Every year
it gets to me.
At Nisan 14,
when Christians worldwide gather to commemorate Jesus' death, they will revisit
his last supper, the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal, his arrest,
an illegal trial held secretly by religious leaders in the middle of the night and
his appearance before Pontius Pilate.
And this is
when the question arises yet again:
Why did Pilate wash his hands?
The Roman governor knew the prisoner was innocent
and he had already been warned by his wife to “have nothing to do with that
righteous man” after her disturbing dream. Furthermore, he clearly recognised the
hypocrisy and lies of Jesus' accusers who, despite the lack of evidence,
hauled him before the unfortunate official in the middle of the night.
Instead of pitting
Jesus against Barabbas for the crowd to choose which of them should die, or
trying to appease the troublesome priests by having Jesus whipped, beaten and humiliated,
why didn’t Pilate set Jesus free?
Now at last,
I think I know the answer. It relates to a situation that began in Rome before
Jesus was born; one that likely weighed against him in 33 C.E.
The knives came out
It was the
Ides of March, 44 B.C.E. Julius Caesar was attending a meeting of the Senate at
the Theatre of Pompey in Rome, when suddenly the knives came out. Concerned that Caesar’s unprecedented power
was undermining the Republic, over 60 senators had conspired to assassinate
him, presenting the murder as tyrannicide. Chief amongst them were Marcus
Brutus, Decimus Brutus and Gaius Cassius whose treachery led to Caesar being stabbed
23 times and the ultimate end of the Republic.
“Better a
dead god than a live tyrant.”
No doubt to
appease the people, in 42 B.C.E, Caesar was deified to Divus Iulius – so creating
a godship for all future Emperors of Rome, beginning with his great-nephew and
adopted son, Gaius Octavius Augustus. Octavius now became Divi Filius – “Son of
the Divine” or “Son of God”, a title passed onto to his successor - Tiberius Claudius
Nero.
"You are not a friend of Caesar!"
And herein
lay the problem for Pontius Pilate. Tiberius was a brutal ruler; he did not
tolerate rivals and thought nothing of throwing traitors (real or imagined) down
the incredibly steep steps of the Temple of Jupiter where, according to historian
Suetonius, “not a day passed without an execution.” High ranking officials,
such as Roman Governors, got the 5-star treatment: A summons to the emperor’s cliffside retreat in
Capri where they'd be toppled over the edge for any trace of treason!
No wonder
Pilate was fearful; a factor cleverly exploited by the Jewish leaders, and one which
doubtless contributed to his famous handwashing scene when Jesus – the true “Son
of God” - appeared before him.
“If you
release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar!” was the cry.
And Jesus’ fate
was sealed.
See also:
Putting life into words: Seditious? The Lord's Prayer?
(jacybrean.blogspot.com)
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