The Shadow of Nazareth Jesus. Both Barrabas and Jesus are sentenced to die by crucifixion, but Jewish custom allows the release of a prisoner on the day of the Passover feast. Pontius Pilate, the Prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, has the authority to decide whether to free Barabbas or Jesus in honor of the Passover. However, Pilate is unwilling to make the decision himself, so he lets a crowd that has gathered before him choose who is to live. The crowd chooses Barabbas, who is set free, and Jesus, who is innocent of any wrongdoing, dies on the cross. Following the crucifixion,
Pontius Pilate the mountain of Pilatus. An old tradition is that Pilate went there and was banished to the mountain as a punishment "for his crime against Christ". The island of Ponza in the Bay of Naples, Italy, is believed to be named after Pontius Pilate; his family built grottoes named after him. The Pilat massif, in the French Massif Central to the south of Saint-Étienne, is also named after him. The references to Pilate, outside the New Testament: Pontius Pilate Pontius Pilate (; Latin: "Pontius Pilatus"; , "Pontios Pilatos") was the fifth prefect of the Roman province of Judaea, serving under