PILATE AND JESUS’ KINGDOM

Jesus’ words, “My kingdom is not of this world” have been terribly misinterpreted. It is because of this that today Christians assume paradise on earth is impossible, even though Jesus was a Jew and believed it is possible.

The story about Jesus being led to Pilate give us the impression that the Roman governor, was a righteous man who, seeing no reason to accuse Jesus, tried to release him by taking advantage of the custom of setting a prisoner free during the Easter festival.

To understand Jesus’ words we however have to take into acount the historical context. At that time the Romans feared a rebellion. It is logical that Pilate was vexed by the fact that Jesus Christ was called the Messiah and the King of the Jews. He knew that many Jews expected the Messiah to liberate them from the Romans. And he also knew that someone who was referred to as the King of the Jews – Jesus was a direct descendant of King David following the paternal lineage – could unite all the different Jewish sects in a war against the Romans.

It is in response to Pilate’s question “Are you the king of the Jews?” that Jesus says “My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.”(Jn18:36) It is therefore quite evident that Jesus sought to reassure Pilate by trying to make him understand that he had nothing to fear. Jesus considered himself a spiritual leader and not a worldly leader. The fact that he was called the King of the Jews had to do with him being a descendant of King David following a paternal lineage.

We thus see that these stories about Pilate and Barabbas conceal a complex reality: we must bear in mind that the New Testament aspired to help Christianity become the official religion of the Roman Empire and therefore could not allow criticism of the Romans.