pilate was picked as governor to keep a lid on the powder keg that was the land of the jews
he had to deal with jewish politicians who wanted to maintain their own power
he had to deal with a festival crowd overflowing in a city which was turbulent in NORMAL times
The romans generally used a zero tolerance policy to handle things
“He is said to have become a devout follower of Jesus and a leader in the early church.
Interesting . . .
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the pagan romans put great stock in ‘signs’ and auspices — and apparently there were very significant ones the day of Jesus’s death