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Less spectacular but not less important was another discovery of a ring /bearing the inscription “of Pilates” in the ruins of Herodium in the West Bank. The ring was excavated in 1969, but only recently did advanced photographic techniques enable researchers to read the inscription on it.
Unlike
Sodom, Pilate’s existence was never in doubt. The discovery of the
“Pilate stone” in 1961 convinced researchers that New Testament
references to the Roman prefect //who ordered Jesus’ crucifixion weren’t
made up.
* prefect; A high administrative official or chief officer,
Still, apart from the New Testament and the writings of the first-century Jewish historian Josephus, we know very little about Pilate.
Part of the significance of this discovery is where Pilate’s ring was found: in the ruins of Herod’s fortress, hence the name “Herodium.” And so, we have physical evidence of two biblical characters /carrying on in the way () the New Testament tells us that they did.
Another word for that is “history.”
Both the Apostles and Nicene creeds assign [Pontius Pilate] [a central role in the story of our salvation]. He’s one of only three people /named in the creeds /along with the Virgin Mary and our Lord. It’s obvious why the latter two are in there, but why is Pilate included?
Because the reference to Pilate anchors our confession in human history. Jesus did not suffer, die, and undergo burial in some gauzy “once-upon-a-time,” but in actual history /on the orders of a real person //who even left evidence of his existence.
Unlike
other religions, our salvation is grounded in history, and the
restoration //for which Jesus “suffered under Pontius Pilate” will also
take place within history.
In other words, Christianity is the real deal.