Why Did Pontius Pilate Allow Jesus to Be Crucified?

Pontius Pilate disappears from the Gospels, it seems, as soon as he appears. Yet, this Roman man plays such an important role in the crucifixion, that he’s included in the Apostles’ Creed. 

The Apostles' Creed is arguably one of the most important summaries of Jesus, what he did on earth, and other important doctrines and beliefs central to the Christian faith. 

Those who have read about Pilate in the Gospel accounts may know of him as a man who saw Jesus was guiltless, but let his fear of the crowds seize him. He gave into cowardice and allowed for Jesus to be killed. We can read about the account of Pilate in Matthew 27 and John 18:28-40.

But why did Pilate give into the crowd so easily? How could he let a guiltless man die a horrible death? And why did the church include him in the Creed? We’ll dive into these questions and more below.

Who Was Pontius Pilate?

Pontius Pilate was a Roman prefect (or governor) over Judea in the early first century (about 26-36 AD). Pilate apparently found an way into such a high position through a referral from one of Emperor Tiberius’ favorite administrators, a man named Sejanus, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.

Despite landing a prominent position, Pilate caused havoc for his position early on. Having insulted the religion of the Jews and running an administration full of “corruption, violence, robberies, ill treatment of the people,” Pilate had fallen out of favor with Emperor Tiberius.

When Sejanus, the administrator who found him the position, disappeared from the picture – having killed Tiberius’ son and conspired to take out the Emperor himself – Pilate fell under further scrutiny from the Emperor.

Every one of his moves had to be watched. After all, if a man who recommended Pilate ended up trying to kill the Emperor in the first place, any man Sejanus trusted had to be regarded with suspicion.

Now, in a precarious balance of his own fate and actions, Pilate finds himself encountering a Jewish man of whom he can find no fault. And yet, the crowds demand they crucify him. And worse, if he refuses to give into to their demands, they’ll alert Caesar (John 19:12).

Pilate tries to release Jesus, presents another prisoner named Barabbas to try to take Jesus’ place, and even gives Jesus a severe beating to appease the crowd. But they make their position clear. Either you kill Jesus, or you are no friend of Caesar’s.

Pilate gives in and allows them to crucify Jesus, washing his hands of any blood that would be spilled.

Why Did Pontius Pilate Crucify Jesus?

Although Pilate arguably had a great deal of power, why would he send a guilty man to his death? Even though he appears to ignore his conscience, wouldn’t the act of doing so hound him nearly to death, knowing he condemned a sinless man to die?

We have to keep in mind several reasons why Pontius Pilate gave in to the crowd.

First, and most obvious with the information presented above, Pilate was in awful standing with Caesar. One more mistake and he could lose his position, or very possibly, his life. And the Jews deemed siding with Jesus a big mistake. Fearing for his life and social standing, Pilate relented to the crowd.

Second, we’ll often notice proponents against Christianity will claim that Scripture isn’t reliable and that Jesus may not have even existed. Or, they say, if he did he was more of an ordinary man, since we don’t see a plethora of documents from Roman writers about his life. See Lee Strobel’s “The Case for Christ,” for a more in-depth analysis on this. 

In reality, Jesus’ ministry – with a few exceptions, such as the woman at the well – was strictly for the Jewish community. Although some Roman writers, such as Pliny and Tacitus, did mention Jesus, the Messiah’s ministry on earth was geared toward an Israelite audience. Romans didn’t really care about Jewish affairs. 

Unlike many other zealots of the day, Jesus’ radical ministry did not really affect the Romans all that much. He was compliant with their tax laws, and as far as they could tell, a model citizen (Mark 12:17).

Therefore, Jesus would not have been on the Ancient Roman radar. 

Furthermore, Romans didn’t really concern themselves in the affairs of the Jews, unless they were leading a revolt or uprising against Rome. Jesus made it clear he was not here to abolish Rome.

And, Romans considered those with Roman citizenship as people of greater importance than those without. Jesus was not a Roman citizen. Although Pilate recognized he was guiltless, he didn’t intend to put his job and his life on the line for a non-Roman citizen. 

Third, and finally, as Billy Graham explains in this article, Pilate was morally weak. Although he knew Jesus should not have been condemned to die, he ignored his conscience and gave into peer pressure from the crowd. 

Why Is Pontius Pilate Included in the Creed?

Pilate even washes his hands of the crime, literally (Matthew 27:24). Didn’t the Jews technically condemn Jesus to death? Then why does the Creed say Jesus was, “crucified by Pontius Pilate”?

In the passage found in Matthew 27, Pilate has a chance to set Jesus free but chooses not to. Because he doesn’t step in – even though he washes his hands of the sentence – he still plays a part in the execution.

Furthermore, crucifixions were Roman punishments. The Jewish people killed people via stoning (Acts 7:54-60). Jesus would have therefore died a death via Roman means and had to be sentenced by a Roman in order for this to be carried out. What’s more, Don Stewart explains here that it was a Roman form of execution reserved only for those of the lowest social rank, for criminals, and for rebels. 

We see the Jews even attempting to stone Jesus in the Gospels when he proclaims his divinity (John 10:30-33).

Jews may have taken Jesus to the Roman authorities, as Stewart suggests above, because those crucified were considered “cursed.” This would oust any idea that Jesus was the Messiah, since it would have been a baffling idea for a Messiah to be cursed. 

Because it was a Roman form of punishment, and because Pilate held up his hands and let the crowd do as they pleased, Jesus was taken to be executed by him.

Why Does This Matter?

Why does it matter that we know who Pilate was and what role he played in Jesus’ crucifixion?

First, from Pilate we can learn what not to do when we feel a stirring in our conscience. Pilate attests several times that he sees no guilt in Jesus, and yet, he still gives in to the mob stationed outside. 

Second, by learning the history of Pilate and his falling out with Caesar, we can better understand why he wouldn’t want to take a chance on a Jewish man. After all, Jesus was not a formidable Roman citizen, and sparing him would lead to more trouble with Caesar and likely a lost job or a lost life. 

And finally, we can see that both Jews and Gentiles had a hand in the death of Christ. Even though Pilate “washed his hands” of the deed, because he stood passive, he was part of the problem. 

Photo credit: Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain Image/Antonio Ciseri

Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.