Midweek Lent 2015
Mankato, MN Area "Round Robin"
Hello, my name is Pontius Pilate, and I was there for the crucifixion of Jesus, your “Messiah.” But you probably know me since you use my name every week in your statement of belief, “crucified under Pontius Pilate.” At least, you think you know me, or you think that you know all there is important to know about me. Let me tell you, people are rarely as simple as we think they there; there’s always more going on in people’s lives. However, in order for you to better understand, I’d better start at the beginning, how this all happened. I hope that by telling you what happened when I was there that you could be there, too.
My wife, Procula, and I were so excited to be going to my first important posting in the Roman government. I was to be prefect (a governor in your terminology) of Judea, certainly a stepping-stone for greater positions later on. I learned all I could about the Jewish people before I left and I had high hopes to Romanize them. Sure, I heard about how obstinate and difficult they were, especially where their religion was concerned. It’s hard to imagine they believed in only one God while most Romans believe in many gods. So, when I moved one of my legions into the Antonian fortress in Jerusalem, the Jews went crazy because the standards carried the image of Caesar Tiberius, and Jews prohibit images of any kind in their holy city.
That didn’t end well and what was worse, the emperor, Caesar Tiberius, caught wind of it in back home. I was in trouble. I was caught between a rock and hard place, several of them, in fact. Sejanus, my benefactor, was anti-Jewish and supported me in my hard line, but when it was discovered that he was plotting against Tiberius, he was purged along with others. I thought I was next, but thankfully, I was spared. Tiberius was more sympathetic to the Jews, which meant that I had to walk a fine line between diplomacy and keeping order. If it weren’t for Herod Antipas and Phillip, puppet rulers who were part Jewish, it would have been much easier.
So, when it came time to deal with this Jesus character, I had to really watch my step. I had to balance firm, Roman rule and enforcement of Roman law with diplomatic finesse while trying to work with the Jewish religious leaders and not getting myself in trouble with Tiberius. You know much of the story. It began with reports of this crazy prophet who was baptizing people and talking about someone else coming after him who would restore the Jews to their rightful place. At least I didn’t have to worry about them much because they were Antipas’ problem in Galilee.
I was glad when Antipas made a huge blunder by beheading John because of a half-drunken promise to Salome, his wife’s daughter. After that, there were reports of Jesus drawing great crowds, healing people, feeding thousands and even turning water into wine. Of course, I dismissed him as one more charlatan trickster; there were plenty of those to go around. But, the religious leaders were not amused, especially when Jesus had some choice words for them. Long story short, it was clear they wanted to get rid of Jesus, but again, it was not my problem.
That changed when during the Jewish festival of Passover. I always made a habit of traveling from my palace in Caesarea to my home in Jerusalem because there were so many Jews coming to celebrate. They needed a physical Roman presence to keep things in hand. In addition, it was good time to conduct empire business. So, I was surprised that Jesus came to Jerusalem because he knew the leaders wanted to kill him. Not only did he come, but also his followers went wild, strewing palm branches, calling him Son of David.
Right then, it seemed like events spiraled out of control. I learned later that they captured him at night so they wouldn’t upset the crowds and even got one of his followers to betray him with a kiss. Their court, the Sanhedrin, in a mockery of a trial convicted him of blasphemy and sentenced to death. However, they couldn’t put him to death because when I arrived in Judea six years earlier, I had removed their right to do that, so they brought Jesus to me. In hindsight, I only regret this one thing.
Well, I don’t know who I was exasperated about more, the religious leaders or Jesus. They really had no case against him, but they wouldn’t be appeased by any compromise. And Jesus, he just stood there, didn’t say a word, didn’t call any witnesses to defend himself. Then I had a great idea: since his so-called crimes were committed in Galilee, I’d send him to Herod Antipas and let him deal with it. But he sent him right back, and my last hope, releasing a criminal for Passover didn’t work either. What made this situation even worse was that, in trying to appease Tiberius and the religious leaders and wanting to do the just thing, my own wife told me she was warned in a dream that I should leave him alone.
Well, you know the rest of it: I washed my hands of the whole affair and condemned him to death with two other common criminals I had found guilty earlier in the day. Then a couple of the religious leaders claimed his body and buried him quickly. A few days later, I began to hear reports that he had been raised from the dead and appeared to many of his followers. I tried in vain to prove that it was a hoax, another trick, but to no avail; the story began to spread.
As for me, I was recalled to Rome after a nasty affair with the Samaritans on trumped up charges. Ten years I tried to serve faithfully as a Roman governor, but I think the cards were stacked against me. Some people believed I committed suicide to preserve my family honor, but don’t believe it. I often wonder what would have happened if I had stood up to everyone and let Jesus go. Honestly, I think the world would have found another way to kill him, but I’m the one they blame. I don’t expect you to feel sorry for me, but I hope you have a different view of the events that happened 2,000 years ago from someone who was there, especially from now on when you say my name each week. I hope you feel like you were there, too. Thanks for listening.
Postscript:
Pontius Pilate ruled as prefect in Judea for 10 years, from 26 AD to 36 AD. We don’t know what happened to him after he was recalled to Rome. One tradition has it that he committed suicide to avoid disgrace at his recall, but the source of that tradition was biased against Pilate and is doubtful at best. Another tradition says that his wife, Procula, became a Christian and that Pilate himself was a secret Christian. What we do know is that the Greek Orthodox Church canonized his wife and celebrates “St. Procula’s Day" on October 27, and that the Ethiopian Church recognizes June 25 “St. Pilate and St. Procula’s Day.” I am indebted to Paul L. Maier's book, Pontius Pilate, for much of the content of this monologue. (Kregel, Grand Rapids, MI, 1968, 2014)
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