Was Pontas Pilate A Ruthless Man Or A Coward (Religion, Jesus Crucifixion )?
Per non-biblical history, Pilate was depicted as stubborn, cruel, and inflexible. As a soldier, Pilate was a violent man and had no problem with executing “trouble-makers”. Pilate’s past insensitivity towards Jewish customs caused near-riots and insurrections among the Jews. He was definitely not a coward…just the opposite, actually… In the Bible, I don’t believe Pilate is being portrayed as cowardly. Rather, he is being depicted as the same stubborn and inflexible person that was recorded in non-biblical writings. Pilate had clashed with the Jewish leaders many times prior to this (and some of those reports had gotten back to Rome…putting him on the defensive). I think history shows that he had zero respect for the Jewish Leaders, and he had little or no use for them. While Pilate wouldn’t hesitate to execute a man, I’m sure it annoyed him that the Jewish Leaders were insisting he must do something. So, Pilate’s initial reluctance to execute Jesus had more to do with his not wan
