Weird Ideas: Suffered Under Pontius PilateShembull

Let’s circle back to the phrase “suffered under Pontius Pilate.” Jesus suffered under Pilate.

The claim of Jesus, the Bible, and the Christian Faith is that Jesus is Lord over all. Kings of kings and Lord of lords. That’s why, of all the things the Apostles’ Creed could say about Jesus, it quickly names him Lord. So it’s odd that while calling Jesus “Lord,” it states he was under the authority of another. We’re not talking about the Heavenly Father here. We’re talking about Pilate.

Jesus, the Lord of Pilate, submits himself to Pilate’s lesser authority. Read the Gospels, and you’ll quickly see that Jesus is paradoxical. His power is shown through weakness. He demonstrates that the first will be last and the humble will be exalted. He says those who suffer will rejoice. And so the Lord of lords subjects himself to Pilate and the petty powers of this world. Even though he could call down legions of angels to overthrow them, he suffers under their authority instead. And through it, he saves the world.

God does not often overthrow the evils of humanity. At least not directly. More often, he seems to submit to them and work silently behind the scenes to bring about his plan and his good instead. There’s something central to the Christian faith in this, and the Apostles’ Creed picks up on it.