Memoirs of Pontius Pilate (James Mills)

As a now-exiled governor of Judea, Pontius Pilate reflects on life, politics, and religion and wonders at how 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 corrupt bureaucrat, with a cynical turn of mind. Memoirs of Pontius Pilate is a peerless novel, written by a modern politician who gets into the mind of the ancient state appointee who saw Jesus strictly in terms of his political significance.