“Now we will always be together,” a tattered vagabond philosopher told him in a dream, who, for some unknown reason, stood on the road of a rider with a golden spear. - Once one - then, then, right there and the other! If they remember me, they will immediately remember you too!

That's right, thanks to Jesus, the Roman procurator Pontius Pilate entered history forever.

The Gospels depict a Roman ruler who fell victim to circumstances, forced under the pressure of the high priests and the crowd to send the Jewish preacher Yeshua HaNozri to a painful death. The authors of the New Testament (except for the clearly anti-Roman book of Revelation, written in the heat of righteous anger, after terrible persecution of the Church), like the famous Jewish historian Flavius ​​Josephus, tried to avoid sharp corners to survive in cruelest world, where any criticism of the Roman authorities was regarded as a call to disobedience and was punishable by death. The Christian editors of the Gospel of Matthew completely absolve Pilate of executing Jesus:

“Pilate, seeing that nothing helps, but confusion increases, took water and washed his hands before the people, and said: I am innocent of the blood of this Righteous One; see you. And answering, all the people said, His blood is on us and on our children” (Matthew 27:24-25).

To condemn the entire Jewish people in the death of Yeshua is stupid. More than 99.9% of the Jews who lived at that time were not present in the ill-fated Jerusalem square, which accommodated several hundred people. And the children of those who shouted: "Crucify" are all the more not guilty, since everyone is responsible for their sins (Ezek. ch. 18).

However, it is worth recalling that Jerome Stridonsky, the author of the 4th century, speaks of the translation of the Gospel of Matthew from Hebrew into Greek, and it is probably in the process of translation that such frank anti-Jewish passages arose, which are very characteristic of the second half of the second century. The original, so that the lie was not revealed, was destroyed.

“In the gospel used by the Ebionites and Nazarenes, and which we recently translated from Hebrew into Greek, and which is considered by many to be the authentic (gospel) of Matthew, a man with a withered hand is called a stonemason, who appealed for help with these words: I was a stonemason and earned a living with my own hands, I ask You, Jesus, restore me to health, so that I do not beg in disgrace for alms ”(Jerome. Com. in Natth. 12.13).

The fifth procurator of Judea and Samaria, Pontius Pilate, according to Josephus Flavius, decided "to start by demonstrating his contempt for Jewish laws." He ordered that standards with the image of Caesar be brought to Jerusalem. He went to work as a "thief at night", not wanting excessive indignation of the inhabitants of the city. Oddly enough, the Jewish elders showed a fair amount of prudence and kept the people from violent actions. The Jews tried to explain to the procurator, begging him to refrain from violating the status quo, the position of which condemned to death even a Roman citizen who violated the sanctity of the Temple, who entered the sacred territory (250 × 250 m) - to be put to death. In 1870 and 1936 two tablets in Greek and Latin with a warning: non-Jews, on pain of death, are forbidden to climb the Temple Mount.

So, the people came to the Caesarean residence of the procurator and settled in the stadium, which has been well preserved to this day.



The Jews, almost two thousand years before the famous Gandhi, passively resisted the invaders: to the threat of putting them to death, they "bared their necks and replied that they would rather die than allow their holy and wise laws to be desecrated." The procurator did not give the order to cut off the demonstrators' heads. Flavius ​​writes that "Pilate could not help but admire the loyalty of the Jews to their law and ordered the standards to be returned to Caesarea." It is hard to believe the historian's account of Pilate's delight in the meekness of the Jews and their readiness to yield to the mob that frustrated his plan. But the fact remains - Pilate ordered the removal of the Roman standards from the holy city. Maybe he was advised not to aggravate relations with the natives, since Jerusalem was on the verge of rebellion.

Pilate once again tried to impose alien rules on the Jews. Philo of Alexandria tells of Agrippa's letter to the emperor Gaius, nicknamed Caligula. Pilate hung in Jerusalem on the palace of Herod "golden shields with inscriptions" that offended the Jews. A delegation led by four princes from Herod's family is asked not to bring the Jews to rebellion. They demand Pilate's authority for his actions and threaten to appeal to the emperor, whom they pointedly refer to as their master. This threat worried Pilate, who feared that Tiberius would become aware of his atrocities.

“One of the people of Tiberius was Pilate, who became the governor of Judea, and now, not so much for the honor of Tiberius, but for the sake of upsetting the people, he dedicated gilded shields to Herod's palace in Jerusalem; there were no images on them, nor anything else blasphemous, with the exception of a brief inscription: they say, dedicated such and such in honor of such and such. When the people understood everything - and the matter was serious, then, putting forward the four sons of the king, who were not inferior to the king in either dignity or fate, and his other offspring, as well as simply powerful persons, he began to ask to correct the matter with shields and not touch the ancient customs, which were kept for centuries and were inviolable both for kings and autocrats. He began to persist, for he was by nature cruel, self-confident and implacable; then a cry arose: “Do not revolt, do not start a war, do not destroy the world! Dishonoring the ancient laws does not mean honoring the autocrat! May Tiberius not be a pretext for attacking an entire people, he does not want to destroy any of our laws. And if you want, then say it directly by order, by letter or in some other way, so that we no longer bother you, we would elect ambassadors and ask the lord ourselves. The latter was especially embarrassing for Pilate, he was afraid that the Jews would not really send an embassy and find other aspects of his reign, telling about bribes, insults, extortion, outrages, anger, incessant executions without trial, terrible and senseless cruelty. And this man, whose irritation exacerbated his natural anger, found himself in difficulty: he did not dare to remove what had already been consecrated; besides, he did not want to do anything to please his subjects; but at the same time he was well aware of the consistency and constancy of Tiberius in these matters. The audience realized that Pilate regretted what he had done, but did not want to show it, and sent a most tearful letter to Tiberius. He, having read it, as soon as he did not name Pilate, as soon as he did not threaten him! The degree of his anger, which, however, was not easy to kindle, I will not describe - the events will speak for themselves: Tiberius immediately, without waiting for the morning, writes an answer to Pilate, where he scolds and reproaches him for the impudent innovation, and orders him to immediately remove the shields and send them to Caesarea, the one that stands on the coast and is named after your grandfather, and there they consecrate them to the temple of Augustus, which was done. Thus, neither the honor of the autocrat was shaken, nor his usual attitude towards the city ”(Book I:“ On the embassy to Guy ”38).

Now about the trial of Jesus. The preacher was arrested, most likely not by the Roman legionaries, but by the temple guards, and interrogated in the house of Hanan (Anna). This high priest earned a bad name among the Jews:

“Curse on the house of Boef; curse on their spears! Curse on the house of Hanan (Anna); curse on his malicious hissing! Curse the house of Kanfera, curse their beautiful feathers! Curse on the house of Ismail ben (son) Fabi, curse on their fists! For they are high priests, and their sons are in the treasury (in charge of money). And their sons-in-law are among the rulers, And their servants beat people with stakes ”(Haggadic legend).

During interrogation in the house of the high priest, judging by the Gospels, they tried to accuse Jesus of desecrating the Temple, but they failed to prove his guilt, so the preacher was handed over to the court of the Roman prefect, because many heard that Jesus was called: “King of the Jews”, which was a crime before Rome. According to the reports of ancient Jewish historians, Pontius Pilate was a cruel, stubborn man who did not disdain bribes, executing the unfortunate without trial or investigation.

How would he deal with a man who was accused by the Jewish high priests loyal to Rome of not recognizing the authority of Caesar? Could he execute him, or could he let him go if guilt is not proven? Something similar happened thirty years later with another preacher. A certain person named Yeshua (an interesting coincidence, the name of Jesus sounded exactly Yeshua) proclaimed that God would destroy Jerusalem and the Temple. The Jewish authorities arrested the troublemaker and handed it over to the Roman procurator, who, having scourged Yeshua, released him, considering the preacher to be a fool:

“Even more significant is the following fact. A certain Yeshua, the son of Anan, a simple man from the village, four years before the war, when the city was ruled by deep world and complete prosperity, he arrived there by that feast, when, according to custom, all Jews build tabernacles to honor God, and near the temple he suddenly began to proclaim: “A voice from the east, a voice from the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice crying over Jerusalem and the temple, a voice crying over the bridegrooms and brides, a voice crying over all the people!” Day and night he exclaimed the same thing, running through all the streets of the city. Some noble citizens, annoyed at this ominous cry, seized him and punished him with blows very cruelly. But without saying anything in his defense, and especially against his torturers, he continued to repeat his former words. Representatives of the people thought, as it was in reality, that this man was led by some kind of high power, and brought him to the Roman procurator, but even there, being torn to the bone by whips, he did not utter a request for mercy, not a tear, but in the most plaintive voice he repeated only after each blow: “Woe to you, Jerusalem!” When Albin was called that, the procurator interrogated him: “Who is he, where does he come from and why is he crying so much,” he did not give any answer to this and continued to call grief on the city as before. Albinus, believing that this man was possessed by a special mania, let him go ”(Jude. War book 6. Ch. 5:3).

Mark and Matthew report that Pilate also scourged Jesus: “When he flogged Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified” (Mark 15:15; Matt. 27:26). And by the way, Jesus from Nazareth - a small village, spoke about the destruction of the Temple and predicted grief for Jerusalem (Matt. 23:2; Matt. 24:2)

Let's say Pilate sympathized with Jesus, then why did he give the order to beat him half to death and bring him to a cruel, painful execution?

Maybe the evangelists are right after all, and Pilate considered the crime of Jesus not worthy of a painful death? Enough with him and punishment with a Roman multi-tailed whip with weights woven into it, tormenting flesh to the bone? And after the execution (if he survived), he intended to release Jesus, but heeding the demands of the crowd, unsatisfied with insufficient punishment, he gave the order to execute the preacher. “And Pilate decided to be at their request” (Luke 23:24).

John details the trial of Jesus. The Evangelist reports that Pilate, wanting to save Jesus from death, punishes the preacher and takes the beaten, bloody man to the high priests and the crowd, hoping that the conflict is over. However, seeing the one with whom the crowd associated their hope for release, in such a deplorable state, they were indignant. The high priests threatened Pilate to report the incident to Caesar, because according to Roman law, Jesus should be crucified as a state criminal. And so the procurator gives the order to execute the preacher.

Basically, the tradition special occasions listen to the demand of the people, could exist, gladiatorial games - a prime example when it depends on the will of the crowd who lives and who dies.

Why did the Sanhedrin, which started the proceedings, by the way, in violation of existing Jewish legal regulations turned Jesus over to the authorities of Rome? After all, the Court had the authority to execute, remember Stephen, accused of blasphemy, the murder of Jesus' brother James. Moreover, Jesus could have been killed on the orders of the tetrarch Herod, who, according to the Pharisees, wanted to destroy him (Luke 13:31). However, Herod not only did not put Jesus to death, but did not even punish him. Possible reason- Jesus is the prey of Rome. The appointment of someone as king of Judea under the laws of the Roman Empire was an integral part of the rights of Caesar. By Senate decree, Herod the Great was appointed king at the suggestion of Octavian Augustus, later - King Agrippa at the decree of Emperor Claudius. Anyone who, without the approval of the emperor, declared himself king, was considered a violator of the main law of the empire “On lèse majesté” (the law of Octavian Augustus) and was subject to torture so that the defendant would confess and betray his comrades. Further, execution by crucifixion followed - for the law did not know a lesser measure of punishment for this crime.

“For he had already restored the law of insult to majesty, which, bearing the same name in the past, pursued a completely different one: it was directed only against those who harmed the army by betrayal, civil unity by unrest, and, finally, the greatness of the Roman people by bad administration of the state ”(Tacitus. Annals. Book I 72).

In a report to Emperor Trajan (111-113 AD) from one of the Roman judges, Pliny the Younger from Asia Minor, interesting details are given about the fight against "evil superstition":

“I ask them if they are Christians. If they confess, I repeat the question two more times and explain that this crime is punishable by death. If they still do not renounce their religion, I order them to be executed. Those who deny that they are Christians or have ever been Christians, and repeat after me the incantations of the gods and worship your, emperor, image, making a libation of wine and incense, and in the end, cursing Christ, i.e. those who do what no Christian would agree to do even under torture, I justify and release. Those who first confessed to belonging to Christianity, and then renounced their words, these I torture in order to find out the truth.

Some historians argue that there were no two punishments at once, beating or execution, one or the other, so Luke's account of Pilate's attempt to save Jesus is credible.

However, this is not quite true. In Roman law, two types of scourging were adopted.

The first is investigative flagellation: torture to force the accused to tell the truth. “Litigation without scourging was considered an exception to general rule". Second Flagellation - part general punishment by verdict. The laws of the XII tables commanded “to put in chains and, after scourging, to put to death the one who set fire to buildings or stacks of bread stacked near the house, if [the guilty] did this intentionally. [If the fire occurred] by accident, i.e. by negligence, the law prescribed [that the guilty] compensate for the damage, and in case of his insolvency he was subjected to a lighter punishment ”(Gaius, I. 9. D. XLVII. 9).

It is possible that such a rule applied not only to arsonists, but also to offenders of the emperor's majesty.

Could Jesus have been tortured? Quite. Pilate asks, "Are you the King of the Jews?" (John 18:33). Jesus, like a real Jew, answers the question with a question: “Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about me?” (John 18:34). Such an answer did not bring clarity, so it could be followed by torture, which John kept silent about.

Paul's letter to Timothy refers to Jesus' confession of faith before Pontius Pilate. The apostle was aware of some conversation between Jesus and Pilate, as a result of which the preacher, who did not renounce his convictions, was crucified.

“Wage the worthy battle of faith, master eternal life to which you were called! After all, you worthily confessed your faith before numerous witnesses. And now I conjure you by God, who gives life to all, and by Christ Jesus, who worthily testified to the same faith before Pontius Pilate” (1 Tim. 6:12-13).

It is quite possible that Jesus wanted to explain to the prefect that he did not claim secular power: "My kingdom is not of this world" - and he cites the proof: "If my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight for me" (John 18 :36). Jesus does not deny that he is the king, but not of this world, because none of his alleged subjects stood up for him.

However, for Pilate, such a revelation could serve as a sentence, because Jesus, in his own words, claimed divine royal authority, which only the emperor possessed and no one else.

Pilate repeats the question a second time, sounding like a sentence: “So, are you the King?” Jesus replies, "My kingdom is the kingdom of truth." To which Pilate, who did not delve into the words of Jesus, says with a touch of disdain: "What is truth." There is no point in explaining, Jesus, as in the case of Herod, does not answer the procurator.

Eusebius of Caesarea, a Christian historian (c. 263-340 AD), blames Pontius Pilate for the death of Jesus, calling the action of the procurator villainous. Eusebius reports the suicide of Pilate under Emperor Gaius (Caligula) (37-41 AD), referring to some Greek writers:

“It is worth noting that the same Pilate, who lived in the time of the Savior, fell, according to legend, under [emperor] Gaius into such troubles that he was forced to commit suicide and punish himself with his own hand: God’s judgment, apparently, did not slow down overtake him. This is told by Greek writers who celebrated the Olympics and the events that took place in each of them. But Pilate, the viceroy who passed judgment on Christ, after he had caused and suffered many disturbances in Jerusalem, was overwhelmed by such anxiety emanating from Gaius that, having pierced himself with his own hand, he sought in imminent death a reduction in torment. Pilate did not go unpunished for his villainous crime - the murder of our Lord Jesus Christ: he laid hands on himself.

It is useful to talk about a significant archaeological find confirming the existence of Pontius Pilate.

In 1961, during excavations in Caesarea (Israel), carried out by Italian archaeologists, a fragment of a granite slab with a Latin inscription containing the names of Tiberius and Pilate was found on the territory of the ancient theater. The inscription, apparently consisting of four lines, is badly damaged by time; the first three lines are partially preserved, while the last line is almost completely destroyed - one letter is barely readable there.

Photo: BR Burton | Wikipedia

. . . . . . . . . .]STIBERIEVM

PON]TIVSPILATVS

PRAEF]ECTVSIVDAE . . .

According to A. Frov, the first line can be restored as s (ibus) Tiberieum - “Caesarean, that is, Caesarean Tiberium”, in the second line before the name tius Pilatus there was his personal name (praenomen), which remained unknown to us, in the third line reads his position: ectus Iudae - “prefect of Judea”, in the fourth, the letter “E” is restored, which was part of a certain word, for example, [d]e. Apparently, this is a dedicatory inscription installed by the Roman governor in the so-called Tiberium, a religious building in honor of the emperor Tiberius, which was located in front of the theater building. It is worth paying attention to the title “Prefect of Judea” in the inscription. Prior to the discovery of the Caesarean inscription, it was believed that Jesus' judge, according to the Annals of Tacitus, was a procurator. In the Gospels, he appears under the title of ruler. Josephus Flavius ​​calls him a ruler, a commissioner, a manager.

In contemporary gospels Greek literature the term prefect is the governor of the imperial province (praefectus civitatis) vested with military authority. As for the term "manager", he often meant the imperial procurator - procurator Caesaris, authorized to collect taxes. Both of these positions were held by persons from the equestrian class. Since Judea was not an independent province, but was part of the senatorial province of Syria as a separate region, the position of procurator was more suitable for Pilate. However, due to the special military-political situation in Judea, Pilate was also endowed with the functions of a prefect.

Sanhedrin Court.

The gospels tell us that Jesus is first judged by the Sanhedrin in the house of the high priest. (According to one gospel - his relative). The villains call many witnesses against Jesus, but those, although spiteful, cannot say anything particularly criminal. Jesus himself was silent, not answering the accusations. Finally, the high priest himself asked Jesus - "Why don't you answer anything? Why do they testify against you?" (14:60).
Jesus was silent.
The priest asked again - Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?
Jesus answered: - I; and you will see the Son of Man sitting on right hand from power and he who walks on the clouds of heaven. (And here it is not harmful for us to remember that "Strength", "Power", and everything else like that, these are allegorical substitutes for the divine name, which the Jews used in everyday life) ...
The priest was stunned by such, in his opinion, blasphemy (after all, Jesus recognized himself as the messiah), began to tear his clothes and howl. After that, the entire Sanhedrin unanimously recognized Jesus as guilty of death.
This is how Mark and Matthew describe the situation. Luke adds that in the Sanhedrin Jesus was not only interrogated, but also beaten. According to John, Jesus does not confess anything to the high priest, and answers without answering: they say, I always preached openly, I did not say anything secretly, ask the people who listened to me ... That is, John fights off the collective.
Here it must be said that only in Mark does Jesus use a statement that is absolutely clear to us to the question of whether he is the Messiah? He answers the above "I am; and you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and walking on the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:62)
In Matthew, he answers: “Jesus says to him: you said; even I say to you: from now on you will see the Son of Man, sitting at the right hand of power and walking on the clouds of heaven” (Matthew 26:64).
And in Luke, in response to the same question, he answers this way: - "You say that I am" (Luke 22:70).
Some citizens were questioned by this wording of Jesus' answer. He is asked: - "Are you the Messiah?" He replies: - "you said." Some people think that the meaning of Jesus meant something like "you said it, not I." But in fact, both the identity of the phrase in Mark and Matthew, and the same furious reaction of the Sanhedrin given in all three gospels, show that the meaning of this turnover is confirmation - "you said right." You said it's the equivalent of "yes".
Hence the reaction: "Then the high priest tore his clothes and said: He blasphemes! What else do we need witnesses for? Behold, now you have heard His blasphemy!" Execute, you can not pardon.
Note also that in Jesus' answers in the earliest gospels, he refers to himself as "son of man," as befits the Jewish Messiah. Not a son of God at all.
The Jews, seething with anger, drag Jesus to Pilate.

Pontius Pilate.

When the Jews found out about this, they rushed in droves to Pilate and begged him to remove the images from God's city. Pilate said that this would be an insult to Caesar, and ordered him not to annoy. For six days the Jews have been running after Pilate, and they are shouting at him to stop the desecration. On the sixth day, Pilate orders the soldiers to secretly arm themselves and sit in ambush in the stadium building. Himself goes to the square in the building. The Jews are reaching out for him, and bugging him. Pilate gives a sign, and the Jews are instantly surrounded by a wall of Roman shields. Pilate informs the Jews that if they do not stop baking him, he will order the soldiers to chop them into a small vinaigrette. Here the Jews, according to Flavius, as one rushed to the ground, bared their necks, and said that they would rather die than see such a violation of the Law - images in Jerusalem. Pilate was surprised, finally realized that for the Jews this stupid custom of theirs was really important, and ordered the banners to be delivered back to Caesarea.
After some time, Pilate builds a water pipe in Jerusalem, using the money of the sanctuary for this. (Not a word about kickbacks from construction!). The Jews were outraged again. (This time, Flavius ​​does not specify why. It is generally not clear what is wrong with the water supply. Perhaps because Pilate got into the temple money. True, many rulers before him, moreover, national Jewish rulers, did the same). In short, the people were indignant, rushing to the construction site and surrounding the workers prevented them from working. Many Jews allow themselves hard-hitting remarks about Pilate. Apparently, crowds of people block the construction site for several days. Here already we are talking not about formality with the removal of banners, and Pilate acts abruptly. He gives the order to dress the unit of soldiers in civilian clothes, hide the clubs under the dress, and surround the crowd. He himself goes to the crowd, and orders her to disperse. From the crowd they continue to yell that we, they say, Pilate, shook your house with a pipe. Pilate gives the order to the soldiers, they take out their clubs and begin to nail the Jewish demonstrators, breaking their heads. Many Jews were killed and wounded. The outrage is suppressed.
These are the testimonies about Pilate left by Josephus. Pilate was marked by cruelty in other cases as well. It is also known that when a crowd gathered around one of the preachers in Samaria on Mount Gerizim, Pilate ordered to disperse this crowd with cavalry. A lot of people died under the hooves...


Pilate's attitude towards the Jews is also confirmed by archeological data. The fact is that Judea in the first century had the right to independently mint coins. silver coin, however, this province did not have the right to mint, but it stamped copper only on the way. So, other rulers of Judea used neutral symbols on coins, such as an ornament, a tree, or a palm branch, which has long been considered a symbol of Judea. Pilate - the only one of the rulers, having received a post, immediately put Roman cult symbols on the coins - a priestly rod, and a ladle for sacrificial libations. So that, therefore, every Jewish horseradish, taking a coin in his hand, every time remembered that his country was occupied by foreigners. In modern youth language, Pilate was trolling the Jews. And, completely unnecessary. How much these coins infuriated the Jews can be understood from the fact that under Pilate's successor, Prefect Felix, the signs on the coins of Pilate's time were changed to more neutral ones.


Summing up. Pilate, unfortunately, was not distinguished by the political flexibility and ability to seek compromises, characteristic of many Romans. But he was a vivid example of Roman arrogance and disdain for the "barbarian" peoples. The man is tough, cruel. He did not consider it necessary for himself to learn at least the basics of the life of a foreign people subordinate to him, neither in customs nor in religion.
According to the Gospels, this man was brought to the judgment of Christ.

Judgment of Pilate.

The priests and their servants drag Jesus to Pilate. John clarifies that Jesus was brought to Pretoria (Pretoria - this is how the central square where the tents of command were located was called in the Roman military camp, in the cities they began to call the building-residence of the governor).
Here the evangelists again - for the first time a hundred thousand - do not agree. In Mark, Matthew, and John, Pilate judges Christ himself. In Luke, Pilate, having learned that Jesus is a resident of the province of Galilee, sends him to the ruler of Galilee, Herod the Younger. But Herod again sends Jesus to Pilate.
The general outline of events, however, is the same in the Gospels: Pilate speaks with Jesus, makes sure that he is innocent, and wants to let Jesus go. But the wicked Jews put pressure on Pilate and force him to give the order to crucify Jesus.
Let's digress here from the Gospels, and first think about how Pilate could have reacted to Jesus? (Especially since we now know something about Pilate himself).
Could Pilate decide that Jesus was innocent and wish to let him go?
Basically, yes, you could. This is for many contemporaries Jesus is the light of the world, and so on. Look at it from Pilate's point of view. He absolutely despises the Jews, and does not consider it necessary to delve into their beliefs. Early in the morning, a horde of barbarian priests, indignantly chirping, drags a beaten Jew to him, and something there is talking about terrible violations of their confusing and incomprehensible law. It is impossible to understand what the violation is, from overclocking. But there is no desire to delve into the Jewish nonsense ... Do you know how the Roman governors acted in such cases? The evidence has been preserved. So, the Jews dragged Paul to the governor of the province of Achaia, Galion. Yes, yes, that same Apostle Paul; this happened later, after the death of Jesus, when Paul wandered and preached throughout the Roman Empire. The Jews brought accusations of heresy and blasphemy against Paul. Galion looked at the Jews, who dragged another Jew to him, shook his head, and said: "When there is a dispute about doctrine and names and your law, then sort it out for yourself: I do not want to be a judge in this."
From this point of view, by the way, it sounds quite logical that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod. He shoved the problem off himself, especially since, legally, Jesus was indeed a Galilean, which means that the power of Herod extended to him. And Herod...


Fine. Could Pilate condemn Jesus?
Could also. If one of the priests was able to stop screaming and tearing his clothes, and conveyed to Pilate a simple thought: - Jesus declared himself the Messiah. And the messiah, according to the beliefs of the Jews, must immediately liberate the Jewish lands from the invaders, and sit on the throne as king ... Here even Pilate had to figure out that the invaders were just them - the Romans. And if the messiah is not promptly nailed to the cross, then confusion and rebellion may occur.
So, all the events of the judgment described in the Gospel could take place, and can be added to the overall picture with certain reservations. But - an important amendment - we are talking about the border of the story, about the general logic of events. However, the gospels paint such details for us that the whole history of the court, in their "truthful" presentation, turns into uniform nonsense.
Let's look at the interrogation scenes.

In the gospel of Mark and Matthew - (both scenes are written in exactly the same way) - Pilate asks Jesus:
Are you the king of the Jews? (Mark 15:2).
“You are talking,” Jesus answers. (And we already know what it means, "you say").

That is:
Are you the king of the Jews?
- Yeah. - Jesus answers, (thereby recognizing the encroachment on separatism from Rome).
Priests yell accusations. Jesus ignores them. And then Pilate asks:
- You don't answer anything? You see how many accusations are against You.
But Jesus is already ignoring Pilate.


And that's it. The interrogation is over. Pilate apparently learned everything he wanted to know. He doesn't ask any more questions. That is, Jesus answered only one question - but what! - admitting that he encroaches on the imperial power, and after that he fell silent tightly. And Pilate on the basis of this, according to Mark, came to the conclusion that ... the chief priests brought Jesus to the court, "out of envy." (Mark 15:10). Hmm... And Jesus called himself the Messiah, too, apparently out of envy. No comment, dear Mark and Matthew.
But, perhaps, in the remaining Luke and John, this scene is spelled out more plausibly?
Luke is doing even worse than Mark and John:

Pilate: Are you the King of the Jews?
Jesus: - Yes (You say).

Pilate immediately to everyone around him: - I do not find any fault in this man. (Luke 23:4).

That is, the Roman official Pilate asks Jesus: - Have you committed a state crime against Rome? Yep, says Jesus. After that, Pilate sees no guilt in Jesus. It's just lovely.
And what about John? John is the only one of all who leads at least some more or less detailed and meaningful dialogue (note that his gospel is the latest). Let's give him the floor. Chapter 18: Starting at 33:

Pilate: Are you the king of the Jews?
Jesus: Are you speaking for yourself, or did others tell you about me?
Pilate: - Am I a Jew? Your people and chief priests delivered you to me; what did you do?
Jesus: - 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: - So, You are the King?
Jesus: - You say that I am a 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: What is Truth?
Then Pilate goes to the Jews and says that he did not find any fault in Jesus...

See. There is a very meaningful dialogue going on. But only with one significant assumption. When Pilate asks, "So, you are a king," and Jesus replies, "You say I am a king." It seems that the author of the dialogue already uses "you say" not as a statement, but precisely as "you said it, but not me." Perhaps the author of this dialogue, who met "you say" in earlier texts, no longer knew the true meaning of this phrase as a statement - and took it for a denial (the Gospel of John at the latest, and was written about three generations after the life of Jesus). And then, the dialogue he wrote is fully comprehended. Pilate asks if Jesus is a king? Jesus explains that his kingdom is not of this world, and therefore not dangerous to Roman power. As proof, he says that his associates would not have given up their leader like that if they were political rebels. Pilate clarifies for the second time, - so, you are a king? Jesus answers, - I didn't say that, I was born and came into the world to bring the truth to people... What is truth? - Pilate snorts, who, like most Romans, considered abstract reasoning to be unworthy Greek quirks. He became convinced that Jesus, from his point of view, was a harmless weirdo. So Pilate goes out to the Jews and says that he sees no fault in Jesus.
The writer of the Gospel of John, one of the four, was able to make the dialogue at least somewhat believable. Not reliable, but psychologically plausible.

Okay, according to the gospels, Pilate somehow decided that Jesus was innocent and declared it to the people. But the people gathered around, "excited" by the Jewish priests, shout that Jesus should be executed. Pilate - the same Pilate, who, as we know from real history, despised all the Jews, drove them with clubs like lousy ones around the bathhouse, and sometimes, from an excess of spiritual sensitivity, crushed cavalry horses with the hooves of cavalry horses - and so, this Pilate is imbued with great sympathy for the Jew Jesus, and tries to intercede for him before other Jews. At the same time, for some reason, Pilate does not show his power in any way, and does not disperse the Jews, as he did more than once, but only humbly, like a sheep, asks for Jesus, and sadly yields under the pressure of Jewish feelings. Aha!.. Do you already believe?


Now believe even more. The fact is that, according to the gospels, Jesus was not just crucified, but before that he was also beaten, and Roman soldiers mocked him in every possible way. But the crucifixion procedure does not imply mandatory bullying of the executed before that. Severe Pilate, not only could not resist the Jews, he could not even protect Jesus from the bullying of the soldiers, although it was business - give the order - to escort the criminal to the cross with dignity, without bullying. And some Roman soldier would have tried to disobey the order of the prefect. But no... Do you now completely believe in the gospel version?
Well, there's just one little thing left. If Pilate did not believe in the guilt of Jesus, and left his fate at the mercy of the Jews, then, in fact, why was it necessary to execute him by the execution of state criminals - to crucify him on the cross? Since you have decided not to get dirty, and left the fate of a Jew at the mercy of other Jews, so let them execute him according to their customs. If Pilate had done this, Jesus would most likely have been stoned to death. The Jews highly respected this method of execution for violators of the law. His tsimus is actually that the personal responsibility of the participants in the execution is completely eroded; after all, no one knows whose stone, from the common city, interrupted the life of the criminal.
But no, Jesus was crucified...
Yes, that story with Barrabas. According to the Bible, Pilate had a habit of letting one criminal go at Passover. He offered the Jews a choice - whom to let go? Jesus or Barrabas? The Jews, at the behest of the priests, chose the murderer Barrabas. I don't know how to comment on this story... Barrabas, strictly speaking, this is not even a name. This is a Greekized rendering of what the Jews sounded like Barraba. "Bar" is actually "son". This prefix was used to create what we now call a middle name. For example, we are now saying "Ivan Vasilyevich". In the old days, our ancestors would also say "Ivan the son of Vasily." The leader of the rebels, Simeon Bar Kosiba, mentioned in the text, is the essence of Simeon the son of Kosiba. Bar Raba... Bar is a son. And the Slave is the Father. Barraba literally means "Son of the Father".

On this occasion, there was a historical anecdote that supposedly when the Romans asked the Jews who to give them for Easter, the Jews answered: - give us the Son of the Father, meaning by this Jesus. The pedantic Romans, on the other hand, found in the casemates some kind of rascal, who, fortunately, decided not to reveal his real name when entering the prison, but called himself the completely nameless "Son of the Father." A name by which nothing can be said, because we are all children of our fathers. The Romans found the Son of the Father in the record, and put Jesus on the cross. It seemed to the Jews that they expressed their thought crystal clear. The Romans - that they understood it crystal clear. A parable of misunderstanding...

Where did all these inserts on Pilate's unexpected compassion come from in the gospels? There are no secrets here. When Christian church began to come out of the underground and gradually spread more and more influence, she needed to show the Roman official authority that it is ready for dialogue and cooperation. However, it would be difficult for the church to persuade its parishioners to cooperate with the authorities, if the administration of this very authority, at one time, ordered their God to be crucified. Therefore, in the stories, Pilate became more and more humane. I didn't see any guilt. Repeatedly asked whom to execute. Washed my hands. And to the heap he himself called Jesus the "King of the Jews" in his own direct speech, well ...

Back to real history. Jesus, recognized as a state criminal against Rome, and executed by the Roman execution. This means whoever judges him, Pilate approved the verdict in any case.

When the Lord Jesus Christ was again brought to Pilate, many people, chiefs and elders had already gathered in the Praetorium. Pilate, having called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them: “You have brought this Man to me as a corrupter of the people; and behold, I examined in your presence, and did not find him guilty of anything of which you accuse him. I sent him to Herod, and Herod also found nothing worthy of death in him. So, I'd rather punish Him and let Him go."

The Jews had a custom of releasing one prisoner for the Passover feast, who was chosen by the people. Pilate, taking advantage of this opportunity, said to the people: “You have a custom for me to release one prisoner for you at Easter; Do you want me to release the King of the Jews to you?” Pilate was sure that the people would ask Jesus, because he knew that the leaders betrayed Jesus Christ out of envy and malice.

While Pilate was sitting in the judge's seat, his wife sent him to say: "Do nothing to that Righteous One, because today in my sleep I have suffered much for Him."

Meanwhile, the chief priests and elders taught the people to ask for the release of Barabbas. Barabbas, on the other hand, was a robber who was put in prison, with his accomplices, for the indignation and murder carried out in the city. Then the people, taught by the elders, began to cry out: "Let Barabbas go to us!" Pilate, wishing to release Jesus, went out and, raising his voice, said: “Who do you want me to release you: Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Christ?” Everyone shouted: “Not him, but Barabbas!” Then Pilate asked them: “What do you want me to do with Jesus, who is called the Christ?” They shouted, "Let him be crucified!" Pilate said to them again: “What evil has He done? I found nothing worthy of death in Him. So, having punished Him, I will let him go.” But they shouted even louder: “Crucify him! May he be crucified!”

Then Pilate, thinking to arouse compassion for Christ among the people, ordered the soldiers to beat Him. The soldiers took Jesus Christ into the yard and, undressing Him, beat Him severely. Then they put on Him a purple robe (a short red garment without sleeves, fastened on the right shoulder) and, having woven a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and gave Him a cane in His right hand, instead of the royal scepter. And they began to mock Him. They knelt down, bowed to Him and said: “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat on him and, taking a reed, they beat him on the head and on his face.

After that, Pilate went out to the Jews and said: “Here I am bringing Him out to you so that you know that I do not find any fault in Him.” Then Jesus Christ came out wearing the crown of thorns and purple. Pilate takes the Savior out to the Jews and says, “Here is a man!” With these words, he seemed to want to say: “Look how tormented and desecrated He is,” thinking that the Jews would take pity on Him. But such were not the enemies of Christ. When the chief priests and ministers saw Jesus Christ, they shouted: “Crucify, crucify Him!” Pilate says to them: "You take Him and crucify Him, but I find no fault in Him." The Jews answered him: "We have a law, and according to our law He must die, because He made Himself the Son of God."

Hearing these words, Pilate was frightened. He entered with Jesus Christ into the praetorium, and asked Him: “Where are you from?” But the Savior did not give him an answer. Pilate says to Him: “Are you not answering me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify You, and I have power to let You go?” Then Jesus Christ answered him: “You would not have any power over Me, if it had not been given to you from above; therefore more sin is on him who delivered me to you.” After this answer, Pilate was even more willing to release Jesus Christ. But the Jews cried out: “If you let him go, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself a king is opposed to Caesar.” Pilate, having heard such words, decided it would be better to put an innocent Man to death than to undergo the royal disgrace himself.

Then Pilate brought Jesus Christ out, himself sat down on the place of judgment, which was called Lifostroton, and said to the Jews: “Here is your King!” But they shouted: “Take it, take it, crucify Him!” Pilate says to them: "Shall I crucify your king?" The chief priests answered: "We have no king but Caesar." Pilate, seeing that nothing helps, and confusion is increasing, took water, washed his hands in front of the people and said: “I am innocent of shedding the blood of this Righteous One, look at you (that is, let this guilt fall on you).” Answering him, all the Jewish people with one voice said: "His blood is on us and on our children." So the Jews themselves took upon themselves and even for posterity their responsibility for the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Then Pilate released the robber Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus Christ to them to be crucified.

NOTE: See Matt. 27, 15-26; Mk. 15, 6-15; OK. 23, 13-25; In. 18, 39-40; 19:1-16.

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The Judgment of Pilate is one of the Passion of Christ.

gospel narrative

Pilate's trial of Jesus is described in all four evangelists:

Gospel	Court Description
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 marveled..
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..

Jesus Christ at the Trial of Pontius Pilate

The Jewish high priests, having condemned Jesus Christ to death, could not carry out the sentence themselves without its approval by the Roman governor. According to the evangelists, after the night trial of Christ, they brought him in the morning to Pilate in the praetorium, but they themselves did not enter it. not to be defiled, but to be able to eat the passover».

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 say”, which can be considered 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.

Evangelist Matthew reports that during the trial of Jesus, Pilate's wife sent a servant to him to say:

“Do nothing to the Righteous Tom, because today in my sleep I suffered much for Him” (Matt. 27:19).

According to the apocrypha, Pilate's wife was called 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, learning that Jesus 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. After, as Luke says,

“Herod and his soldiers, having humiliated Him and mocked Him, dressed Him in bright 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.

Desecration of Jesus 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 took off his clothes and 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 (Mark 15:19).

When studying the Shroud of Turin, identified with the burial shroud of Jesus Christ, it was concluded that Jesus received 98 blows (while the Jews were allowed to inflict no more than 40 blows - Deut. 25: 3): 59 blows of a scourge with three ends, 18 - with 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 he said to them: Behold, Man!
(John 19:4-5)

In Pilate's words, behold, Man!"You can see his desire to arouse compassion among the Jews for the prisoner, who, after being tortured by his appearance 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'm a worm, not a man, reproach among people and contempt among the people"(Ps. 21:7).

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 let him 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».

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).

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Apocryphal tales

Pilate's judgment is described in the apocryphal "". 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, because 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: “Is there no truth in earthly things?” 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 people of Jerusalem remember the miraculous resurrection.

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.

In fine arts

In the iconography of Jesus Christ there is an image of him after the tortures, dressed in purple and crowned with a crown of thorns. In this form, he is depicted in front of the crowd to which Pilate ordered him to be led out. From the words of Pilate, spoken to the people, this iconographic type got its name - Ecce Homo ("behold, the Man").

There are images where Jesus simply stands in front of Pilate during interrogation, as well as scenes of scourging. More rare subjects include compositions with Jesus at the trial of Herod Antipas.

Various details in the images of the court scene are given a symbolic meaning. So the twilight around the throne of Pilate symbolizes the darkness of paganism, and the bright light of the praetorium where Christ is taken to be mocked is the light of the Christian faith; the dog at the throne of Pilate is a symbol of wickedness.

Pontius Pilate

He is often depicted sitting on a throne with the attributes of royal power (in a crown, diadem or laurel wreath), which he, as a Roman governor, did not really have.

In the scene of the washing of hands, Pilate is depicted sitting in a judge's chair, one servant pours water on his hands, next to him may be a servant conveying to him the request of Claudia Procula, his wife, or holding out a scroll with her message.

Jesus Christ

The iconography depends on the scene in which Christ is depicted: the bound hands are typical for his first appearance before Pilate, after the trial of Herod Antipas white clothes appear on him, after the scolding - purple and a crown of thorns.

Herod Antipas

Always depicted in accordance with his royal status, crowned and seated on a throne.

Nearby is placed the figure of a warrior with white robes prepared for Christ.

In the morning, the guards brought Jesus Christ from Kaifa to Pretoria to Pilate. The chief priests, scribes and elders did not enter Pretoria, so as not to be defiled by communion with the house of a pagan, which was Pontius Pilate, but so that they could eat the Passover. Pilate asked them, "What do you accuse this man of?"

"If He had not been a villain, we would not have betrayed Him to you." The chief priests answered him.

Pilate answered them: "You take him, and judge according to your law."

"We are not allowed to put anyone to death." The accusers of Christ spoke.

The high priests continued to accuse Jesus Christ before Pilate: “He corrupts our people, and forbids giving tribute to Caesar. He calls himself Christ and King."

Pilate, having heard the accusations against Jesus Christ, and wanting to know the essence of the matter better, retired to Pretoria, calling Jesus there as well.

When Jesus Christ appeared before him, Pilate asked: "Are you the King of the Indians"?

“Are you saying this on your own, or have others told you about Me”? The Savior answered Pilate with a question.

Pilate said with contempt: “Am I a Jew? Your people and high priests, betrayed you to me! What did you do"?

“My kingdom is not of this world, if my kingdom were of this world, then my servants would intercede for me so that I would not be betrayed by the Jews.” Jesus answered.

Pilate, not understanding what kind of Kingdom Jesus had in mind, and hearing that He did not renounce the title of King, again asked: "So, You are the King"?

“You say that I am the King. I was born for this, and for this I came into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is from the truth hears my voice." The Savior spoke.

Pilate asked in surprise, "What is truth?" And without waiting for an answer, he immediately went out of Pretoria to the Jews. Coming out, he said to the assembled: "I do not find any fault in this man."

But this decision of Pilate did not please the chief priests and elders. They again began to accuse Jesus, before Pilate: “He stirs up the people, teaches throughout Judea, starting from Galilee, to these places.” Pilate, as soon as he heard about Galilee, asked: “Is He from Galilee”?

Learning that Jesus was from Galilee, from Herod's region, he sent Him to Herod, who at that time, on the occasion of the feast, was in Jerusalem. He could be recognized as a lawful judge over Jesus Christ.

Herod Antipas, seeing Jesus Christ, was very happy. He longed to see Him. Since I heard a lot about Him and about His miracles, and in this case I hoped to see some kind of miracle from Jesus.

Herod asked Jesus Christ many questions. But to all these questions proposed by Herod, out of empty curiosity, the Savior did not give any answer.

The chief priests and the scribes who followed Jesus here also zealously accused Him. But Herod, seeing that he was waiting in vain for any miracle from Jesus, gave Jesus Christ into the hands of his soldiers, and together with them subjected Him to humiliation and reproach.

Then, having dressed Him in light clothes, He ordered to be brought back to Pilate. From that day on, Herod and Pilate became friends, meanwhile, before, they were at enmity with each other. Pilate, having called together the chief priests, the rulers, and the people, said to them.

“You brought this man to me as a corrupter of the people. But here I investigated in your presence, and did not find this man guilty of anything that you accuse Him of. Herod also did not establish anything, I sent him to him, and nothing was found by him worthy of death. So, having punished Him, I will let him go.”

The chief priests and elders began to accuse Jesus Christ again. Jesus did not respond to the accusations. Pilate, seeing all this, reproached Him: “Why don’t you refute anything? Do you see how many accusations are against You? Jesus Christ was silent, not giving any answer. Pilate marveled at this behavior of Jesus.

The Jews had a custom to release one of the prisoners on the occasion of the Passover holiday. Pilate always observed this folk custom, and the people asked him to do for them for the sake of Easter what he used to do before.

Turning to the people, Pilate asked: “Whom do you want me to let go, Barabbas the thief and murderer, or Jesus called Christ”?

Pilate spoke to the people because he knew that the people had nothing against Jesus and that the only reason of all accusations against Him, lies in the envy of the chief priests.

At this time, when Pilate was addressing the people, his wife sent him to tell him not to do anything to this Righteous One. She, many times in a dream, suffered because of Him. Pilate digressed for a while.

Meanwhile, the high priests and members of the Sanhedrin, taking advantage of this brief interval, when Pilate was temporarily distracted, managed to convince the people that it was better to let Barabbas go.

Returning, Pilate, raising his voice, and wishing to release Jesus, again asked the people: “What do you want me to do with the one whom you call the King of the Jews – Jesus called Christ”? Then all the people, as if in agreement, shouted in response: “Let him be crucified!”

Pilate for the second and third time, perplexed, said to the people, offering to let Jesus go: “What evil did He do? I did not find anything worthy of death in Him. And so, having punished Him, I will let him go!”

But the people continued to demand with furious cries that He be crucified. Then Pilate took Jesus Christ, ordered him to be beaten and subjected to scourging according to the Roman custom.

The soldiers took Jesus into the courtyard, and they made a scourging. They wove a crown of thorns, put it on the head of Jesus Christ, put a purple robe on Him, and gave Him a cane in His right hand.

They knelt before Jesus Christ, one by one, and mocked Him saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on Him, took the reed from His hand, and beat Him on the head and on the legs.