John 18:29-30

‘Pilate therefore went out to them and says, “What charge do you bring against this man?” They answered and said to him, “If this man were not an evildoer we would not have delivered him up to you.”'

Pilate' is better known as Pontius Pilate. He was the fifth praefectus, later to be called procurators, of Judaea since Archelaus was deposed in 6 AD. The use of this title of Pilate is evidenced in an inscription discovered in the Roman theatre of Caesarea. The term praefectus demonstrates the military nature of the post. These prefects/procurators were of equestrian rank and had semi-independence although being subject to limited oversight from provincial governors, in Judaea's case from the governor of Syria who was of senatorial rank. They were put in control of countries which were seen as particularly likely to be troublesome, in Judaea's case because of their extreme religious feeling and subsequent turbulent nature.

Pilate was a mixture. He was a brutal man as his wider exploits clearly show, and he disliked and despised the Jews who only caused him trouble. He had no desire to please them. Yet he had reason to know that they would not hesitate to go to the Emperor if they felt that they had a case.

He also seemingly had a modicum of fairness. It was not such, however, to resist strong pressure when his own self-interest came first. Thus in many ways he was the average selfish man partly brutalised by being a soldier, the methods of the age and the fear of consequences. In other countries his methods may have worked but here he was dealing with emotions that he never really understood.

‘Went out to them'. Pilate yielded to their religious requirements. He was not generally a conciliatory man but he had learned how stubborn these people were when it came to their religion and was prepared to make slight concessions. And Judaism was an officially allowed religion.

When he quite properly asked for the grounds for charging Jesus they were evasive. It was possible they were even taken aback. Having obtained his consent to the arrest they perhaps thought he would give them authority to carry the thing through without interference. Alternately it may be that they said little because they preferred that he find out for himself. Then they could not be accused of anything. So they simply stated that He was obviously a criminal, which was why He was there. There is a strong hint here that, having tried Him, they expected Pilate to ratify their decision without looking at the matter too closely.