Who was Pontius Pilate?

Pontius Pilate served as prefect, or governor, of the Roman province of Judaea under the emperor Tiberius, from about AD 26 to 36. Luke dates the start of John the Baptist's ministry to "the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea" (Luke 3:1). Pilate is also known from outside the Bible. The Roman historian Tacitus mentions that Christ was executed under him, the Jewish writers Josephus and Philo describe clashes he provoked with the Jewish people, and in 1961 archaeologists at Caesarea Maritima found a stone inscription bearing his name and title. The Gospels show Pilate caught between justice and political pressure. At Jesus' trial he repeatedly declared him innocent: "I find no fault in this man" (Luke 23:4). He sent Jesus to Herod Antipas, offered to release him instead of Barabbas, and received a warning from his wife after a troubling dream (Matthew 27:19). He asked Jesus, "What is truth?" (John 18:38). Finally, fearing a riot, he "took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person" (Matthew 27:24), and handed Jesus over to be crucified. He also had the sign placed on the cross, "JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS" (John 19:19). According to Josephus, Pilate was later recalled to Rome after a violent action against Samaritans. Later traditions about his end vary widely, and his name is still recited in the ancient creeds, which confess that Jesus "suffered under Pontius Pilate."

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