In the trial of Jesus before the Sanhedrin and Pilate, it might appear from the narratives of Matthew and Luke that Jesus at first refused a direct reply to the high priest's question: " Art thou the Christ?

School tradition has it that the portrait of Pontius Pilate in the twelfth station was based on the school rector, who had refused to pay the artist his asking price.

Pilate ordered a sign posted above Jesus on the cross stating " Jesus of Nazareth, The King of the Jews " to give public notice of the legal charge against him for his crucifixion.

The chief priests informed Pilate of a new charge, demanding Jesus be sentenced to death " because he claimed to be God's son.

Pilate questions Jesus, after which he states, " I find no basis for a charge against him.

The Romans would not perform execution over violations of Jewish law, and therefore the charge of blasphemy would not have mattered to Pilate.

The Gospel of Matthew adds that before condemning Jesus to death, Pilate washes his hands with water in front of the crowd, saying, " I am innocent of this man's blood ; you will see.

In the song " Trial Before Pilate ", a sympathetic Pilate pleads with Jesus to speak to him, saying that he believes the accused has " done no wrong " but " ought to be locked up " for insanity.

According to the Gospel of John, Pilate has Jesus brought out a second time, wearing the purple robe and the crown of thorns, in order to appeal his innocence before the crowd, saying " Ecce homo ", " Behold the man ".

Details of the sealing of the tomb, requested of Pilate by the elders of the Jewish community, elaborates upon Matthew 27: 66, " So they went, and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch ", saying instead:

: When Pilate saw that he could not prevail, but rather that a tumult was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, " I am innocent of the blood of this just person.

' The woman who was photographed as Pontius Pilate was quoted as saying, ' Christians believe the Jews killed Jesus ; that is why there is so much anti-Semitism in the world.

In John 19: 12 Pilate seeks to release Jesus, but the Jews object, saying: " If thou release this man, thou art not Caesar's friend: every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar " bringing the power of Caesar to the forefront of the discussion for the assumption of the title King implies rebellion against the Roman Empire

" In response, some progressives, such as Congressman Steve Cohen ( D-TN ) and liberal pundit Donna Brazile, started saying that " Jesus was a community organizer, Pontius Pilate was a governor ", a phrase produced on bumper stickers and elsewhere.

According to Jesus, as we find it written in John 18: 37, Jesus thus describes his mission: " came into the world ... to bear witness to the truth ; and all who are on the side of truth listen to voice ", to which Pilate famously replied, " What is truth?

Nikolai Ge, Christ and Pilate (" What is truth?

", attributing this to a derisive William Shakespeare ; and counter -" proved " that Shakespeare wrote Bacon by converting the latter's famous opening phrase " What is truth, said jesting Pilate ..." into " Truth?

Francis Bacon starts his essay on ‘ Truth ’ with the statement “ What is truth ?’ said Jesting Pilate and would not stay for an answer ”.

And Pilate, calling Annas and Caiaphas, says to them: What are proselytes?

In the same Book I chapter, in items 7 and 8 Eusebius also discusses the Josephus reference to the crucifixion of Jesus by Pontius Pilate, a reference that is present in all surviving Eusebius manuscripts.

He refers to the Sadducees, Jewish High Priests of the time, Pharisees and Essenes, the Herodian Temple, Quirinius ' census and the Zealots, and to such figures as Pontius Pilate, Herod the Great, Agrippa I and Agrippa II, John the Baptist, James the brother of Jesus, and a centuries-long disputed reference to Jesus ( for more see Josephus on Jesus ).

We find in the Gospel of John, Pilate states “ I find no guilt in him ” and he asks the Jews if Jesus should be released from custody.

In the same chapter of John 18 verse 38 ( King James Version, compare with other versions ) the conclusion Pilate made from this interrogation: " I find in him no fault at all ".

After the soldiers see three men and a cross miraculously walking out of the tomb they report to Pilate who reiterates his innocence: " I am pure from the blood of the Son of God ".

He starred Pilate many times over the little-studied fifties, when it comes to the performances of Christ: The Living Christ Series ( his character was on hand from 1952 to 1957 ) and as well in I Beheld His Glory ( 1952 ) and Day of Triumph ( 1954 )

" Pilate replies, " I wonder ... Who is the real enemy?

Pilate therefore went forth again, and saith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him.

Mary Soan, an assistant director of the film I Am David, suggested that he would be suited for the role of Pilate to Shaila Rubin, who was casting the film.

Some of his more important works, translated into English, are Christ before Pilate, On The Way to The Melting Pot, Sons of The Old Country, and I Sit Alone.

While Pilate was sitting in the judgment hall, his wife sent him a message: " Have nothing to do with that innocent man, because in a dream last night, I suffered much on account of him.

The Apostle's Creed: I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried ; He descended into hell ; on the third day He rose again from the dead ; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty ; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead.

* Jesus is said to have been born during the rule of Pontius Pilate, which began after the year 26.

" Significantly, John does not have Jesus claim to be the Son of God or the Messiah before the Sanhedrin or Pilate, and he omits the traditional earthquakes, thunder, and midday darkness that were said to accompany Jesus ' death.

Scholars have differing opinions on the total or partial authenticity of the reference in Book 18, Chapter 3, 3 of the Antiquities to the execution of Jesus by Pontius Pilate, a passage usually called the Testimonium Flavianum.

Vermes states that if the Testimonium had been the work of a Christian forger, it would have placed blame on the Jewish leaders, but as is it is " perfectly in line " with the atitude of Josephus towards Pilate.

Petrarch was moved to defend Celestine vigorously against the accusation of cowardice and some modern scholars ( e. g., Mark Musa ) have suggested Dante may have meant someone else ( Esau, Diocletian and Pontius Pilate have been variously suggested ).

Pilate told the assembly that neither he nor Herod found guilt in Jesus ; Pilate resolved to have Jesus whipped and released ().

Pilate asked what they would have him do with Jesus, and they demanded, " Crucify him " ().

Pilate's wife had seen Jesus in a dream earlier that day, and she forewarned Pilate to " have nothing to do with this righteous man " ().

This act of Pilate may not, however, have been borrowed from the custom of the Jews.

It has been asserted that Pilate may have been born in Fortingall, Perthshire, in Scotland, the illegitimate son of a Roman ambassador sent to pacify the Picts and a Pictish girl, but the Romans did not invade Britain until some years after Pilate's birth and appear to have had relatively little contact with that part of Scotland even then.

Other places in Spain and Germany have also made similar claims about Pilate.

During the Passover, a festival of deep national as well as religious significance for the Jews, Pilate, as governor or prefect, would have been expected to be in Jerusalem to keep order.

Equestrians such as Pilate could command legionary forces but only small ones, and so in military situations, he would have to yield to his superior, the legate of Syria, who would descend into Palestine with his legions as necessary.

As governor of Iudaea, Pilate would have small auxiliary forces of locally recruited soldiers stationed regularly in Caesarea and Jerusalem, such as the Antonia Fortress, and temporarily anywhere else that might require a military presence.

Pilate appears to have been reluctant to allow the crucifixion of Jesus, finding no fault with him.

" This may have been to emphasize Rome's supremacy in crucifying a Jewish king ; it is likely, though, that Pilate was quite irritated by the fact that the Jewish leaders had used him as a marionette and thus compelled him to sentence Jesus to death contrary to his own will.

Roman magistrates had wide discretion in executing their tasks, and some readers question whether Pilate would have been so captive to the demands of the crowd.

Philo reports that upon reading the letters, Tiberius " wrote to Pilate with a host of reproaches and rebukes for his audacious violation of precedent and bade him at once take down the shields and have them transferred from the capital to Caesarea.

In the Eastern Orthodox Church, Claudia Procula is commemorated as a saint, but not Pilate, because in the Gospel accounts Claudia urged Pilate not to have anything to do with Jesus.