Thoughts on Jesus of Nazareth. The Trial of Jesus Christ Before Pontius Pilate Part 1. The Lord Jesus spit upon and spat upon by the Chief Priests and Elders of the Sanhedrin, along with the unruly mob who sides with them, take Jesus to the Antonia Fortress to stand before the Procurator Pontius Pilate for a civil hearing on the guilt or innocence of Jesus of Nazareth. Originally built by King Herod in 35 A.D., the Antonia Fortress was a strong fortress to protect the Temple Mount. It was located on the Northwest corner of the Temple Mount and called the Fortress of Antonia, named after Herod’s friend Marc Antony and another of Herods landmarks. It stood 115 feet high and was partly surrounded by a deep ravine 165 feet wide. It functioned as headquarters for the Roman soldiers, a palace and a barracks. Herod constructed a secret passage from the fortress to the Temple. Normally, the Roman Procurator was headquartered in Caesarea Maritime for most of the year in Judea. But during the Passover, especially when nearly two million Jews came to Jerusalem for the celebration, the Procurator would come to Jerusalem and stay in the Antonia Fortress to make sure there was no civil revolt of significant unrest among the multitudes. His main duty was to enforce Roman rule and peace and quickly suppress any uprising. The function of the Roman Procurator or Prefect was to represent and enforce the imperial rule for the Roman Emperor over a province or territory conquered and ruled by Rome. The administrative power of the Roman Procurator was to collect taxes, exercise control over the local and regional governments or satraps of the province. He was the commander in chief of all the Roman soldiers assigned to that province. Pontius Pilate was Procurator over the volatile province of Judea from 26 A.D. to 36 A.D. The time of his rule was riddled with violence, unrest, and putting down any Jewish revolts with a heavy and bloody hand. Judea was one of the most difficult and challenging provinces to control and rule in all the vast reaches of the Roman Empire. Things got so out of hand there that the Roman Emperor Tiberius recalled Pilate from Judea in 36 A.D. He reaches Rome in 37 A.D. and fades from ancient history after his arrival there. Eusebius the fourth century Church historian tells us that Pilate was exiled to Gaul (modern day France) by the Emperor Caligula, and there, later committed suicide in Vienne. In the movie Jesus of Nazareth, Pontius Pilate is played by the great method actor Rod Steiger who plays the role in a subtle and convincingly nuanced way that starts from an irascible, burned out Pilate, to an increasingly disturbed and convicted man in the unique presence of the total innocence of Jesus. Pilate comes riding in with his escort of soldiers on Good Friday morning to preside over Jerusalem during the massive celebration of the Passover in the Temple. The crowds line the Procurator’s way shouting for the release of the revolutionary and murderer Barabbas. Pilate enters into the Antonia Fortress and dismounts from his horse. His vice regent, Quintillius, gives the customary welcome to the Procurator. Pilate cuts him off in anger, pointing out to him that the absurdity of such a greeting is pointless when the streets of Jerusalem are in clamor and uproar. Pilate wants to know whom this Barabbas is the crowds are shouting about. Quintillius informs him that the criminal is a Zealot whose followers have stirred up the crowds. Pilate defensively yells back, “Well, I don’t think their noise will disturb my judgment.” But we know the exact opposite would be true with the trial of Jesus. For Pilate knew Jesus was totally innocent of committing any crime and should have released Him, but did not do so because the crowd under the influence of the religious leaders will pressure him to unjustly condemn Jesus and release the guilty Barabbas to save political face! Pilate has the look of a man worn out by the ever increasing and difficult task of trying to govern a province, like Judea, that simply cannot be completely controlled or efficiently governed for long. Twice, he frustratingly tells his vice regent he is “tired” of the whole affair. This administrative burnout Pilate is keenly feeling is most evident at this point when he reaches his chair and table from where he governs the province. He sits down and puts his head into his hands—as if to try and recover from his exhaustion. Quintillius is fast on his heels to inform him of another troubling case. It has to deal with the Sanhedrin and it concerns “a certain Galilean Preacher”—which we know is Jesus of Nazareth. Pilate says he has no interest whatsoever in their preachers or their prophets. The vice regent thinks Pilate should reconsider because the cooperation of the Sanhedrin is deemed useful for Rome when it comes to effective government of the Jewish people. Pilate explodes when Quintillius tells him they think it is urgent. He blurts out, “Urgent to whom.” Quickly, the Procurator composes himself and apologizes to his vice-regent for his impatient outburst, and then suggests they hear the case next week and wants take the case of Barabbas first. Pilate learns that Zerah the Chief Scribe and a delegation from the Sanhedrin are waiting outside to have Pilate try the case of Jesus. Pilate does not want to have anything to do with their religious quarrels. Quintillius respectfully dissents, telling Pilate he should see them so as not to offend them unnecessarily. Pilate concedes and orders them to be brought in. His vice regent says they cannot come into the house of a Roman on Passover—for they would be defiled by the presence of leaven. Here we see the glaring hypocrisy of the Pharisees: They have more concern for ritual purity than they do in believing that Jesus is truly the Messiah of Israel and would rather condemn this innocent Man to death and thereby defile and damn their souls in the process. The irony is conspicuously staggering! Pilate then decides they will go out to meet them and adjudicate the case of the Nazarene. Quintillius leaves, and Pilate rhetorically asks himself over the mounting difficulties of governing Judea, “How does one govern such a people.” Well, the Procurator miserable failed to govern justly in the case of the most just and righteous Man of all history—Jesus Christ—of which we witness in the next scene. Begin the video at 5:21:09 and end it at 5:25:00. Click on: https://youtube/watch?v=tFUTEWi5EsY&index=45&list=WL
Posted on: Sat, 20 Sep 2014 22:19:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015