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NASB | Matthew 27:24 ¶ When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but rather that a riot was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this Man's blood; see to that yourselves." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 27:24 ¶ So when Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but rather that a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands [to ceremonially cleanse himself of guilt] in the presence of the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this [righteous] Man's blood; see to that yourselves." [Deut 21:6-9; Ps 26:6] |
Bible Question: Was Pilate guilty for Christ's death? |
Bible Answer: The question boils down to whether Pilate had the authority to prevent the sentence of death to be carried out. Presumably as the representative of Caesar he did but chose not to use it. In that sense he was guilty. However he publicly showed that he gave that authority over to the temple court so in that sense they were guilty. Perhaps the answer is best found in the fact that the Jews had no authority to impose the death sentence and so the Romans carried it out. The fact that Jesus was Crucified and not stoned would be seen as very significant to the Jews and the Temple Authorities knew this. Consider Gamaliel's response in Acts |