"... Suffered under Pontius Pilate ..." you say in your creed each Sunday. Millions of Christians speak my name every Sabbath and connect it with the suffering of Jesus Christ. They point their finger at me and speak my name along with Judas and Herod. Let me tell you my side of the story. Let me tell you about my suffering at the hands of Jesus of Nazareth. We Romans were the conquerors of Judea, but she refused to be conquered. I was the governor, but she refused to be governed.

My appointment as governor of Judea came as a great challenge to me after I had served Rome well as a military leader. "Force ... I will have to use force," I thought. "No man has been able to govern these Jews," my Roman friends said. "They refuse to be conquered and they constantly bicker. When two of them come …