As another Lame Cherry exclusive in matter anti matter.
Bob dropped me a nice note the other day and mentioned about Pontius Pilate, in relation to the piece which the Holy Ghost had Inspired me to explain in why Jesus died for our sins and why, a theologians always get in the way of the Truth.
Bob was a great deal like myself in his ponderings of the Roman Governor, and while I have touched on parts of his before, for another Easter or Passover lesson, we will see where this takes us.
I like Pontius Pilate a great deal. Most of you have no idea who he really was as his fist name was Mark or Marcus in the Latin and like Saul of Tarsus (St. Paul) his name means something.
He was born in Italy, and what you will read here is not that Catholic dogma of the stations in every person who smelled Jesus sweat did not become a Christian for you to pray to and donate to the Vatican for.
Marcus though was born in the mountains of central Italy to the Samnite Confederation or what was the remnant of it under Roman rule.
The Samnites were a warlike people in a confederation of the: Hirpini, Caudini, Caraceni, and Pentri. Marcus was of the Pontii group in this confederation, so hence his name Pontius is naming his heritage in Italy.
The Samnites were very successful warriors and actually defeated Rome and made the Romans march under the yoke literally, but eventually became subjugated to Rome.
It is this history which Marcus Pontius Pilate was born. He was a Cavalry Officer or an Equestrian Knight. There is not any information on his warrior accomplishments, but somewhere in his background he was from a noted family, was an intelligent officer, and rose to a status where he became a protege of Lucius Aelius Sejanus, who was the lead counselor of Tiberus Caesar and in this, Pilate was elevated from the ranks to the title of Prefect or Military Governor of the autonomous region of Palestine connected to the Syrian district and between the vital bread basket of Egypt, which was another district in the Empire.
Sejanus in the period of 25 to 31 AD in the year of our Lord, rose in power under Tiberius and he almost became Caesar by having Nero exiled.
Tiberius being warned of Sejanus' plans, soon had the plotter arrested, executed and his body was dragged through the streets.
Enter into this 33 AD in Judea of Palestine, where a Roman Governor in a small district, attempting to Romanize Palestine, brought in symbols of Caesar on military flags to which the Jews went into riot. The Jews were always in an uproar over Roman coins or any situation they could create in order to gain leverage as the Governor appointed the High Priest, Caiaphas was third in a line of rejects, King Herod plotting to be king of Judea and this is the world that Pilate governed for Rome under.
The events of Jesus execution were but a dealing with the time, as Pilate knew the Jewish leadership was treacherous and was concerned about their positions, as a popular Jesus just might be named High Priest to serve for Rome in the Temple or a popular Jesus just might have Rome supplant Herod as Agrippa might have been a Roman favorite, but Rome wanted peace and prosperity, so Jesus was a contender for earthly power and in the struggle a civil war would break out, so the Jews deemed it expedient that one man die, an that as Jesus.
Pilate washed his hands of the murder, as it made little difference in the Jews murdering their own to Rome. That of course set off the latter stories of Jesus arising from the dead which made their way back to Rome, and the Jews claiming the body was stolen by the disciples.
In that period it appears no Christians were murdered by Rome as in Pilate, as the Jews were stoning Christians wholesale or delivering them up to other rulers like Festus as Jews spread riots wherever the Christians went or interfered with Roman idol trade.
In 36 AD the Samaritans were in revolt on Mount Gerazim and Pilate ordered the legion out and attacked them. The Samaritans then appealed to the real power in the region in Vitellius, who was the Legate or Deputy to the Governor of Syria, and he reported what Pilate had initiated to Rome.
Rome at that time was ruled by pure hedonism and insanity in Caligula. Caligula besides impregnating his sister, and cutting the baby out, killing both as he could not be replaced as god king, had suffocated Tiberius when he lay stricken on the bed and this is how Caligula became Caesar.
In Pilate, Caligula had a protege of Sejanus who attempted a coup, so when Pilate was summoned to Rome for his actions in cruelty, oppression and the orders of executing men without trial, it was all a conclusion that a Caligula replacement was going to Judea, and Caligula not desiring a trial, ordered Pilate to kill himself, which Pilate did to protect his family, and himself in having his corpse dragged through the streets.
In all of this, is why I like Marcus Pontius Pilate. His words at Jesus trial and the insights he had, proved him to be a most intelligent man, a credit to Roman families, education and the legion as that is who Pilate was born from and rose to military Governor.
If Sejanus had been successful, Pilate would have been greatly rewarded, but in all things Pontius Pilate of great ability and talent was noticed by the wrong man in history in Sejanus, who when that star fell, Pilate's star began falling, as literally Syria was a whorehouse of debauchery. There was intrigue all through the Mideast. It seems everyone was plotting to gain any power they could in the Syrian Prefect, King Herod, the Jews and those in Rome who wanted their own protege in Palestine.
Pilate seems marooned in Judea after Sejanus execution as he should not have been in this post for that number of years, but he could not appeal to Tiberius or Caligula being a Sejanus protege, so he was left rotting in Judea, because the Caesars did not want another Sejanus loyalist on the Italian mainland causing problems.
Pontius Pilate was a good Roman, a fine Governor. His job was to rule Jews and to subjugate them to Roman thought and society. That meant worshiping Caesar no matter what Rome promised the local populations. He put down rebellions, but like Christ, he was leader who was in the wrong place in this world and those who wanted that position, desired them dead.
Perhaps that is why Pilate's wife, had that dream of the prophetic nature of the trouble Jesus would cause Pilate, because from that moment onward Pontius Pilate was in limbo until recalled and allowed to commit suicide. Three powerful individual in Sejanus, Christ and Pilate were all put to death by the same Roman state.
I have stated this previously in given the same situation as military Governor of Rome, I would have acted exactly as Pilate did in putting the blood on the willing Jews of an innocent man, as that is the only option he had, as he was sitting on a powder keg of Jews on pilgrimage of 3 million of them. They had just had an uproar days before in welcoming Jesus as their king, so if the Jews wanted to murder their king, that note was placed above Jesus head of King of the Jews, as it was the Sanhedrin which had called for the people's king's crucifixion.
God placed Pontius Pilate into that position for a reason, as Pilate was the best to carry out the sentence exactly as it had to be. What God judges in Pilate is between Pilate and God, and those on earth who condemn this man, are the same ones who voted for Obama as their messiah and will be chasing the anti Christ.
Those are the facts of Pontius Pilate for this Passover.
Nuff Said
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