Pontius Pilate

• Pontius Pilatus was the Prefect of Judaea between 26-36 CE, during the Rule of Tiberius (14-37 CE).
• He is mentioned in all four Gospels of the New Testament as presiding over the Trial of Jesus.

The Trial of Jesus

• According to the Gospels, Pontius Pilate, realising Jesus was a Galilean, sent Jesus to be tried by Herod Antipas, King of the Roman Client Kingdom of Galilee.
• After an inconclusive Trial, Jesus was returned to Pontius Pilate, where he was tried and found guilty.
• His attempts to give a lenient sentence were objected to by the crowd and Pilate eventually conceded and sentenced Jesus to Crucifixion.

INRI

• INRI means ‘Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum’ meaning ‘Jesus the Nazarene, King of the Jews’.
• Pontius Pilate had this written on a sign to be put on the cross that Jesus was to be crucified on.

Sources

• All Four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
• Tacitus
• Josephus
• The ‘Pilate Stone’
  • This is a marble stone, found in 1961 in Caesarea Maritima, Judaea, which carries an inscription naming Pontius Pilatus as Prefect of Judaea under Tiberius.
  • It is now in the Israel Museum Jerusalem.