charge of the army. A subordinate official lifted to a position of
almost irresponsible power--such was Pilate. We can well understand
how a man with no moral backbone would succumb to its temptations.
Pilate was a much smaller man than Gallic the proconsul at Corinth, and
that other proconsul at Cyprus, Sergius Paulus, whom St Paul won over
to Christian faith. But his pettiness in the eyes of Roman society
would lead him to magnify his importance in the little world he was
trying to rule like a king, though often with consequences humiliating
to himself.

Pilate's headquarters were at Caesarea, by the sea coast, the Roman
capital of Palestine; but he came up to Jerusalem with a troop of
soldiers at the Passover, to prevent any disturbance among the vast
hosts of pilgrims then gathered together in the city, just as Turkish
soldiers now mount guard at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre during the
Easter celebrations, to prevent the Christians from quarrelling and
fighting. That is how it was he happened to be present when Jesus was
arrested and brought up for trial. In this fact also we may see why
the Jewish authorities felt it necessary to hand their Prisoner over to
the Roman governor; although, a few years later, they were able
themselves to execute the death sentence on Stephen in the Jewish mode,
by stoning, and still later to do the same with James, the Lord's
brother.

All four Gospels refer to the trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate; but
the fullest information is to be obtained from the third and fourth.
St Luke throughout both his works seizes every suitable opportunity for
setting out the scene of his story on the large stage of the world's
history, and he is especially interested in showing it in relation to
the imperial government. Thus, while Matthew only connects the time of