“They bound Jesus.
They led him away.
They delivered him
To Pilate,
The governor.”
καὶ δήσαντες αὐτὸν ἀπήγαγον καὶ παρέδωκαν Πειλάτῳ τῷ ἡγεμόνι.
This is almost word for word in Mark, chapter 15:1, except there was no mention that Pilate was the governor, but just assumes that. In Luke, chapter 23:1, there is just the simple statement that they brought Jesus to Pilate. In John, chapter 18:28-32, there was a long discussion of Pilate with the Jewish leaders. Who is this Pontius Pilate? He was the rather cruel Roman ruler, prefect, or governor of Judea from 26-36 CE, the exact time frame of Jesus. These chief priests and elders of the people tied up Jesus (καὶ δήσαντες αὐτὸν). They led him away and delivered him to Pilate (ἀπήγαγον καὶ παρέδωκαν Πειλάτῳ), the Roman governor (τῷ ἡγεμόνι) of Judea who had jurisdiction over death penalties in the Judean territory, since Judea was within the Roman Empire. Interesting enough, a whole literature and artistic presentation of Pontius Pilate developed in 20th century with movie and TV portrayals of him. He was certainly a central figure in this Passion of Jesus presentation.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 