Luke 23.20-25
(20) Iterum autem Pīlātus locūtus est ad eōs, volēns dīmittere Iēsum.
- And again Pilate, wanting to release Jesus, spoke to them.
(21) At illī succlāmābant, dīcentēs: Crucifīge, crucifīge eum.
- But they kept on shouting, saying “Crucify him, crucify him.”
(22) Ille autem tertiō dīxit ad illōs: Quid enim malī fēcit iste? nūllam causam mortis inveniō in eō: corripiam ergō illum et dīmittam.
- And he said to them for a third time: “What evil has this man done? I find in him no grounds for death [i.e. a death sentence]: therefore, I shall chastise and release him.
(23) At illī īnstābant vōcibus magnīs postulantēs ¦ ut crucifīgerētur: et invalēscēbant vōcēs eōrum.
- But, in loud voices, they continued to insist, demanding ¦ that he be crucified: and their voices grew stronger and stronger.
(24) Et Pīlātus adiūdicāvit fieri petītiōnem eōrum.
- And Pilate ruled [i.e. gave a legal ruling] that their demand be carried out.
(25) Dīmīsit autem illīs eum quī propter homicīdium et sēditiōnem missus fuerat in carcerem, quem petēbant: Iēsum vērō trādidit voluntātī eōrum.
- He released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, whom they asked for, but he handed over Jesus to their will.
Notes:
[i] locūtus est < loquor, loquī, locūtus sum: speak; deponent verb:
https://adckl.blogspot.com/search/label/deponent%20verbs
[ii] indirect command + subjunctive
postulantēs ut crucifīgerētur
- demanding that he (should) be crucified
[iii] accusative-infinitive construction
Et Pīlātus adiūdicāvit fieri [infinitive] petītiōnem [accusative] eōrum.
Literally: Pilate adjudged their request ¦ to be done
> Pilate ruled that their demand be carried out.
[iv] Pilate’s repeated attempts to quell the crowd: iterum; tertiō
[v] While the ‘baseline’ translation of the imperfect tense is “was / were doing something”, it also has iterative force implying that the same action happened repeatedly:
- illī succlāmābant: they kept on shouting
- illī īnstābant: they continued to insist
[vi] Again, the inchoative form of the verb suggests an escalation of the action:
- invalēscēbant vōcēs eōrum: their voices were growing stronger and stronger / were becoming louder and louder
[vii] This crowd is not making deferential requests – but uncompromising demands:
- Crucifīge, crucifīge eum!
- postulantēs ut crucifīgerētur
Does this suggest – and it is purely a personal interpretation – that Pilate, despite his political position, is ultimately weak? Roman governors existed to impose Roman authority, not negotiate with mobs. I cannot imagine that Caesar would have been subjected to such insolent and vociferous demands – and I do imagine that he would have dealt with it in a very different way.
[viii] Verse 25: Iēsum vērō trādidit voluntātī eōrum
i.e. the will of the crowd – rather than the legal will of Rome – prevailed
The informal phrase: “Caught between a rock and a hard place” depicts Pilate’s position, and the Vulgate well expresses it. On the one hand, Pilate should uphold Roman Law, for it is stated repeatedly that he sees no crime – and certainly not one that would warrant the most ignominious, prolonged and excruciating capital punishment of crucifixion. However, the collective, unremitting power of the crowd and religious officials overwhelms him; Judaea was not an easy province to control, and one does wonder whether – back in Rome – the last thing they wanted was more trouble for which Pilate would be held responsible. Later – in correspondence with the Emperor Trajan – we will look at the same challenges faced by Pliny the Younger as governor of Bithynia. In the end, Pilate does not act from a moral and legal standpoint, but out of political expediency and self-protection.
At illī succlāmābant, dīcentēs: Crucifīge, crucifīge eum.
