Chizuk Emunah (Pt 2) Under the Microscope: Chapter 57

John 19:15, "The chief priests answered. We have no king but Caesar." Those who are of opinion that the Jews lost their independence on account of their putting Jesus to death, find here a complete refutation. The Caesar alluded to was the Emperor Tiberius, who had, according to Luke 3, placed Pilate over Jerusalem

John 19 covers the trial of Jesus. Here is the larger part of the passage:

So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic Gabbatha. Now it was the day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour. He said to the Jews, “Behold your King!” They cried out, “Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” So he delivered him over to them to be crucified.

 Interestingly enough, Maimonides agrees with the notion that the Jews lost their independence on account of putting Jesus to death. He says in Hilchot Melachim: "He who thought he would be the Messiah and was slain by the Sanhedrin . . . caused Israel to be destroyed by the sword, and their remnant to be scattered."

This makes sense, as Jesus and Paul both agreed that Jews should pay their tribute to Rome. If the Jews of the day had followed Jesus, the Zealots and Sicarii would never have gained a foothold within Israel, and Rome would never have obtained its reason for waging a war against the Jews and destroying the Jerusalem temple.

One might think that John's portrayal of Pontius Pilate is out of character, since he had quite a history with Israel. Pilate was the procurator of the region from 26 to 36. He was a tough leader, which led to a few scandals, the last of which ended his career.

First, Pilate carried medallions bearing the Emperor's image into Jerusalem. This led to unrest and a five day demonstration in Caeserea. Pilate eventually backed down. Secondly, Pilate built an aqueduct to improve Jerusalem's water supply, but used Temple funds to do it, which sparked another incident and a bloody riot. Later, Pilate set up golden shields in his residence, which caused the populace to protest to the Emperor Tiberius. The emperor then sent a nasty letter back to Pilate telling him to respect the religious customs of the Jews, or else. This was five months before the incident described in John.

Pilate was in hot water with Rome, and was willing to do anything to save his own hide. He hoped that by dealing with Jesus in a way that would appease the crowd, it would save his hide. Unfortunately for him, just a few years later, he attacked a group of Samaritans and was reported to the Emperor and recalled to Rome to stand trial for cruelty and oppression, ending his career.

Pilate may have been cruel and unfair, but he was not stupid.