Calblog

Pilate and the "Passion"

I have not seen and will not see the film. My meditations on and understanding of Christ’s suffering do not require (and may not benefit from) a graphic visual depiction of it. At least not at this point in my spiritual development. First, it upsets me enough that I can’t learn from it. Second and most importantly, my recent focus is on the spiritual trauma (e.g. “My God, why have you forsaken me”)

The main reason for saying that is to say that my comments here are based on Justin’s summary only. Justin said:

What of the "big" historical question regarding alleged anti-Semitic subtexts? The only real problem I had was that it depicted the Pontus Pilate and the Jewish hierarchy in such a way that it made it seem as though the Jews had the authority to boss Pilate and the Romans around and order that Jesus be crucified. Pilate isn't portrayed as merely conflicted about the question of sentencing Jesus to death, but there are implications that he was actively sympathetic towards Jesus and only ordered his crucifixion under the threat of a Jewish rebellion by the high priests. The only reason that I bring this up is because, as far as I know, this interpretation of Pilate is not supported by Scriptures (If readers wish to post Scripture sections in the comment section that specifically speaks to Pilate's mindset about the events, then I assure you that I will look at them with an open mind. Perhaps there is plenty of Biblical evidence to justify this depiction of Pilate and I'm just not familiar with it.)

That has been my understanding of Pilate’s role for most of my adult life. Here are the bible quotes that would support it.

Matthew 27:2
They bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Matthew 27:11
Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "Yes, it is as you say," Jesus replied.

Matthew 27:13
Then Pilate asked him, "Don't you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?"

Matthew 27:17
So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?"

Matthew 27:19
While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."

Matthew 27:22
"What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked. They all answered, "Crucify him!"

Matthew 27:23
"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"

Matthew 27:24
When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!"

Ok, so the “Jews” crucified Him. There’s one historical point that I think has been missing from all the coverage I have read. I saw a snippet of an interview with Gibson where he alluded to it. The early Christians not only were born Jews but expected to continue to be Jews. If anything, the most they planned was a separate sect of Judaism, not a separate religion. The Gospel does not blame the Jews. It blames the believers, us the Christians.

Posted by Justene Adamec at February 25, 2004 10:59 AM | TrackBack