Pilate entered the praetorium again and called Jesus, and said to Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about Me?” Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed You over to me; what have You done?” Jesus answered, “My kingship is not of this world; if My kingship were of this world, My servants would fight, that I might not be handed over to the Jews; but My kingship is not from the world.” Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” Pilate said to Him, “What is truth?”
John 18:33-38
Christ is Risen!
The Nicene Creed is just over two hundred words and is our basic statement of faith, what we believe. Why then, in a statement so brief, would we waste two words on Pontius Pilate, one of the most unredeemable figures in world history? After all, it was he who ordered the execution of the Son of God. He didn’t find fault in Jesus, but because of the pressure of a crowd that was beginning to riot, he washed his hands of the whole matter and ordered Jesus to be crucified. Jewish Law could not assign the death penalty. Only Roman law made that possible. And even though it seemed like Pilate had some reservations, he certainly had the power to stop it from happening. As it turns out, he is the one who gave the order for the crucifixion to happen. The other tragedy about Pontius Pilate is that he looked at Jesus, the embodiment of truth (remember Jesus revealed Himself as “the way, the truth and the life” John 14:6) and asked “What is truth?” (John 18:38) He just couldn’t see truth that was standing right in front of him.
The reason why Pontius Pilate is included in the Creed is to date the crucifixion. The crucifixion happened on a certain date, a certain time and a certain place. Pontius Pilate and the crucifixion of Jesus are not matters of faith. They are historical facts. Pontius Pilate was the governor (procurator) of the area around Jerusalem at the time of the crucifixion. The crucifixion happened on Friday, the 13th of the Jewish month of Nissan.
There is an historical note in Luke 3:1 that John the Baptist began his ministry in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Tiberius was named emperor in 14 A.D., wo this would make John’s ministry begin in 28 or 29 A.D. Jesus may have been baptized in 29 A.D. with the crucifixion occurring three-and-a-half years later. Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea between 26-36 A.D. There are two dates that seemed to be argued on for the date of the crucifixion—April 3, A.D. 33 or April 7, A.D. 30. This is because Herod, who ruled Judea at the time of the Nativity and who ordered the slaughter of the innocents, died in 4 B.C. which means Jesus could have been born as early as 6 B.C. (remember that the B.C./A.D. numbering came about well after the time of Christ). Depending on how the Nativity is dated—if it occurred in 5 B.C., then the crucifixion date could be off by a year. The point is that all of these Roman rulers are documented in the Bible, and Pontius Pilate is mentioned in the Creed in order to place Jesus at a time where historians agree these events would have taken place. What is a matter of faith is the Resurrection, not the crucifixion. That is an historical fact.
Crucifixion was the harshest form of punishment utilized by the Romans. It was reserved for the worst of the worst, those that Rome wanted to make an example out of. Death by crucifixion could take days. A combination of asphyxiation, caused by dehydration, fatigue, exposure, trauma and shock would all combine so that death would occur. Whipping and other torture would precede a crucifixion. If the Romans wanted to hasten death, they could break the legs of the person being crucified. The victim of crucifixion would be nailed to a cross at the wrists and ankles but the body would not be taut. The feet would stand on a small board and the victim would have to push himself up to keep breathing. Eventually, he would become too fatigued to do that, or have his legs broken and be unable to push himself up and then death would finally come. This is the method of execution that they chose for Jesus.
The cross on which Christ was crucified was two pieces of wood nailed together. It was by eating of a forbidden tree that mankind was cast out of Paradise. The path back to Paradise was opened because of the wood of the cross.
One final side note, part of the discussion at the First Ecumenical Council was how to arrive at a date to commemorate the Resurrection. Did it need to be on a Sunday? The date of Pascha was the 15th of Nisan, but what about when the 15th was not a Sunday. By the end of the First Ecumenical Council, the date of Pascha was set according to various calculations which always put it on a Sunday.
Of old the tree in the garden stripped us naked, and by its taste did the enemy bring in death. Now the tree of the Cross, which for all mankind is bearing the garment of life, was planted upon the earth, and therefore is all the world filled with every joy. As we see it revered today, let us, O peoples, cry aloud together unto God in faith: Full of glory is Your house, O Lord. (Kathisma III, Orthros, 3rd Sunday of Great Lent, Trans. by Fr. Seraphim Dedes)
We are reminded that the manner of death, crucifixion, was both heinous and symbolic. We are also reminded that the crucifixion of Jesus is historical fact. Even non-Christians agree that it happened. It is what happens after the crucifixion that is a matter of faith.
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