Meeting Pontius Pilate

If it weren't for the part he played in one of the most famous stories of all time--the Easter story--few people would still remember Pontius Pilate. As it is, Christians will never forget him. But who was he? Who was Pontius Pilate?

From AD 26 to 36, Pontius Pilate oversaw Judea as prefect, or military governor. The land had come under Roman control about 90 years earlier. There are no contemporary records of Pilate's early life, but we can safely make some assumptions. Since his name was "Pontius," he probably came from the Pontii clan of central Italy. And he almost surely had experience as a Roman army officer, since that's how would-be prefects earned their stripes.

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