Question

Which factors influenced Pilate’s decision to sentence Jesus to crucifixion?
Correct Answer(s)|
incorrect Answer(s)|

1. Pilate wanted to squash claims Jesus was the son of God.
2. Pilate wished to maintain good relations with local Jewish elites.
3. King Herod refused to sentence Jesus, claiming he fell under Pilate’s jurisdiction.
4. Crucifixion was the standard punishment for non-Romans guilty of sedition.

Answer 1

Correct: 2 and 4
Incorrect: 1 and 3

Brief explanations
- 2 (correct): The Gospel accounts portray Pilate as anxious to keep the peace and avoid trouble with Jewish leaders and the populace (see especially Mark 15 / John 18–19). Historically a Roman governor’s priority was local order and relations with elites, which influenced his decision to hand Jesus over to crucifixion to placate the crowd and Jewish authorities.
- 4 (correct): Crucifixion was the standard Roman penalty for crimes like sedition, rebellion, banditry and for non‑Roman offenders. The charge pressed before Pilate was essentially political (“King of the Jews”), which fit the category punished by crucifixion.
- 1 (incorrect): Pilate is not portrayed as motivated to “squash claims Jesus was the son of God.” The issue presented to Pilate was political (a claim to kingship/insurrection), not theological; the Gospels show Pilate skeptical and primarily concerned with order and Roman law.
- 3 (incorrect): The Gospel of Luke records that Pilate sent Jesus to Herod Antipas because Jesus was a Galilean (and thus under Herod’s tetrarchy), and Herod sent Jesus back without condemning him. Herod did not refuse sentencing on the grounds that it was Pilate’s jurisdiction; the transfer was Pilate’s initiative.