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Replying to post 46 by Mithrae]
Supposing for the sake of argument that you're the governor of Galilee (which Pilate wasn't),
Again, this point ignores that Jesus entered Jerusalem (according to Gospels) and was hailed as a king. The feeding of the multitudes (both of them) supposedly occurred in Galilee yes, but when did they occur? Before or after Jesus's entrance to Jerusalem?
Which gospels?
Slip of the tongue, so to speak.
are you really trying to claim that you would become immediately and personally informed about the details of every town meeting that occurred?
Since you're asking what I would do...yes. I would try to do that.
It's absurd on the face of it.
Why?
Maybe you'd have someone stationed in all or most of the 240 towns and villages in the region to keep an eye out for trouble, and they'd provide weekly or monthly reports to someone further up the chain of command.
Good idea! Now since you're presumably not a trained military officer, would not Pilate, who
was, have thought of that?
And when the reports are nothing more than "bunch of Jews gathered to discuss their religion," that's probably where it'd stop.
No.
Remember what Jesus was charged with. Naming himself King of the Jews, which would have been seen
as a political challenge and threat to Caesar.
For the Jews, especially back then, religion was mixed in with politics. Pilate, as governor, had the authority to name the High Priest of the Sanhedrin. So if Pilate had heard that there was a gathering of thousands of Jews, there's no reason for him to think "Oh, they're just talking about a man whom they claim is the King of the Jews, whom they say is prophesied to drive out all foreign invaders i.e. me and mine. No biggie, just religion, nothing to worry about".
That's a weekly occurrence, for Jews.
So then you agree, Pilate should have been keeping himself aware of this, and should have done something about it, since these gatherings are so common.
If someone speaks out against your administration, or starts gathering weaponry, or some kind of paramilitary training, or advocates insurrection or non-payment of taxes, then it would be something important to nip in the bud.
or starts claiming they have a leader prophesied by a prophet from hundreds of years in the past who will drive out foreign invaders...
Granted, maybe you believe that you would be a supremely competent administrator happy to read hundreds of reports of town meetings and itinerant preachers, week after week after week, and never tell your underlings to only bother you with important stuff.
I don't know how competent I myself would be, but I would certainly try the above, if I had been in that situation.
But as Goose has pretty thoroughly explained, we have reasons to suspect that Pilate probably was not the cream of the crop. In his administration of Judea, that is... not Galilee.
There's having unmotivated soldiers...and then there's just simply not doing your job.
Luke's portrayal of Pilate's ignorance doesn't seem convincing, but only because I'd assume he would have been briefed before commencing the hearing; not because I'd expect him to have been intimately familiar with every wandering rabbi from a territory which wasn't even his own!
Or of a rabbi who entered the most important city in Judaism hailed as a king, who, if Pilate was at all familiar with Jewish prophecy (which he almost certainly ought to have been, given his position) is supposed to drive out foreign invaders.