Jesus Before Pilate

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For Christians February marks the beginning of Lent, during which weekly Gospel readings will follow Jesus on his way to his trial and death. The first three Gospels present comparatively brief accounts of the trial of Jesus before Pilate (Matthew 27:2, 11–23; Mark 15:1–15; Luke 23:1–4, 16–25). The Gospel of John, however, gives a much longer report of Jesus’ appearance before the Roman governor (John 18:28–40; 19:1–16). The author of the Gospel of John has reformulated an oral account in order to mirror in this trial scene the experience of Christians who had been accused before Roman authorities. The questions of the Roman prosecutor and Jesus’ answers epitomize the conflict of the early Christian church with the representatives of the Roman government. Whatever the role of the Jews in the trial of Jesus might have been, it is no longer important for the community of John’s Gospel. Instead, the “Jews,” their chief priests and the police represent local authorities who are hostile to the Christians. They bring Jesus before Pilate stating only that he is a criminal, without presenting any specific accusation (John 18:30).

Pilate’s first question, “Are you the King of the Jews?” (John 18:33) reveals the central point of conflict between the Christians and the Roman state: Who is the king, Jesus or Caesar? “King of the Jews” would mean that Jesus was but another local messianic pretender. A follower of the “King of the Jews” would have been understood as a member of an anti-Roman revolutionary movement of first-century Israel. The Romans were used to dealing quickly and efficiently with such insurrections.

But Christians were different. They were not fighting for liberation from Roman rule, like the violent slave insurrections or the messianic Zealots of Israel. Jesus’ answer, “My kingdom is not from this world,” (John 18:36) claims divine authorization as well as universality. It also introduces an aspect of kingship that is different from all earthly rule: The followers of Jesus were not to take up weapons for their king. If this were all Jesus had to say, Pilate, according to the Gospel of John, could have released him. Some otherworldly kingdom with pacifist followers would have been harmless. As long as Christianity was just a religion, concerned only with private salvation and personal afterlife, the Roman government could have left its followers alone.

However, Jesus stated not only that his kingdom is not from this world. He also claimed that he came into the world in order to testify to the truth (John 18:37). In the Gospel of John “truth” is not an abstract expression of certain doctrines about God and Jesus, nor a proclamation of ideologies or general laws and moralities. Rather, the truth for which Jesus was the witness challenged people to recognize themselves, their situation and the real condition of their society and the world in which they lived. It was a truth that demanded justice, freedom and love. Advocacy for this truth is indeed a public office. People who point out social ills are a constant disturbance to those who are in power. The Romans realized that quite soon. But they were in a dilemma.

The account of Jesus’ trial in the Gospel of John illustrates the Roman state’s problem. On the one hand Pilate learns that he is not simply confronted with another messianic pretender. He recognizes that Jesus of Nazareth presents a challenge to Rome’s claim to universal leadership: a kingdom that would not bow to Roman authority, a kingdom “not from this world” yet in this world. Since Jesus’ kingdom would not wield any political power, Roman authorities had to admit that the Christians were innocent according to Roman judicial standards. On the other hand it is a kingdom that claimed to be a witness to the truth of this world. The challenge to the state remained. What counts in this world are clever designs, diplomatic skills, propaganda and disinformation and power—power of all kinds: military power, power of leadership and of persuasion, power of economic control. Confronted with Jesus, the witness for the truth, Pilate could either recognize that even the almighty Roman state was subject to a higher authority, or he could reject this challenge and declare that Jesus was nothing but a religious fraud.

Pilate tried to escape from this dilemma by choosing to remain neutral, asking, “What is truth?” and telling Jesus’ accusers, “I find no case against him” (John 18:38). The verses that follow (John 19:1–16), describing the continuation of the trial of Jesus before Pilate, demonstrate that this third alternative inevitably led the state into a situation in which it had to kill the witness of the truth. Although Pilate wanted to remain neutral, he was finally forced to send Jesus to his execution.

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When the Gospel of John was written, the Roman authorities had established the policy that Christians should not be sought out for persecution. But whenever they were accused and whenever local 063riots against the Christians occurred, Rome condemned the Christians, although it acknowledged that they could not be convicted of any crimes. This was the inevitable result of the Roman state’s unwillingness to face the truth about itself, namely its social ills, its political and economic suppression, its preoccupation with law and order. Though some governments would have decided to do away with such annoying witnesses quickly and without any scruples, the Romans did not want to be a police state. But trying to remain neutral when challenged by those who are witnesses for the truth is equally dangerous for the state. Like Pilate in the trial of Jesus, such a state may ultimately find that it is forced to execute the witness.

For Christians February marks the beginning of Lent, during which weekly Gospel readings will follow Jesus on his way to his trial and death. The first three Gospels present comparatively brief accounts of the trial of Jesus before Pilate (Matthew 27:2, 11–23; Mark 15:1–15; Luke 23:1–4, 16–25). The Gospel of John, however, gives a much longer report of Jesus’ appearance before the Roman governor (John 18:28–40; 19:1–16). The author of the Gospel of John has reformulated an oral account in order to mirror in this trial scene the experience of Christians who had been accused before Roman authorities. The […]