PONTIUS PILATE AUTHENTICATED
“In the fifteenth year of Tiberius Caesar–when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea”—Luke 3:1 NIV
Pontius Pilate is mentioned in all four the the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and in Acts and 1 Timothy, as the Roman governor before whom Jesus was brought to trial, and who, under pressure, passed the death death sentence upon Jesus (Matthew 27:1-26; Mark 15:1-15; Luke 22:66-23:25; John 18:28-19:16; Acts 4:27; 13:28; 1 Timothy 6:13). Pilate was “governor of Judea” from 26 CE to 36 CE, and is mentioned by the writer Tacitus.
“There were some present at that time who told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices”—Luke 13:1 NIV
“Pilate said to them, ‘You have a guard; go your way, make it as secure as you know how'”—Matthew 27:65 NKJV
These terse responses by Pilate in response to the Jewish leaders who had wrung a death sentence out of him for the innocent man Jesus recorded in the gospels, are in keeping with his cruel and ruthless personality as described by historians.
This event is unknown outside Luke, but the account fits well with what we read about Pilate in the works of ancient Jewish writers Josephus and Philo who portrayed Pilate as cruel, ruthless, and corrupt. Josephus that Pilate had disrupted a religious gathering of Samaritans on Mount Gerizim with a slaughter of the participants, and that on another occasion Pilate had killed many Jews who had opposed him when he appropriated money from the temple treasury to build an aqueduct from south of Bethlehem to Jerusalem. Remnants of this structure can still be seen in Bethlehem today.
“Pilate answered, ‘What I have written, I have written'”—John 19:22 NIV
But, until 1961 there were no extant artifacts that documented his existence, so many skeptics and critics claimed he was a fictional character. Quite surprisingly, to the dismay of some critics, in 1961, when a theater built by Herod the Great was being excavated, in a stairway that was repaired during a 4th century remodeling, workmen found an inscription on the underside of a stone step, that read in Latin, “Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea”.
Pontius Pilate is just one of many people, places, things and events that the Bible recorded, but critics pooh-poohed, until artifacts proved the Bible right and the critics wrong.
“God will always be true even if no human being can be relied on”—Romans 3:4 NJB
3 thoughts on “PONTIUS PILATE AUTHENTICATED”
I think that Pontius Pilate was a real historical figure. I read somewhere else that a coin with his inscription had been found. If he was as harsh as he is described, then he might not have allowed that Jesus be removed from the cross to be buried in a tomb. This idea is currently being promoted by Biblical scholar Bart Ehrman.
All four gospels factually state that Jesus’ body was released by Pilate to Joseph of Arimathea, who then promptly put it in his newly cut rock-hewn tomb (Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38-42). Ehrman claims “the whole Sanhedrin” at Mark 14:55 (NIV) includes Joseph of Arimathea, and it would be very unlikely he would change his mind the next afternoon and bury Jesus’ body. However, the Sanhedrin’s extremely rushed middle of the night meeting probably did not include all 71 of its members. Ehrman also claims that Paul did not know that Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus. However, Paul’s first letter to Timothy (5:18) quotes Luke 10:7 as scripture. Luke 23:50-53 says Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus. So, Paul had to have known that Joseph buried Jesus. Just because Paul doesn’t say Joseph buried Jesus at 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 doesn’t mean Paul didn’t know Joseph buried him.
The John Rylands Papyrus (P52) of circa 125 CE has Jesus before Pilate at John 18:31-33,37,38.
Ehrman îs a populist alright, but his claims contradict there facts!
RT2: All four gospels factually state that Jesus’ body was released by Pilate to Joseph of Arimathea, who then promptly put it in his newly cut rock-hewn tomb (Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-53; John 19:38-42).
GW2: I believe that all four make this assertion, but that does not mean that the assertion is “factual,” as you claim. It is possible that one person fabricated the story of Pilate assigning the body to Joseph of Arimathea for burial and passed the story to others, and then the Gospel authors incorporated it into their narratives. The usual procedure in crucifixions was to let the body hang on the cross for days, and it would be attacked by scavengers of various types. After that the body would be taken down and thrown into a pit. Ehrman believes this was the most likely outcome for Jesus. The burial in the tomb might be bogus. Even if Jesus was buried in a tomb, there are no eyewitness reports of his exiting the tomb. If God did exist and if he caused Jesus to come back to life, as almost all Christians claim, then God would have ensured that there were witnesses of Jesus coming out of the tomb by his own effort, many of these witnesses would have documented their observations, and we would have those documents today! So, either God does not exist, God did not cause Jesus to come back to life, or Jesus did not come back to life at all or maybe all three of these!
RT2: Ehrman claims “the whole Sanhedrin” at Mark 14:55 (NIV) includes Joseph of Arimathea, and it would be very unlikely he would change his mind the next afternoon and bury Jesus’ body. However, the Sanhedrin’s extremely rushed middle of the night meeting probably did not include all 71 of its members.
GW2: 71 members? Where did you get that number? It doesn’t really matter. Joseph may or may not have been present at the meeting. Joseph may or may not have voted with the majority. Ehrman does not now believe that Joseph was given the body of Jesus by Pilate.
RT2: Ehrman also claims that Paul did not know that Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus. However, Paul’s first letter to Timothy (5:18) quotes Luke 10:7 as scripture. Luke 23:50-53 says Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus. So, Paul had to have known that Joseph buried Jesus. Just because Paul doesn’t say Joseph buried Jesus at 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 doesn’t mean Paul didn’t know Joseph buried him.
GW2: Paul may have heard that Jesus was buried, but did not know who buried him. I suspect this is what Ehrman means. Here you have not proven that Paul knew of Joseph allegedly performing the burial.
RT2: The John Rylands Papyrus (P52) of circa 125 CE has Jesus before Pilate at John 18:31-33,37,38.
GW2: I agree with you that Pilate existed and probably tried and sentenced Jesus to crucifixion. What happened to the body is a different issue.
RT2: Ehrman îs a populist alright, but his claims contradict there facts!
GW2: No, Ehrman is not a populist. He is a reputable scholar who writes books which are popular. He presents hypotheses or conclusions which are sometimes contrary to yours. Nothing wrong with that. Many times his conclusions are more likely to be true than yours.