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Pontius Pilate – The History and Historicity of the Civil Servant Who Condemned Jesus

Khalid Elhassan June 3, 2025 18 min

statue of pontius pilate and jesus at base of holy stairs in rome — Pontius Pilate introduces Jesus in this statue at the base of the Holy Stairs in Rome in this March 10, 2014, file photo. Tradition maintains that Jesus climbed the stairs when Pilate brought him before the crowd. It's believed that Constantine's mother, St. Helen, brought the stairs to Rome from Jerusalem in 326. (CNS photo/Paul Haring) See VATICAN LETTER March 19, 2015.

10. “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews“

Sign reading ‘Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews’, in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. K-Pics

Above Jesus’ head was placed a sign that read: “Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews” in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. The Gospels narrate that this inscription, written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek, was ordered by Pilate himself. The Jewish leaders protest, and ask that it be changed to read “He claimed to be King of the Jews“.

Pilate refuses, and declares: “What I have written, I have written“. Jesus’ final moments include several spoken phrases recorded across the Gospels, including “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Mark and Matthew), “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke), and “It is finished” (John). Those words have been extensively analyzed by theologians for insights into Jesus’ suffering, identity, and mission.

Written by

Khalid Elhassan

A lifelong history buff, I developed a particular passion for WW2 history as a child, when I spent hours listening to my grandfather, enraptured, as he recounted his wartime experiences in the British East African Campaign and with the British 8th Army in North Africa.

I graduated with a history BA from George Mason University, then went on to get a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. After lawyering for a decade, I moved to sunny Rio de Janeiro and a less demanding career, opening a tourism agency in Copacabana.

A big chunk of my free time is spent blogging (you can follow me on Quora https://www.quora.com/profile/Khalid-Elhassan ) or freelance writing, mostly about my favorite subject, history.