Pontius Pilate Pilate was "astonished". Pilate appears to have been reluctant to allow the crucifixion of Jesus, finding no fault with him. According to Matthew 27:19, even Pilate's wife spoke to him on Jesus' behalf. According to the gospels, it was the custom of the Roman governor to release one prisoner at Passover, and Pilate brought out Barabbas, identified by Matthew as a "notorious prisoner" and by Mark as a murderer, and told the crowd to choose between releasing Barabbas or Jesus as per the custom, in the hopes of getting them to request the release of Jesus. However, the crowd demanded
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