Hope in Action/Answers
A governor named on a stone. Then named in the creed.
Is There Evidence Pontius Pilate Existed?
For a while, critics treated Pontius Pilate as a convenient villain the church made up. Then, in 1961, at Caesarea Maritima, archaeologists found a damaged limestone block from a building dedicated to Tiberius. On it: Pontius Pilate, Prefect of Judea. The man in the Apostles’ Creed has an address in the Roman building record.
The Gospels name officials you can check
Luke dates John the Baptist’s ministry by a list of rulers. That is a strange move if you are writing myth. It is a natural move if you are writing history. The Pilate stone is one more name from that list that the dirt handed back.
The world of Jesus is the world of inscriptions, ossuaries, and governors. Not a fog.
“Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea…”
Luke 3:1 (NKJV)
A 30-second check
Does Pilate being real matter to the Jesus story?
No hassle. Just whether the Roman details count.
Before you come
Saturdays · 5:00 PM
Rocket Town Church · 4525 Apollo Road, Titusville
- Arrive 10–15 minutes early the first time
- Kids checked in with a matching security tag
- Come as you are — jeans or Sunday best
- 75–90 minutes. Coffee from Pier 13
Plan your visit
Saturdays · 5:00 PM
We’ll have a gift waiting for you.
Send your name ahead. We’ll meet you in the lobby and walk kids to check-in.
Rocket Town Church · 4525 Apollo Road · Titusville, FL 32780
He suffered under Pontius Pilate — on purpose
The creed does not say “He suffered under a metaphor.” It nails the gospel to a date and a name. Jesus was not killed in legend-land. He was executed by a known Roman prefect, and then He did not stay dead.
That is why we still say His name on Saturday night in Titusville.
“I urge you in the sight of God who gives life to all things, and before Christ Jesus who witnessed the good confession before Pontius Pilate.”
1 Timothy 6:13 (NKJV)