The hangmen, like butchers, caught Him. He washed his hands in water from a basin and, per- forming this symbolic gesture, he said: I am not guilty of the blood of this righteous man. Once I ordered a large dinner- party to be prepared, to which I invited the Tetrarch of Galilee, together with the High Priest and his subordinate officials. Therefore, if thy lord will devoutly look upon the sight of this, he will straightway enjoy the benefit of health. As for Pilates wife Claudia, two Orthodox Churches Coptic and Greek have venerated her as a saint martyr since early times. Made using e, Book Cover for the Epistle Clickhereto learn more about the deeds we are talking of and to learn how you can become a part of our social ministry and help those in need. When the throng saw him again, they immediately started to shout their brutal demand: Put Him to death, to death!. 28th March. Jesus reveals Gods greatest commandment(s) (Matthew 22:34 22:40). Pontius sat on his ivory throne, in all the majesty with which Rome adorns her representatives ; and apparently showed no fear, as if it was his intention to appear thus, and to bear an intrepid expression on his face; but I could quickly understand and catch his concern. There is no way for us to confirm the authenticity of the apocryphal accounts. May heaven guide you! The fact that Pilate submitted to the pressure of the Jews to sentence Jesus to death without having found Him guilty shows how unsteady and hopeless human justice is. To this His disciples testified, and conrmed their testimony with their own blood, and carried the words of the Lord Jesus before the thrones of the great and the judges. They perished. To the most potent, august, dreadful, and divine Augustus, Pontius Pilate, administrator of the Eastern Province. And all the multitude walked about, and sang praises to God with aloud voice, saying: The Lord our God that has risen from the dead has brought to life all the dead, and has plundered Hades, and put him to death. I AM in great anxiety. We have challenges here in Africa to find such information for, So glorious+++ Most Holy Theotokos save us, Pectoral Cross Kissing the seam of His garment, he asked, What shall I do to receive eternal life? Overview; View 1 Edition Details; Reviews Lists; Related Books; Publish Date. gure of the innocent victim will always stay before my eyes. re of hell I noticed the faces of these who exacted His death. The echo of these vociferations is still in my ears, and the gure of the innocent victim will always stay before my eyes. Him then Herod and Archelaus and Philip, and Annas and Caiaphas, with all the people, delivered to me to try him. Now while they were standing, and wondering, and gazing at him, he looked at them, and said to them, What is it? And Csar, being filled with anger, sent soldiers and commanded that Pilate should be brought as a prisoner. Oh, believe me, that a single drop of this blood may be your damnation for all eternity. The surviving Apocrypha give us no further details about the lives of Pontius Pilate and his wife after Christ's resurrection. I exclaimed, highly indignant. But we see from the existing document that this justice did not decide the case on its merits. he asked. I followed Him, without His knowing. It only tells us that Pilates wife sent a servant to her husband to relay to him this message: Do not have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him. (Matthew 27:19). And the stars also, and Orion, made a lament about the Jews, on account of the wickedness that had been done by them. And some that were cruelly vexed by demons, and had their dwellings in deserts, and ate the flesh of their own limbs, and lived along with reptiles and wild beasts, he made to be dwellers in cities in their own houses, and by a word he rendered them sound-minded; and he made those that were troubled by unclean spirits to be intelligent and reputable; and sending away the demons in them into a herd of swine, he suffocated them in the sea. As the prefect of Roman-occupied Palestine, he insulted the religious sensibilities of his Jewish subjects by promoting Roman religion and emperor worship. At that moment I saw the crowd break, offering passage to a group of men who came nearer to the house, and at whom the people looked, with great interest and reverence. There is no way for us to confirm the authenticity of the apocryphal accounts. How could Christ be accused of a crime which He never committed? What is the point of Thrower's Bandolier? It is not your power to arrest the sacrifice at the step of the altar of redemption. Jesus answered him: Render to Caesar that which is Caesars and unto God that which is Gods. Owing to this wisdom, I left the Nazarene free, for I could have arrested Him and sent Him to you, but this would have been against the law, the observance if which has distinguished the Roman. Pilate saith, Herod, Archelaus, Philip, Annas and Caiaphas, and all the multitude of the Jews. His forehead is high and expresses innocence and calm. He also had some difficulties due to a complaint sent to him by Mary Magdalene with respect to his unjust measures. Youre busy. Pilate declared I, nd no fault in this man; with what justi. At this time one of my maid-servants, a Jewess by birth, came to my room; pale, desperate and with frightened eyes she cried: These dead foretold the wrath of God. Oh, beyond any doubt, He suffered, but He suffered gladly, and His soul seemed to me to be carried to invisible heights as a consuming pure ame. And all the multitude walked about and sang hymns to God with a loud voice, saying, The Lord our God, who hath risen from the dead, hath made alive all the dead, and Hades he hath spoiled and slain. But wonderful were the efforts of the people themselves, and the unanimity of all the scribes and chief men and elders, to crucify this ambassador of truth, notwithstanding that their own prophets, and after our manner the sibyls, warned them against it: and supernatural signs appeared while he was hanging, and, in the opinion of philosophers, threatened destruction to the whole world. We were forced to return to Europe wandering from town to town. Then I rose as from a dream, and went home, leaving a happy family in their joy ; in such a joy as it is impossible to describe. Her dream con, rms the vision in St. Johns Revelation, 6,16-17., Curious things happen in our days. Connect and share knowledge within a single location that is structured and easy to search. However, this unlimited freedom given to Jesus aroused a deadly rage in the Hebrews; not among their poor, but among the rich and powerful, and in this respect Jesus was extremely and opuses to the latter (the rich), so that was a good reason for me not to trouble the Nazarenes freedom. I leaned out of the opening and saw the traces of spilt blood. How could Christ be accused of a crime which He never committed? Pilate said, And verily his records are true; for even I myself was convinced by his works that he was greater than all the gods whom we venerate. Others suggest that he was executed during the reign of Emperor Nero. Life lessons, Bible study, Christian news, and more. Say then, who is he that was crucified, for his name hath destroyed all the gods? Salome stood by her side, benumbed and almost without any feeling. Vitellius found Pilate guilty and ordered him to report in Rome, to the Emperor Tiberius. Verily, I say to you, He continued with emotion, as soon as the roses of Sharon come into flower, the blood of the Righteous will be shed. nd no words to appease him and to relieve him from the distress which would be imposed on our house for ever. Our inquisitive minds are eager to know about the fates of the biblical characters. Because He shows up their morals and hypocrisy. Oh, what a distressing and lamentable spectacle it was to see the old man cry! And when he had been crucified, there was darkness over the whole earth, the sun having been completely hidden, and the heaven appearing dark though it was day, so that the stars appeared, but had at the same time their brightness darkened, as I suppose your reverence is not ignorant of, because in all the world they lighted lamps from the sixth hour until evening. But I'm not sure it's more on topic on. Thus he was guilty of the death of Jesus. You know that, in the sixteenth year of my maiden life, I was united in marriage with the Roman Pilate, a descendant of a renowned family, and who at that time held a position as a governor in Italy. Persecution does not come from me; I expect it from others. After some time Semida fell ill. One morning, when I awoke, I was told that she had died, without great suffering, in the arms of her mother. Go and take Him! nd a warning not to do the same injustice, nor to be partial, but to judge according to divine right. From the Holy Scriptures report we nd the statement, uttered with utmost discretion, that Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they required. Luke, 23, 24. Governor of Judea.. I lifted my child to my breast, and suddenly a heavy earthquake started, shaking the whole earth. I went with him, but what was my life with him? Deliver Him to us, so that He may die on the cross! Hearing about Semidas death, Claudia came to her funeral. Many paintings make references to it. After so much uproar the town became suddenly calm, as if in thought, and a deadly silence pervaded it, as if death had covered it with its dark wings. can you add a source to the alleged letter? His blood be on us and on our children! A conspiracy was brewing over His head, and it might be that on this evening He would be delivered into the hands of the High Priest. On this great and, for the Hebrews, so very important a Holy Day, a great many people from all parts of Judea gathered in Jerusalem to solemnly carry the victims of the feast to the temple. Our deadly silence was disturbed by a thunderstroke resounding through the corridors of the palace. Edit. Oh, terrible destiny, how do you deride the fate of mortals! He lowered his head and said: You saw Jesus of Nazareth, the object of the hatred and contempt of the Pharisees and Sadducees, of the Herodian party, and of the dangerous and proud Levites from the temple. Therefore, a certain matron hath come with me bringing the likeness of the same Jesus, and if thou wilt devoutly gaze upon it, thou wilt presently obtain the benefit of thy health. I threw myself at his feet and said: For the sake of all that is dear to you, and for this chi1ds sake, the token of our holy matrimonial bond, do not make yourself guilty by spilling the blood of this righteous man who is so like the immortal God. And my wife, in great anguish, said, God of heaven and of earth, God of Israel, reward me not according to the deeds of Pontius Pilate, nor according to the will of the children of Israel, nor according to the thought of the sons of the priests; but remember my husband in thy glory!