Lord's ministry. Josephus as we have seen dismisses the crucifixion at the command of Pilate in a single paragraph, whereas the description of the trial and death of our Lord is given in great detail in the four Gospels, as we should expect. But the Scriptures and Josephus unite in testimony that our Lord was crucified, and that at the command of Pilate. From the Scriptures we gather that Pilate was weak and vacillating, that he was convinced of the innocence of our Lord, saying, " I find no fault in this man " (Luke 23:44Then said Pilate to the chief priests and to the people, I find no fault in this man. (Luke 23:4)), that he knew full well that it was only religious fanaticism that was clamoring for His blood. We read, "And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified. And the voices of them and the chief priests prevailed. And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they desired." (Luke 23:2424And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. (Luke 23:24)).
In this last sentence we have underlined Pilate stands branded to all time in the committal of the blackest crime this world has ever known. Wherever in all the annals of history can you find a judge declaring publicly his belief in the innocence of the accused, offering first unjustly to scourge Him, and then giving way to the clamor of his enemies and giving sentence as they required, and that to capital punishment by crucifixion, the cruelest of all deaths? No wonder the name of Pilate goes down to all eternity blackened and blasted. Words are too weak to reprobate such gross injustice.
Secular history tells us of the end of Pilate. Shortly after the crucifixion of our Lord, the Samaritans broke out in rebellion, and Pilate gathering a great band of horsemen and footmen fell upon them, and slew many of them. Taking many prisoners alive, he wickedly put them to death. The Jews then accused Pilate of harshness and barbarity, and Vitellius, president of Syria, ordered Pilate to go to Rome, and answer for his actions. One tradition says that he was banished to Vienne on the Rhone (France), where a monument, erected in pyramidical form on a quadrangular base, 52 feet high, was called Pontius Pilate's Tomb. Another tradition is that he sought retirement on a mountain rising from the shores of Lake Lucerne in Switzerland, and called to this day Mount Pilatus. After spending years in this mountain, filled with remorse and despair, tradition has it, that he ascended the mountain to a small lake on its summit, and drowned himself.
At any rate this much is sure that Pilate fell into disgrace, lost all his honors, and died an exile from his native land. It is significant that one after another, who did despite to our Lord or His people, came to a swift and evil end, carrying out the Scripture warning, which says, " Whosoever shall fall on that stone [symbolic of our Lord] shall be broken." (Luke 20:1818Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder. (Luke 20:18)).
It is a fact that many, who thought themselves great in this world, and who despised the "lowly Nazarene," are only remembered to-day, because their actions here and there had a connection with the life of our Lord. The writings of Josephus may pass out of print, and be forgotten by all but a handful, whilst the name of our Lord is remembered from century to century by the purest and best of the human race.
The very date, we put upon the headings of our letters, or is affixed to the laws of the land, or the official documents of civilized countries, enshrines the date of a birth of a Holy Child in a stable at Bethlehem, and who was cradled in a manger. The Book which tells us this story is still the world's best seller; and nations, far off from the scene of Christianity's early triumphs, are stretching out their appealing hands for the Word of God as never before.