Memoirs of Pontius Pilate

by James R. Mills

Book Overview

After extensive research, Mills presents this innovative, insightful novel, written in an engrossing style that reveals what Jesus faced from his political opponents. Pilate recounts what he knew of Jesus, writing in effect a fifth gospel, though full of ironies, sarcasm, and dry, detached observations.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0800717732
• ISBN13: 9780800717735
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Fleming H. Revell Company
• Length: 222 Pages
• Weight: 0.70 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 7.3"
• Age Range: 18 years and up
• Grade Range: Postsecondary and higher

Customer Reviews

An interesting interpretation from a different viewpoint.

This author has come up with a unique concept by novelizing the life of the historical Christ and then telling the story from the point of view of a relatively minor character, Pontius Pilate. As the title suggests, the novel is written in the form of memoirs as Pilate nears the end of his life. Pilate tries to come to some resolution of his own involvement in Jesus's death by reviewing Jesus's life, beginning with the unusual circumstances of his birth and continuing to the genesis of Christianity after his death. The author utilizes plain, accessible language to tell a story which includes a surprising amount of humor. You may not feel sorry for Pilate by the end, but you should at least wonder if perhaps there is more to the story of Jesus than we will ever know. An engaging, thought-provoking book.

The biography Pilate himself might have written.

Although it is a work of fiction, "Memoirs of Pontius Pilate" comes close to deserving a place in the history section. Much of this well-researched book is devoted to Pilate's own biography of Jesus; nevertheless, there is enough supplementary material here to leave the reader a bit more knowledgeable on the history of Roman Palestine.Mills' Pilate begins with an introductory discussion about the Jewish people (written from a perspective that feels authentically Roman). The rest of the book traces the life of Jesus from the Nativity to the Crucifixion, after which the exiled former procurator adds his own views on the events that he had just described. Throughout the work Pilate remains sufficiently sceptical of the miracles and odd "coincidences" that his spies report to him, but the reader soon realises that this Roman is at least open to the possibility that the "strange carpenter" may actually be who he says he is.A word of caution, though: readers who insist on seeing a cruel, heartless tyrant of a governor in this book will be sorely disappointed. Though the historical Pontius Pilatus may have been a man who truly deserves the wicked reputation he is cursed with today, would he have written about himself that way? In all certainty he would have described actions we now see as barbaric within the context of his own culture and upbringing; that is, he would have said that he was simply "doing his job" when he mowed down the Samartians on Mount Gerizim and threatened to hack a crown of Jews to death in Caesarea. Out of his love for Rome, his loyalty to Caesar and perhaps even his own strange form of concern for the well-being of the Jewish people, he did what he felt he had to do.I am no relativist. From the very little that we know about Pilate, there is no doubt that he was -- to put it bluntly -- a very bad man. But it would be ridiculous to assume that he would have seen himself as anything other than a devoted public servant who tried to do his duty well.

From a different prospective

I found this book to be very enjoyable. It told a very well known story from a diffenent prospective. It was easy reading and followed events in a chronological order which made the story flow much better than reading disjointed gospels. It made me see those historic events in a differnt light.

Jesus through the eyes of a pragmatic politician

Most people likely think that Pontius Pilate is an unlikely choice as the main character of a novel; how is the reader supposed to sympathize with such an infamous person? Of course, the main character of this book is really Jesus, but James R. Mills has produced an impressive achievement in his development of Pilate's character. Mills neither demonizes nor trivializes him; instead, he is presented as an intensely real and credible human being. He is pragmatic, cynical, and materialistic, with an ironic sense of humor. He knows right from wrong, even if he doesn't always let such knowledge govern his actions. Mills uses his own political experience, having served as president pro tem of the California Senate, to view Pilate as a practical politician."Memoirs of Pontius Pilate" effectively puts the reader into the time and place of Jesus' life, setting the scene by telling about the major events in the Holy Land just before and during his lifetime. Particularly interesting are the conflicts among the various factions of Jews and their Roman rulers. Readers of this book will gain new insights into the gospel accounts of Jesus, seeing him not from the point of view of a follower but through the eyes of the man who condemned him to death.

An original, suberly written, fascinating, engaging novel.

As a now-exiled governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate reflects on life, politics, religion, and wonders at how it is that Jesus' followers have multiplied and spread all over the Roman Empire. Could such a movement have sprung from the teachings of an obscure zealot crucified long ago in such an insignificant part of the world? Searching his memory, Pilate pieces together what he recalls of Jesus' boyhood, ministry, and trial -- writing in effect a "fifth gospel" account of Christ's life. But his perspective is radically different from that of one of Jesus' followers. He is, after all, a corrupted aging bureaucrat with a cynical turn of mind. Memoirs Of Pontius Pilate is an outstandingly original, superbly written, fascinating and engaging Christian novel.