Matthew"s narrative directs the reader"s attention from the courtyard back to the Sanhedrin"s council chamber ( Matthew 26:68). [source][source][source]
The chief priests and elders had to decide how they would present Jesus" case to Pilate to secure the verdict they wanted from him. The title "governor" is a general one. Really Pilate was a prefect (procurator) whom Tiberius Caesar had appointed in A.D26. [1] Judea and Samaria had become one Roman province in A.D6 that Pilate now governed (in A.D33). Normally he lived in Caesarea, but during the Jewish feasts he often came to Jerusalem and stayed in Herod"s former palace because Jerusalem became a potential trouble spot then. The site of Herod"s palace was what is now known as the Citadel, south of the Jaffa Gate. "Pontius" was his family name. [source][source][source]