Pilate is in Mark not because a historical Pilate crucified Jesus, but because a phonetically similar word in Hebrew, מָּלַט , (PaLaT) means : to release, to set free. Pilate is the Roman governor who is, already in the name, totally devoted to release Jesus, to set him free, because he has judged Jesus innocent. It is a curious coincidence that prevents us from accepting both the irony and the historical fact.
Eric Gorall:
I'm generally apt to disregard an argument that uses "phonetically similar word", but I stopped myself when I heard your bit about what PaLaT means. Interesting point.
Krabička Kouzelná:
"Holy shit, you guys, I've just found out something crazy!
"What?"
"You know how מָּלַט means, like, to set free?"
"Yeah?"
"I just found out there was a guy back under Tiberius whose name sounded kind of similar!"
"Ok... and?"
"Well, what if we - and hear me out - started saying that he, like, wanted to release Jesus! Wouldn't that be awesome?"
"But he didn't thought"
"I know I know... But what if we said he did."
"What if we said he did? ... Holy shit, that would be awesome!"
"What?"
"You know how מָּלַט means, like, to set free?"
"Yeah?"
"I just found out there was a guy back under Tiberius whose name sounded kind of similar!"
"Ok... and?"
"Well, what if we - and hear me out - started saying that he, like, wanted to release Jesus! Wouldn't that be awesome?"
"But he didn't thought"
"I know I know... But what if we said he did."
"What if we said he did? ... Holy shit, that would be awesome!"
Dave Allen:
yet it is Pilate who sentenced.
So yeah, Pilate is in Mark precisely because a historical Pilate crucified Jesus.
The cover-ups also indicate a historical person. The cover ups such as:
• the crucifixion, an execution only carried out for going against the Roman Empire. The blasphemy charge is a cover up for this, discussed chapter 4.
• the cover up of being the messiah, as a crucified messiah makes no sense. “Anyone hung on a tree [that is, crucified] is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23).
•Gospel of Matthew goes out of his way to say Jesus fulfilled (pléróō, πληρόω) all the requirements of messiah, obvious propaganda as he did not. (The Messiah was supposed to restore God’s Kingdom right here on Earth, by the time Matthew was writing, the opposite had happened. The Temple (God’s house) was obliterated by the Romans in 70CE).
•The cover up such as Jesus being from Nazareth instead of being a Nazorean. This is discussed in chapter 4.
.•The polemics against James, attempts by the gospels and Acts to write him out, yet he was the succeeding leader. This is discussed in chapter 11.
Plus the fact that a messiah was a military figure going to usher in a new kingdom (only way to do that is violence).
Matthew 11:12 “the kingdom of the heavens does suffer violence, and violent men do take it by force.”
So yeah, Pilate is in Mark precisely because a historical Pilate crucified Jesus.
The cover-ups also indicate a historical person. The cover ups such as:
• the crucifixion, an execution only carried out for going against the Roman Empire. The blasphemy charge is a cover up for this, discussed chapter 4.
• the cover up of being the messiah, as a crucified messiah makes no sense. “Anyone hung on a tree [that is, crucified] is under God’s curse” (Deuteronomy 21:23).
•Gospel of Matthew goes out of his way to say Jesus fulfilled (pléróō, πληρόω) all the requirements of messiah, obvious propaganda as he did not. (The Messiah was supposed to restore God’s Kingdom right here on Earth, by the time Matthew was writing, the opposite had happened. The Temple (God’s house) was obliterated by the Romans in 70CE).
•The cover up such as Jesus being from Nazareth instead of being a Nazorean. This is discussed in chapter 4.
.•The polemics against James, attempts by the gospels and Acts to write him out, yet he was the succeeding leader. This is discussed in chapter 11.
Plus the fact that a messiah was a military figure going to usher in a new kingdom (only way to do that is violence).
Matthew 11:12 “the kingdom of the heavens does suffer violence, and violent men do take it by force.”
Eric Gorall:
It's what makes this field so difficult. There was an historical man named Pilate, it does happen to sound a lot like a Hebrew word meaning to 'release', and so is that a coincidence or is there something there? Probably impossible to know for sure, but I do like this little tidbit. As you say, it's serendipitous.