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Archaeologists have identified a grand street in Jerusalem that was built by Pontius Pilate, the Roman prefect of Judea who is famous for overseeing the trial and crucifixion of Jesus. The nearly 2,000-foot-long (600 meters) street would have connected the Siloam Pool -- a place where pilgrims could stop to bathe and get fresh water -- to the Temple Mount, the most holy place in Judaism. The street was likely used by ancient pilgrims on their way to worship at the Mount, the researchers said. Archaeological evidence for Pontius Pilate is limited and the discovery sheds a bit of light...

The weak, vacillating and ultimately cruel and cowardly figure of Pontius Pilate is one of the most enigmatic figures in Sacred Scripture. From the Gospel accounts, he seems to be a man who almost wants to be a hero, to defend the innocent victim, Jesus, against the murderous lynch mob besetting Him. Indeed, Pilate is urged by his wife to "have nothing to do with that just man." In the end, however, he lacks the courage to act virtuously. He condemns Christ to a horrible death, despite knowing with certainty that He is innocent. But who was Pontius Pilate? Did...

A modern verification of an ancient event and tangible evidence of an ancient person. And once again, biblical history is verified.Our team of thinkers and writers at the Colson Center are archaeology nerds. Seriously, we get giddy whenever another archaeological discovery sheds light on biblical narratives or confirms their historical accuracy. And even more fun, it seems to happen all the time these days.Keep in mind that biblical faith is grounded in historical events, events to which the Bible testifies. This is one of the factors that sets the Bible apart from other religious texts. Recently, two announcements made illustrate...

The weak, vacillating and ultimately cruel and cowardly figure of Pontius Pilate is one of the most enigmatic figures in Sacred Scripture. From the Gospel accounts, he seems to be a man who almost wants to be a hero, to defend the innocent victim, Jesus, against the murderous lynch mob besetting Him. Indeed, Pilate is urged by his wife to "have nothing to do with that just man." In the end, however, he lacks the courage to act virtuously. He condemns Christ to a horrible death, despite knowing with certainty that He is innocent. But who was Pontius Pilate? Did...

In the Gospels, it mentions that the wife of Pontius Pilate has a dream that Jesus is innocent and she tells Pilate that he should not condemn Jesus. What she is saying, is indeed true, and if Pilate listened to her, he may have avoided falling into sin. Yet, if Pilate listened to her, this would not have been according to God's will. Thus, I am curious to hear your thoughts if this dream came from God, Satan, or other source.

In the Gospel of John, Pontius Pilate poses a question to Jesus of Nazareth: “What is truth?” It’s a question that could also be asked about Pilate’s own history. From the perspective of the New Testament of the Christian Bible, the Roman governor of Judea was a wavering judge who initially exonerated Jesus before bending to the will of the crowd and condemning him to death. By contrast, non-Biblical sources portray him as a barbarous leader who willfully defied the traditions of the Jewish people he oversaw. Which was the truth?

The Ethiopian and Coptic Orthodox Churches hold that Pontius Pilate, the governor who condemned Jesus Christ to death, later converted to Christianity himself. So they revere Pilate as a saint. Pontius Pilate is a curious character in the New Testament. He is the symbol of Rome’s authority in Judaea, and yet he declines to punish Jesus for insurrection against that authority. When the Sanhedrin present their prisoner to him, Pilate cross-examines him and then famously declares to the crowd: Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. John 19:4 Pilate...

University of Haifa researchers have made an important discovery underwater: a rare inscription from the period preceding the Bar Kochva revolt offers for the first time the definite identification of Gargilius Antiques as the Roman prefect of Judea at that time. The inscription was found in a University of Haifa underwater excavation at Tel Dor, on Israel’s Mediterranean coast, about 20 miles south of Haifa. “For the first time, we can state with certainty the name of the Roman prefect of Judea during the critical period leading up to the Bar Kochva revolt,” stated Prof. Assaf Yasur-Landau of the University...

A 2,000-year-old ring was uncovered in archaeological excavations in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem, dating back to the Second Temple period. Source: City of David A ring with a solitaire gem stone was found by Israel Antiquities Authority archaeologists in what appears to be an ancient Mikveh (ritual bath) on the Pilgrimage Road which dates back to the time of the Second Temple period. The ancient paved road runs up from the Shiloach (Siloam) pool to the Temple Mount and is thought to have been the main thoroughfare taken by pilgrims to the Temple. According to archaeologists...

Unearthed in excavation of the monumental Pilgrims’ Path, the Second Temple-era adornment likely fell after use of a ritual bath, say archaeologists A 2,000-year-old bronze ring with a solitaire gem stone was uncovered in archaeological excavations in the City of David National Park in Jerusalem. (City of David) ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Some 2,000 years ago, a Jewish penitent misplaced a bronze ring during his climb of a 600-meter-long (about 2,000 feet) pilgrims’ thoroughfare leading to the Temple Mount. While the recently recovered ring is today heavily corroded, its central blue semi-precious stone still sparkles. The ring was recently discovered at the City...

Researchers have deciphered an ancient inscription on a bronze ring first found 50 years ago pointing to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who ordered Jesus Christ’s crucifixion. Haaretz reported that the ring in question was first discovered at the site of Herodion near the West Bank’s Bethlehem by professor Gideon Forster from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, shortly after the Six-Day War in 1968-69. The owner of the ring had remained a mystery for some 50 years, however, but a recent cleansing and special camera work at the Israel Antiquities Authority labs found Greek writing on the ring, which translates...

The Israeli daily Ha’aretz is reporting that a bronze ring found 50 years ago at the Herodion excavation near Bethlehem has been discovered to bear the name of Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Jerusalem and the man who ordered the crucifixion of Jesus, according to the New Testament. Ha’aretz reports that the name was discovered on the ring with the use of a special camera at the Israel Antiquities Authority labs. The letters on the ring spelled out in Greek writing “Pilatus.” The words surrounded a picture of a wine vessel. Hebrew University Professor Danny Schwartz told Ha’aretz that Pilatus...

New analysis has revealed an unusual inscription on a copper-alloy finger ring uncovered at Herodium 50 years ago. Documented by a team of archaeologists in Israel Exploration Journal, the ring briefly caught the media’s attention last month.Based on the surrounding material, the ring was presumably deposited towards the latter half of the first century, probably about the period of the first Jewish revolt against Rome in AD 66-71. The broken hoop has a diameter of two-thirds of an inch, while the oval bezel measures one-half inch by one-third inch. The bezel relief features a krater (mixing vessel) as the...

A 2,000-year-old bronze ring found near Bethlehem bears the name of Pontius Pilate, the Roman official who ordered Jesus Christ to be crucified, archeologists have revealed.

May 9, 2018 (National Catholic Register) – Rejoicing in the Easter glow, I hesitate to look back to two figures instrumental in the Passion and Death of the Lord, but I often get questions or comments about Judas and Pilate that demonstrate fundamental flaws in moral reasoning. Many people today either seek to exonerate them for their role in the crucifixion or they sympathize with them, citing what they view as exculpatory evidence. One approach is to see Judas and Pilate as mere puppets in a play written by God; they were only doing what they had to do. Such...

Much of the scholarly discussion about the circumstances of JesusÂ’ death relates to the question of who was responsible for his arrest and crucifixion.Who was responsible? The Jews or the Romans?Historically, the primary responsibility has been placed on the Jewish leadership and the Jews in Jerusalem. Throughout the centuries, this has sometimes had tragic consequences, resulting in anti-Semitism and violence against Jews.More recent trends in scholarship have shifted the blame to the Romans.The tendency to blame the Jews, it is said, arose in the decades after the crucifixion with the churchÂ’s growing conflict with the synagogue and its desire to...

The number of dead is now around forty, the wounded number a thousand. It is the price of a month of popular demonstrations, even of only women dressed in white, against the presidency of Nicolás Maduro, in a Venezuela on the brink.A Venezuela in which a new factor has recently taken the field, and this is the growing, systematic aggression against properties and personnel of the Catholic Church.Vatican sources - starting with “L'Osservatore Romano” - as detailed as they are in covering the developments of the crisis, are sparing with news about aggression against the Church.There is not a single...

I'm not exactly a Biblical scholar, so be a little gentle with the flames. I was watching Passion of the Christ yesterday for Easter (my third time seeing it), and a thought occurred to me. Both the movie and the Gospels note that Pilate tried, repeatedly, to not sentence Jesus to death. His wife lobbied for Jesus, he declared "this man has done nothing", he sent him to Herod declaring him not guilty, and he even tried the once-a-year prisoner release gambit. At every turn, the high priests and the crowd pushed for his death. Even after finding him guilty...

In the Matthean Passion account, we come to the trial before Pilate. Pontius Pilate is a study in evasion and vacillation. Despite being a man of great political and worldly power, Pilate is indecisive, inwardly troubled, and quite incapable of doing what he knows is right. Despite the outward power he had, inwardly he was weak and morally compromised. And in his weakness, he does something very awful: he violates his own conscience and sentences an innocent man to death.Let’s look at his story in five stages.I. Attempted Avoidance - At a professional level, Pilate thought the whole matter brought...

Ecce Homo by Antonio Ciseri The reading of the Passion according to Saint Matthew yesterday featured one of the most mysterious verses in the whole New Testament.It was this: 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 27:19). Pilate’s wife appears, and disappears, in this one verse. Moreover, this verse is found only in the gospel of St Matthew, and in none of the other synoptic gospels. What on earth...