AN EXEGESIS OF PILATE & PILATE’S WIFE FROM MATTHEW 27 “Dreams, then, are true for thus my vision ran; Surely some oracle has been with me, The gods have chosen me to reveal their plan, To warn an unjust judge of destiny…” 1 There are certain figures in history that have a significant depth of magnitude attached to their character. One such example is found in the person of Pontius Pilate. For in Pilate there exists a spectrum of views regarding his characterisation that, to some extent, has informed attitudes and responses to the question of who bears ultimate culpability for the outcome of the trial and execution of Jesus of Nazareth. For this reason alone the stakes attached to the portrayal of Pilate are substantial. The gospel of Matthew, in chapter 27, has its own voice that speaks into the persona of Pilate while also adding the contribution of Pilate’s wife into the biblical narrative. Harrington states that “Matthew 27:11-26 (and especially 27:25) is a major text in the history and present reality of Christian- Jewish relations. Teachers and preachers have a serious obligation to work through this text with care and objectivity.” 2 And that is the purpose of this exegesis; to examine the character of Pontius Pilate and his wife within the Matthean bodies of text and community respectively. As Pilate appears in all four gospel narratives, a comparative study between all four sources would be too large a task for the scope of this study. Therefore this paper will confine the focus of this exegesis to Matthew 27 while also comparing it, where appropriate, to the Markan account of Pilate. The Matthew 27 sections that concentrate on Pilate and his wife within the narrative include verses 1-2; 11-26 and 57-66; accordingly these verses will be the subject of specific exegetical analyses. Selected information from other Jewish sources will also be referenced that will attempt to fill out the picture of Pilate and his wife. The irony of such an exegesis that shifts the spotlight from Jesus to Pilate could well be, as Keener suggests, that “for those reading or hearing Matthew, it is not Jesus but the character of Pilate that is on trial.” 3 1 Charloe Bronte, Pilate’s Wife’s Dream Accessed online at hp://digital.library.upenn.edu/women/bronte/poems/pbc-pilate.html . Accessed on 25.04.14 2 Daniel J. Harrington, The Gospel of Mahew: Sacra Pagina (Minnesota, The Liturgical Press, 1991) p. 393 3 Craig S. Keener, The Gospel of Mahew: A Socio-Rhetorical Commentary (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans Publishing, 2009) p. 662