In a story covered with the dust of centuries and tragic events, there are many mysteries and white spots. However, the biblical stories that told us about the terrible execution of Christ more than two thousand years ago mention the main participants in this drama. In addition to the Savior, his apostles, followers and two robbers who also found death on the crosses, the Holy Scripture tells of a certain Pontius Pilate. He stands alone in this confusion.
The procurator of Judea Pontius Pilate in the Bible is very controversial. It combines the opposite qualities - hypocrisy and honesty, directness and double-facedness, indecision and decisiveness, courage and timidity. There is nothing surprising in the fact that the evangelists paint in such a detail to us a portrait of the man who signed the death sentence to their teacher. They not only give an assessment to those events that have settled on the head of the only worthy person in the world with a crown of thorns , but also force us, the inhabitants of the twenty-first century, to reconsider our lives. Maybe one of us continues to crucify Jesus, compromising with our own conscience under the influence of other people and external factors.
Pontius Pilate, whose biography has many white spots, was considered a mythical person in Soviet historiography. However, now modern historians, under the pressure of numerous facts of science, are forced to admit that the biblical stories about the life and death of Christ are by no means a fiction. And the procurator Pontius Pilate himself is the same reality as Emperor Nero or the gladiator Spartacus. Not only the Gospel mentions the procurator. Antique authors such as Philo of Alexandria, Josephus, Tacitus and Eusebius talk in detail about this man. Archaeologists have found many coins that were issued at that time by Pilate and they are really authentic.
What is known today about a man named Pontius Pilate? His biography began with difficulties. Some researchers claim that Pontius was born in Rome, others - that he was an illegitimate child of Tsar Tire, while others believe that he was from a noble family and received diplomatic education. Constantly advancing through the ranks, he soon rose to the post of procurator in Judea. It is possible to more accurately trace his path from this position.
Pontius Pilate, whose biography is interesting for both Christians and historians of a different faith, arrived in Judea on the designation of Tiberius in 26 AD. Claudius Prokul's wife, who was the illegitimate daughter of Claudius and the granddaughter of Emperor Augustus, came with him. This woman was a very intelligent and outstanding person, faithful to her husband. The new prosecutor was brutal because he wanted to conquer an unreliable province and make it prosperous. The population, of course, did not like it. History has preserved data on the confrontations between the Roman governor and the Jews, captured the favor of the procurator to the brave and brave enemies. He built new buildings, water supply, using the sacred money of the Jews, which caused a new murmur. After the execution of Calvary, the prosecutor ruled the province for another three years. Then, thanks to numerous complaints and denunciations, he was dismissed. According to legend, Pontius ended his life by suicide in exile.
Pontius Pilate, whose biography is considered above, is a real and extraordinary person who has changed the course of history and fulfilled his mission from above.