Section 159
First Roman phase, before Pilate
Jerusalem, at the Praetorium (the place of the Roman governor)
Matthew 27:2, 11-14
Mark 15:1b-5
Luke 23:1-5
John 18:28-38
2They bound him, led him away, and handed him over to Pontius Pilate, the governor.
1bThey bound Jesus, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.
1Then the whole assembly arose and led Jesus to Pilate.
28Then the Jews led Jesus away from Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was now early in the morning. They themselves did not go into the governor's headquarters so that they would not be defiled, but could eat the Passover.
2They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting the nation and forbidding us to pay taxes to Caesar, declaring himself to be Christ, a king.”
29So Pilate went out to them and said, “What accusation do you bring against this man?” 30They answered him, “If he were not an evildoer, we would not have handed him over to you.” 31Pilate said to them, “You take him and judge him according to your own law.” The Jews said to him, “It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.” 32(This happened to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was going to die.)
11Meanwhile, Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself.”
2So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered him, “You have said it yourself.”
3So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?” Jesus answered him, “You have said it yourself.”
33Then Pilate went into his headquarters again, called Jesus over, and said to him, “Are you the king of the Jews?” 34Jesus answered him, “Do you say this of your own accord, or have others spoken to you about me?” 35Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?” 36Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would be fighting to keep me from being delivered up to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here.” 37Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You have said yourself that I am a king. The reason I was born and the reason I came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.”
4Then Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this man.”
38Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”After he said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, “I find no fault in him.
12But when he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he made no answer. 13Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear all the things they are testifying against you?” 14But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so the governor was greatly amazed.
3Then the chief priests accused him of many things. 4So Pilate asked him again, “Do you make no answer? See how many things they are testifying against you!” 5But Jesus made no further answer, so Pilate was amazed.
5But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people, teaching throughout all Judea. He started from Galilee and has come even to this place.”
Notes
The Trial Before Pilate and Herod
One of the most difficult topographical problems of Jerusalem is to identify the location of the Praetorium where Jesus stood before Pilate, and where he set out carrying the cross to Golgotha. One thing is certain; it was one of three palaces used by Herod the Great - the Antonio Fortress (north of the Temple), the ancient Royal Palace of the Hasmoneans, or the new Upper Palace of Herod (next to the Jaffa Gate).
Since Crusader times it was always identified with Antonio Fortress, where the traditional 14 Stations of the Cross evolved over the years. When new archaeological evidence suggested that the pavement was from Hadrian’s time in 130 A.D., many scholars felt compelled to abandon this old, traditional location.
Many researchers moved the Praetorium to Herod’s Upper Palace as the next likely location. The problem with this location is that there has never been a Christian tradition that it was used as the place where Jesus was sentenced.
A third location is the old Hasmonean Palace. No one knew where this was located until after 1970 when archaeologists could dig in the recently recovered Jewish quarter. They found a magnificent building which is designated as the Palatial Mansion, leading many scholars to identify it as the Hasmonean Palace used by Herod, and later on by Pilate.
Herod Antipas had probably come from Tiberius for the Passover. There is no way of knowing today where he stayed in Jerusalem.