Roman province with Pontius Pilate. Pontius Pilate is the mystery of history. Preliminary "inquiry" in Anna's house

25.10.2015

Who today does not know the fifth Roman procurator Nuda Pontius Pilate? Especially after Bulgakov's "The Master and Margarita" and the film shot on the basis of the novel. A stern, gloomy, but not devoid of humanity hegemon, ready to refuse the Sanhedrin to condemn the strange preacher from Nazareth, he nevertheless sends Yeshua to be crucified. He even quarrels over a righteous man with the high priest of Jerusalem. However, the fear of being accused of covering for the enemies of Caesar, to whom the priests attributed the Nazarene, makes him go against his conscience ... That, in fact, is all that we learn from the wonderful novel by Mikhail Bulgakov.

Supplemented with texts from the canonical Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, our information about this Roman, in general, is exhausted by this. Pilate is the executioner who sent the Son of God to be crucified! Executioner - and nothing more. But it turns out that the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, who approved with his seal the unrighteous decision of the court of the Jewish priests, played a much more significant role in the history of Christianity than the role of the executioner.

Let us return to the Jerusalem events of the spring month of Nisan.

Pilate is saddened by what has happened - by the fact that he failed to save the righteous.

The procurator dreams of leaving as soon as possible for his headquarters in Caesarea. He has already given his people the necessary orders and is ready to leave. And then something incredible happens: the chief Jerusalem confidant of the hegemon appears in the praetoria and reports that the crucified Yeshua Ha-Nozri has risen. Yes Yes. Resurrected! And there are witnesses to that. The woman Mary of Magdala spoke to the Risen One!

Perhaps this message was followed by a silent scene in the Praetorium. Like in The Inspector. Pilate and his centurions froze in amazement. Still would. The resurrection from the dead is a concept quite accessible to the mind of a Jew, but inaccessible to the mind of a Roman. The procurator almost lost the power of speech from such news. And how can an iron Roman not be confused here, because he has to prepare a report on the trial and executions in Jerusalem! Well, how will he explain to Caesar Tiberius, the Roman people and the Senate that the preacher from Nazareth, who was executed by him, was resurrected on the third day and went to Galilee to meet his disciples? That is exactly what his spies reported to Pilate.

The brave Roman warrior, the dashing grunt, the rider of the Golden Spear Pilate is at a loss. What will he write in the report? Who in Rome would believe the story of the resurrection?
Having subdued his pride, the procurator seeks a meeting with the high priest and asks if there is a prophecy about Ha-Nozri in the sacred Jewish books. And the high priest confirms this. He says that, they say, after the crucifixion, we looked at the holy books and looked for the testimony of God ... And it was revealed to us that Yeshua Ha-Nozri, crucified by us, is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the true and almighty God ... Pilate is confused, in shock! What Roman general or governor has ever been in a similar situation? And then the procurator recalls: indeed, during the interrogation, the Nazarene, as if even pitying the procurator, quietly whispered to him: “You would not have any power over me if it had not been given to you from above.” Pilate then did not pay attention to these words of the arrested person. He believed that he was talking about the power given to the procurator by Caesar Tiberius ... And the righteous man meant a different power ... God's power! Well, how now to explain all this to pagan Rome? Who there will believe that he, Pontius Pilate, interrogated the Son of God? Yes, and how to believe that God sent his Son to torment? Until now, the Greek and Roman gods sent their children to punish earthlings who had gone astray. And then - God sent his Son to be crucified? Where is the logic? Where is the common sense inherent in the Romans? Are you well, Roman procurator?

A far from stupid man, Pilate, having interrogated the witnesses and disciples of the crucified, who had not yet left Judea to preach the teachings of Jesus, puzzled over the incredible material he had collected and wrote a report about that terrible Friday that stunned Rome. The report was delivered to the emperor. Biblical historians call that document the "Acts of Pilate." Theologians have established that there are different versions of these acts. Most of them are fake. Some acts are very favorable to Jesus Christ, others are full of hatred towards Christians. What was in the original acts of Pilate? Most likely, there was no slander against the crucified Son of God. For the pagan Tiberius treated the procurator's texts with confidence and apparently believed in the resurrection of Jesus Christ! And he was sympathetic to his teachings. Historians of early Christianity write that the emperor even addressed the Senate with a proposal to rank Christ among the host of Roman gods. However, the Senate did not support Caesar. Tiberius, however, held to his own opinion and punished anyone who dared to offend Christians. True, later Tiberius himself organized the persecution of believers in the crucified ... And the subsequent Caesars - Caligula, Nero, Domitian - they became famous for persecuting Christians, cruel reprisals against the bearers of the new faith. But what is most interesting here, what, in fact, is the riddle of Pilate - the "Acts of Pilate" sent by Pilate to Tiberius - whether we want it or not - are the first official text about the Jerusalem events on the 14th day of the spring month of Nisan. First! The disciplined Roman administrator Pilate, as befits his position, clearly informed Rome about the events in Jerusalem.

That is, it turns out that the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate was the first to testify about Jesus Christ!

The good news from Matthew, from Mark, from Luke, and from John appeared later than his acts. And therefore, we can assume that the procurator Pontius Pilate, condemned by the modern public, is in fact the first historian of Christianity. Pilate is a historian! Sounds strange to a layman's ear, doesn't it? But where to go if the "Acts of Pilate" - a recognized historical document (!) About the Easter days in Jerusalem, took place and was discussed in the Roman Senate?

This paradoxical situation is analyzed in detail in A. Zverintsev's novel "The Son of Thunder, or the Shadow of Golgotha". The book describes a very difficult relationship between Pilate and the Jews.

Appointed procurator of Judea, Pilate, at the head of his cohorts, tried to solemnly enter Jerusalem, but was met not with palm branches, as the governors of Rome were met in other provinces, but with sticks, stones and shouts: “Get out to Caesarea, Pilate the pig-eater!” The high priest explained to the hegemon: the Jews cannot see images of a human face on Roman banners, even if this is the face of the ruler of the world, Caesar Tiberius. And Pilate had to cover the banners. The procurator was about to build a water pipe for the Jews like the Roman one and wanted to take money for the construction from the temple's cash desk, but was rebuffed. Temple money is temple money! But not with Roman money to build water pipes for the Jews! And blood was shed. Another denunciation of the procurator went to Rome. Pilate erected a statue of Caesar in Herod's temple - in response: all the streets of the city were filled with Jews lying on the ground in protest. And until Pilate removed his idol from the temple, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ready to die for their faith, did not rise from the earth. And Pilate realized that he would not work out with the Jews. He left Jerusalem, which was hostile to him, and settled in Caesarea.

From there he ruled the country. And on the eve of the Jewish Passover, he received an invitation from the Sanhedrin to the feast of the 14th day of the spring month of Nisan. To go or not to go? But the protocol required the presence of the viceroy at the celebration...

The world knows what happened at these celebrations...

And how did the author of the first official testimony about Jesus Christ, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate, end his earthly journey? What are the opinions on this matter? In the texts of early Christian historians, one can find information that four years after the execution of the Nazarene, the procurator was deposed and exiled to Gaul. Mental torment haunted this man chosen by providence. The procurator painfully tried to understand who he was: whether he was the murderer of the God-Man or the executor of the prophecies encoded in the Holy Scriptures about the Son of Man, who came to people in order to lead them to salvation ... It is believed that the procurator could not bear the mental anguish and committed suicide.

But with his death, the hegemon did not go into oblivion. There is a legend that today the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate can be found in the Swiss Alps. On Good Friday, dressed in a Roman toga, he appears on the mountain and washes and washes his hands, and shows them to everyone so that they can see that they do not have the blood of the Savior ... And repeats: “I am innocent in the blood of this Righteous ...”

A bit of history

Pontius Pilate (lat. Pontius Pilatus) - the Roman ruler of Judea from 26 to 36 AD. e; Roman horseman. Josephus and Tacitus call him a procurator, but an inscription found in 1961 in Caesarea, dating from the period of the reign of Pilate, shows that he, like other Roman rulers of Judea from 6 to 41 years, was, apparently, in the position of prefect.
The reign of Pontius Pilate was marked by mass violence and executions. Tax and political oppression, the provocative actions of Pontius Pilate, which offended the religious beliefs and customs of the Jews, caused massive popular uprisings, which were mercilessly suppressed by the Romans. According to the philosopher Philo of Alexandria, who lived in the 1st century, Pilate is responsible for countless cruelties and executions committed without any trial.
Pontius Pilate in the Christian tradition
According to the New Testament, Pontius Pilate sentenced Jesus Christ to crucifixion, in whose death the Sanhedrin headed by the high priest Caiaphas was interested. According to the gospel story, Pilate at the same time “took water and washed his hands before the people”, thus using the old Jewish custom, symbolizing innocence in the shedding of blood (hence the expression “wash your hands”). After the Samaritans complained about the massacre perpetrated by Pontius Pilate, in 36 the Roman legate in Syria Vitellius (father of the future emperor Vitellius) removed him from his post and sent him to Rome. Pilate's further fate is unknown.
There are many legends about Pilate's subsequent life and his suicide, the historical accuracy of which is doubtful. According to Eusebius of Caesarea (4th century), he was exiled to Vienne in Gaul, where various misfortunes eventually forced him to commit suicide. According to another apocryphal legend, after his suicide, his body was thrown into the Tiber, but this caused such a disturbance in the water that the body was removed, taken to Vienne and drowned in the Rhone, where the same phenomena were observed, so that in the end he had to be drowned in bottomless lake in the Alps. According to other reports, he was executed by Nero; in Vienne, tourists are shown the pyramidal tomb of Pilate.
The name of Pontius Pilate is one of three (except for the names of Jesus and Mary) mentioned in the Christian Creed: "And in one Lord Jesus Christ, ... crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, who suffered and was buried." According to a common theological interpretation, the words “under Pontius Pilate” are an indication of a specific date, that the earthly life of Christ became a fact of human history.

The initial hostility of Christianity to Pontius Pilate gradually disappears, and "repentant" and "converted to Christianity" Pilate becomes the hero of a number of New Testament apocrypha, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church even canonized Pilate and his wife. Pilate's wife Procula (the name is known from a number of lists of the Gospel of Nicodemus) began to be identified with the Roman Christian Claudia, mentioned by the Apostle Paul (2 Tim. 4:21) - as a result, a double name arose - Claudia Proculus. The Feast of Saints Pilate and Procula is celebrated on June 25th.
Pilate's Judgment
The trial of Pilate is the trial of the Roman procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, over Jesus Christ, described in the Gospels. The Judgment of Pilate is one of the Passion of Christ.
Pilate's trial of Jesus is described in all four evangelists:
Gospel Description of Judgment
From Matthew
(Matthew 27:11-14)
…and having bound Him, they took Him away and handed Him over to Pontius Pilate, the governor… And Jesus stood before the governor. And His ruler asked: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus said to him: You speak. And when the chief priests and elders accused Him, He answered nothing. Then Pilate said to him: Do you not hear how much they testify against you? And he did not answer him a single word, so that the ruler was very surprised.
From Mark
(Mark 15:1-5)
Immediately in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders and scribes, and the entire Sanhedrin held a meeting, and, having tied Jesus, they took him away and handed him over to Pilate. Pilate asked Him: Are you the King of the Jews? And he said to him in answer: You speak. And the chief priests accused Him of many things. Pilate asked Him again: You don't answer anything? you see how many accusations are against you. But Jesus made no answer to that either, so Pilate was amazed.
From Luke
(Luke 23:1-7)
And all the multitude of them rose up, and led Him to Pilate, and began to accuse Him, saying: We found that He corrupts our people and forbids giving tribute to Caesar, calling Himself Christ the King. Pilate asked Him: Are you the King of the Jews? He said to him in reply: You speak. Pilate said to the chief priests and the people: I find no fault in this man. But they persisted, saying that He was stirring up the people by teaching all over Judea, from Galilee to this place. Pilate, hearing about Galilee, asked: Is He a Galilean? And knowing that He was from the province of Herod, He sent Him to Herod, who in those days was also in Jerusalem.
From John
(John 18:29-38)
Pilate went out to them and said: What do you accuse this Man of? They said to him in reply: If He had not been a villain, we would not have betrayed Him to you. Pilate said to them: You take him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to him: We are not allowed to put anyone to death, so that the word of Jesus, which He spoke, may come true, making it clear by what death He will die. Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to Him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him: Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about Me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Your people and chief priests delivered you to me; what did you do? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight for me, so that I would not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate said to Him: So You are the King? Jesus answered: You say that I am the King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, What is truth? And having said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in Him.
The Jewish high priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death, could not carry out the sentence themselves without its approval by the Roman governor. As the evangelists say, after the night trial of Christ, they brought him in the morning to Pilate in the praetorium, but they themselves did not enter it so as not to be defiled, but so that they could eat Easter.
According to all the evangelists, the main question that Pilate asked Jesus was: “Are you the King of the Jews? ". This question was due to the fact that a real claim to power as the King of the Jews, according to Roman law, qualified as a dangerous crime. The answer to this question was the words of Christ - you speak. , which can be regarded as a positive answer, since in Hebrew the phrase "you said" has a positive-constative meaning. In giving this answer, Jesus emphasized that not only did he have a royal lineage, but also, as God, he has authority over all kingdoms. The most detailed dialogue between Jesus Christ and Pilate is given in the Gospel of John (see quote above).
Evangelist Matthew reports that during the trial of Jesus, Pilate's wife sent a servant to him to say: "Do nothing to the Righteous One, because today in my sleep I suffered much for Him" ​​(Matt. 27:19). According to the apocrypha, Pilate's wife's name was Claudia Procula, and she later became a Christian. In the Greek and Coptic churches, she is canonized, her memory is celebrated on November 9 (October 27, old style).
Jesus Christ at the trial of Herod Antipas
Only the Evangelist Luke reports about bringing Jesus to Herod Antipas. Pilate, having learned that Jesus was from the province of Herod, sent Him to Herod, who in those days was also in Jerusalem (Luke 23:7). Herod Antipas heard a lot about Jesus Christ and longed to see him, hoping to witness one of his miracles. Herod asked Jesus many questions, but he did not answer them. Afterward, according to Luke, Herod and his soldiers, humiliating Him and mocking Him, dressed Him in light clothes and sent Him back to Pilate. And that day Pilate and Herod became friends with each other, for before they had been at enmity with each other.
(Luke 23:11-12)
It should be noted that the Romans dressed in white (light) clothes candidates for any commanding or honorary position. Thus, Herod, having dressed Jesus in this way, wanted to express that he perceives him only as a funny pretender to the Jewish throne and does not consider him a dangerous criminal. This is probably how Herod Pilate understood it, since he referred before the chief priests to the fact that Herod did not find anything worthy of death in Jesus.

After Pilate first brought Jesus to the people, who demanded his execution, he, having decided to arouse compassion for Christ among the people, ordered the soldiers to beat him. They took Jesus into the yard and took off his clothes and beat him. Then they dressed him in the clownish outfit of the king: purple (a cloak of royal color), put a wreath woven from thorns (“crown”) on his head, giving a cane, a branch (“royal scepter”) in his right hand. After that, the soldiers began to mock him - they knelt down, bowed and said: “Hail, King of the Jews!”, And then they spat on him and beat him on the head and face with a cane (Mark 15:19).
When examining the Shroud of Turin, identified with the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, it was concluded that Jesus was dealt 98 blows (while the Jews were allowed to inflict no more than 40 blows - Deut. 25: 3): 59 blows of a whip with three ends, 18 - two ends and 21 - with one end.
Christ in front of the crowd
Pilate twice brought Jesus out to the people, declaring that he did not find in him any guilt worthy of death (Luke 23:22). The second time this was done after his torture, which was intended to arouse the pity of the people, showing that Jesus had already been punished by Pilate. Pilate went out again and said to them: Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, so that you may know that I find no fault in Him. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the scarlet robe. And [Pilate] said to them: Behold, Man!
(John 19:4-5)
In Pilate's words "Behold, Man!" one can see his desire to arouse compassion among the Jews for the prisoner, who, after being tortured, does not look like a king and does not pose a threat to the Roman emperor. The very sight of Christ after the mockery of him became the fulfillment of one of the prophecies of the 21st Messianic psalm: “I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach among people and contempt among the people” (Ps. 21:7).
The people neither for the first nor the second time showed indulgence and demanded the execution of Jesus in response to Pilate's proposal to release Christ, following the old custom: Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” At the same time, according to the Gospel, the people began to shout even more strongly that they would be crucified. Seeing this, Pilate passed a death sentence - he sentenced Jesus to be crucified, and he himself "washed his hands before the people, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One." To which the people exclaimed: “His blood is on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:24-25). Having washed his hands, Pilate performed the ritual washing of hands, customary among the Jews, as a sign of non-participation in the murder being committed (Deut. 21: 1-9).
Apocryphal tales
Pilate's trial is described in the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus. In it, in addition to the information contained in the canonical Gospels, the author makes additions that emphasize the messianic status of Christ (for example, an episode with the worship of Christ with a banner in the hands of standard-bearers). Pilate's trial begins with a dispute about the legality of the birth of Jesus, which ends with a dialogue between Pilate and 12 men who were at the betrothal of the Virgin Mary and who testified to the legality of the birth of Jesus:
(And) Pilate said to them: “Why do they want to kill Him?”
They told him: "They have anger against him, for he heals on Saturdays."
Pilate said: “Do they want to kill Him for good deeds?”
They said to him: "Yes, sir."
Pilate, angry, went out of the praetorium and said: "The sun is my witness - I will declare to everyone that I have not found a single sin in this man."

The Gospel of Nicodemus quotes Jesus' answer to Pilate's question, "What is truth?" (the question according to the Gospel of John remained unanswered): "Jesus said: 'Truth is from heaven.' Pilate said to Him: “But in earthly things there is no truth?” Jesus said to Pilate: “Pay attention - the truth is on earth among those who, having power, live by the truth and do righteous judgment.”
Witnesses in defense of Christ at the trial are the miraculously healed by him sick: paralyzed, born blind, Veronica, a bleeding wife; the inhabitants of Jerusalem remember the miraculous resurrection of Lazarus. In response to this, Pilate, on the occasion of the feast, invites the people to release Christ or Barabbas of their choice, and in the future the apocrypha repeats the canonical Gospel text, with the exception of bringing Jesus out to the people after the reproach.
Historical evidence
In addition to the New Testament, Pontius Pilate is mentioned in the writings of Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, and Tacitus. In 1961, in the Mediterranean port of Caesarea, which was once the residence of the Roman governor in Judea, two Italian archaeologists discovered a limestone slab measuring 82 x 100 x 20 cm with a Latin inscription, deciphered by archaeologist Antonio Frava as:
…]S TIBERIÉUM
…PON]TIUS PILATUS
..PRAEF]ECTUS IUDAE
..́.
which is possibly a fragment of an inscription: "Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea, presented Tiberius to the Caesarians." This slab was the first archaeological find that confirmed the existence of Pilate.
Josephus also mentions Pilate's name in the so-called Testimonium Flavianum (see Historicity of Jesus Christ).
In general, the number of historical evidence about Pontius Pilate is significantly inferior to the number of apocryphal texts associated with his name - starting with the "Reports of Pilate to Tiberius", references to which are already found in the authors of the 2nd-3rd centuries, and ending with fakes of the 20th century - such, for example, as "Testimony of the Greek Hermidius" (allegedly serving as the official biographer of the ruler of Judea and recording the details of the trial of Jesus).

Pontius Pilate (lat. Pontius Pilatus; other Greek. Ποντίος Πιλάτος). Roman prefect of Judea from 26 to 36 AD (in a number of sources - procurator; hegemon), Roman horseman (equite).

The time and place of Pontius Pilate's birth is not known.

It is known about Pontius Pilate that in 26 AD. e. Roman emperor Tiberius appointed him ruler of the province of Judea. This position could be obtained by persons belonging to the privileged class of equestrians (the second estate in the state after the senatorial one).

Prior to this, Pilate, apparently, participated in the wars. He also made a political career as a military tribune.

Pilate lived in the port city of Caesarea. At his disposal was a small staff of employees: scribes, escorts and messengers. Pilate commanded five foot cohorts, each consisting of 500 to 1,000 men, and a cavalry force of about 500 horsemen.

The reign of Pilate was marked by mass violence and executions. Tax and political oppression, the provocative actions of Pontius Pilate, which offended the religious beliefs and customs of the Jews, caused massive popular uprisings, which were mercilessly suppressed by the Romans. A contemporary of Pilate, the philosopher Philo of Alexandria characterizes him as a cruel and corrupt petty tyrant, guilty of numerous executions committed without any trial. The Jewish king Agrippa I, in a letter to the emperor, lists Pilate's numerous crimes: "bribery, violence, robbery, ill-treatment, insults, continuous executions without a judicial verdict and his endless and unbearable cruelty."

During the reign of Pontius Pilate in Judea, a significant event for Christians took place: the execution of Jesus Christ.

According to the New Testament, Pontius Pilate during the trial three times refused to execute Jesus Christ, in which the Sanhedrin headed by the high priest Caiaphas was interested.

The trial of Jesus Christ described in the Gospels, to which Pilate, following the demands of the crowd, pronounced a death sentence.

As the evangelists say, after the night trial of Christ, they brought him to Pilate in the morning in the praetorium, but they themselves did not enter it “so as not to be defiled, but so that they could eat Easter”.

The most detailed dialogue between Jesus Christ and Pilate is given in the Gospel of John: “Pilate went out to them and said: What do you accuse this Man of? They said to him in reply: If He had not been a villain, we would not have betrayed Him to you. Pilate said to them: You take him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to him: We are not allowed to put anyone to death, so that the word of Jesus, which He spoke, may come true, making it clear by what death He will die. Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to Him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him: Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about Me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Your people and chief priests delivered you to me; what did you do? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight for me, so that I would not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate said to Him: So You are the King? Jesus answered: You say that I am the King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, What is truth? And having said this, he went out again to the Jews, and said to them, I find no fault in Him.”(John 18:29-38).

During the trial, according to the Gospels, Jesus Christ was tortured (scourged, crowned with thorns), so Pilate's trial is one of the Passion of Christ.

After Pilate brought Jesus out to the people for the first time, who demanded His execution, he, having decided to arouse compassion for Christ among the people, ordered the soldiers to beat Him. They took Jesus into the courtyard and, taking off His clothes, they beat Him. Then they dressed Him in the jester's attire of the king - purple (a cloak of royal color), put a wreath woven from thorns (“crown”) on His head, giving a cane, a branch (“royal scepter”) in his right hand. After that, the soldiers began to mock him - they knelt down, bowed and said: “Hail, King of the Jews!”, And then they spat on Him and beat him with a cane on his head and face.

When examining the Shroud of Turin, identified with the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, it was concluded that Jesus was dealt 98 blows (while the Jews were allowed to inflict no more than 40 blows): 59 blows of a scourge with three ends, 18 - with two ends and 21 - with one end.

Pilate twice brought Jesus out to the people, declaring that he did not find in Him any guilt worthy of death (Luke 23:22). The second time this was done was after His torture, which was intended to arouse the pity of the people, showing that Jesus had already been punished by Pilate.

“Pilate went out again and said to them: Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, so that you may know that I find no fault in Him. Then Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the scarlet robe. And [Pilate] said to them: Behold, Man! (John 19:4-5).

In Pilate's words "Behold, Man!" one can see his desire to arouse compassion among the Jews for the prisoner, who, after being tortured, does not look like a king and does not pose a threat to the Roman emperor. The very sight of Christ after the mockery of him became the fulfillment of one of the prophecies of the 21st Messianic psalm: “I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach among people and contempt among the people” (Ps. 21:7).

The people neither for the first nor the second time showed indulgence and demanded the execution of Jesus in response to Pilate's proposal to release Christ, following the old custom: Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?”

At the same time, according to the Gospel, the people began to shout even more strongly that they would be crucified. Seeing this, Pilate passed a death sentence - he sentenced Jesus to be crucified, and he himself "washed his hands before the people, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One." To which the people exclaimed: “His blood is on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:24-25).

Having washed his hands, Pilate performed the ritual washing of hands, customary among the Jews, as a sign of non-participation in the murder being committed (Deut. 21:1-9) - hence the expression "wash your hands."

The name of Pontius Pilate is one of three (except for the names of Jesus and Mary) mentioned in the Christian Creed: "And in one Lord Jesus Christ, ... crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, who suffered and was buried." According to a common theological interpretation, the words “under Pontius Pilate” are an indication of a specific date, that the earthly life of Christ became a fact of human history.

Pontius Pilate left Judea after the Samaritans complained about the massacre perpetrated by them. In 36, the Roman legate in Syria, Vitellius (father of the future emperor Vitellius), removed him from his post and sent him to Rome. Pilate's further fate is unknown.

There is a version that he committed suicide. But the historical accuracy of these data is questionable. According to Eusebius of Caesarea (4th century), he was exiled to Vienne in Gaul, where various misfortunes eventually forced him to commit suicide.

According to another apocryphal legend, his body after suicide was thrown into the Tiber, but this caused such a disturbance of the water that the body was removed, taken to Vienne and drowned in the Rhone, where the same phenomena were observed, so that in the end he had to be drowned in lake named after him at an altitude of 1548 meters near Lucerne. At this place today is a raised swamp. In Switzerland, this legend is so widely known that even the main mountain of Lucerne is called Pilate's mountain "Pilatusberg". According to other reports, he was executed by Nero. In Vienne there is a pyramidal column of the circus (hippodrome), which for a long time was passed off as the "tomb of Pilate".

Pontius Pilate is mentioned in the writings of Josephus Flavius, Philo of Alexandria and Tacitus. In 1961, in the Mediterranean port of Caesarea, which was once the residence of the Roman governor in Judea, two Italian archaeologists discovered a limestone slab measuring 82x100x20 cm with a Latin inscription, deciphered by the archaeologist Antonio Frov as: ...]S TIBERIÉVM .. .PON]TIVS PILATVS ...PRAEF]ECTVS IVDAE. This may be a fragment of an inscription: "Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea, introduced Tiberius to the Caesarians." This slab was the first archaeological find that confirmed the existence of Pilate.

During the excavations near the city of Beit Shemesh, a stone-paved section of the ancient Roman road was discovered, about 150 m long and up to 6 meters wide, on which they found coins minted by the Roman prefect of Judea, Pontius Pilate in 29 AD.

Josephus also mentions Pilate's name in the so-called Testimonium Flavianum.

Personal life of Pontius Pilate:

Wife - Claudia Procula (lat. Claudia Procula). In the Greek, Coptic and Ethiopian churches, she is canonized as a saint.

In Byzantine Orthodoxy, her memory is celebrated on October 27 (according to the Julian calendar). The Ethiopian Church commemorates Claudia Procula with her husband Pontius Pilate on June 25.

The Gospel of Matthew mentions that during the trial of Jesus, Pilate's wife, who was not named, sent a servant to him to say: “do not do anything to Righteous Tom, because now in a dream I suffered a lot for Him”(Matthew 27:19). There is no more information about Pilate's wife in the canonical texts.

The conversion of Pilate's wife to Christianity is reported by a number of Christian authors: Athanasius, Augustine the Blessed, John Malala and others. Regarding the nature of the dream of Pilate's wife, the opinions of theologians were divided - some believed that he was from God, while others - from the devil.

1959 - "Ben-Hur" - Frank Thring
1961 - "King of Kings" - Hurt Hatfield
1964 - "The Gospel of Matthew" - Alessandro Clerici
1972 - "Pilate and others" - Jan Kretschmar
1973 - "Jesus Christ Superstar" - Barry Dennen
1977 - "Jesus of Nazareth" - Rod Steiger
1986 - "The Case of the Nazarene" - Harvey Keitel
1988 - "The Last Temptation of Christ" -

1989 - "The Master and Margarita" - Zbigniew Zapasiewicz
1994 - "Master and Margarita" -

1999 - "Jesus" - Gary Oldman

2000 - "Jesus Christ Superstar" - Fred Johanson
2005 - "Master and Margarita" -

2006 - "The Passion of the Christ" - Hristo Shopov
2008 - "Pilate" - Scott Smith
2010 - "Ben-Hur" - Hugh Bonneville
2016 - "Ben-Hur" - Pilu Asbek

Ruler ( hegemon) and governor, but an inscription found in 1961 in Caesarea, dating from the period of Pilate's reign, shows that he, like other Roman rulers of Judea from 41 to 41, was in the position of prefect.

Pilate's reign was marked by mass violence and executions. Tax and political oppression, the provocative actions of Pontius Pilate, insulting the religious beliefs and customs of the Jews, caused massive popular uprisings, mercilessly suppressed by the Romans. A contemporary of Pilate, the philosopher Philo of Alexandria characterizes him as a cruel and corrupt petty tyrant, guilty of numerous executions committed without any trial. The Jewish king Agrippa I, in a letter to the emperor Caligula, also lists the numerous crimes of Pilate: "bribery, violence, robbery, ill treatment, insults, continuous executions without a judicial verdict and his endless and unbearable cruelty."

Pontius Pilate in the Christian tradition

According to the gospel story, Pilate at the same time “took water and washed his hands before the people”, thus using the old Jewish custom, symbolizing innocence in shedding blood (hence the expression “wash your hands”).

After the Samaritans complained about the massacre perpetrated by Pontius Pilate, in 36 the Roman legate in Syria Vitellius (father of the future emperor Vitellius) removed him from his post and sent him to Rome. Pilate's further fate is unknown.

There are many legends about Pilate's subsequent life and his suicide, the historical accuracy of which is doubtful. According to Eusebius of Caesarea (4th century), he was exiled to Vienne in Gaul, where various misfortunes eventually forced him to commit suicide. According to another apocryphal legend, after his suicide, his body was thrown into the Tiber, but this caused such a disturbance in the water that the body was removed, taken to Vienne and drowned in the Rhone, where the same phenomena were observed, so that in the end he had to be drowned in lake named after him at an altitude of 1548 meters near Lucerne. At this place today is a raised swamp. In Switzerland, this legend is so widely known that even the main mountain of Lucerne is called Pilate's mountain "Pilatusberg". According to other reports, he was executed by Nero. In Vienne there is a pyramidal column of the circus (hippodrome), which for a long time was passed off as the "tomb of Pilate".

The name of Pontius Pilate is one of three (except for the names of Jesus and Mary) mentioned in the Christian Creed: “ And in one Lord Jesus Christ, ... crucified for us under Pontius Pilate, who suffered and was buried". According to a common theological interpretation, the words " under Pontius Pilate"- an indication of a specific date, that the earthly life of Christ became a fact of human history.

Apocrypha about Pontius Pilate

The initial hostility of Christianity to Pontius Pilate gradually disappears, and "repentant" and "converted to Christianity" Pilate becomes the hero of a number of New Testament apocrypha, and the Ethiopian Orthodox Church even canonized Pilate's wife Procula (the name is known from a number of lists of the Gospel of Nicodemus), who began to be identified with the Roman Christian Claudius, mentioned by the Apostle Paul (2 Tim.) - as a result, a double name arose - Claudia Proculus. The Ethiopian Church venerates Pilate as a saint and commemorates him with his wife on June 25th.

Pilate's Judgment

Pilate's trial - the trial of Jesus Christ described in the Gospels, to which Pilate, following the requirements of the crowd, pronounced a death sentence. During the trial, according to the Gospels, Jesus Christ was tortured (scourged, crowned with thorns) - therefore Pilate's trial is among the Passion of Christ.

Historical evidence

In addition to the New Testament, Pontius Pilate is mentioned in the writings of Josephus, Philo of Alexandria, and Tacitus. In 1961, in the Mediterranean port of Caesarea, which was once the residence of the Roman governor in Judea, two Italian archaeologists discovered a limestone slab measuring 82 x 100 x 20 cm with a Latin inscription, deciphered by archaeologist Antonio Frava as:

…]S TIBERIÉUM … pon]TIUS PILATUS .. PRAEF]ECTUS IUDA[ EA]E ..́.

which is possibly a fragment of the inscription: " Pontius Pilate, prefect of Judea, introduced Tiberius to the Caesareans". This slab was the first archaeological find that confirmed the existence of Pilate.

Josephus also mentions Pilate's name in the so-called Testimonium Flavianum(see Historicity of Jesus Christ).

In general, the number of historical evidence about Pontius Pilate is significantly inferior to the number of apocryphal texts associated with his name - starting with the “Reports of Pilate to Tiberius”, references to which are already found among authors of the 3rd century, and ending with forgeries of the 20th century - such, for example, as "Testimony of the Greek Hermidius" (allegedly serving as the official biographer of the ruler of Judea and recording the details of the trial of Jesus).

Pilate in art and culture

The image of Pilate was reflected in the culture of the new time: in fiction (for example, The Master and Margarita by Mikhail Bulgakov, The Procurator of Judea by Anatole France, The Gospel According to Pilate by Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt, Pilate's Creed by Karel Capek, Straitjacket "Jack London," Scaffold "Chingiz Aitmatov), ​​"Memoirs of Pontius Pilate" by Anna Berne, music (for example, the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar" by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the song of the group "Aria" "Blood for Blood") and many others ; in the visual arts (for example, “Christ before Pilate” (1634) Rembrandt, “What is truth?” (1890) Nicholas Ge, as well as a number of canvases dedicated to the plot of Ecce Homo (“Behold, man”), including works brushes by Hieronymus Bosch, Caravaggio, Correggio, Tintoretto, Mihai Munkacsy and many others.

In cinema, the image of Pontius Pilate was presented in dozens of films by the following actors:

• Sigmund Lubin ("Passion Play" "Passion Play" (Finland, 1898)
• Samuel Morgan ("From the Manger to the Cross" (USA, 1912)
• Amleto Novelli ("Christ", "Christus" (Italy, 1916)
• Werner Kraus ("Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews" (I.N.R.I.), Germany, 1923)
• Viktor Varkoni ("King of Kings", "The King of Kings" (Austria, 1927)
• Jean Gabin (Calvary, France, 1935)
• Basil Rathbone ("The Last Days of Pompeii", USA, 1935)
• Jose Baviera ("Jesus of Nazareth" "Jesus of Nazareth" (1942); "Mary Magdalene" "María Magdalena, pecadora de Magdala" (1946); "Virgin Mary" "Reina de reinas: La Virgen María" (1948); "El mártir del Calvario" (1952) Mexico.
• Lowell Gilmore (The Living Christ Series (USA, 1951)
• Richard Boone ("The Shroud" (USA, 1953)
• Basil Sydney ("Salome" "Salome" (USA, 1953)
• Gerard Tisci ("Kiss of Judas" aka "El beso de Judas", Spain, 1954)
• Frank Thring ("Ben Hur", USA, 1959)
• Hurt Hatfield ("King of Kings", 1961)
• Jean Mare (Pontius Pilate, Italy - France, 1961)
• Alessandro Clerici (Gospel of Matthew, 1964)
• Jan Kretschmar ("Pilate and others", Germany, 1972)
• Barry Dennen (Jesus Christ Superstar, 1973)
• Rod Steiger (Jesus of Nazareth, 1977)
• Harvey Keitel ("The Case of the Nazarene", 1986)
• David Bowie ("The Last Temptation of Christ", 1988)
• Zbigniew Zapasiewicz (The Master and Margarita, Poland, 1989)
• Mikhail Ulyanov (The Master and Margarita, Russia, 1994)
• Gary Oldman ("Jesus", 1999).
• Fred Johanson (Jesus Christ Superstar, 2000)
• Hristo Shopov ("The Passion of the Christ", 2004); "Investigation", 2006.
• Kirill Lavrov (The Master and Margarita, Russia, 2005)
• Scott Smith ("Pilate", 2008)
• Hugh Bonneville ("Ben Hur", 2010)

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Roman prefects and procurators of Judea

Developments Characters
twelve apostles
Acts Peter Pavel
Romans and Herodias	Excerpt characterizing Pontius Pilate This officer was Petya Rostov. All the way Petya was preparing himself for how, as a big and officer should, without hinting at his previous acquaintance, he would behave with Denisov. But as soon as Denisov smiled at him, Petya immediately beamed, blushed with joy and, forgetting the formality he had prepared, began to talk about how he drove past the French, and how glad he was that he had been given such an assignment, and that he was already in battle. near Vyazma, and that one hussar distinguished himself there. “Well, I’m hell to see you,” Denisov interrupted him, and his face again took on a worried expression. “Mikhail Feoklitich,” he turned to the esaul, “after all, this is again from a German. He is pg "and he is a member." And Denisov told the esaul that the content of the paper brought now consisted in a repeated demand from the German general to join in attacking the transport. "Wow," he concluded. While Denisov was talking to the esaul, Petya, embarrassed by Denisov's cold tone and assuming that the position of his pantaloons was the reason for this tone, so that no one would notice this, adjusted his fluffy pantaloons under his overcoat, trying to look as militant as possible. “Will there be any order from your high nobility?” - he said to Denisov, putting his hand to his visor and again returning to the game of adjutant and general, for which he had prepared, - or should I remain with your honor? “Orders?” Denisov said thoughtfully. - Can you stay until tomorrow? - Oh, please ... Can I stay with you? Petya screamed. - Yes, how exactly were you ordered from the geneg "ala - now to get out"? Denisov asked. Petya blushed. Yes, he didn't say anything. I think it is possible? he said inquiringly. “Well, all right,” said Denisov. And, turning to his subordinates, he made orders that the party go to the designated resting place near the guardhouse in the forest and that the officer on a Kyrgyz horse (this officer acted as adjutant) went to look for Dolokhov, find out where he was and whether he would come in the evening . Denisov himself, with the esaul and Petya, intended to drive up to the edge of the forest, overlooking Shamshev, in order to look at the location of the French, which was to be directed tomorrow's attack. “Well, God’s ode,” he turned to the peasant conductor, “take me to Shamshev. Denisov, Petya and the esaul, accompanied by several Cossacks and a hussar who was carrying a prisoner, drove to the left through the ravine, to the edge of the forest. The rain had passed, only fog and drops of water fell from the branches of trees. Denisov, the esaul, and Petya silently followed the peasant in the cap, who, lightly and soundlessly stepping with his feet turned out in bast shoes over the roots and wet leaves, led them to the edge of the forest. Coming out to the izvolok, the peasant paused, looked around and headed towards the thinning wall of trees. At a large oak tree, which had not yet shed its leaves, he stopped and mysteriously beckoned to him with his hand. Denisov and Petya drove up to him. From the place where the peasant stopped, the French were visible. Now a spring field was going down behind the forest like a semi-hillock. To the right, across a steep ravine, one could see a small village and a manor house with collapsed roofs. In this village, in the manor house, and along the whole hillock, in the garden, by the wells and the pond, and along the entire road uphill from the bridge to the village, no more than two hundred sazhens away, crowds of people could be seen in the wavering fog. Their non-Russian cries were clearly heard at the horses in the carts tearing up the mountain and calls to each other. “Give the prisoner here,” Denisop said quietly, not taking his eyes off the French. The Cossack dismounted from his horse, removed the boy, and together with him approached Denisov. Denisov, pointing to the French, asked what kind of troops they were. The boy, thrusting his chilled hands into his pockets and raising his eyebrows, looked frightened at Denisov and, despite his apparent desire to say everything he knew, got confused in his answers and only confirmed what Denisov was asking. Denisov, frowning, turned away from him and turned to the esaul, telling him his thoughts. Petya, turning his head with quick movements, glanced first at the drummer, then at Denisov, then at the esaul, then at the French in the village and on the road, trying not to miss something important. - Pg "is coming, not pg" is Dolokhov, you have to bg "at! .. Huh?" Denisov said, his eyes flashing merrily. “The place is convenient,” said the esaul. “We’ll send infantry from below—by swamps,” Denisov continued, “they’ll crawl up to the garden; you will call with the Cossacks from there, ”Denisov pointed to the forest outside the village,“ and I’m from here, with my gusags. “It won’t be possible in a hollow - it’s a quagmire,” said the esaul. - You will bog down the horses, you have to go around to the left ... While they were talking in an undertone in this way, below, in the hollow from the pond, one shot clicked, smoke began to turn white, another, and a friendly, as if cheerful, cry of hundreds of voices of the French who were on the half-mountain was heard. In the first minute, both Denisov and the esaul leaned back. They were so close that it seemed to them that they were the cause of these shots and screams. But the shots and screams did not belong to them. Below, through the swamps, a man in something red was running. Obviously, the French were shooting at him and shouting at him. - After all, this is our Tikhon, - said the esaul. - He! they are! “Eka rogue,” said Denisov. - Leave! - screwing up his eyes, said the esaul. The man whom they called Tikhon, running up to the river, flopped into it so that the spray flew, and, hiding for a moment, all black from the water, got out on all fours and ran on. The French, who were running after him, stopped. - Well, clever, - said the esaul. - What a beast! Denisov said with the same expression of annoyance. And what has he done so far? - Who is this? Petya asked. - This is our plast. I sent him to pick up the language. “Ah, yes,” said Petya from Denisov’s first word, nodding his head as if he understood everything, although he decidedly did not understand a single word. Tikhon Shcherbaty was one of the most needed people in the party. He was a peasant from Pokrovsky near Gzhatya. When, at the beginning of his actions, Denisov came to Pokrovskoye and, as always, calling the headman, asked what they knew about the French, the headman answered, as all the headmen answered, as if defending themselves, that they did not know anything, know they don't know. But when Denisov explained to them that his goal was to beat the French, and when he asked if the French had wandered into them, the headman said that there had been marauders for sure, but that in their village only Tishka Shcherbaty was engaged in these matters. Denisov ordered Tikhon to be called to him and, praising him for his activities, said a few words in front of the headman about the loyalty to the tsar and the fatherland and hatred for the French, which the sons of the fatherland should observe. “We do no harm to the French,” said Tikhon, apparently timid at these words of Denisov. - We only so, means, on hunting dabbled with the guys. It’s like two dozen Miroderov were beaten, otherwise we didn’t do anything bad ... - The next day, when Denisov, completely forgetting about this peasant, left Pokrovsky, he was informed that Tikhon had stuck to the party and asked to be left with it. Denisov ordered to leave him. Tikhon, who at first corrected the menial work of laying fires, delivering water, skinning horses, etc., soon showed a great desire and ability for guerrilla warfare. He went out at night to plunder and each time brought with him a dress and French weapons, and when he was ordered, he brought prisoners. Denisov put Tikhon away from work, began to take him on trips with him and enrolled him in the Cossacks. Tikhon did not like to ride and always walked, never falling behind the cavalry. His weapons were a blunderbuss, which he wore more for laughter, a lance and an ax, which he owned like a wolf owns teeth, equally easily picking fleas out of wool and biting thick bones with them. Tikhon equally faithfully, with all his might, split logs with an ax and, taking the ax by the butt, cut out thin pegs with it and cut out spoons. In the party of Denisov, Tikhon occupied his own special, exceptional place. When it was necessary to do something especially difficult and ugly - to turn a wagon in the mud with his shoulder, to pull a horse out of the swamp by the tail, skin it, climb into the very middle of the French, walk fifty miles a day - everyone pointed, chuckling, at Tikhon. “What the hell is he doing, hefty merenina,” they said about him. Once a Frenchman, whom Tikhon was taking, shot him with a pistol and hit him in the flesh of his back. This wound, from which Tikhon was treated only with vodka, internally and externally, was the subject of the most cheerful jokes in the whole detachment and jokes that Tikhon willingly succumbed to. "What, brother, won't you?" Ali cringed? the Cossacks laughed at him, and Tikhon, deliberately crouching and making faces, pretending to be angry, scolded the French with the most ridiculous curses. This incident had only the effect on Tikhon that, after his wound, he rarely brought prisoners. Tikhon was the most useful and brave man in the party. No one more than him discovered cases of attacks, no one else took him and beat the French; and as a result, he was the jester of all Cossacks, hussars, and he himself willingly succumbed to this rank. Now Tikhon was sent by Denisov, that night, to Shamshevo in order to take language. But, either because he was not satisfied with one Frenchman, or because he slept through the night, he climbed into the bushes during the day, into the very middle of the Frenchmen and, as he saw from Mount Denisov, was discovered by them. After talking for some more time with the esaul about tomorrow's attack, which now, looking at the proximity of the French, Denisov seemed to have finally decided, he turned his horse and rode back. - Well, bg "at, tepeg" let's go and dry ourselves, - he said to Petya. Approaching the forest guardhouse, Denisov stopped, peering into the forest. A man in a jacket, bast shoes and a Kazan hat, with a gun over his shoulder and an ax in his belt, was walking through the forest, between the trees, with long, light steps on long legs, with long dangling arms. Seeing Denisov, this man hurriedly threw something into a bush and, taking off his wet hat with drooping brim, went up to the chief. It was Tikhon. Pitted with smallpox and wrinkles, his face with small narrow eyes shone with self-satisfied amusement. He raised his head high and, as if restraining himself from laughter, stared at Denisov. “Well, where did pg fall?” Denisov said. - Where had you been? I followed the French,” Tikhon answered boldly and hastily in a hoarse but melodious bass. - Why did you climb during the day? Beast! Well, didn't you take it? “I took it,” said Tikhon. – Where is he? “Yes, I took him first of all at dawn,” Tikhon continued, rearranging his flat, turned-out legs in bast shoes wider, “and led him into the forest. I see it's not good. I think, let me go, I’ll take another more carefully one. “Look, rogue, it’s true,” Denisov said to the esaul. - Why didn’t you pg "ivel"?

For 2000 years, historians, writers, artists have been trying to discern and study the image of this man. We say his name every day in the prayer "Symbol of Faith" - "... crucified for us under Pontius Pilate"... Even people who are far from the Church and have never read the Gospel know about Pontius Pilate from Mikhail Bulgakov's famous novel The Master and Margarita. What was the person who sent the Savior to Golgotha ​​like?

Pontius Pilate. Fragment of the painting Christ before Pilate by Mihaly Munkacsy

A bit of history

Pontius Pilate (lat. Pontius Pilatus) - the fifth Roman procurator (ruler) of Judea from 26 to 36 AD, Roman horseman (equit). His residence was located in the palace built by Herod the Great, in the city of Caesarea, from where he ruled the country.

In general, not much is known about Pontius Pilate. Today, one of the most important sources about him are the Gospels and the writings of the Roman historian Josephus Flavius. There are also written accounts from historians such as Tacitus, Eusebius of Caesarea, and Philo of Alexandria.

According to some reports, Pontius Pilate was born in 10 BC in Lugdun, in Gaul (now Lyon, France). Pontius is, apparently, the generic name of Pilate, indicating his belonging to the Roman family of Pontius. He was married to the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Tiberius and granddaughter of Emperor Augustus Octavian Claudia Procula. (she later became a Christian. In the Greek and Coptic churches, she is canonized, her memory is celebrated on November 9 (October 27, old style)). Being the most obedient servant of the emperor-in-law, Pilate went with his wife to Judea to become its new Roman prefect. For 10 years, he ruled this country, prevented impending uprisings and suppressed riots.

Almost the only characteristic given to Pilate by his contemporary is the words of Philo of Alexandria: "naturally tough, stubborn and ruthless... depraved, rude and aggressive, he raped, abused, repeatedly killed and constantly atrocities." The moral qualities of Pontius Pilate can be judged by his deeds in Judea. As historians point out, Pilate was responsible for countless cruelties and executions carried out without any trial. Tax and political oppression, provocations that offended the religious beliefs and customs of the Jews, caused massive popular uprisings, which were mercilessly suppressed.

Pilate began his reign in the Holy Land by bringing standards with the image of the emperor to Jerusalem. So he tried to demonstrate his contempt for the Jews and their religious laws. But in order not to expose the Roman soldiers to unnecessary risk, this operation was carried out at night. And when the inhabitants of Jerusalem saw the Roman banners in the morning, the soldiers were already in their barracks. This story is described in great detail by Josephus Flavius ​​in The Jewish War. Afraid to arbitrarily remove the standards (apparently, this was just what the legionnaires were waiting for in their barracks), the inhabitants of Jerusalem went to Caesarea to meet with the new governor of Rome who had arrived. Here, according to Josephus Flavius, Pilate was adamant, because removing the standards was tantamount to insulting the emperor. But on the sixth day of the demonstration, either because Pilate did not want to start his inauguration with a massive massacre of the civilian population, or because of special instructions from Rome, he ordered the standards to be returned to Caesarea.

But the real conflict between the Jews and the Roman governor came after Pilate's decision to build an aqueduct in Jerusalem. (water canal, facility for centralized supply of the city with water from suburban sources). To implement this project, the procurator applied for subsidies to the treasury of the Jerusalem Temple. Everything would have worked out if Pontius Pilate had secured funding through negotiations and the voluntary consent of the Treasurers of the Temple. But Pilate committed an unprecedented act - he simply withdrew the required amount from the treasury! It is clear that on the part of the Jewish population this unacceptable move provoked a corresponding reaction - an uprising. This prompted decisive action. Pilate "ordered to change (in civilian clothes) a significant number of soldiers, gave them clubs, which they were supposed to hide under their clothes." The legionnaires surrounded the crowd, and after the order to disperse was ignored, Pilate “gave a signal to the soldiers, and the soldiers set to work much more zealously than Pilate himself would have liked. Working with clubs, they equally hit both noisy rebels and completely innocent people. The Jews, however, continued to stand firm; but since they were unarmed, and their opponents were armed, many of them here fell dead, and many left covered with wounds. Thus the indignation was suppressed.

The following account of Pilate's cruelty is found in the Gospel of Luke: “At that time some came and told Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices.”(Luke 13:1). Obviously, it was about an event known at that time - a massacre right in the Jerusalem Temple during the charter sacrifice ...

However, Pontius Pilate did not become one of the most famous in history because of his cruelty or the construction of the Jerusalem aqueduct. All his cruelty and deceit was overshadowed by a single act - the trial of Jesus Christ and the subsequent execution. From the Holy Scriptures, we definitely know that the Lord was sentenced to death precisely by Pilate, who at that time represented the highest Roman authority in Judea. The death sentence was also carried out by a cohort of Roman soldiers. The Savior was crucified on the Cross, and crucifixion is the Roman tradition of the death penalty.

Judgment on Jesus Christ

On the eve of the Jewish Passover, Pilate received an invitation from the Sanhedrin to Jerusalem for the feast. His temporary residence in Jerusalem was the praetorium, which was probably located in the former palace of Herod near the Anthony Tower. The Praetorium was a vast and magnificent chamber, where not only Pilate's dwelling was located, but also a room for his retinue and soldiers. There was also a small square in front of the praetorium, where the regional ruler held court. It was here that Jesus was brought for trial and sentencing.

Residence of Pilate in Jerusalem - Praetorium

Preliminary "inquiry" in Anna's house

It all starts on the night of Thursday to Friday, when Jesus Christ was taken into custody in the Garden of Gethsemane after his prayer for the cup. Immediately after his arrest, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin (the highest judicial body of the Jews). First, Christ appeared before Anna.

The Great Sanhedrin consisted of 71 judges. Membership in the Sanhedrin was for life. We know the names of only 5 members of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin: High Priest Caiaphas, Anna (lost by that time the rights of the high priesthood), holy righteous Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and Gamaliel. Before the conquest of Judea by the Romans, the Sanhedrin had the right to life and death, but from that time on his power was limited: he could pronounce death sentences, but their execution required the consent of the Roman ruler. The Sanhedrin was headed by the high priest Caiaphas. Among the members of the court, who had great weight, was also the former high priest Annas, who was at the head of the Sanhedrin for over 20 years before Caiaphas. But even after his resignation, he continued to actively participate in the life of Jewish society.

With Anna, the trial of Jesus Christ began. The chief priests and elders wanted the death of the Savior. But taking into account the fact that the decision of the Sanhedrin was subject to approval by the Roman procurator, it was necessary to find such accusations that would arouse political fears in the Roman governor. The former high priest wanted to lead the case to accusing Jesus Christ of plotting rebellion and leading a secret community. This was a cunning intent. Anna began to ask Christ about his teachings and his followers. But Jesus ruined the plan of the retired high priest: He claimed that he always preached openly, did not spread any secret teaching, and offered to listen to the witnesses of his sermons. Because the preliminary inquiry failed, Anna, not having the power to pass judgment, sent Christ to Caiaphas.

The meeting of the Sanhedrin in the house of Caiaphas

The high priest Caiaphas wanted the death of the Savior and more than others made efforts to fulfill this. Immediately after the resurrection of Lazarus, he, fearing that everyone would believe in Jesus, offered to kill the Savior: "You know nothing and will not think that it is better for us that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation should perish"(John 11:49-50).

That night Caiaphas' house and courtyard were full of people. The composition of the first meeting of the Sanhedrin, which gathered to judge the Savior, was incomplete. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were absent. The chief priests and elders tried to speed up the trial in order to prepare everything necessary for another morning full meeting of the Sanhedrin, at which they could formally pass the death sentence on Jesus. They were in a hurry to "turn everything over" for Friday, because the next day was Saturday - it was forbidden to hold a court session. In addition, if the trial and execution of the sentence are not carried out on Friday, one will have to wait a week due to the celebration of Easter. And this could again disrupt their plans.

The priests wanted to make two accusations: blasphemy (for an accusation in the eyes of the Jews) and sedition (for an accusation in the eyes of the Romans). “The chief priests and the elders and the whole Sanhedrin looked for false evidence against Jesus in order to put Him to death, and did not find it; and although many false witnesses came, they were not found"(Matthew 26:57-60). Judgment is impossible without witnesses. (The Lord, having given the Law to the God-chosen people on Mount Sinai, also established rules regarding witnesses: “According to two witnesses or three witnesses, the one condemned to death must die: he must not be put to death according to the words of one witness”(Deut. 17:6).)

Finally, two false witnesses came, who pointed to the words spoken by the Lord during the expulsion of the merchants from the temple. At the same time, they maliciously twisted the words of Christ, putting a different meaning into them. At the beginning of His ministry, Christ said: "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up"(John 2:18-19). But even such an accusation attributed to Christ was not sufficient for a serious punishment. Jesus never uttered a single word in His defense. Thus, the night session, which no doubt lasted several hours, did not find grounds for the death charge. The silence of Christ irritated Caiaphas, and he decided to force such a confession from the Lord that would give reason to condemn Him to death as a blasphemer. Caiaphas addressed Jesus: “I conjure you by the living God, tell us, are you the Christ, the Son of God?” Christ could not but respond to these words and answered: “You said!” that is: "Yes, you said correctly that I am the promised Messiah", and added: “From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” The words of Christ angered the high priest, and tearing his clothes, he said: “What else do we need witnesses for,Behold, now you have heard His blasphemy!” And everyone condemned Jesus for blasphemy and sentenced Him to death.

But the decision of the Sanhedrin, which condemned Jesus to death, had no legal force. The fate of the accused was to be decided only by the procurator.

Pilate's Judgment

Jesus Christ at Pilate's Trial

The Jewish high priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death, could not carry out the sentence themselves without its approval by the Roman governor. As the evangelists say, after the night trial of Christ, they brought him to Pilate in the morning in the praetorium, but they themselves did not enter it “so as not to be defiled, but so that they could eat Easter”. The representative of the Roman authorities had the right to approve or cancel the verdict of the Sanhedrin, i.e. finally decide the fate of the Prisoner.

The trial of Pilate is the trial of Jesus Christ described in the Gospels, to which Pilate, following the demands of the crowd, pronounced a death sentence. During the trial, according to the Gospels, Jesus was tortured (scourged, crowned with thorns) - therefore Pilate's trial is included in the Passion of Christ.

Pilate was not pleased to be involved in this matter. According to the Evangelists, Pontius Pilate during the trial three times refused to put Jesus Christ to death, in which the Sanhedrin headed by the high priest Caiaphas was interested. The Jews, seeing Pilate's desire to evade responsibility and not participate in the cause with which they came, brought a new accusation against Jesus, which was purely political in nature. They made a substitution - having just slandered Jesus and condemned Him for blasphemy, they now presented Him to Pilate as a criminal dangerous for Rome: “He corrupts our people and forbids giving tribute to Caesar, calling Himself Christ the King”(Luke 23:2). The members of the Sanhedrin wanted to move the matter from a religious area, which Pilate had little interest in, to a political one. The chief priests and elders hoped that Pilate would condemn Jesus for considering Himself the King of the Jews. (With the death of Herod the Elder in 4 BC, the title of king of Judea was destroyed. Management passed to the Roman governor. The real claim to the power of the King of the Jews, according to Roman laws, was qualified as a dangerous crime.)

Pilate's trial of Jesus is described in all four evangelists. But the most detailed dialogue between Jesus Christ and Pilate is given in the Gospel of John.

“Pilate went out to them and said: What do you accuse this Man of? They said to him in reply: If He had not been a villain, we would not have betrayed Him to you. Pilate said to them: You take him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to him: We are not allowed to put anyone to death, so that the word of Jesus, which He spoke, may come true, making it clear by what death He will die. Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to Him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him: Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about Me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Your people and chief priests delivered you to me; what did you do? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight for me, so that I would not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate said to Him: So You are the King? Jesus answered: You say that I am the King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, What is truth? And having said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in Him.”(John 18:29-38)

The main question Pilate asked Jesus was: "Are you the King of the Jews?" This question was due to the fact that a real claim to power as the King of the Jews, according to Roman law, qualified as a dangerous crime. The answer to this question was the words of Christ - "you say", which can be considered as a positive answer, since in Jewish speech the phrase "you said" has a positive-constative meaning. In giving this answer, Jesus emphasized that not only did he have a royal lineage, but also, as God, he has authority over all kingdoms.

Evangelist Matthew reports that during the trial of Jesus, Pilate's wife sent a servant to him to say: “do not do anything to Righteous Tom, because now in a dream I suffered a lot for Him”(Matthew 27:19).

Flagellation

Before finally yielding to the Jews, Pilate ordered the Prisoner to be scourged. The procurator, as the holy Apostle John the Theologian testifies, ordered the soldiers to do this in order to appease the passions of the Jews, arouse compassion for Christ among the people and please them.

They took Jesus into the yard and took off his clothes and beat him. The blows were applied with triple whips, at the ends of which there were lead spikes or bones. Then He was dressed in the king's jester's attire: a scarlet (royal-colored cloak), they gave Him a cane, a branch (“royal scepter”) in his right hand and put a wreath on his head, woven from thorns (“crown”), the thorns of which dug into the head of the Prisoner, when the soldiers beat him on the head with a cane. This was accompanied by moral suffering. The warriors mocked and abused Him Who contained in Himself the fullness of love for all people - they knelt down, bowed and said: "Hail, King of the Jews!", and then they spat on him and beat him with a cane on his head and face (Mark 15:19).

When examining the Shroud of Turin, identified with the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, it was concluded that Jesus was dealt 98 blows (while the Jews were allowed to inflict no more than 40 blows - Deut. 25: 3): 59 blows of a whip with three ends, 18 - two ends and 21 - with one end.

Pilate brought the bloodied Christ in the crown of thorns and scarlet to the Jews and said that he did not find any fault in Him. "Behold, Man!"(John 19:5) - said the procurator. In the words of Pilate "Behold, Man!" one can see his desire to arouse compassion among the Jews for the prisoner, who, after being tortured, does not look like a king and does not pose a threat to the Roman emperor. But the people, neither for the first nor the second time, showed leniency and demanded the execution of Jesus in response to Pilate's proposal to release Christ, following the old custom: “You have a custom for me to let you go alone at Easter; Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” At the same time, according to the Gospel, the people began to shout even more "Let him be crucified."

In the painting by Antonio Chiseri, Pontius Pilate shows the scourged Jesus to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the right corner is the grieving wife of Pilate

Seeing this, Pilate passed a death sentence - he sentenced Jesus to be crucified, and he himself “I washed my hands before the people, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this Just One”. To which the people exclaimed: "His blood is on us and on our children"(Matthew 27:24-25). Having washed his hands, Pilate performed the ritual washing of hands, customary among the Jews, as a sign of non-participation in the murder being committed (Deut. 21: 1-9) ...

After crucifixion

In the texts of early Christian historians, one can find information that 4 years after the execution of the Nazarene, the procurator was deposed and exiled to Gaul. As for the further fate of Pontius Pilate after his departure from Judea at the end of 36, there is no reliable information.

Many hypotheses have been preserved, which, despite the difference in details, come down to one thing - Pilate committed suicide.

According to some reports, Nero signed the order for the execution of Pontius Pilate as a henchman of Tiberius, after he was exiled to Gaul. Apparently, no one was able to intercede for the former Roman procurator of Judea. The only patron Pilate could count on - Tiberius - had died by this time. There are also legends according to which the waters of the river where Pilate was thrown after he committed suicide refused to accept his body. In the end, according to this story, Pilate's body had to be thrown into one of the high mountain lakes in the Alps. .

Apocrypha about Pontius Pilate

The name of Pontius Pilate is mentioned in some early Christian apocrypha of the 2nd century.

Many apocrypha even admitted that Pilate subsequently repented and became a Christian. Such pseudo-documents dating back to the 13th century include the Gospel of Nicodemus, Pilate's Letter to Claudius Caesar, Pilate's Ascension, Pilate's Letter to Herod the Tetrarch, and Pilate's Sentence.

It is noteworthy that in the Ethiopian Church, in addition to the wife of the procurator Claudia Procula, Pontius Pilate himself was canonized as a saint.

Pontius Pilate in The Master and Margarita

Pontius Pilate is the central character in M.A. Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita (1928-1940). The son of the astrologer king, the cruel procurator of Judea, the rider Pontius Pilate, nicknamed the Golden Spear, appears at the beginning of the 2nd chapter: “In the early morning of the fourteenth day of the spring month of Nisan, in a white cloak with a bloody lining, shuffling with a cavalry gait, the procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, entered the covered colonnade between the two wings of the palace of Herod the Great.”

Having studied the novel, we can conclude that the image of Pontius Pilate is very contradictory, he is not just a villain and a coward. He is a person who is kept within certain limits by the social conditions that have developed before him. Mikhail Bulgakov in his novel showed the procurator as a victim, as a man tormented by pangs of conscience. Pilate is endowed with sympathy for Jesus, in whose sermons he sees no threat to public order.

A stern, gloomy, but not devoid of humanity hegemon, ready to refuse the Sanhedrin to condemn the strange preacher from Nazareth, he nevertheless sends Yeshua to be crucified. He even quarrels over a righteous man with the high priest of Jerusalem. However, the fear of being accused of covering for the enemies of Caesar, to whom the priests attributed the Nazarene, makes him go against his conscience... The execution of Yeshua Ha-Nozri becomes the main event in Pilate's life and Conscience haunts the procurator for the rest of his life. He cannot get rid of the vision of the executed Yeshua and has been tormented for two thousand years, dreaming of meeting Him. That, in fact, is all that we learn from the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov.

The image of Bulgakov's Pilate is lonely, the novel does not say anything about the wife of the hegemon Claudia - the only friend of the rider is the devoted dog Banga.

Bulgakov has a lot of deviations from the Gospel in his novel. So, before us is a different image of the Savior - Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Contrary to the long genealogy given in the Gospel, going back to the line of David, nothing is known about either the father or the mother of Yeshua. He has no brothers. "I don't remember my parents" he says to Pilate. And further: "I was told that my father was a Syrian..." The writer deprives his hero of his family, life, even nationality. By removing everything, he molds the loneliness of Yeshua...

Among the significant changes Bulgakov made to the gospel tradition is Judas. Unlike the canon, in the novel he is not an apostle and, therefore, did not betray his teacher and friend, since he was neither a student nor a friend of Yeshua. He is a professional spy and informer. This is his form of income.

In the novel "The Master and Margarita" everything is focused on the refutation of the essence of the Gospel Event - the Passion of Christ. The scenes of the execution of Yeshua Ha-Nozri are devoid of exorbitant cruelty. Yeshua was not tortured, he was not mocked, and he did not die from torment, which, as can be seen from the text, did not exist, but was killed by the mercy of Pontius Pilate. No crown of thorns. And scourging is replaced by one blow from the scourge of the centurion Ratslayer. There is no heavy bearing of the cross in the novel. And the Way of the Cross, therefore, actually does not exist. There is a wagon with three convicts looking into the distance - to where death awaits them, on the neck of each of them is a plaque with the inscription "Robber and rebel." And more wagons - with executioners and the necessary, alas, working equipment for carrying out the execution: ropes, shovels, axes and freshly hewn poles ... And all this is by no means because the soldiers are kind. It's just that they - both soldiers and executioners - are more comfortable that way. For them, this is everyday life: for soldiers - service, for executioners - work. The usual, disinterested indifference to suffering and death reigns - on the part of the authorities, the Roman soldiers, the crowd. Indifference to the incomprehensible, unrecognized, indifference to a feat that was in vain ... Yeshua was executed not by crucifixion with nails on a cross, a symbol of sorrow, like Jesus Christ (and as predicted by the prophets), but simply tied with ropes to a "pole with cross bars. To death hour there is not only a group of apostles and women mournfully frozen in the distance (according to Matthew, Mark and Luke) or weeping at the foot of the cross (according to John), there is also no crowd mocking and shouting: "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Bulgakov: “The sun burned the crowd and drove it back to Yershalaim”. There are no twelve apostles. Instead of twelve disciples, there is only one Matthew Levi... And what does Yeshua Ha-Nozri say as he dies on the cross? In the Gospel of Matthew: “...About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: Eli, Eli! lama savahfan? That is: my God, my God! why did you leave me?" Similar phrase in the Gospel of Mark. John has a shorter, one word: "said, it is done." Bulgakov has the last word of the executed: "Hegemon ..."

Who is he - Yeshua Ha-Notsri in the novel "The Master and Margarita"? God? Or a person? Yeshua, to whom, it seems, everything is revealed - both the deep loneliness of Pilate, and the fact that Pilate has an excruciating headache, forcing him to think about poison, and the fact that a thunderstorm will come later, in the evening ... Yeshua knows nothing about his fate . Yeshua has no divine omniscience. He is a human. And this representation of the hero is not a god-man, but an infinitely defenseless man...

We have to admit that Bulgakov composed another Pilate, which has nothing in common with the historical procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate.

For 2000 years, historians, writers, artists have been trying to discern and study the image of this man. We pronounce his name daily in the prayer "Symbol of Faith" - "... crucified for us under Pontius Pilate"... Even people who are far from the Church and have never read the Gospel know about Pontius Pilate from Mikhail Bulgakov's famous novel The Master and Margarita. What was the person who sent the Savior to Golgotha ​​like?

A bit of history

Pontius Pilate(lat. Pontius Pilatus) - the fifth Roman procurator (ruler) of Judea from 26 to 36 AD, Roman horseman (equit). His residence was located in the palace built by Herod the Great, in the city of Caesarea, from where he ruled the country.

In general, not much is known about Pontius Pilate. Today, one of the most important sources about him are the Gospels and the writings of the Roman historian Josephus Flavius. There are also written accounts from historians such as Tacitus, Eusebius of Caesarea, and Philo of Alexandria.

According to some reports, Pontius Pilate was born in 10 BC in Lugdun, in Gaul (now Lyon, France). Pontius is, apparently, the generic name of Pilate, indicating his belonging to the Roman family of Pontius. He was married to the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Tiberius and granddaughter of Emperor Augustus Octavian Claudia Procula ( she later became a Christian. In the Greek and Coptic churches, she is canonized, her memory is celebrated on November 9 (October 27, old style)). Being the most obedient servant of the emperor-in-law, Pilate went with his wife to Judea to become its new Roman prefect. For 10 years, he ruled this country, prevented impending uprisings and suppressed riots.

Almost the only characteristic given to Pilate by his contemporary is the words of Philo of Alexandria: naturally tough, stubborn and ruthless... depraved, rude and aggressive, he raped, abused, repeatedly killed and constantly atrocities". The moral qualities of Pontius Pilate can be judged by his deeds in Judea. As historians point out, Pilate was responsible for countless cruelties and executions carried out without any trial. Tax and political oppression, provocations that offended the religious beliefs and customs of the Jews, caused massive popular uprisings, which were mercilessly suppressed.

Pilate began his reign in the Holy Land by bringing standards with the image of the emperor to Jerusalem. So he tried to demonstrate his contempt for the Jews and their religious laws. But in order not to expose the Roman soldiers to unnecessary risk, this operation was carried out at night. And when the inhabitants of Jerusalem saw the Roman banners in the morning, the soldiers were already in their barracks. This story is described in great detail by Josephus Flavius ​​in The Jewish War. Afraid to arbitrarily remove the standards (apparently, this was just what the legionnaires were waiting for in their barracks), the inhabitants of Jerusalem went to Caesarea to meet with the new governor of Rome who had arrived. Here, according to Josephus Flavius, Pilate was adamant, because removing the standards was tantamount to insulting the emperor. But on the sixth day of the demonstration, either because Pilate did not want to start his inauguration with a massive massacre of the civilian population, or because of special instructions from Rome, he ordered the standards to be returned to Caesarea.

But the real conflict between the Jews and the Roman governor occurred after Pilate's decision to build in Jerusalem aqueduct (vodokanal, a facility for the centralized supply of the city with water from suburban sources). To implement this project, the procurator applied for subsidies to the treasury of the Jerusalem Temple. Everything would have worked out if Pontius Pilate had secured funding through negotiations and the voluntary consent of the Treasurers of the Temple. But Pilate committed an unprecedented act - he simply withdrew the required amount from the treasury! It is clear that on the part of the Jewish population this unacceptable move provoked a corresponding reaction - an uprising. This prompted decisive action. Pilate "ordered to change (in civilian clothes) a significant number of soldiers, gave them clubs, which they were supposed to hide under their clothes." The legionnaires surrounded the crowd, and after the order to disperse was ignored, Pilate “gave a signal to the soldiers, and the soldiers set to work much more zealously than Pilate himself would have liked. Working with clubs, they equally hit both noisy rebels and completely innocent people. The Jews, however, continued to stand firm; but since they were unarmed, and their opponents were armed, many of them here fell dead, and many left covered with wounds. Thus the indignation was suppressed.

The following account of Pilate's cruelty is found in the Gospel of Luke: At this time, some came and told Him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate mixed with their sacrifices.(Luke 13:1). Obviously, it was about an event known at that time - a massacre right in the Jerusalem Temple during the charter sacrifice ...

However, Pontius Pilate did not become one of the most famous in history because of his cruelty or the construction of the Jerusalem aqueduct. All his cruelty and deceit was overshadowed by a single act - judgment of jesus christ and the ensuing execution. From the Holy Scriptures, we definitely know that the Lord was sentenced to death precisely by Pilate, who at that time represented the highest Roman authority in Judea. The death sentence was also carried out by a cohort of Roman soldiers. The Savior was crucified on the Cross, and crucifixion is the Roman tradition of the death penalty.

Judgment on Jesus Christ

On the eve of the Jewish Passover, Pilate received an invitation from the Sanhedrin to Jerusalem for the feast. His temporary residence in Jerusalem was praetoria, which was probably located in the former palace of Herod near the tower of Anthony. The Praetorium was a vast and magnificent chamber, where not only Pilate's dwelling was located, but also a room for his retinue and soldiers. There was also a small square in front of the praetorium, where the regional ruler held court. It was here that Jesus was brought for trial and sentencing.

Pilate's Residence in Jerusalem - Praetorium

Preliminary "inquiry" in Anna's house

It all starts on the night of Thursday to Friday, when Jesus Christ was taken into custody in the Garden of Gethsemane after his prayer for the cup. Immediately after his arrest, Jesus was brought before the Sanhedrin (the highest judicial body of the Jews). First, Christ appeared before Anna.

Grand Sanhedrin consisted of 71 judges. Membership in the Sanhedrin was for life. We know the names of only 5 members of the Jerusalem Sanhedrin: the high priest Caiaphas, Anna ( lost by that time the rights of the high priesthood), holy righteous Joseph of Arimathea, Nicodemus and Gamaliel. Before the conquest of Judea by the Romans, the Sanhedrin had the right to life and death, but from that time on his power was limited: he could pronounce death sentences, but their execution required the consent of the Roman ruler. The Sanhedrin was headed by the high priest Caiaphas. Among the members of the court, who had great weight, was also the former high priest Annas, who was at the head of the Sanhedrin for over 20 years before Caiaphas. But even after his resignation, he continued to actively participate in the life of Jewish society.

With Anna, the trial of Jesus Christ began. The chief priests and elders wanted the death of the Savior. But taking into account the fact that the decision of the Sanhedrin was subject to approval by the Roman procurator, it was necessary to find such accusations that would arouse political fears in the Roman governor. The former high priest wanted to lead the case to accusing Jesus Christ of plotting rebellion and leading a secret community. This was a cunning intent. Anna began to ask Christ about his teachings and his followers. But Jesus ruined the plan of the retired high priest: He claimed that he always preached openly, did not spread any secret teaching, and offered to listen to the witnesses of his sermons. Because the preliminary inquiry failed, Anna, not having the power to pass judgment, sent Christ to Caiaphas.

The meeting of the Sanhedrin in the house of Caiaphas

The high priest Caiaphas wanted the death of the Savior and more than others made efforts to fulfill this. Immediately after the resurrection of Lazarus, fearing that everyone would believe in Jesus, he offered to kill the Savior: “ you know nothing, and you will not think that it is better for us that one man should die for the people than that the whole nation should perish» (John 11:49–50).

That night Caiaphas' house and courtyard were full of people. The composition of the first meeting of the Sanhedrin, which gathered to judge the Savior, was incomplete. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus were absent. The chief priests and elders tried to speed up the trial in order to prepare everything necessary for another morning full meeting of the Sanhedrin, at which they could formally pass the death sentence on Jesus. They were in a hurry to “turn everything over” for Friday, because. the next day was Saturday - the court session was forbidden. In addition, if the trial and execution of the sentence are not carried out on Friday, one will have to wait a week due to the celebration of Easter. And this could again disrupt their plans.

The priests wanted to press two charges: blasphemy(for an accusation in the eyes of the Jews) and sedition(for an accusation in the eyes of the Romans). " The chief priests and elders and the whole Sanhedrin looked for false evidence against Jesus in order to put him to death, and did not find it; and although many false witnesses came, they did not find» (Matthew 26:57–60). Judgment is impossible without witnesses. (The Lord, having given the Law to the God-chosen people on Mount Sinai, also established rules regarding witnesses: “ According to two witnesses or three witnesses, the one condemned to death must die: he must not be put to death according to one witness(Deut. 17:6).)

Finally, two false witnesses came, who pointed to the words spoken by the Lord during the expulsion of the merchants from the temple. At the same time, they maliciously twisted the words of Christ, putting a different meaning into them. At the beginning of His ministry, Christ said: Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up» (John 2:18-19). But even such an accusation attributed to Christ was not sufficient for a serious punishment. Jesus never uttered a single word in His defense. Thus, the night session, which no doubt lasted several hours, did not find grounds for the death charge. The silence of Christ irritated Caiaphas, and he decided to force such a confession from the Lord that would give reason to condemn Him to death as a blasphemer. Caiaphas turned to Jesus: I conjure you by the living God, tell us, are you the Christ, the Son of God? Christ could not but respond to these words and answered: You said!" that is: " Yes, you said right that I am the promised Messiah' and added: ' From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power and coming on the clouds of heaven."The words of Christ angered the high priest and, tearing his clothes, he said:" What more need have we of witnesses, behold, now you have heard His blasphemy! And everyone condemned Jesus for blasphemy and sentenced Him to death.

But the decision of the Sanhedrin, which condemned Jesus to death, had no legal force. The fate of the accused was to be decided only by the procurator.

Pilate's Judgment

Jesus Christ at Pilate's Trial

The Jewish high priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death, could not carry out the sentence themselves without its approval by the Roman governor. As the evangelists say, after the night trial of Christ, they brought him to Pilate in the morning in the praetorium, but they themselves did not enter it “so as not to be defiled, but so that they could eat Easter”. The representative of the Roman authorities had the right to approve or cancel the verdict of the Sanhedrin, i.e. finally decide the fate of the Prisoner.

The trial of Pilate is the trial of Jesus Christ described in the Gospels, to which Pilate, following the demands of the crowd, pronounced a death sentence. During the trial, according to the Gospels, Jesus was tortured (scourged, crowned with thorns) - therefore Pilate's trial is included in the Passion of Christ.

Pilate was not pleased to be involved in this matter. According to the Evangelists, Pontius Pilate during the trial three times refused to put Jesus Christ to death, in which the Sanhedrin headed by the high priest Caiaphas was interested. The Jews, seeing Pilate's desire to evade responsibility and not participate in the cause with which they came, brought a new accusation against Jesus, which was purely political in nature. They made a substitution - having just slandered Jesus and condemned Him for blasphemy, they now presented Him to Pilate as a criminal dangerous for Rome: “ He corrupts our people and forbids giving tribute to Caesar, calling Himself Christ the King"(Luke 23:2). The members of the Sanhedrin wanted to move the matter from a religious area, which Pilate had little interest in, to a political one. The chief priests and elders hoped that Pilate would condemn Jesus for considering Himself the King of the Jews. ( With the death of Herod the Elder in 4 BC, the title of king of Judea was destroyed. Management passed to the Roman governor. The real claim to the power of the King of the Jews, according to Roman laws, was qualified as a dangerous crime.)

Pilate's trial of Jesus is described in all four evangelists. But the most detailed dialogue between Jesus Christ and Pilate is given in the Gospel of John.

“Pilate went out to them and said: What do you accuse this Man of? They said to him in reply: If He had not been a villain, we would not have betrayed Him to you. Pilate said to them: You take him, and judge him according to your law. The Jews said to him: We are not allowed to put anyone to death, so that the word of Jesus, which He spoke, may come true, making it clear by what death He will die. Then Pilate entered the praetorium again, and called Jesus, and said to Him: Are you the King of the Jews? Jesus answered him: Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about Me? Pilate answered: Am I a Jew? Your people and chief priests delivered you to me; what did you do? Jesus answered: My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight for me, so that I would not be delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not from here. Pilate said to Him: So You are the King? Jesus answered: You say that I am the King. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth; everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. Pilate said to him, What is truth? And having said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in Him.” (John 18:29-38)

The main question Pilate asked Jesus was, "Are you the King of the Jews?" This question was due to the fact that a real claim to power as the King of the Jews, according to Roman law, qualified as a dangerous crime. The answer to this question was the words of Christ - "you say", which can be considered as a positive answer, since in Jewish speech the phrase "you said" has a positive-constative meaning. In giving this answer, Jesus emphasized that not only did he have a royal lineage, but also, as God, he has authority over all kingdoms.

The Evangelist Matthew reports that during the trial of Jesus, Pilate's wife sent a servant to him to say: do nothing to Righteous Tom, because now in a dream I suffered a lot for Him» (Matthew 27:19).

Claudia Procula - wife of Pontius Pilate

Flagellation

Before finally yielding to the Jews, Pilate ordered the Prisoner to be scourged. The procurator, as the holy Apostle John the Theologian testifies, ordered the soldiers to do this in order to appease the passions of the Jews, arouse compassion for Christ among the people and please them.

They took Jesus into the yard and took off his clothes and beat him. The blows were applied with triple whips, at the ends of which there were lead spikes or bones. Then He was dressed in the king's jester's attire: a scarlet (royal-colored cloak), they gave Him a cane, a branch (“royal scepter”) in his right hand and put a wreath on his head, woven from thorns (“crown”), the thorns of which dug into the head of the Prisoner, when the soldiers beat him on the head with a cane. This was accompanied by moral suffering. The soldiers mocked and abused Him Who contained in Himself the fullness of love for all people - they knelt down, bowed and said: “ Hail, King of the Jews!”, and then they spat on him and beat him with a cane on his head and face (Mark 15:19).

When examining the Shroud of Turin, identified with the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, it was concluded that Jesus was dealt 98 blows (while the Jews were allowed to inflict no more than 40 blows - Deut. 25: 3): 59 blows of a whip with three ends, 18 - two ends and 21 - with one end.

Pilate brought the bloodied Christ in the crown of thorns and scarlet to the Jews and said that he did not find any fault in Him. " Behold, Man!"(John 19:5)," said the procurator. In Pilate's words, Behold, Man!"You can see his desire to arouse compassion among the Jews for the prisoner, who, after being tortured, does not look like a king and does not pose a threat to the Roman emperor. But the people, neither for the first nor the second time, showed leniency and demanded the execution of Jesus in response to Pilate's proposal to release Christ, following the old custom: Do you have a custom for me to let you go alone at Easter; Do you want me to let you go of the King of the Jews?". At the same time, according to the Gospel, the people began to shout even more strongly: let him be crucified».

In the painting by Antonio Chiseri, Pontius Pilate shows the scourged Jesus to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, in the right corner is the grieving wife of Pilate

Seeing this, Pilate passed a death sentence - he sentenced Jesus to be crucified, and he himself " washed his hands before the people, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this righteous". To which the people exclaimed: His blood is on us and on our children» (Matthew 27:24-25). Having washed his hands, Pilate performed the ritual washing of hands, customary among the Jews, as a sign of non-participation in the murder being committed (Deut. 21: 1-9) ...

After crucifixion

In the texts of early Christian historians, one can find information that 4 years after the execution of the Nazarene, the procurator was deposed and exiled to Gaul. As for the further fate of Pontius Pilate after his departure from Judea at the end of 36, there is no reliable information.

Many hypotheses have been preserved, which, despite the difference in details, come down to one thing - Pilate committed suicide.

According to some reports, Nero signed the order for the execution of Pontius Pilate as a henchman of Tiberius, after he was exiled to Gaul. Apparently, no one was able to intercede for the former Roman procurator of Judea. The only patron Pilate could count on - Tiberius - had died by this time. There are also legends according to which the waters of the river where Pilate was thrown after he committed suicide refused to accept his body. In the end, according to this story, Pilate's body had to be thrown into one of the high mountain lakes in the Alps.

Apocrypha about Pontius Pilate

The name of Pontius Pilate is mentioned in some early Christian apocrypha of the 2nd century.

Many apocrypha even admitted that Pilate subsequently repented and became a Christian. Such pseudo-documents dating back to the 13th century include the Gospel of Nicodemus, Pilate's Letter to Claudius Caesar, Pilate's Ascension, Pilate's Letter to Herod the Tetrarch, and Pilate's Sentence.

It is noteworthy that in the Ethiopian Church, in addition to the wife of the procurator Claudia Procula, Pontius Pilate himself was canonized as a saint.

Pontius Pilate in The Master and Margarita

Pontius Pilate is the central character in M.A. Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita (1928-1940). The son of the astrologer king, the cruel procurator of Judea, the rider Pontius Pilate, nicknamed the Golden Spear, appears at the beginning of the 2nd chapter: “In a white cloak with bloody lining, shuffling cavalry gait, in the early morning of the fourteenth day of the spring month of Nisan, in a covered colonnade between the two wings of Herod's palace The Great Procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate, came out.

Having studied the novel, we can conclude that the image of Pontius Pilate is very contradictory, he is not just a villain and a coward. He is a person who is kept within certain limits by the social conditions that have developed before him. Mikhail Bulgakov in his novel showed the procurator as a victim, as a man tormented by pangs of conscience. Pilate is endowed with sympathy for Jesus, in whose sermons he sees no threat to public order.

A stern, gloomy, but not devoid of humanity hegemon, ready to refuse the Sanhedrin to condemn the strange preacher from Nazareth, he nevertheless sends Yeshua to be crucified. He even quarrels over a righteous man with the high priest of Jerusalem. However, the fear of being accused of covering for the enemies of Caesar, to whom the priests attributed the Nazarene, makes him go against his conscience... The execution of Yeshua Ha-Nozri becomes the main event in Pilate's life and Conscience haunts the procurator for the rest of his life. He cannot get rid of the vision of the executed Yeshua and has been tormented for two thousand years, dreaming of meeting Him. That, in fact, is all that we learn from the novel by Mikhail Bulgakov.

The image of Bulgakov's Pilate is lonely, the novel does not say anything about the wife of the hegemon Claudia - the only friend of the rider is the devoted dog Banga.

Bulgakov has a lot of deviations from the Gospel in his novel. So, before us is a different image of the Savior - Yeshua Ha-Nozri. Contrary to the long genealogy given in the Gospel, going back to the line of David, nothing is known about either the father or the mother of Yeshua. He has no brothers. “I don't remember my parents,” he tells Pilate. And further: " I was told that my father was a Syrian...» The writer deprives his hero of his family, way of life, even nationality. By removing everything, he molds the loneliness of Yeshua...

Among the significant changes Bulgakov made to the gospel tradition are Judas. Unlike the canon, in the novel he is not an apostle and, therefore, did not betray his teacher and friend, since he was neither a student nor a friend of Yeshua. He is a professional spy and informer. This is his form of income.

In the novel "The Master and Margarita" everything is focused on the refutation of the essence of the Gospel Event - the Passion of Christ. The scenes of the execution of Yeshua Ha-Nozri are devoid of exorbitant cruelty. Yeshua was not tortured, he was not mocked, and he did not die from torment, which, as can be seen from the text, did not exist, but was killed by the mercy of Pontius Pilate. No crown of thorns. And scourging is replaced by one blow from the scourge of the centurion Ratslayer. In the novel there is no heavy bearing of the cross. And the way of the cross, therefore, actually does not exist.. There is a wagon with three convicts looking into the distance - to where death awaits them, on the neck of each of them is a plaque with the inscription "Robber and rebel." And more wagons - with executioners and, alas, the necessary working equipment for carrying out the execution: ropes, shovels, axes and freshly hewn poles ... And all this is by no means because the soldiers are kind. It's just that they - both soldiers and executioners - are more comfortable that way. For them, this is everyday life: for soldiers - service, for executioners - work. The usual, disinterested indifference to suffering and death reigns - on the part of the authorities, the Roman soldiers, the crowd. Indifference to the incomprehensible, unrecognized, indifference to a feat that was in vain ... Yeshua was executed not by crucifixion with nails on a cross, a symbol of sorrow, like Jesus Christ (and as predicted by the prophets), but simply tied with ropes to a “post with cross bars. At the hour of death, there is not only a group of apostles and women, mournfully frozen in the distance (according to Matthew, Mark and Luke) or weeping at the foot of the cross (according to John). There is no crowd, mocking and shouting: " If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross". Bulgakov: " The sun burned the crowd and drove it back to Yershalaim». There are no twelve apostles. Instead of twelve disciples - one Levi Matthew ... And what does Yeshua Ha-Nozri say as he dies on the cross? In the Gospel of Matthew: "... about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eli, Eli! lama savahfan? That is: my God, my God! why did you leave me?» A similar phrase in the Gospel of Mark. John has a shorter, one word: said: done". Bulgakov has the last word of the executed: "Hegemon ..."

Who is he - Yeshua Ha-Notsri in the novel "The Master and Margarita"? God? Or a person? Yeshua, to whom, it seems, everything is revealed - both the deep loneliness of Pilate, and the fact that Pilate has an excruciating headache, forcing him to think about poison, and the fact that a thunderstorm will come later, in the evening ... Yeshua knows nothing about his fate. Yeshua has no divine omniscience. He is a human. And this representation of the hero is not a god-man, but an infinitely defenseless man...

We have to admit that Bulgakov composed another Pilate, which has nothing in common with the historical procurator of Judea, Pontius Pilate.

Material prepared by Sergey SHULYAK