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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.

9. Death and Burial

The Entombment of Christ, by Caravaggio, circa 1603. Wikimedia

Jesus dies after several hours on the cross – not long for crucifixion victims, who could linger for days. The Gospels record supernatural signs accompanying his death: darkness over the land, an earthquake, and the tearing of the Temple veil. To hasten death before the Sabbath, Roman soldiers break the legs of the two criminals, but when they reach Jesus, they find him already dead.

So a soldier pierces his side with a spear, fulfilling a prophecy in the Gospel of John. Jesus is taken down from the cross and buried in a tomb owned by Joseph of Arimathea, a member of the Sanhedrin who had opposed Jesus’ condemnation. The burial is hurried due to the approaching Sabbath. Women followers of Jesus observe where he is laid, and plan to return after the Sabbath to anoint his body – setting the stage for the resurrection narratives.

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.