"Why? What crime has he committed?" asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!"
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "It is your responsibility!" Matthew27:23-24
Other than the members of Trinity, there are only two other names mentioned in the Creed: Mary and Pontius Pilate.
Why is Pontius Pilate given this honour when, in my thinking at least, Pilate is a weak character who gave in to the priests and the crowds and handed Jesus over to be crucified?
I think there are three key reasons: The first is the usual answer to the question, the second and third take us a little deeper.
1. The mentioning of Pilate, who is a verifiable historical figure, grounds the gospel account in concrete reality. It helps the Creed to anchor the events of the gospel in time and space. By mentioning his name, the Creed would, in effect, be inviting its early readers to "go and ask Pilate - he'll tell you." It gives the account credibility.
2. Pilate stands out in the gospels, because of his discussions with Jesus and his ongoing assertion that Jesus was innocent. When you read the gospels carefully Pilate emerges as a wily politician who gets the Priests to betray themselves by getting them to say "we have no god but Caesar" and who knows the danger of an out of control crowd. He comes across cynical and utilitarian and one could imagine he has seen innocents die before, but somehow he sees that Jesus is innocent and he makes it crystal clear. Theologically this is an important point. Jesus had committed no crime. He was innocent - without sin - and this makes it possible for Him to die in our place.
3. Pilate is a representative of the oppressive power of Rome. The creed's mention of him highlights that Jesus was a victim of "the system." When we are victims of cruel inhumanity it is a great comfort to know that Jesus died at the hands of a cruel war-machine that used crucifixion to intimidate its victims. Jesus' death at the hands of "the system" also reminds us that systems too must be redeemed and so in the name of Christ we take our stand against human trafficking, slavery, corruption and other broken systems.
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Theo Groeneveld theo @ emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at emmdev[dot]blogspot[dot]com/
