Pontius Pilate
…. Suffered under Pontius Pilate….
The mystery about Pilate is why he, Jesus and Mary were the only three names mentioned in the Creed. No apostles or prophets are mentioned. Why special mention of Pilate?
The Roman Procurator
Pontius Pilate is the historical reality upon which much of the Creed relies for its legitimisation. Documents exist dealing with the period Pilate was Procurator of Judea, from AD 26 to 36 and of course there is the Biblical record. Readers will know the story of how Jesus was betrayed, arrested and taken before the high priest, then before Pilate who had him flogged and finally executed. He was troubled by his actions and according to the historian Eusebius wrote a letter to Emperor Tiberius as follows;
“Jesus Christ of whom I recently wrote to you has been executed against my will. So pious and austere a man has never been seen, nor will be again. But there was a wonderful unanimity in the request of the Jews and their leader that he should be crucified, though their own prophets, and the Sibyls, testified against them, and signs appeared at his death which the philosophers said threatened the collapse of the whole world. His disciples, who still live do not belie their master’s teaching, but are active in good works. Had I not feared a general rising, the man might be yet alive”.
I believe the reason Pilate is mentioned in the Creed is that he embodies all the base demands the world can make on good people. He leads us examine our own motives and responses to everything in our lives. Jesus came preaching a new kind of society. He was disruptive and had to be silenced. “Better for one man to die …” the Sanhedrin had said, than for the whole system to fall because of him. Pilate could not find anything serious enough to have Jesus condemned, but when the chief priests provided the reason he had been looking for – this man is treasonous – he chooses personal safety over personal integrity. Pilate no doubt knew Jesus to be innocent, but he was a threat to the Procurator’s position. Therefore he must go. How often do we not make a decision, cannot stand against the crowds, cannot pursue truth above personal exigency? The Pilate in each of us puts to test the ideals we mouth.
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