June 25th in the Coptic
Church is St. Pilate's Day. To us in the West, having been raised on
a diet of vilifying the Roman governor, the idea seems amusing. But
the early Church did not see him as such. When you read New Testament
accounts of Pilate, you cannot help but wonder why the Governor was
not treated with as much contempt as Judas the Betrayer. The Gospel
recorders are so matter-of-fact in their treatment of Pilate.
Early Christians saw Pilate as trying
to save Jesus' life, and being an unwilling participant much like
Abraham was in the near sacrifice of his son, Isaac. They saw his
hand-washing as a foretelling of how Jesus' blood would wash away
believers's sins. Pilate was a good guy. The Roman Church, effected
by the writings of Jewish and Roman historians who had good reason to
cover up Pilate's conversion, passed that tradition on to us. The
Coptics and the Orthodox see Pilate in a different light than we do.
Is it because they trusted the history recorded by their brothers in
Christ over emperor-pleasing historians of the time? Brother
Matthew, the writer of the first Gospel, sure seemed to have no
problem with Pilate—I think I'll trust his opinion. Happy St.
Pilate's Day!
Purchase PILATE: Book Two of the St. Nicholas Chronicles
on Amazon.com
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