Pilate

Pat of me believes that how a person views Pontius Pilate in the Gospels is correlated to how they view their form of Christianity.  One Traditionalist Catholic I knew is all about how Pilate was lukewarm in Passion of the Christ and will burn in Hell for all eternity for what he did...as part of God's plan.  His whole view of Christianity is often sharp black and white and tempered with plenty of judgment and hellfire and how anyone who disagrees with his intensely legalistic framework is in the wrong.

Meanwhile, I see Pilate as a more easy to relate to figure, despite being a Roman Governor.  He's between a rock and a hard place.  If he executes Jesus, he risks a revolt by Christ's followers, plus sentencing someone to die during Passover is an insult to the Jews, which can also possibly cause a revolt.  Not sentencing Jesus to die can also possibly cause a revolt.  Any way he goes, he's potentially screwed and that's without thinking about how will the Emperor react to another revolt in Judea?  Will it be Pilate's head on the chopping block?  At the same time, he's a Governor of the Roman Empire, he's had to be brutal, cunning, and not a real good person by modern moral standards to probably ascend to his position.  In the end he does what's best for him, and what he believes is best for the most number of people, taking a somewhat selfish but still utilitarian position.

In my view of Pilate, perhaps the most telling thing to me, is that Jesus forgives him, at least in part, saying that it's the one who has given Him over who has committed the greater sin.  Pontius Pilate is shaken, but washes his hands of Christ's blood.  There, I think, is how I see Grace; God's mercy is capable of washing away even the worst of our decisions.