CHAPTER 2 - Pontius Pilate
Pontius Pilate, dressed in a white cloak with a blood‑red lining, appears at the covered colonnade of Herod’s palace on the fourteenth of Nisan, plagued by a relentless hemicrania and a pervasive rosy scent. He receives a parchment from his secretary informing him that the accused is a Galilean whose case has been sent by the Sanhedrin for confirmation. Two legionaries bring the bound prisoner—about twenty‑seven, dressed in a torn light‑blue chiton, bruised under one eye and with a blood‑caked cut at the mouth—before Pilate’s chair.
Pilate questions the prisoner in Aramaic about inciting the people to destroy the temple. The centurion Mark, nicknamed “Ratslayer,” harshly beats the prisoner, then forces him to stand and answer. Under Pilate’s relentless interrogation the prisoner gives his name (Yeshua Ha‑Nozri), hometown (Gamala), acknowledges that he can read, write, and speak Greek, and denies any role in inciting the temple’s destruction. He mentions a former tax collector, Matthew Levi, who first insulted him as a “dog” but later became his companion.
Pilate, tormented by his headache and thoughts of poison, alternates between mockery and earnest questioning, probing Yeshua about authority, Caesar, and a conversation with a man named Judas of Kiriath. Yeshua declares that all authority is violence and predicts a future without any rulers. Pilate’s mental state collapses further when a swallow circles the colonnade, after which he formulates a provisional decision: Yeshua is mentally ill, not criminal, and should be sent to Caesarea instead of being executed.
A second parchament triggers a vivid hallucination—golden diadem, a cankered forehead, and deafening trumpets proclaiming “lese‑majesty.” Pilate briefly imagines an immortal judgment, then refocuses on the trial. He orders the prisoner’s hands untied, continues questioning in Greek and Latin, and finally asks whether Yeshua ever spoke of Caesar. Yeshua recounts his talk with Judas, asserting that all authority will eventually disappear.
Pilate summons the high priest Joseph Kaifa. In Greek, Pilate informs Kaifa that the Sanhedrin’s death sentence on Yeshua has been confirmed and asks which of the two condemned (Bar‑Rabban or Yeshua) the Sanhedrin intends to release for the Passover feast. Kaifa replies that the Sanhedrin wishes to free Bar‑Rabban. Pilate feigns astonishment, argues that Bar‑Rabban is far more dangerous, and urges Kaifa to reconsider, but Kaifa insists.
Pilate then confirms the death sentence for four criminals: Dysmas, Gestas, Bar‑Rabban, and Yeshua Ha‑Nozri. He orders the legate to dispatch two centuries of the Cohort Sebaste to transport the condemned to Bald Mountain, and he instructs the secret service to keep Yeshua isolated from the other prisoners. He also commands the legate to secure the city’s square with Roman troops.
Back on the balcony, Pilate announces the names of the condemned to the assembled crowd, declares that one will be released in honor of Passover, and, after a tense pause, announces the name “Bar‑Rabban” as the one to be set free. The crowd erupts, and Pilate, still clutching a clasp from the sand, orders the execution details to be carried out, leading the procession toward the platform and eventually toward Bald Mountain. The chapter ends with Pilate’s cracked voice echoing the imperial proclamation, the crowd’s mixed reaction, and the imminent movement of the condemned toward their fate.