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 thin copper-alloy sealing ring that might be related to Pilate. The ring was unearthed 50 years prior by Professor Gideon Fraser during excavations at the Herodium fortress in the Judean Desert, but its Greek inscription, which reads ΠΙΛΑΤΟ (PILATO), "of Pilatus", or rather "for Pilate", was only discovered recently by using modern reflectance transformation imaging photography (RTI) technology. Researchers commented that the cheap ring would not be typically worn by a person of Pilate's position, and that the inscription would also rather indicate that it was worn by a clerk sending goods to the governor. The inscription surrounds the image