James Tissot, ca. 1886-1894
(Wikimedia Commons public domain)
Compare Luke 23:4, 22; John 18:38
As the Roman procurator of Judea, Pilate had no interest — and no legal responsibility to be interested — in questions of Jesus theology and law. He was there, simply, to maintain to maintain order and to protect the interests of Rome.
Accordingly, once he had discovered that Jesus wasn’t seditious and posed no threat to Roman sovereignty, he saw nothing in him that was worthy of capital punishment — a sentence that only Roman occupation authorities could impose.
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