Sunday, March 30, 2008
Pilate
Reading Luke 23-24 reminded me of my confusion about the role of Pilate in the New Testament. Often times in literary allusions Pilate has an extremely negative connotation and he is made out to be the "bad guy" in the situation. However, Luke reminds us that Pilate argued that Jesus had done nothing wrong; he wanted to flog him and let him go. It was the crowd who insisted that Jesus be crucified and Pilate eventually gave in. Is it because he had the final word that he is portrayed negatively? What does this confusion have to do with Jewish/Christian relations today?
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Most scholars argue that Luke's Gospel tries very hard not to put too much of the blame for Jesus' death on the Roman authorities, since 1) it's try to persuade Greek and Roman Gentiles to become Christians (so blaming them for Jesus death would be counterproductive) and 2) to persuade the Roman political authorities that the Christians were not a subversive political movement hostile to Roman authorities, i.e., like the Jewish messianic nationalists who rebelled against Rome in 70, and eventually @132 CE.
Its interesting that even back in the time of Jesus social leaders were still bulking to the pressure of the people even if they know something else may be the right decision. It interesting to think what would happen if he had not listened to the people.
The thing that I also find very interesting is that throughout the gospels, Jesus openly lets us know that he is going to die. The way I look at it is that Jesus had to be killed and at whose hands that was is really not important. I think that a lot of conflict that Jackie mentions is through a need to place blame, that if we read the Bible differently could really be placed on God.
hummm... Pontius Pilate actually reminds me of Judas Iscariot..the one who sold Jesus, and killed himself afterward... I personally do not believe that they should be blamed for what they did to Jesus as I believe that 'everything happened according to God's plan,' and what they did truly fulfill God's will.
If that is the case that, it was God's will that Jesus was to be killed, why is there so much blame and dislike thrown around toward Jews, the Romans, Pilate etc? Jessie noted that Jesus said himself that he was going to die. Does this go back to a point brought up a class or two ago when Jesus cried out "God, why have to forsaken me!" or something a long those lines, and whether or not this was just an act or Jesus really expressing his disbielf that God would allow for him to be killed. Jesus didn't believe he would die even though he said so himself and therefore his followers did not believe either?
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