What Became of Pontius Pilate After The Death Of Jesus?

The name of Pontius Pilate will always be mentioned, whenever the death of Jesus is talked about.

There are few people in history whose names are intertwined with the name of someone else or an event, even long after they must have died.

After Jesus was found guilty of blasphemy by the Jewish leaders, they declared He was guilty of death.

However, as a nation under the authority of Rome, it was not in their power to crucify Jesus themselves. Only the Romans could do that.

And so Jesus was taken to Pontius Pilate, who was Governor of Judea.

But the Jewish leaders knew Pilate would not fall for their accusation that Jesus committed blasphemy by saying He was the Son of God.

So they presented a political reason to Pilate that Jesus claimed to be the King of the Jews and also told the people not to pay their taxes. This would be seen as an act of treason by Pilate.

And in their quest to get what they wanted and that is to kill Jesus, the Jewish leaders said if Pilate let Jesus go free then he wasn’t a friend of Caesar.

They had no king but Caesar, they attested.

All the four books that make up historians records that Pilate knew Jesus was innocent and wanted to set him free.

In fact, Matthew wrote that Pilate’s wife had a dream and subsequently told her husband not to get involved in any way with Jesus, because He was a just man.

Pilate was in a dilemma. If He allowed Jesus to go free, he’d only succeed in creating enmity with the Jewish leaders and they might stir up a riot.

Also, if he condemned Jesus to death, he’d be acting contrary to both his own conscience and his wife’s counsel.

However, there was an even bigger problem not recorded in the Bible but was noted by reputable historians.

Pontius Pilate was not in the good books of Emperor Tiberius in Rome. The Book of Luke also stated he was in enmity with Herod Antipas, who was appointed by Rome to be King of Galilee.

There’d been numerous riots in Jerusalem and the Emperor had warned Pilate that the next time there was any act of rebellion by the Jews, Pilate would pay with his life.

Again, all four books of the Gospel record that the judgment of Jesus was stirring up the people and a riot was about to break out. So Pilate, both to save his own head and also to appease the enemies of Jesus, ordered His crucifixion.

But it was a decision that would change the life of Pontius Pilate forever.

Peace eluded him henceforth and he became even more barbaric.

Already, Pilate’s reputation was one of a wicked and ruthless governor. In Luke 13:1, we see where he slaughtered some Jews and mingled their blood with the sacrifice.

Historians also cited another barbaric act of Pilate. It was said there was scarcity of scaffolds and as an alternative, Pilate nailed some Jews to the walls of Jerusalem.

At this time, Tiberius had died and the new emperor was Caligula.

The incessant acts of ruthlessness were so severe that Herod Agrippa the first, sent a letter to Caligula to call Pilate to order.

In Acts. 12 it was this Agrippa that ordered, James brother of John to be executed and also arrested Peter.

For such a man to have become worrisome at the evil acts of Pilate goes to show the frame of mind Pilate was at this time.

Caligula responded swiftly by demoting Pilate and then he sent him to an obscure part of the empire as a junior officer.

It was here, filled with both guilt and shame that Pontius Pilate ended his own life.