Dari informasi arsip surat yang diketemukan dan dapat kita baca sekarang, menjadi bukti bahwa Yesus dari Nazaret yang dipercayai oleh orang-orang Kristen sebagai Tuhan dan Juru Selamat dunia adalah benar-benar tokoh sejarah yang nyata. Pendapat yang mengatakan bahwa Yesus adalah tokoh rekaan menjadi pendapat yang ketahuan tidak berdasar argumen yang kuat, bahkan tidak berdasar sama sekali.
Dan orang yang mengikuti pendapat ini dapat disamakan dengan orang yang menghujat Roh Kudus
Sebab itu Aku berkata kepadamu: Segala dosa dan hujat manusia akan diampuni, tetapi hujat terhadap Roh Kudus tidak akan diampuni. Apabila seorang mengucapkan sesuatu menentang Anak Manusia, ia akan diampuni, tetapi jika ia menentang Roh Kudus, ia tidak akan diampuni, di dunia ini tidak, dan di dunia yang akan datang pun tidak. (Mat.12:31-32)
Dari surat dibawah ini, dapat dimengerti mengapa Pilatus “tidak berani” menjatuhkan vonis hukuman mati atas Yesus.
Ketika Pilatus melihat bahwa segala usaha akan sia-sia, malah sudah mulai timbul kekacauan, ia mengambil air dan membasuh tangannya di hadapan orang banyak dan berkata: "Aku tidak bersalah terhadap darah orang ini; itu urusan kamu sendiri!" (Mat. 27:24)
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| Introduction Overview Name History Procurator Personal Life Pilate and Jesus |
SURAT PONTIUS PILATUS
Ternyata selama masa pemerintahannya sebagai Gubernur Yudea, Pontius Pilatus pernah menulis sebuah surat kepada Kaisar Tiberius di Roma melaporkan mengenai aktivitas dari pelayanan Yesus. Surat ini ditulisnya pada tahun 32 AD. Berikut adalah isi suratnya :
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Kepada Yang Mulia
Kaisar Tiberius
Seorang anak muda telah muncul di Galilea dan atas nama Elohim yang mengutusnya, Dia telah berkhotbah dalam sebuah hukum yang baru, dengan perilaku yang rendah hati. Pada mulanya saya mengira tujuan-Nya adalah untuk menimbulkan gerakan revolusi rakyat untuk melawan pemerintahan Roma. Dugaan saya keliru, Yesus Orang Nazaret itu ternyata bergaul lebih akrab dengan orang Romawi daripada dengan orang Yahudi.
Suatu hari saya memperhatikan, ada seorang anak muda di antara sekelompok orang, sedang bersandar pada sebatang pohon dan berbicara dengan tenang kepada kumpulan orang banyak yang mengelilingi-Nya. Orang-orang mengatakan kepada saya bahwa itulah Yesus. Terdapat perbedaan yang jelas antara Dia dan orang-orang yang mengelilingi-Nya. Dari rambut dan janggutnya yang pirang, Ia kelihatan seperti “Tuhan” (Lord).
Ia berumur sekitar 30 tahun, dan saya belum pernah melihat orang dengan wajah sedemikian simpatik dan menyenangkan seperti Dia. Apa yang membuat Ia kelihatan begitu berbeda dengan orang-orang yang sedang mendengarkan-Nya adalah pada wajah-Nya yang ceria. Karena saya tidak ingin mengganggu-Nya, saya meneruskan perjalanan saya, tetapi saya menyuruh sekretaris saya untuk bergabung dengan mereka dan turut mendengarkan pengajaran-Nya.
Kemudian sekretaris saya melaporkan bahwa belum pernah ia membaca karya-karya ahli filsafat manapun yang dapat disejajarkan dengan ajaran Orang itu, dan bahwa Orang itu (Yesus) sama sekali tidak membawa orang ke jalan yang sesat, dan tidak pula menjadi penghasut. Oleh karena itulah kami memutuskan untuk membiarkan-Nya. Ia bebas untuk melakukan kegiatan-Nya berbicara dan mengumpulkan orang. Kebebasan yang tidak terbatas ini menggusarkan orang-orang Yahudi dan menimbulkan kemarahan mereka. Ia tidak menyusahkan orang miskin, tetapi merangsang kemarahan orang-orang kaya dan para tokoh masyarakat.
Kemudian saya menulis surat kepada Yesus, meminta Ia untuk diwawancarai dalam suatu pertemuan. Ia datang. Pada saat Orang Nazaret itu tiba, saya sedang melakukan jalan pagi. Dan ketika saya memperhatikan-Nya, saya begitu tertegun. Kedua kaki saya serasa dibelenggu oleh rantai besi yang terikat pada lantai batu pualam. Seluruh tubuh saya gemetar bagaikan seorang yang bersalah berat. Namun Ia tenang saja. Tanpa beranjak, saya begitu terpukau dengan orang yang luarbiasa ini beberapa saat. Tidak ada yang tidak menyenangkan pada penampilan atau perilaku-Nya.. Selama kehadiran-Nya saya menaruh hormat dan respek yang mendalam pada diri-Nya. Saya katakan kepada-Nya bahwa pada diri dan kepribadian-Nya terdapat sesuatu yang memancar dan menunjukkan kesederhanaan yang memukau, yang menempatkan Ia di atas para ahli filsafat dan cendekiawan masa kini. Ia meninggalkan kesan yang mendalam pada kami semua karena sikap-Nya yang simpatik, sederhana, rendah hati, dan penuh kasih. Saya telah meluangkan banyak waktu untuk mengamati aktivitas pelayanan menyangkut Yesus dari Nazaret ini.
Pendapat saya adalah : Seseorang yang mampu mengubah air menjadi anggur, menyembuhkan orang sakit, menghidupkan orang mati, dan menenangkan gelombang laut, tidak bersalah sebagai pelaku perbuatan kriminal sebagaimana dituduhkan oleh orang banyak. Kami harus mengakui bahwa sesungguhnya Ia adalah Putra Elohim.
Pelayan anda yang setia
Pontius Pilatus
________________________________________________________________________________________________ *Surat di atas tersimpan di Perpustakaan Kepausan di Vatikan, dan salinannya mungkin dapat diperoleh di Perpustakaan Kongres Amerika.
(di copy-paste dari blog Didik Anantha)
« on: February 18, 2010,
01:42:11 AM »
Pontius Pilot’s Letter To Ceasar On The
Execution Of Jesus Christ
December 30, 2009 by massigusoni
Pontius Pilate’s Letter to Tiberius Caesar
(Pontius Pilate’s Letter to Tiberius
Caesar verifying his sympathy for Jesus Christ and exposing the treachery of
the Jews.)
From The Archko Volume, or The
Archeological Writings of the Sanhedrin and Talmuds of the Jews, entered into
the Congressional Record in the year 1887. Republished in 1975 by Keats
Publishing Inc., 27 Pine Street, New Canaan Conn. 06840, USA.
To Noble Tiberius Caesar, Emperor of Rome.
Noble Sovereign, Greeting: The events of
the last few days in my province have been of such a character that I will give
the details in full as they occurred, as I should not be surprised if, in the course
of time, they may change the destiny of our nation, for it seems of late that
all the gods have ceased to be propitious. I am almost ready to say, Cursed be
the day that I succeeded Vallerius Flaceus in the government of Judea; for
since then my life has been one of continual uneasiness and distress.
On my arrival at Jerusalem I took
possession of the praetorium, and ordered a splendid feast to be prepared, to
which I invited the tetrarch of Galilee, with the high priest and his officers.
At the appointed hour no guests appeared. This I considered an insult offered
to my dignity, and to the whole government which I represent. A few days after,
the high priest deigned to pay me a visit. His deportment was grave and
deceitful. He pretended that his religion forbade him and his attendants to sit
at the table with the Romans, and eat and offer libations with them, but this
was only a sanctimonious seeming, for his very countenance betrayed his
hypocrisy. Although I thought it expedient to accept his excuse, from that
moment I was convinced that the conquered had declared themselves the enemy of
the conquerors; and I would warn the Romans to beware of the high priests of
this country. They would betray their own mother to gain office and a luxurious
living.
It seems to me that, of conquered cities,
Jerusalem is the most difficult to govern. So turbulent are the people that I
live in momentary dread of an insurrection. I have not soldiers sufficient to
suppress it. I had only one centurion and a hundred men at my command. I
requested a reinforcement from the prefect of Syria, who informed me that he
had scarcely enough troops sufficient to defend his own province. An insatiate
thirst for conquest to extend our empire beyond the means of defending it, I fear,
will be the cause of the final overthrow of our whole government. I lived
secluded from the masses, for I did not know what those priests might influence
the rabble to do; yet I endeavored to ascertain, as far as I could, the mind
and standing of the people.
Among the various rumors that came to my
ears, there was one in particular that attracted my attention. A young man, it
was said, had appeared in Galilee, preaching with a noble unction a new law in
the name of the God that had sent him. At first I was apprehensive that his
design was to stir up the people against the Romans, but my fears were soon
dispelled. Jesus of Nazareth spoke rather as friend of the Romans than of the
Jews.
One day in passing by the place of Siloe,
where there was a great concourse of people, I observed in the midst of the
group a young man who was leaning against a tree, calmly addressing the
multitude. I was told it was Jesus. This I could easily have suspected, so
great was the difference between him and those listening to him. His
golden-colored hair and beard gave to his appearance a celestial aspect. He
appeared to be about thirty years of age. Never have I seen a sweeter or more
serene countenance. What a contrast between him and his hearers, with their
black beards and tawny complexions!
Unwilling to interrupt him by my presence,
I continued my walk, but signified to my secretary to join the group and
listen. My secretary’s name is Manlius. He is the grandson of the chief of the
conspirators who encamped in Etruria waiting for Cataline. Manlius had been for
a long time an inhabitant of Judea, and is well acquainted with the Hebrew
language. He was devoted to me, and worthy of my confidence. On entering the
praetorium I found Manlius, who related to me the words Jesus had pronounced at
Siloe. Never have I read in the works of the philosophers anything that can
compare to the maxims of Jesus. One of the rebellious Jews, so numerous in
Jerusalem, having asked Jesus if it was lawful to give tribute to Caesar, he
replied, “Render unto Caesar the things that belong to Caesar, and unto God the
things that are God’s.”
It was on account of the wisdom of his
sayings that I granted so much liberty to the Nazarene; for it was in my power
to have had him arrested, and exiled to Pontus; but that would have been
contrary to the justice which has always characterized the Roman government in
all its dealings with men; this man was neither seditious nor rebellious; I
extended to him my protection, unknown perhaps to himself. He was at liberty to
act, to speak, to assemble and address the people, and to choose disciples,
unrestrained by any praetorian mandate. Should it ever happen (may the gods
avert the omen!), should it ever happen, I say, that the religion of our
forefathers will be supplanted by the religion of Jesus, it will be to this
noble toleration that Rome shall owe her premature death, while I, miserable
wretch, will have been the instrument of what the Jews call Providence, and we
call destiny.
This unlimited freedom granted to Jesus
provoked the Jews–not the poor, but the rich and powerful. It is true, Jesus
was severe on the latter, and this was a political reason, in my opinion, for
not restraining the liberty of the Nazarene. “Scribes and Pharisees,” he would
say to them, “you are a race of vipers; you resemble painted sepulchres; you
appear well unto men, but you have death within you.” At other times he would
sneer at the alms of the rich and proud, telling them that the mite of the poor
was more precious in the sight of God. Complaints were daily made at the
praetorium against the insolence of Jesus.
I was informed that some misfortune would
befall him; that it would not be the first time that Jerusalem had stoned those
who called themselves prophets; an appeal would be made to Caesar. However, my
conduct was approved by the Senate, and I was promised a reinforcement after
the termination of the Parthian war.
Being too weak to suppress an
insurrection, I resolved upon adopting a measure that promised to restore the
tranquility of the city without subjecting the praetorium to humiliating
concession. I wrote to Jesus, requesting an interview with him at the
praetorium. He came. You know that in my veins flows the Spanish mixed with
Roman blood–as incapable of fear as it is of weak emotion. When the Nazarene
made his appearance, I was walking in my basilic, and my feet seemed fastened
with an iron hand to the marble pavement, and I trembled in every limb as does
a guilty culprit, though the Nazarene was as calm as innocence itself.
When he came up to me, he stopped, and by
a signal sign he seemed to say to me, “I am here,” though he spoke not a word.
For some time I contemplated with admiration and awe this extraordinary type of
man–a type of man unknown to our numerous painters, who have given form and
figure to all the gods and the heroes. There was nothing about him that was
repelling in its character, yet I felt too awed and tremulous to approach him.
“Jesus,” said I unto him at last–and my
tongue faltered–”Jesus of Nazareth, for the last three years I have granted you
ample freedom of speech; nor do I regret it. Your words are those of a sage. I
know not whether you have read Socrates or Plato, but this I know, there is in
your discourses a majestic simplicity that elevates you far above those
philosophers. The Emperor is informed of it, and I, his humble representative
in this country, am glad of having allowed you that liberty of which you are so
worthy. However, I must not conceal from you that your discourses have raised
up against you powerful and inveterate enemies.
“Nor is this surprising. Socrates had his
enemies, and he fell a victim to their hatred. Yours are doubly
incensed–against you on account of your discourses being so severe upon their
conduct; against me on account of the liberty I have afforded you. They even
accuse me of being indirectly leagued with you for the purpose of depriving the
Hebrews of the little civil power, which Rome has left them. My request–I do
not say my order–is, that you be more circumspect and moderate in your
discourses in the future, and more considerate of them, lest you arouse the
pride of your enemies, and they raise against you the stupid populace, and
compel me to employ the instruments of law.”
The Nazarene calmly replied, “Prince of
the earth, your words proceed not from true wisdom. Say to the torrent to stop
in the midst of the mountain-gorge; it will uproot the trees of the valley. The
torrent will answer you that it obeys the laws of nature and the creator. God
alone knows whither flow the waters of the torrent. Verily I say unto you,
before the rose of Sharon blossoms, the blood of the Just shall be spilt.”
“Your blood shall not be spilt,” said I
with deep emotion; “you are more precious in my estimation on account of your
wisdom than all the turbulent and proud Pharisees who abuse the freedom granted
them by the Romans. They conspire against Caesar, and convert his bounty into
fear, impressing the unlearned that Caesar is a tyrant and seeks their ruin.
Insolent wretches! They are not aware that the wolf of the Tiber sometimes
clothes himself with the skin of the sheep to accomplish his wicked designs. I
will protect you against them. My praetorium shall be an asylum, sacred both
day and night.”
Jesus carelessly shook his head, and said
with a grave and divine smile: “When the day shall have come, there will be no
asylums for the son of man, neither in the earth nor under the earth. The
asylum of the just is there,” pointing to the heavens. “That which is written
in the books of the prophets must be accomplished.”
“Young man,” I answered mildly, “you will
oblige me to convert my request into an order. The safety of the province,
which has been confided to my care, requires it. You must observe more
moderation in your discourses. Do not infringe my order. You know the
consequences. May happiness attend you; farewell.”
“Prince of the earth,” replied Jesus, “I
come not to bring war into the world, but peace, love, and charity. I was born
the same day on which Augustus gave peace to the Roman world. Persecutions
proceed not from me. I expect it from others, and will meet it in obedience to
the will of my Father, who has shown me the way. Restrain, therefore, your
worldly prudence. It is not in your power to arrest the victim at the foot of
the tabernacle of expiation.”
So saying, he disappeared like a bright
shadow behind the curtain of the basilic–to my great relief, for I felt a heavy
burden on me, of which I could not relieve myself while in his presence.
To Herod, who then reigned in Galilee, the
enemies of Jesus addressed themselves, to wreak their vengeance on the
Nazarene. Had Herod consulted his own inclinations, he would have ordered Jesus
immediately to be put to death; but, though proud of his royal dignity, yet he
hesitated to commit an act that might lessen his influence with the Senate, or,
like me, was afraid of Jesus. But it would never do for a Roman officer to be
scared by a Jew. Previously to this, Herod called on me at the praetorium, and,
on rising to take leave, after some trifling conversation, asked me what was my
opinion concerning the Nazarene. I replied that Jesus appeared to me to be one
of those great philosophers that great nations sometimes produced; that his
doctrines were by no means sacrilegious, and that the intentions of Rome were
to leave him to that freedom of speech which was justified by his actions.
Herod smiled maliciously, and, saluting me with ironical respect, departed.
The great feast of the Jews was
approaching, and the intention was to avail themselves of the popular
exultation which always manifests itself at the solemnities of a Passover. The
city was overflowing with a tumultuous populace, clamoring for the death of the
Nazarene. My emissaries informed me that the treasure of the temple had been
employed in bribing the people. The danger was pressing. A Roman centurion had
been insulted. I wrote to the Prefect of Syria for a hundred foot-soldiers and
as many cavalry. He declined. I saw myself alone with a handful of veterans in
the midst of a rebellious city, too weak to suppress an uprising, and having no
choice left but to tolerate it. They had seized upon Jesus, and the seditious
rabble, although they had nothing to fear from the praetorium, believing, as
their leaders had told them, that I winked at their sedition–continued
vociferating: “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”
Three powerful parties had combined
together at the time against Jesus: First, the Herodians and the Sadducees,
whose seditious conduct seemed to have proceeded from double motives: they
hated the Nazarene and were impatient of the Roman yoke. They never forgave me
for having entered the holy city with banners that bore the image of the Roman
emperor; and although in this instance I had committed a fatal error, yet the
sacrilege did not appear less heinous in their eyes. Another grievance also
rankled in their bosoms. I had proposed to employ a part of the treasure of the
temple in erecting edifices for public use. My proposal was scorned.
The Pharisees were the avowed enemies of
Jesus. They cared not for the government. They bore with bitterness the severe
reprimands which the Nazarene for three years had been continually giving them
wherever he went. Timid and too weak to act by themselves, they had embraced
the quarrels of the Herodians and the Sadducees. Besides these three parties, I
had to contend against the reckless and profligate populace, always ready to
join a sedition, and to profit by the disorder and confusion that resulted
therefrom.
Jesus was dragged before the High Priest
and condemned to death. It was then that the High Priest, Caiaphas, performed a
divisory act of submission. He sent his prisoner to me to confirm his
condemnation and secure his execution. I answered him that, as Jesus was a
Galilean, the affair came under Herod’s jurisdiction, and ordered him to be
sent thither. The wily tetrarch professed humility, and, protesting his
deference to the lieutenant of Caesar, he committed the fate of the man to my
hands. Soon my palace assumed the aspect of a besieged citadel. Every moment
increased the number of the malcontents. Jerusalem was inundated with crowds
from the mountains of Nazareth. All Judea appeared to be pouring into the city.
I had taken a wife from among the Gauls,
who pretended to see into futurity. Weeping and throwing herself at my feet,
she said to me: “Beware, beware, and touch not that man; for he is holy. Last
night I saw him in a vision. He was walking on the waters; he was flying on the
wings of the wind. He spoke to the tempest and to the fishes of the lake; all
were obedient to him. Behold, the torrent in Mount Kedron flows with blood, the
statues of Caesar are filled with gemonide; the columns of the interium have
given way; and the sun is veiled in mourning like a vestal in the tomb. Ah!
Pilate, evil awaits thee. If thou wilt not listen to the vows of thy wife,
dread the curse of a Roman Senate; dread the frowns of Caesar.”
By this time the marble stair groaned
under the weight of the multitude. The Nazarene was brought back to me. I
proceeded to the halls of justice, followed by my guard, and asked the people
in a severe tone what they demanded.
“The death of the Nazarene,” was the
reply.
“For what crime?”
“He has blasphemed; he has prophesied the
ruin of the temple; he calls himself the Son of God, the Messiah, the King of
the Jews.”
“Roman justice,” said I, “punishes not
such offences with death.”
“Crucify him! Crucify him!” cried the
relentless rabble. The vociferations of the infuriated mob shook the palace to
its foundations.
There was but one who appeared to be calm
in the midst of the vast multitude; it was the Nazarene. After many fruitless
attempts to protect him from the fury of his merciless persecutors, I adopted a
measure which at the moment appeared to me to be the only one that could save
his life. I proposed, as it was their custom to deliver a prisoner on such
occasions, to release Jesus and let him go free, that he might be the scapegoat,
as they called it; but they said Jesus must be crucified.
I then spoke to them of the inconsistency
of their course as being incompatible with their laws, showing that no criminal
judge could pass sentence on a criminal unless he had fasted one whole day; and
that the sentence must have the consent of the Sanhedrin, and the signature of
the president of that court; that no criminal could be executed on the same day
his sentence was fixed, and the next day, on the day of his execution, the
Sanhedrin was required to review the whole proceeding; also, according to their
law, a man was stationed a short way off on horseback to cry the name of the
criminal and his crime, and the names of his witnesses, and to know if any one
could testify in his favor; and the prisoner on his way to execution had the
right to turn back three times and to plead any new thing in his favor. I urged
all these pleas, hoping they might awe them into subjection; but they still
cried, “Crucify him! Crucify him!”
I then ordered Jesus to be scourged,
hoping this might satisfy them; but it only increased their fury. I then called
for a basin, and washed my hands in the presence of the clamorous multitude,
thus testifying that in my judgment Jesus of Nazareth had done nothing
deserving of death; but in vain. It was his life these wretches thirsted for.
Often in our civil commotions have I
witnessed the furious anger of the multitude, but nothing could be compared to
what I witnessed on this occasion. It might have been truly said that all the
phantoms of the infernal regions had assembled at Jerusalem. The crowd appeared
not to walk, but to be borne off and whirled as a vortex, rolling along in
living waves from the portals of the praetorium even unto Mount Zion, with
howling screams, shrieks, and vociferations such as were never heard in the
seditions of the Pannonia, or in the tumults of the forum.
By degrees the day darkened like a
winter’s twilight, such as had been at the death of the great Julius Caesar. It
was likewise the Ides of March. I, the continued governor of a rebellious
province, was leaning against a column of my basilic, contemplating athwart the
dreary gloom these fiends of Tartarus dragging to execution the innocent
Nazarene. All around me was deserted. Jerusalem had vomited forth her
indwellers through the funeral gate that leads to Gemonica.
An air of desolation and sadness enveloped
me. My guards had joined the cavalry, and the centurion, with a display of
power, was endeavoring to keep order. I was left alone, and my breaking heart
admonished me that what was passing at that moment appertained rather to the
history of the gods than that of men. A loud clamor was heard proceeding from
Golgotha, which, borne on the winds, seemed to announce an agony such as was
never heard by mortal ears. Dark clouds lowered over the pinnacle of the
temple, and setting over the city covered it as with a veil. So dreadful were
the signs that men saw both in the heavens and on the earth that Dionysius the
Aeropagite is reported to have exclaimed, ‘Either the author of nature is
suffering or the universe is falling apart.’
Whilst these appalling scenes of nature
were transpiring, there was a dreadful earthquake in lower Egypt, which filled
everybody with fear, and scared the superstitious Jews almost to death. It is
said Balthasar, an aged and learned Jew of Antioch, was found dead after the
excitement was over. Whether he died from alarm or grief is not known. He was a
strong friend of the Nazarene.
Near the first hour of the night, I threw
my mantle around me and went down into the city toward the gates of Golgotha.
The sacrifice was consummated. The crowd was returning home, still agitated, it
is true, but gloomy, taciturn, and desperate. What they had witnessed had
stricken them with terror and remorse. I also saw my little Roman cohort pass
by mournfully, the standard-bearer having veiled his eagle in token of grief;
and I overheard some of the Jewish soldiers murmuring strange words, which I
did not understand. Others were recounting miracles very like those which have
so often smitten the Romans by the will of the gods. Sometimes, groups of men
and women would halt, then, looking back toward Mount Calvary, would remain
motionless in expectation of witnessing some new prodigy.
I returned to the praetorium, sad and
pensive. On ascending the stairs, the steps of which were still stained with
the blood of the Nazarene, I perceived an old man in a suppliant posture, and
behind him several Romans in tears. He threw himself at my feet and wept most
bitterly. It is painful to see an old man weep, and my heart being already
overcharged with grief, we, though strangers, wept together. And in truth it
seemed that the tears lay very shallow that day with many whom I perceived in
the vast concourse of people. I never witnessed such an extreme revulsion of
feeling. Those who betrayed and sold him, those who testified against him,
those who cried, “Crucify him, we have his blood,” all slunk off like cowardly
curs, and washed their teeth with vinegar. As I am told that Jesus taught a
resurrection after death, if such should be the fact, I am sure it commenced in
this vast crowd.
“Father,” said I to him, after gaining
control of my feelings, “who are you, and what is your request?”
“I am Joseph of Arimathea,” replied he,
“and am come to beg of you upon my knees the permission to bury Jesus of
Nazareth.”
“Your prayer is granted,” said I to him;
and at the same time I ordered Manlius to take some soldiers with him to
superintend the interment, lest it should be profaned.
A few days after, the sepulchre was found
empty. His disciples proclaimed all over the country that Jesus had risen from
the dead, as he had foretold. This created more excitement even than the
crucifixion. As to its truth, I cannot say for certain, but I have made some
investigation of the matter; so you can examine for yourself, and see if I am
in fault, as Herod represents.
Joseph buried Jesus in his own tomb.
Whether he contemplated his resurrection or calculated to cut him another, I
cannot tell. The day after he was buried [i.e., Saturday] one of the priests
came to the praetorium and said they were apprehensive that his disciples
intended to steal the body of Jesus and hide it, and then make it appear that
he had risen from the dead, as he had foretold, and of which they were
perfectly convinced. I sent him to the captain of the royal guard (Malcus) to
tell him to take the Jewish soldiers, place as many around the sepulchre as
were needed; then if anything should happen, they could blame themselves, and
not the Romans.
When the great excitement arose about the
sepulchre being found empty, I felt a deeper solicitude than ever. I sent for
Malcus, who told he had placed his lieutenant, Ben Isham, with one hundred
soldiers, around the sepulchre. He told me that Isham and the soldiers were
very much alarmed at what had occurred there that morning. I sent for this man,
Isham, who related to me, as near as I can recollect the following
circumstances: He said that at about the beginning of the fourth watch they saw
a soft and beautiful light over the sepulchre. He at first thought that the
women had come to embalm the body of Jesus, as was their custom, but he could
not see how they had gotten through the guards. While these thoughts were
passing through his mind, behold, the whole place was lighted up, and there
seemed to be crowds of the dead in their grave-clothes. All seemed to be
shouting and filled with ecstasy, while all around and above was the most beautiful
music he had ever heard; and the whole air seemed to be full of voices praising
God. At this time there seemed to be a reeling and swimming of the earth, so
that he turned so sick and faint that he could not stand on his feet. He said
the earth seemed to swim from under him, and his senses left him, so that he
knew not what did occur. I asked him in what condition he was when he came to
himself. He said he was lying on the ground with his face down. I asked him if
he could not have been mistaken as to the light. Was it not day that was coming
in the East? He said at first he thought of that, but at a stone’s cast it was
exceedingly dark; and then he remembered it was too early for day
I asked him if his dizziness might not
have come from being wakened up and getting up too suddenly, as it sometimes
had that effect. He said he was not, and had not been asleep all night, as the
penalty was death for him to sleep on duty. He said he had let some of the
soldiers sleep at a time. Some were asleep then. I asked him how long the scene
lasted. He said he did not know, but he thought nearly an hour. He said it was
hid by the light of day. I asked him if he went to the sepulchre after he had
come to himself. He said no, because he was afraid; that just as soon as relief
came, they all went to their quarters.
I asked him if he had been questioned by
the priests. He said they had. They wanted him to say it was an earthquake, and
that they were asleep, and offered him money to say that the disciples came and
stole Jesus; but he saw no disciples; he did not know that the body was gone
until he was told. I asked him what was the private opinion of those priests he
had conversed with. He said that some of them thought that Jesus was no man;
that he was not a human being; that he was not the son of Mary; that he was not
the same that was said to be born of the virgin in Bethlehem; that the same
persons had been on the earth before with Abraham and Lot, and at many times
and places.
It seems to me that, if the Jewish theory
be true, these conclusions are correct, for they are in accord with this man’s
life, as is known and testified by both friends and foes, for the elements were
no more in his hands than the clay in the hands of the potter. He could convert
water into wine; he could change death into life, disease into health; he could
calm the seas, still the storms, call up fish with a silver coin in its mouth.
Now, I say, if he could do all these things, which he did, and many more, as
the Jews all testify, and it was doing these things that created this enmity against
him–he was not charged with criminal offenses, nor was he charged with
violating any law, nor of wronging any individual in person, and all these
facts are known to thousands, as well by his foes as by his enemies–I am almost
ready to say, as did Manlius at the cross, “Truly, this was the Son of God.”
Now, noble Sovereign, this is as near the
facts in the case as I can arrive at, and I have taken pains to make the
statement very full, so that you may judge of my conduct upon the whole, as I
hear that Antipater has said many hard things of me in this matter. With the
promise of faithfulness and good wishes to my noble Sovereign,
I am your most obedient servant,
Pontius Pilate
