«Then Pilate, noticing that nothing was happening, except that there was a riot, took water and washed his hands in front of the people, saying: ‘I am innocent of the blood of this just man. Now you’re going to see’”.
We all saw a crucifix with a small plaque on top that says INRI. They are the initials of a Latin sentence that means: «Jesus Nazarene King of the Jews» (Iesus Naza-renus Rex Iudaeorum). According to the Gospel of John, it is the prayer that was written on a tablet, in three languages, and placed on the cross of Jesus by order of Pontius Pilate, governor of Rome in Judea. It served to argue the cause of the death sentence of the Galilean prophet. This sign is essential because it contains the only expressions that have survived to be written about Jesus throughout his history. But while all 4 Gospels agree that the inscription was there, they don’t agree on its content. According to Mark, the article stated: «The King of the Jews» (Mc 15,26). According to Matthew: «This is Jesus, the King of the Jews» (Mt 27,37). According to Luke: «This is the King of the Jews» (Lk 23,38). And according to John: «Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews» (Jn 19,19). Did this tablet really exist? What exactly did he say? Was it written in three languages?
It does not resemble an invention Some researchers deny the certainty of the sign, and think it a creation of the evangelists. But from the old writers we understand that this type of inscription was recurrent at the time when a prisoner was executed; It was posted in multiple places, and there was wide latitude in the writing of his article. For example, the Roman historian Suetonius (2nd century) talks about a deer sentenced to death that bore an inscription that stated: «Gladiator who chattered mercilessly.» The historian Eusebius of Caesarea (4th century) tells that a believer in the Gospel was led to execution with the label: «This is Attalus the Catholic». Tertullian, a father of the church (3rd century) assures that the plate with the inscription: «Catholic» was placed on the faithful who were persuaded. And the Roman writer Cassius Dio (III century) assures that those sentenced to death wore a plaque. Therefore, he does not call attention that a kindred label was written for Jesus. On the other hand, it is not very likely that this aspect was invented by the early Christians, since they never called Jesus «King of the Jews», since it was a risky title, loaded with political connotations and which they considered serious adversities. (Acts 17,7). So the only reason this sign appears in the Gospels is because the Romans put it on the cross.
Several of the proverbs that we have in Spanish have a spiritual origin, since religion was formed and belongs to our culture and also history. One is the one that I present to you today: «WASH YOUR HANDS» (LIKE PONCIO PILATE).
We use this sentence when a person does not want to understand anything about a topic, when he is careless about any commitment to it.