xxiii, 7, 8. When he saw all this would not satisfy the
Jews, and that they even threatened him in some manner, saying, he could
be no friend to the emperor if he suffered Jesus to be set at liberty,
John xix, 12–15, he caused water to be brought, and washed his hands
before all the people, and publicly declared himself innocent of the
blood of that just person, Matthew xxvii, 23, 24. Yet at the same time
he delivered him to his soldiers that they might crucify him. This was
enough to justify Jesus Christ, as Calmet observes, and to prove that he
held him as innocent; but it was not enough to vindicate the conscience
and integrity of a judge, whose duty it was as well to assert the cause
of oppressed innocence, as to punish the guilty. He ordered the
inscription to be placed over the head of our Saviour, John xix, 19; and
when requested by the Jews to alter it, peremptorily refused. He also
gave leave for the removal of our Lord’s body, and to place a guard over
the sepulchre, Matthew xxvii, 65. These are all the particulars that we
learn concerning Pilate from the writers of the Gospels.
The extreme reluctance of Pilate to condemn Christ, considering his
merciless character, is signally remarkable, and still more his repeated
protestations of the innocence of his prisoner; although, on occasions
of massacre, he made no scruple of confounding the innocent with the
guilty. But he was unquestionably influenced by the overruling
providence of God, to make the righteousness of his Son appear as clear
as the noon day, even when condemned and executed as a malefactor, by
the fullest, the most authentic, and the most public evidence: 1. By the
testimony even of his judges, Pilate and Herod, after examination of
evidence. 2. By the message of Pilate’s wife, delivered to him on the
tribunal. 3. By the testimony of the traitor Judas, who hanged himself
in despair, for betraying the innocent blood. 4. By the testimony of the
Roman centurion and guard, at his crucifixion, to his divinity and
righteousness. And, 5. Of his fellow sufferer on the cross. Never was
innocence so attested as his innocence.
Justin Martyr, Tertullian, Eusebius, and after them several others, both
ancient and modern, assure us that it was formerly the custom for Roman
magistrates to prepare copies of all verbal processes and judical acts,
which they passed in their several provinces, and to send them to the
emperor. And Pilate, in compliance with the custom, having sent word to
Tiberius of what had passed relating to Jesus Christ, the emperor wrote
an account of it to the senate, in a manner that gave reason to judge
that he thought favourably of the religion of Jesus Christ, and showed
that he should be willing for them to confer divine honours upon him;
but the senate was not of the same opinion, and so the matter dropped.
It appears by what Justin says of these acts, that the miracles of
Christ were mentioned there, and even that the soldiers had divided his
garments among them. Eusebius insinuates that they spoke of his
resurrection and ascension. Tertullian and Justin refer to these acts
with so much confidence, as would make one believe they had read and
handled them. However, neither Eusebius nor Jerom, who were both
inquisitive and understanding persons, nor any other author who wrote
afterward, seems to have seen them, at least not the true and original
acts. For as to what we have now in great number, they are not
authentic, being neither ancient nor uniform. There are also some
pretended letters of Pilate to Tiberius, giving a history of our
Saviour; but they are universally allowed to be spurious. Pilate being a
man who, by his excessive cruelties and rapine, had disturbed the repose
of Judea, during the whole time of his government, was at length deposed
by Vitellius, the proconsul of Syria, A. D. 36, and sent to Rome to give
an account of his conduct to the emperor. But, though Tiberius died
before Pilate arrived at Rome, yet his successor Caligula banished him
to Vienne in Gaul, where he was reduced to such extremity that he laid
violent hands upon himself. The evangelists call him governor, though in
reality he was nothing more than procurator of Judea, not only because
governor was a name of general use, but because Pilate, in effect, acted
as one, by taking upon him to judge in criminal matters, as his
predecessors had done, and as other procurators in the small provinces
of the empire, where there was no proconsul, constantly did.
PILLAR properly means a column raised to support a building; but in
Scripture the term mostly occurs in a metaphorical or figurative sense.
Thus we have a pillar of cloud, a pillar of fire, a pillar of smoke, &c;
signifying a cloud, a fire, a smoke raised up toward heaven in the form
or shape of a pillar, Exod. xiii, 21; Judges xx, 40. Job speaks of the
pillars of heaven and the pillars of the earth, Job ix, 6; xxvi, 11;
which are strong metaphorical expressions, that suppose the heavens and
the earth to be an edifice raised by the hand of the almighty Creator,
and founded upon its basis. St. Paul speaks of the Christian church
under the similitude of a pillar or column on which the truth, or
doctrine of the glorious Gospel is inscribed, 1 Tim. iii, 15.