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In the canonical gospels, Pilate's court refers to the trial of Jesus in the praetorium before Pontius Pilate, preceded by the Sanhedrin Trial. In the Gospel of Luke, Pilate finds that Jesus, being from Galilee, belonged to Herod Antipas' jurisdiction, and so he decides to send Jesus to Herod. After questioning Jesus and receiving very few replies, Herod sees Jesus as no threat and returns him to Pilate.
It was noted that Pilate appears as an advocate pleading Jesus' case rather than as a judge in an official hearing. In the Gospel of John (18:28–19:13), his "to-ing and fro-ing", that is, Pilate's back and forth movement from inside the praetorium to the outside courtyard, indicates his "wavering position".
Background
As prefect of Roman Judea, Pilate was subordinate to the Roman legate in Syria. Pilate resided on the coast at Caesarea Maritima. On those occasions when he had to be in Jerusalem, he used the palace compound built by Herod the Great as his praetorium or headquarters. The palace was located in the western part of the upper city and served as both a comfortable residence and fortress.
Early pilgrims to Jerusalem generally identified the praetorium with the Antonia Fortress, where the traditional Way of the Cross begins. However, the archaeological evidence, which dates the fortress remnants to the 2nd century CE, as well as the tense situation requiring Pilate to be near the Second Temple as the center of Passover activity, support the Herod's Palace location.
The Gospel of Mark uses the word aulē ("hall", "palace") to identify the praetorium. Fearing defilement, the Sanhedrin elders did not enter the court, and Pilate's discussion with them occurred outside the praetorium. Outside the praetorium proper, there was an area called the Pavement. Pilate's judgement seat (Greek: bēma), in which he conversed with the elders, was located there.
Gospel narratives
Overview
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The trial of Jesus is retold in all four canonical gospels, in Matthew 26:57–27:31, Mark 14:53–15:20, Luke 22:54–23:26, and John 18:13–19:16. The trial can be subdivided into four episodes:
- the Sanhedrin trial of Jesus (before Caiaphas or Annas);
- the trial of Jesus at Pilate's court (according to Luke also briefly at the court of Herod Antipas);
- Pilate's consideration of the crowd's opinion to give Barabbas amnesty and condemn Jesus to death; and
- the abduction of Jesus by Roman soldiers (according to John the chief priests) and the mistreatment and/or mocking of Jesus (according to Luke and John, this happened before Jesus was condemned by Pilate, according to Mark and Matthew not until after his condemnation).
In all four gospels, the Denial of Peter functions as an additional narrative during the Sanhedrin trial, while Matthew adds an addition during the trial before Pilate where the gospel narrates the suicide of Judas Iscariot.
As the religions professed by the Israelites (Second Temple Judaism) and the Romans (Religion in ancient Rome) were different, and since at the time Jerusalem was part of Roman Judea, the charges of the Sanhedrin against Jesus held no power before Pilate. From the three charges brought by the Pharisees leaders (perverting the nation, forbidding the payment of tribute, and sedition against the Roman Empire), Pilate picks up on the third one, asking: "Are you the King of the Jews?". Jesus replies with "You have said so". Then the hearing continues, and Pilate finally asks Jesus "What is truth?". This is said after learning that Jesus did not wish to claim any terrestrial kingdom. He was therefore not a political threat and could be seen as innocent of such a charge. Pilate does not wait for an answer: J. B. Phillips indicates that Pilate "went straight out again", and Francis Bacon suggested that Pilate was "jesting" when he asked the question.
Back outside, Pilate publicly declares that he has found no basis to charge Jesus, asking the crowd if they wanted Jesus freed. They demanded instead the release of Barabbas and called for Jesus' death. Fearing a revolt, Pilate relents. The universal rule of the Roman Empire limited capital punishment strictly to the tribunal of the Roman governor, and Pilate decided to publicly wash his hands as not being party to Jesus' death. Nevertheless, since only the Roman authority could order crucifixion and since the penalty was carried out by Roman soldiers, Pilate was responsible for Jesus' death, a judgment Reynolds Price describes as an exercise in skillful backwater diplomacy.
Commentary
Philo, who held a negative view of Pilate, mentions him ordering executions without trials.
Archaeologist Shimon Gibson argues that recent excavations have uncovered a monumental gateway on the western side of Herod's palace (the praetorium) which could be the place where the trial of Jesus took place. He also notes that "these archeological remains fit very well with John's description of the place of Jesus' temporary incarceration and the trial in front of Pilate, and with the two topographical features that are mentioned by him, the lithostrotos and gabbatha."
Narrative comparison
The following comparison table is primarily based on the New International Version (NIV) English translation of the New Testament.
| Matthew | Mark | Luke | John | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sanhedrin trial before Caiaphas (Matthew, Mark, Luke) or Annas (John) | Matthew 26:57–67
|
Mark 14:53–65
|
Luke 22:54–71
|
John 18:13–28
|
| Trial before Pilate (Luke: and also before Herod Antipas) | Matthew 27:1–14
|
|
Luke 23:1–12
|
John 18:28–38
|
| Jesus versus Barabbas | Matthew 27:15–26
|
Mark 15:6–15
|
Luke 23:13–25
|
John 18:39–19:16
|
| Jesus abducted for crucifixion | Matthew 27:27–31
|
Mark 15:16–20
|
Luke 23:26
|
John 19:16
|
Chronological comparison
Approximate chronological comparison between the Jesus Passion narratives according to the Gospels of Mark and John. Each section ('1' to '28') represents 3 hours of time.
See also
References
- Bond, Helen Katharine (1998). Pontius Pilate in History and Interpretation. Cambridge University Press. p. 159. ISBN 0-521-63114-9.
- Rudolf Schnackenburg, John, vol. 3 (New York: Crossroads, 1980-90), 446 n. 5.
- Chapman, David Wallace; Schnabel, Eckhard J. (2015). The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus: Texts and Commentary. Mohr Siebeck. p. 161. ISBN 9783161537868.
- ^ Bromiley, Geoffrey W. (1995), International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. vol. K-P. p. 929.
- John 19:13
- ^ Adelbert Denaux (1998). "Het lijden van Jezus Christus in het Nieuwe Testament". Kunsttijdschrift Vlaanderen (in Dutch). 47 (269): 66–68.
- See also History of the Jews in the Roman Empire
- Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:2, Luke 23:3
- John 18:33–38
- John 18:36
- John 18:38–39: J.B. Phillips New Testament
- Watkins, H. W. (1905), Ellicott's Commentary for Modern Readers on John 18, accessed 10 February 2024
- International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. vol. K-P, p. 979.
- Price, Reynolds. "So Famous, So Little Known", The New York Times, June 25, 2000
- Chapman & Schnabel 2015, p. 168.
- Gibson, Shimon (2011). "The Trial of Jesus at the Jerusalem Praetorium: New Archaeological Evidence". In Evans, Craig A. (ed.). The World of Jesus and the Early Church: Identity and Interpretation in Early Communities of Faith. Hendrickson Publishers. pp. 97–118. ISBN 978-1-59856-825-7.
- "Online Bible – New International Version". Biblehub.com. 2011. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
- For example, compare: "It was nine in the morning when they crucified him." (Mark 15:25 NIV) and "It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. (...) Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified." (John 19:14,16 NIV). Bart D. Ehrman, Jesus: Apocalyptic Prophet of the New Millennium (1999), p. 32–36.
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