pontius pilate, prefect of y judea.the bible, pilate infamous as the man who tries jesus. >> pilate is a fascinating character in christian history. he does seem tormented about whether or not jesus is guilty and whether or not to condemn him. >> the pilate of the gospels is uncertain. he seems deeply conflicted with jesus' innocence. >> i have the authority to set you free. >> he's not firm and decisive about what he wants to do. >> the discovery of his name in stone was ground breaking. >> the significance of the pilate stone is that it actually gives us hard evidence of this central figure from the story, the crucifixion of jesus. so pilate really existed. he lived. and he was the prey effect of judea. we have a point of connection between the story of the crucifixion of jesus in the bible and actual roman history. >> although we know a few things about him from the gospels, to fill out history more, we need to go to the jewish historian, josephus, who tells us quite a lot about pilate. >> in oxford where the library

pilate, the prefect of judea.the roman other emperor, make no mistake, pilate's loyalty was completely to rome. he's not a king, he's not an emperor. this is the best he can do. but what he did gave us the name of pilate in stone. >> in the bible, pilate plays a crucial role in the final act of jesus' life. >> where are you from? >> the new testament suggests that pilate tended to be a little weak and faslating at times, but i don't think that's the kind of person he was in reality. >> speak to me. >> i think he was a harsher, brutal, matter of fact, military of a man who just got on with the job. >> i have the authority to set you free. i also can have you crucified. >> so why is the pilate of the bible so concerned with the fate of jesus? >> it was crucial for early christians to minimize the responsibility of the romans in crucifying jesus. >> further gospel writers recognizes that jesus is innocent is really important. it's as if unrighteousness recognizes righteousness when it's right in front of them. >> you

. >> history should remember herod the great as a ruthless but very effective king of judea. >> who is the real king herod? the great ruler from history or the monster from the bible? and could this really be his tomb? ♪ >>> 2007, the hebrew university of jerusalem. archaeologists cause a sensation when they reveal the discovery of a sarcophagus. >> with a breaking story from 2,000 years ago. >> fragments of what could be the most important archaeological find in the middle east. >> what may be the tomb of an ancient king, herod. >> eight feet long and made of a rare pink limestone, this sarcophagus is beautifully carved and polished so meticulously it resembled marble. >> finding any king's tomb is big. but finding the tomb of king herod the great, the most famous ruler of judea is winning the swtakes or the lottery right there. >> the discovery of herod's tomb is immensely exciting because it's a connection to a man who was not only a legend of the bible but also a real and really important figure in ancient history. >> historical texts tell us herod is one of the great kings of the

. >> according to the gospel of matthew, they do not go to skwra judea. >> they go to nazareth, who is mary's childhood home. >> and it really is a moment where the story shifts over to mary's world. >> jesus will spend the next 30 years of his life living in nazareth. the town of nazareth in the first century a.d. is a mystery, and we know nothing about it before the first century and know little about it in the first century a.d. >> doesn't show up in any literatu literature, and it was a pezzant society. >> the glory of womanhood is having children, and coming back with your first son is really a wonderful moment for her, and it's a sign of favor in the eyes of god. >> the family making their home in nazareth is one of the last things reported in the gospels about jesus' early life. is this archeological site in the modern day city the place where he spent those missing years? >> you can't understand jesus if you do not understand the cultural situation, and it was jesus lived, and the rooting to that is here in this home. back with 9 lobster dishes. try succulent new lobsr mix & ma

you get the sense -- he's the ruler in judea, he wants to live at the port and lead his heed donisticthere's evidence of him being there. the fact that they found the stone, the fact that they have what they think are the remains of the high priest, the juxtaposition is to realize you have evidence of the gospels. still so many questions about did the jews even have the authority to recommend condemnation, crucifixion for anyone? these things remain unresolved. there's still this evidence. it means so much for the faithful to be able to walk in those shoes. >> going there for you, did it answer questions or heighten more mysteries? >> it does both. for me as a jew who has more limited experience, still very much a student of christianity, i loved it because i love a sense of place. i love to walk the gospels. i went to other places that are not part of the film just to kind of inform my own understanding. i am among those who believe that a sense of place en livens the idea, deepens the faith experience of trying to imagine the sacred texts for the christian and jewish traditions and

. >> here was a native jew who could be king over judea, a new messiah that jews wanted to support. >day we could not imagine someone going up against a force such as the roman empire in that way. but in judous' time, the romans have not been in israel very long. relatively speaking. >> for a while it may have looked like the rebellion would have been successful. but then the romans have 15,000 troops down into syria into sephorous to squash the rebellion. >> i think it would be terrifying to face the roman army. you would know that they were there to utterly destroy you. >> judous was hopelessly outclassed in military terms by the romans. >> i have a feeling after those first few jewish rebels fell and the roman army just continued to advance, they knew the gig was up. >> the romans levelled the city in response because it had been taken. so that everyone who saw this would understand that revolt against rome was impossible. >> the romans round up 2,000 individuals and crucify them. they then take the entire population of the city and sl them into slavery. judous probably met his fat

brutal -- we hear of massacres and the blood shed that was connected to the time that he had rule over judea nice person. >> we have come to the amphitheater. he spent 20 years conducting excavations in the holy land. here in 1961, archeologist pz discovered proof of pilate's existence. >> you wouldn't think that at this spot, under this wooden stand, this inscription was found, latin inscription mentioning pontius pilate. this was one of those pivotal moments which changes everything because suddenly pontius pilate comes out of this written inscription. it's not just this figure in the gospels. >> the israel museum here in jerusalem is a treasure house of artifacts from the first century. to visit here as a religious pilgrim or historian is to discover crucial evidence of the end of jesus' life. the left side of the pilate stone was chiselled away to fit into the theater. pontius pilate perfect us judea, a stone thought to be dedicated to the museum. >> this is the only physical object from the time of pilate which has his name. >> the gospel of luke tells the story. pilate was called to je

. >> jesus may have had roots and family in judea in jerusalem, and maybe even in bethany.ave had a friendship that long predated jesus' public ministry. >> early christians didn't just invent people out of thin air the way our hollywood biopic would today. the fact that lazarus and his siblings, mary and martha are all mentioned shows that they were fairly prominent figures in the early christian movement. the relationship between jesus and lazarus, it's a completely different order than the relationship he has with anyone else. he loves him. >> when lazarus falls sick it's a love that will be tested to the it means it's much more expensive. sprint has always believed in unlimited at a fair price, which is why their unlimited plan is 50% less than verizon and at&t rates with only a 1% difference in network reliability. can you hear that? (vo) get unlimited! plus get hd video and 10 gb's of mobile hotspot. $22.50 per line for four lines. that's 50% off for people with hearing loss verizon and at&t rates. visit sprintrelay.com. when i was a navy seal i trained as hard as i c

we hear massacres and bloodsheds that were connected to the time that he had the rule over judea.s not a nice person. >> reporter: we have come to the amphitheater here with dr. shimon gibson, an archaeologist who has spent more than 20 years conducting excavations in the holy land. here in 1961, archaeologists discovered proof of pilate's existence. >> you wouldn't really sort of think that at this spot, under this wooden stand, this inscription was found. latin inscription mentioning pontius pilate. but this was one of those pivotal moments that changes everything, because suddenly, pontius pilate comes out of this written ensubscription. it's not just this figure in the gospels. >> reporter: the israel museum here in jerusalem is a treasure house of artifacts from the 1st century. to visit here as a religious pilgrim or historian is to discover crucial evidence of the end of jesus' life. the left side of the pilate stone was chiseled away to fit into the theater, but the ensubscription is clear -- a stone thought to commemorate a lighthouse dedicated to the emperor tiberius. >>

so pilate really existed, really lived, and really was the prefech of judea. >> joining us is the visiting author of "the politics of jesus." so interesting to have you here. our series is called "finding jesus" but it could really be called "finding pilate." pilate is a name everybody knows, but the real person seems to be more interesting than people realized. >> we have the biblical version and the secular, historical version. the biblical version says he was reluctant to kill jesus, and that it was all inspired by the priestly aristocracy. the secular writers from the first century may describe him as bloodthirsty, as murderous, as extremely thoughty. philo says his temperament is a blend of self-will and relentlessly. he talked about his seizure of property, his cruelty and on and on. >> it sounds like pilate had the same problems as politicians today, they don't like the media. >> yes, we don't want to go into that, but it sounds like he could be in the white house now. be that as it may. he was recalled to rome for being too brutal. so when a poor peasant comes before him said to be

perhaps the least of which, is the existence of jewish settlements in judea. one of the biggest obstacles to that would be efforts by the previous administration to pressure israel. and to impose upon them, a negotiated settlement and what is in the interest of the nation of israel. a bigger impediment is the willingness of the leadership to recognize israel's right to exist as a jewish state that is the key phrase. as the homeland for the jewish people, that is a big impediment to a deal. how are you going to negotiate a peaceful co existence with a neighbor who does not recognize your your right to exist. how about the wholesale systematic indoctrination of young palestinians into a doctrine of hatred. and the justification of the killing and murdering of jews that begins sadly, tragically and outrageously at a young age. these international effortses to impose on israel a negotiated solution, along the terms that other countries think are appropriate. i think that's a -- that's not widely reported. when they go around justifying these attacks, when they ded

m i never fundraised, always alays have loved saint jude's and so'o decided to be a saint judea jud heros there. for the >> reporter: that is>> rr: t absolutely amazing.ing. now f-i understand that sierra e is among lots of other runners e raising money for many saintman jude. can you tell me a little bit about how many runners teallnd d actually how much money has beenaised?d?h >> yes. we're just so grateful to havee heroes like sierra.sirra. she's our top fundraiser.d we have over 600 heroes thates t have raised over >> reporter: just at theeporter d.c. rock and roll marathon.art. >> just at this d.c. rock andhic roll marathon.roll marathon. so, we're so grateful to them.t >> reporter: yeah, that's thas absolutely amazing.ly amazing. so you can see a lot of t excitement down here as peopleoe brave the cold.re be to bet seem to bothering them too much.oo muc we spoke to one runner earlier e who said usually they preparehee to run for weather that's about 30 degrees warmer than tan the actual temperatures, so,ure, you know, of course as they're e running, they're warming up.g u. not that