Pontius Pilate was working on an aqueduct for the city of Jerusalem. Large building projects are notoriously expensive and one can expect to run over budget. Such was the case here. Pilate was in need of cash to pay the contractors and money was available close by – namely the Temple Tax shekels.

How exactly Pilate obtained this money we are not sure. Some think that there was an existing agreement between Pilate and the Jewish authorities, that when the Temple Tax was collected, if there was money left over, it could be used to help fix up Jerusalem.  If so then the problem seems to be that Pilate was demanding more and more of the “surplus” shekels and the Jewish population was not pleased.  The issue boiled over once when Pilate was visiting Jerusalem, maybe even examining progress on the aqueduct itself.  A riot broke out and had to be disbanded by “plain-clothed” soldiers.  It seems that Pilate was expecting trouble and was prepared. Even though the soldiers were not issued swords there were deaths from their use of force.

I have read commentator who connects this riot with Luke 13: 1, the slaughter of the Galileans at the temple.  However the facts do not line up easily so I think we are dealing with a different event.