Pontius Pilate, Jesus Christ's murderer is a saint (?).

                              เมื่อผู้สังหารพระเยซูคริสต์กลายเป็นนักบุญ

                                  by Suthep Chaviwan/Jan. 17.2022

 

Christian Gospels record that Pontius Pilate ordered the crucifixion of Jesus Christ at some point during his time in office. But due to the Gospels' portrayal of him as reluctant to execute Jesus, the Ethiopian Church believes that Pilate became a Christian and venerates him as a martyr and saint with a feast day on June 25.

 Coptic Church is another Christian denomination in Egypt, and it also has a branch church in Bangkok, Thailand.

 As Christians, we rely on stories of Jesus Christ from the Scriptures, mainly the four Gospels; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

 As there is also information about Jesus Christ from outside sources, written by several writers in the early centuries of Christianity. I will combine them here, and you can make your own decision to believe or not believe.

Pontius Pilate, was the fifth governor of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under Emperor Tiberius and young Emperor Caligula from the year 26/27 to 36/37 AD. He is best known as the judge of Jesus's trial and encouraged by Joseph Caiaphas, the High Priest of Jerusalem and the crowd.

According to the Gospel of Matthew, three times Pilate asks the crowd, "What shall I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" He seems to hope they will say, "Release him!" But they don't.

 Instead, the crowd insists that Pilate has Jesus crucified, so the governor famously washes his hands, claims he is "innocent of this man's blood" (Matthew 27:24), flogs Jesus and then hands him over to the soldiers who lead him to his death.

Pilate himself supplies the nameplate for the cross: "Jesus Christ, King of the Jews."

 Some traditions, also said that a young Roman emperor Caligula who briefly ruled 37-38 AD, ordered Pontius Pilate to death by execution or suicide. Pontius Pilate was sent into exile and committed suicide of his own accord.

 Some traditions assert that after he committed suicide, his body was thrown into the Tiber River.

Anyhow, because Pilate was reluctant to execute Jesus, the Ethiopian Church believes that he became a Christian and venerates him as a martyr and saint. His wife, Claudia Procula is also a Saint.

 Orthodox and Coptic faiths, at first saw Pilate and his wife in very different ways but decided that Pilate and his wife have had a convert, the Greek Orthodox and Coptic faiths then named them Saints.

 The ancient historians also support the claims of the churches---saying that Pilate converted after seeing the many wonders that occurred after Jesus' death, even reporting it to Emperor Tiberius.

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                             Suthep Chaviwan (สุเทพ ฉวีวรรณ) is a Thai freelance journalist.

                               >suthepxchaviwan@gmail.com<

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