Pilate/Pontius Pilate

The Roman governor of Judea during the time of Jesus’s death. He was responsible for keeping peace among the Jews. Pilate never got along well with the Jews. He did not understand them or their beliefs about God. The Jewish historian Josephus wrote that Pilate outraged the Jews by using temple money to build an aqueduct. He also brought shields decorated with figures of Roman emperors into Jerusalem.

When Jesus was on trial before him, Pilate realized that Jesus was innocent of the charges against Him. However, Pilate did not want to get into more trouble with the Jews, so he allowed Jesus to be executed. He was removed from his position about six years later. History does not record what happened to him after that, although Christian tradition says he later killed himself.