Hu Nao Pontius Pilate?

“PILATE wea garem fasin for daot and lukdaonem man, hem man long history wea, nomata kam kasem distaem, pipol garem enikaen idea abaotem hem. Samfala tingse hem wanfala saint, olketa narawan tingse hem samwan wea barava showimaot wik point bilong olketa man, olsem barava example bilong man bilong politik wea willing for killim dae wanfala man for keepim peace.”—Pontius Pilate, buk bilong Ann Wroe.

Nomata sapos iu agree witim olketa idea hia or nomoa, pipol savve long Pontius Pilate from wei wea hem deal witim Jesus Christ. Hu nao Pilate? Wanem nao iumi savve abaotem hem? For minim gud position bilong hem bae helpem iumi for minim go moa samfala barava important samting wea happen long disfala earth.

Position, Waka, and Paoa

Emperor bilong Rome, Tiberius, markem Pilate olsem governor bilong province bilong Judaea long 26 C.E. Olketa bigman olsem, olketa bilong wanfala sekson wea olketa kolem equestrian order (sekson wea raedem olketa horse). Olketa garem position long community, bat no hae olsem olketa aristocrat wea garem position olsem senator. Luk olsem Pilate joinim army olsem wanfala junior komanda, and bihaen olketa difren faet, hem gohed for kasem olketa nara position wea moa hae, and gogo, hem kamap governor bifor hem 30 year.

Uniform bilong Pilate hem leather witim breastplate wea olketa wakem from metal. Taem hem long pablik hem werem longfala white kaleko wea garem purple long end bilong hem. Hair bilong hem short and hem no garem beard. Nomata samfala tingse hem kam from Spain, nem bilong hem showimaot hao maet hem kam from tribe bilong Pontii—olketa hae class Samnite pipol from south part bilong Italy.

Plande taem olketa long army wea garem position olsem Pilate kasem waka long olketa raf area. Long tingting bilong olketa long Rome, Judaea hem wanfala ples olsem. Waka bilong Pilate hem for keepim peace and for mek sure pipol peim tax. Olketa kot bilong olketa Jew garem responsibility for deal witim olketa case wea kamap evriday, bat olketa case wea moa serious and wea panis for datwan hem dae, hem responsibility bilong governor wea garem moa paoa winim olketa judge.

Pilate and waef bilong hem witim samfala scribe, wakman, and olketa man for tekem go message, stap long taon bilong Caesarea long saedsea. Pilate hem komanda bilong faevfala sekson bilong army, wea each sekson garem samting olsem 500 go kasem 1,000 soldia, and tu, sekson wea raedem horse wea maet garem 500 soldia. Plande taem olketa soldia bilong hem hangem olketa man wea brekem law long post. Long taem bilong peace, olketa killim dae olketa bihaen shortfala kot case, bat long taem bilong war, olketa killim dae staka semtaem and no kotem olketa. Olsem example, olketa bilong Rome killim dae 6,000 slave for stopem sekson wea Spartacus leadim wea kam againstim olketa. Sapos hem luk olsem trabol bae kamap long Judaea, governor savve askem help bilong nara governor long Syria wea garem moa paoa and wea hem komanda bilong wanfala main sekson bilong army. Bat, klosap full taem wea Pilate hem governor, governor bilong Syria hem no stap, and Pilate mas kwiktaem stopem eni sekson wea bae spoelem peace.

Olketa governor evritaem talem eni nius long emperor. Olketa mas reportim eni samting wea affectim honor bilong emperor or wea savve againstim paoa bilong Rome and olketa bae kasem instruction long hao for deal witim datwan. Maet wanfala governor laek for kwiktaem talem emperor wanem nao happen long province bilong hem bifor olketa narawan garem chance for komplen. From trabol hem kakamap long Judaea, Pilate barava wari long olketa samting olsem.

Witim olketa story insaed long Gospel, buk bilong olketa man for raetem history olsem Flavius Josephus and Philo nao main ples for kasem information abaotem Pilate. And tu, man for raetem history bilong Rome, Tacitus, talem hao Pilate killim dae Christ, datwan wea olketa Christian nem followim hem.

Mekem Olketa Jew Kros

Josephus talem hao olketa governor bilong Rome tingim feeling bilong olketa Jew abaotem olketa idol, and so olketa no tekem insaed long Jerusalem olketa banner bilong army wea garem piksa bilong emperor. From Pilate no showimaot datkaen respect, olketa Jew wea feel nogud kwiktaem kam long Caesarea for komplen. For faevfala day, Pilate no duim eni samting. Long mek-six day, hem orderim olketa soldia bilong hem for raonem olketa hia and talem hao sapos olketa no go bak, bae olketa killim olketa dae. Taem olketa Jew sei olketa willing for dae winim wei for lukim samting wea againstim Law bilong olketa, Pilate hem givap and givim order for olketa aotem piksa bilong emperor.

Pilate hem no man wea hol bak for duim raf samting for mekem pipol followim komand bilong hem. Josephus raet abaotem wanfala taem wea Pilate iusim selen from temple for project bilong hem for wakem wata supply for Jerusalem. Pilate savve hao hem barava tambu for steal from temple and sapos hem duim datwan, bae olketa Jew askem Tiberius for sakem hem. So luk olsem hem kasem sapot for plan bilong hem from olketa bigman long temple. Hem no tambu for iusim selen wea pipol givim long God, wea olketa kolem “corban,” for wakem samting wea bae helpem full taon. Bat plande thousand Jew hipap for talemaot feel nogud bilong olketa.

Pilate talem olketa soldia for go midolwan long pipol, no for iusim olketa sword, bat for killim olketa witim olketa stik. Luk olsem hem laek for kontrolem datfala sekson bat no kosim bigfala killkill. Nomata samfala dae, luk olsem hem win for duim diswan. Maet diswan nao samting wea samfala man storyim taem olketa talem Jesus hao Pilate mixim blood bilong samfala pipol bilong Galilee witim sakrifaes bilong olketa.—Luke 13:1.

“Wanem Nao Truth?”

Pipol savve long Pilate from nogud samting wea hem duim taem olketa chief priest bilong olketa Jew and olketa older man accusim Jesus for sei hem King. Taem Pilate herem hao waka bilong Jesus hem for witness abaotem truth, hem luksavve hao disfala prisoner hem no againstim Rome. Hem askem Jesus: “Wanem nao truth?” wea showimaot hem tingse hem hard for eniwan savve long truth so hem iusles samting nomoa for storyim. So, wanem nao tingting bilong hem bihaen hem story witim Jesus? Hem sei: “Mi no faendem eni rong samting wea man hia hem duim.”—John 18:37, 38; Luke 23:4.

No eni reason nao for datfala case hem gohed, bat olketa Jew strong for sei hem againstim nation. Pilate savve finis hao jealous fasin nao mekem olketa chief priest givim Jesus long olketa bigman bilong Rome. Hem savve tu hao sapos hem letem Jesus go free, bae datwan mekem trabol kamap, and hem laek for missim datwan. Plande trabol kamap finis, from Barabbas and olketa narawan stap long prison from olketa againstim gavman and killim dae samfala man. (Mark 15:7, 10; Luke 23:2) And tu, Tiberius, wea barava strict and deal long raf wei witim olketa governor, hem garem nogud tingting finis abaotem Pilate from samfala raoa wea kamap bifor. Bat, for Pilate followim olketa samting wea olketa Jew laekem bae showimaot hem wik. So Pilate mas mekem hard disison.

Taem hem herem wea nao Jesus hem kam from, Pilate trae for pushim diswan go long Herod Antipas, distrik ruler bilong Galilee. Bihaen datwan fail, Pilate trae for mekem olketa wea hipap aotsaed long haos bilong hem ask for Jesus go free, wea datwan bae followim kastom bilong olketa long Passover for letem wanfala prisoner go free. Bat datfala sekson ask for Barabbas.—Luke 23:5-19.

Maet Pilate laek for duim samting wea stret, bat hem laekem tu for keepim position bilong hem and for mekem datfala sekson wea hipap hapi. Samting wea hem duim showimaot hem ting long position bilong hem olsem moa important winim justice and conscience bilong hem. Hem ask for wata, wasim hand bilong hem, and sei hem no garem blame nomata hem givim go Jesus for olketa killim hem dae.a Nomata Pilate bilivim hao Jesus no guilty, hem givim order for olketa whipim hem and hem letem olketa soldia mekfani, hitim, and spit long hem.—Matthew 27:24-31.

Pilate trae narataem moa for mekem Jesus kamap free, bat datfala sekson singaot hao sapos hem duim datwan, hem no fren bilong Caesar. (John 19:12) Taem Pilate herem datwan, hem givap nao. Wanfala savveman sei olsem abaotem disison bilong Pilate: “Ansa hem isi nomoa: killim dae datfala man. Only samting wea bae lus nao hem laef bilong wanfala Jew wea hem man nating nomoa; bae hem krangge nomoa for letem trabol kamap bikos long disfala man.”

Wanem nao Happen Long Pilate?

Last samting wea olketa history buk talem abaotem Pilate hem nara raoa wea kamap. Josephus talem hao staka Samaritan wea holem samting for faet hipap long Maunt Gerizim from olketa hope for faendem olketa treasure wea olketa kastom story sei Moses hem berem long there. Pilate laek for stopem datwan, and olketa soldia bilong hem killim dae samfala long olketa. Olketa Samaritan komplen long man wea Pilate stap anda long hem, Lucius Vitellius, governor bilong Syria. Olketa buk no storyim sapos Vitellius tingse Pilate hem ova tumas long disfala samting wea hem duim or nomoa. Nomata olsem, hem givim order for Pilate go long Rome for givim ansa long emperor for samting hem duim. Bat, bifor Pilate hem arrive, Tiberius hem dae.

Wanfala magasin hem sei: “Long there nao, story abaotem Pilate long olketa history buk hem finis, bat plande kastom story stap.” Plande pipol talem olketa mekap story abaotem hem. Samfala sei Pilate hem kamap wanfala Christian. Olketa “Christian” long Ethiopia mekem hem wanfala “saint.” Eusebius, wea raet long last part bilong mek-thri and first part bilong mek-foa century, hem nao faswan for sei Pilate killim dae hemseleva, olsem Judas Iscariot hem duim. Bat, no eniwan barava savve long wanem nao happen long Pilate.

Pilate savve bighed, ting nating long important samting, and savve raf. Bat hem gohed duim waka olsem governor for tenfala year, nomata klosap evri nara governor bilong Judaea duim waka for short taem nomoa. So long tingting bilong olketa long Rome, hem fit for governor. Samfala pipol sei hem man wea wik wea givim order for olketa whipim and killim dae Jesus for protectim hemseleva. Olketa narawan sei main waka bilong Pilate hem no for mekhae long justice bat for keepim peace and protectim Rome.

World distaem hem barava difren from taem bilong Pilate. Nomata olsem, hem no followim justice for wanfala judge givim go man wea hem luksavve hem no guilty. Sapos Pontius Pilate no deal witim Jesus, maet hem nara nem nomoa insaed long olketa history buk.

[Footnote]

[Piksa long page 11]

Long Caesarea olketa faendem disfala raeting wea talem hao Pontius Pilate hem governor bilong Judaea