The Bible is the best-selling book in all of human history. By some estimates, more than 5,000,000,000 copies – that’s billions – have been printed.
The New Testament recounts two famous authors and their writing. One is Jesus Himself when he writes in the dirt after the Pharisees bring Him a woman caught in adultery. Holy Scripture does not tell us what Jesus wrote.
The other famous gospel writer is Pontius Pilate. He wrote a short essay, somewhat shorter than a seventeen syllable Japanese haiku poem, a short, very short, some would say “snapshot in time,” biography of Jesus Christ. Some speech-as-hate-crime purveyors of the time, worried about their curial earthly power, realizing that this was not their officially sanctioned 2+2=5 version of doctrine, said they were offended and demanded that Pontius Pilate delete the misinformation or, at least, amend it so it would be less offensive to them.
If the story written by Pontius was true, their cash flow from their church-as-business ecclesial operation could evaporate overnight. Estimated in today’s dollars, the temple tax alone would be at least $1,500,000.00 annually, collected from Jews worldwide. If this Jesus was indeed the Messiah, they priests might have to move out of their palaces.
Pilate refused.
We do not know why he refused, if it was out of an author’s pride in what he had written or if he did not respect literary critiques from non-Romans. We do know that Pilate ruled in Judaea as the representative of the Roman Emperor and what power the High Priests and the other priests enjoyed was at his, and the empire’s, pleasure. Also, he probably wanted to make the point that the ruling aristocracy, i.e., the High Priest, his father, and the lesser priests, received and maintained some apparent power not from Jehovah, but from the Emperor. In denying the priestly aristocrats’ request to change his words, Pilate’s “What I have written, I have written” was an in-your-face you-are-our-subservient-subjects response.
If the number of occurrences of the acronym for Pilate’s words – INRI (based on the Latin version of what Pilate wrote: “Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”) – are counted with the published full-story version in the bible, this is far and away the most published written work of all time. Couple this with the explicit reference to Pilate in the Apostle’s Creed, along with Jesus, Mary, Joseph, and a few saints, and Pilate’s name is one of the most verbalized names for almost two millennia. Anyone who says the daily rosary says his name. Everyone who attends the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass says they believe Pilate was in charge when Jesus was tortured and crucified.
But why?
From a purely historical perspective, tying the story of Jesus to the existence of this actual person, Pilate, shows that Jesus was an actual person who lived and died. In addition to the gospel accounts, other historians of the time reported about this Jesus and his relation to Pilate.
But on other levels, the question about Pilate’s celebrity is a question for God the Holy Spirit who inspired the writers of the books of the bible. So, of course, there is no answer.
Some seat-of-the-pants, best-guestimate, and Monday-morning-quarterbacking conjectures follow.
Perhaps part of the message about Pilate, writer, and celebrity, is that he is now dead. He had some power, but his power was of this earth and his official position did not give him everlasting life. We do not know if he is presently enjoying eternal happiness in heaven with the God-man he condemned to death or if he is suffering in the eternal fires of the hell that Jesus assured us does exist. The message about the individual, Pilate, is also a message to all those since, and all those today, who are the “world rulers of this present darkness.” Pilate has died and has been judged by the Jesus he condemned to death, and the present world rulers will all die and will be judged by this same Jesus.
The historical record contains almost nothing about Pontius Pilate, and nothing about what happened to him after he left Judaea around 37 A.D. Holy Scripture tells us the fate of Judas, but it is silent about Pilate. There are many stories and legends that have come down through history about him. One of these stories is that Pilate became a Christian, a martyr, and a saint. For anyone who repents, this can be his or her story.
Another possible answer to the “Why?” about Pilate’s fame and celebrity, which endure even up to the present day, may be found in the image of Francis Thompson’s Hound of Heaven, who pursues each and every soul, relentlessly, unperturbedly, out of pure, the purest, love. Jesus made Pilate. Jesus created the souls of everyone who was in Jerusalem in 33 A.D. Jesus made each person who shouted, “Crucify Him!” And Jesus wanted Pilate and all of them with Him forever in heaven. As Pilate is condemning Him, Jesus knows that what He is about to do will redeem Pilate. And so, instead of exercising the divine power about which He was ridiculed and taunted, He let Pilate, and all present there, freely choose to condemn Him, torture Him, crucify Him and kill Him.
The message about Pilate is the message that Jesus has saved each of us, all of us. Pilate, in the world and of the world, is redeemed. This is a message of hope for all of us.
(previous version published at site Catholic Stand).
I’ve been fortunate to have seen the actual painting by Antonio Ciseri, “Behold the Man,” in the Pitti Palace in Florence, Italy. It is an amazing interpretation of the event.
I love this! Thanks Guy! Christ really loved his enemies! Very difficult to pick up that cross and follow Him!
The man who asked “What is truth” writes a profoundly true statement … And at the command of our Lord! “You say that I am a king, for this reason I was born and have come into the world …”
(John really wants to make it clear that our Lord was the one in charge when the two met!)
I have wondered, did Pilate have the authority, as the Representative of Caeser in Judea, to declare Jesus King? He seemed to follow the proper protocols shown in 2 Chronicles … There was the pillar, the crown, and because of Pilate, the testimony. 🙂
Interesting post.
Pilate couldn’t find Jesus guilty of the things the crowd were claiming- even after pressing them multiple times. Even after trying to get them to back away with offering to set Jesus free. And yet the crowd would have preferred a scoundrel like Barrabas to walk free. Pilate was dumbfounded.
And so he washed his hands as an act of submission to the will of the crowd who he feared would start a riot (the Jews were difficult group to manage because of the Roman tax thing), but also to show he didn’t agree with them. They were wrong in their accusations and demands. The fact that Pilate was emotionally disconnected from what was happening and ruled on fact, demonstrates the undisputed innocence of Jesus and his death was indeed a sacrifice. Cesars highest representative in the land could not find a single charge on Jesus.
But, Pilate had the last word when he literally stamped his authority by refusing to change the letters above Jesus. The sweet part is that the letters were true. Jesus was infact the King of the Jews- the very people who shouted for Jesus’ blood. And perhaps Pilate knew them to be true also. I have always been curious as to what became of Pilate. He was a coward and a tool for Cesar. But his actions showed him to be a person of reason. And because of this I do hope he did infact repent. Regardless, I imagine the events on the day of Jesus crucifixion haunted him for the remainder of his life.