Pilate's Plight: Jesus or Barabbas
Pontius Pilate was Fooled into Releasing His Worst Enemy of the Hour
When Pontius Pilate asked the people of Jerusalem whom they wanted to be set free, Jesus or Barabbas, he must have susptected they would choose Barabbas, and he must have been sick with frustration. It meant he had been duped, and not for the first time.
Roman Empire
His entry into Palestine was not auspicious. He was the fifth procurator to be appointed by Caesar to the region that was perhaps the most troublesome of the Roman Empire.
Some decades before, when Herod the Great had died, the old king’s sons disputed about who would inherit the region. They had sailed for Rome, each to present his own case. But the leaders of the Sanhedrin, wishing to rid themselves of the Herod clan, had also gone to Rome to plead for direct rule. After years of governance of Judea by Herod’s brutal son, Archelaus, the Sanhedrin got their wish, at least for Judea and Samaria.
Pilate’s First Failure in Palestine
Pilate ensconced himself in one of Herod the Great’s old palaces in the port of Caesarea. He sent soldiers to Jerusalem, and received in return an angry delegation of Israelites protesting that the soldiers had desecrated the temple by hanging Roman emblems on it.
Pilate threatened to have the delegation slaughtered, but when they showed no fear of death (Josephus records they bared their throats and offered themselves to the sword), he backed down. He had met an enemy who would not be cowed. He ordered the emblems of the might of Rome to be removed.
Pilate the ‘Benefactor’
Some years later, he decided that, to win the favour of the people of Jerusalem, he would build them an aqueduct to carry water into the city, which had no source of water within its walls. When he informed the Sanhedrin of his beneficence, they retorted that the only benefactors of Jerusalem would be them.
Pilate replied that he would build the aqueduct, but they would pay for it from the temple treasury. No doubt with the memory in his mind of having backed down over the emblems, he planned to send soldiers into the temple to raid the treasury, but before he had a chance to do so, armed Israelites crowded into the temple courtyard.
Barabbas’ Insurrection
Pilate had a scheme. He infiltrated soldiers in among the Israelites, with swords hidden beneath their robes. Standing on the wall of the Antonia fortress that loomed over the temple, he raised a hand and as he let it drop, his soldiers drew their swords and slaughtered the Israelites.
This was the insurrection mentioned in Mark 15:7, in which Barabbas had participated.
Barabbas was not the crazed killer sometimes shown in the movies. Rather, he was a rebel fighting to protect the sanctity of the holiest place to the Israelites.
To Pilate, he must have personified Israelite rebellion. Without Jesus' presence, there would have been no question in Pilate’s mind: Barabbas would have to be crucified as an example.
Jesus Before Pilate
But Jesus was before him, a man who had caused a minor disturbance in the temple, who was accused of wanting to destroy and rebuild the edifice that symbolized the obduracy of Israel, a man who, when questioned about taxes, had told the lawyers to “give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar.”
Pilate was trapped by his own ambition and fear. He had capitulated at the outset in the face of a protest he should have repressed. He had antagonized the Sanhedrin. He was failing Rome by not keeping peace in Palestine.
So, reluctant in his troubled conscience to convict an innocent man, he abdicated his decision and gave it to the people being whipped up by the Sanhedrin. The people said they wanted their freedom fighter.
Pilate capitulated again. He handed Jesus over, and watched Rome’s enemy walk free. No wonder he wanted to wash his hands. They were the hands of a wily politician who had been outwitted.
Truth and Justice
He was later recalled to Rome to answer for another slaughter. He died -- legend says by his own hand -- remembered only for his failure.
Barrabas is remembered only as a bit player, his defense of the temple largely overlooked.
Jesus, sacrificed for expediency under the judgment of a man who knew no truth, is remembered for truth and justice and peace, and it is his memory that has endured.
Read also: Jesus Foresaw His Crucifixion
Sources: Complete Works of Josephus Flavius; Catholic Encyclopedia
Holy Land Hotel model: the fortress by the temple
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