The Passion and Resurrection: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12 – 13 – 14 – 15 – 16
The Descent into Hades: 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 – 5 – 6 – 7 – 8 – 9 – 10 – 11 – 12
Epistle of Pilate to Claudius: 1
Also known as the Gospel of Nicodemus, the Acts of Pilate consists of three parts: a retelling of the trial, crucifixion, and subsequent resurrection of Christ, a fanciful story of Christ’s descent into Hades, and an occasionally appended pseudepigraphal letter from Pontius Pilate to Emperor Claudius. It is found primarily in Greek and Latin with the Latin recensions perhaps offering a more antique text. It is, in its most primordial form, likely a 4th-century work, although the appended letter may date to the 2nd century.
[[I, Ananias, the protector, of praetorian rank, educated in the Law, recognized from the Divine Writings our Lord Jesus Christ, and came near to Him by faith, and was accounted worthy of holy immersion: and I sought out the memorials that were made at that season in the time of our master Jesus Christ, which the Jews deposited with Pontius Pilate, and found the memorials in Hebrew, and by the good pleasure of God, I translated them into Greek for the informing of all of them that call on the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ: in the reign of our lord Flavius Theodosius, in the seventeenth year, and of Flavius Valentinianus the sixth, in the ninth indiction. All you, therefore, that read this and translate it into other books, remember me and pray for me that God will be gracious to me and be merciful to my sins which I have sinned against Him. Peace be to them that read and hear these things, and to their servants. Amen.
In the fifteenth year of the governance of Tiberius Caesar, emperor of the Romans, and of Herod, king of Galilee, in the nineteenth year of his rule, on the eighth of the Calends of April, which is the twenty-fifth of March, in the consulate of Rufus and Rubellio, in the fourth year of the two hundred and second Olympiad, Joseph who is Caiaphas being chief priest of the Jews: these are the things which after the Cross and Passion of the Lord, Nicodemus recorded and delivered to the chief priest and the rest of the Jews: and the same Nicodemus set them forth in Hebrew.]]
1. For the chief priests and scribes assembled in council, even Annas, and Caiaphas, and Somne, and Dothaim, and Gamaliel, Judas, Levi, and Nepthalim, Alexander, and Jairus, and the rest of the Jews, and came to Pilate accusing Jesus for many deeds, saying, “We know this Man, that He is the Son of Joseph the carpenter, begotten of Mary, and He says that He is the Son of God and a King; moreover, He pollutes the Sabbaths, and He would destroy the Law of our fathers.” Pilate says: “And what things are they that He does and would destroy the Law?” The Jews say: “We have a law that we should not heal any man on the Sabbath, but this Man of His evil deeds has healed the lame and the bent, the withered and the blind, and the paralytic, the dumb, and them that were possessed, on the Sabbath day!” Pilate says to them: “By what evil deeds?” They say to him: “He is a sorcerer, and by Beelzebul, the prince of the devils, he casts out devils, and they are all subject to Him.” Pilate says to them: “This is not to cast out devils by an unclean spirit, but by the god Asclepius.”
2. The Jews say to Pilate: “We implore your majesty that He appear before your judgment-seat and be heard.” And Pilate called them to him and said: “Tell me, how can I that am a governor examine a king?” They say to him: “We do not say that He is a king, but He says it of Himself.” And Pilate called the messenger and said to him: “Let Jesus be brought here, but with gentleness.” And the messenger went forth, and when he perceived Jesus, he worshiped Him, and took the kerchief that was on his hand and spread it on the earth, and says to Him: “Lord, walk hereon and enter in, for the governor calls You.” And when the Jews saw what the messenger had done, they cried out against Pilate, saying, “Why did you not summon Him by a herald to enter in, but by a messenger? For the messenger, when he saw Him, worshiped Him, and spread out his kerchief on the ground, and has made Him walk on it like a king!”
3. Then Pilate called for the messenger and said to him: “Why have you done this, and have spread your kerchief on the ground, and made Jesus to walk on it?” The messenger says to him: “Lord governor, when you sent me to Jerusalem to Alexander, I saw Jesus sitting on a donkey, and the children of the Hebrews held branches in their hands and cried out, and others spread their garments beneath Him, saying, “Save now, You that are in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord.”
4. The Jews cried out and said to the messenger: “The children of the Hebrews cried out in Hebrew: why then have you done it in Greek?” The messenger says to them: “I did ask one of the Jews and said: What is it that they cry out in Hebrew? And he interpreted it to me.” Pilate says to them: “And what did they cry in Hebrew?” The Jews say to him: “Hosanna, membrome! Barouchamma Adonai!” Pilate says to them: “And the Hosanna and the rest, how is it interpreted?” The Jews say to him: “Save now, You that are in the highest! Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord!” Pilate says to them: “If you yourselves bear witness of the words which were said of the children, wherein has the messenger sinned?” And they held their peace. The governor says to the messenger: “Go forth and bring Him in after whatever manner you will.” And the messenger went forth, and did after the former manner, and said to Jesus: “Lord, enter in: the governor calls you.”
5. Now when Jesus entered in, and the ensigns were holding the standards, the images of the standards bowed and paid homage to Jesus. And when the Jews saw the carriage of the standards, how they bowed themselves and paid homage to Jesus, they cried out above measure against the ensigns. But Pilate said to the Jews: “Do not marvel that the images bowed themselves and paid homage to Jesus.” The Jews say to Pilate: “We saw how the ensigns made them to bow and pay homage to Him.” And the governor called for the ensigns and says to them: “Why did you do so?” They say to Pilate: “We are Greeks and servers of temples, and how could we pay Him homage? For indeed, while we held the images, they bowed of themselves and paid homage to Him.”
6. Then Pilate says to the rulers of the synagogue and the elders of the people: “Choose out able and strong men and let them hold the standards, and let us see if they bow of themselves.” And the elders of the Jews took twelve men, strong and able, and made them to hold the standards by sixes, and they were set before the judgment-seat of the governor; and Pilate said to the messenger: “Take Him out of the Praetorium and bring Him in again after whatever manner you will.” And Jesus went out of the Praetorium—He and the messenger. And Pilate called to himself those that previously held the image and said to them: “I have sworn by the safety of Caesar that if the standards do not bow when Jesus enters in, I will cut off your heads.” And the governor commanded Jesus to enter in the second time. And the messenger did after the former manner and pressed Jesus greatly that He would walk on his kerchief; and He walked on it and entered in. And when He had entered, the standards bowed themselves again and paid homage to Jesus.
1. Now when Pilate saw it, he was afraid and sought to rise up from the judgment-seat. And while he yet thought to rise up, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with this just Man, for I have suffered many things because of Him by night.” And Pilate called to him all the Jews, and he said to them: “Do you know that my wife fears God and rather favors the customs of the Jews, with you?” They say to him: “Yes, we know it.” Pilate says to them: “Behold, my wife has sent to me, saying, Have nothing to do with this just Man, for I have suffered many things because of Him by night.” But the Jews answered and said to Pilate: “Did we not say to you that He is a sorcerer? Behold, He has sent a vision of a dream to your wife.”
2. And Pilate called Jesus to him and said to Him: “What is it that these witness against You? Do You say nothing?” But Jesus said: “If they had not had power, they would have spoken nothing; for every man has power over his own mouth, to speak good or evil: they will see to it.”
3. The elders of the Jews answered and said to Jesus: “What will we see? Firstly, that You were born of fornication; secondly, that Your birth in Beth-Lehem was the cause of the slaying of children; thirdly, that Your father Joseph and Your mother Mary fled into Egypt because they had no confidence before the people.”
4. Then certain of them that stood by, devout men of the Jews, said: “We do not say that He came of fornication, but we know that Joseph was betrothed to Mary, and He was not born of fornication.” Pilate says to those Jews which said that He came of fornication: “This claim of yours is not true, for there were espousals, as these also say which are of your nation.” Annas and Caiaphas say to Pilate: “The whole multitude of us cry out that He was born of fornication, and we are not believed: but these are proselytes and disciples of His.” And Pilate called Annas and Caiaphas to him and said to them: “What are proselytes?” They say to him: “They were born children of Greeks, and they have now become Jews.” Then they which said that He was not born of fornication, even Lazarus, Asterius, Antonius, Jacob, Amnes, Zenas, Samuel, Isaac, Phinehas, Crispus, Agrippa, and Judas, said: “We were not born proselytes, but we are children of Jews, and we speak the truth; for we were truly present at the espousals of Joseph and Mary.”
5. And Pilate called to him those twelve men which said that He was not born of fornication and says to them: “I adjure you by the safety of Caesar, are these things true which you have said—that He was not born of fornication?” They say to Pilate: “We have a law that we must not swear, because it is sin; but let them swear by the safety of Caesar that it is not as we have said, and we will be guilty of death.” Pilate says to Annas and Caiaphas: “Do you answer nothing to these things?” Annas and Caiaphas say to Pilate: “These twelve men are believed which say that He was not born of fornication, but the whole multitude of us cry out that He was born of fornication, and is a sorcerer, and says that He is the Son of God and a King, and we are not believed.”
6. And Pilate commanded the whole multitude to go out, excepting the twelve men which said that He was not born of fornication; and he commanded Jesus to be set apart; and Pilate says to them: “For what reason do they desire to put Him to death?” They say to Pilate: “They have jealousy, because He heals on the Sabbath day.” Pilate says: “For a good work do they desire to put Him to death?” They say to him: “Yes.”
1. And Pilate was filled with indignation, and went forth outside the Praetorium, and says to them: “I call the sun to witness that I find no fault in this Man.” The Jews answered and said to the governor: “If this Man were not a wrongdoer we would not have delivered Him to you.” And Pilate said: “You take Him [then] and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews said to Pilate: “It is not lawful for us to put any man to death.” Pilate said: “Has God forbidden you to slay, and allowed me?”
2. And Pilate went in again into the Praetorium, and called Jesus apart, and said to him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered and said to Pilate: “Did you say this thing of yourself, or did others tell it to you of Me?” Pilate answered Jesus: “Am I also a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered You to me: what have You done?” Jesus answered: “My kingdom is not of this world; for if My kingdom were of this world, My servants would have striven that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now My kingdom is not from here.” Pilate said to Him: “Are You a king then?” Jesus answered him: “You say that I am a King—for this reason I was born and have come, that everyone that is of the truth should hear My voice.” Pilate says to Him: “What is truth?” Jesus says to him: “Truth is of Heaven.” Pilate says: “Is there not truth on earth?” Jesus says to Pilate: “You see how they which speak the truth are condemned by them that have authority on earth.”
1. And Pilate left Jesus in the Praetorium, and went forth to the Jews, and said to them: “I find no fault in Him.” The Jews say to him: “This Man said: I am able to destroy this temple and in three days to build it up.” Pilate says: “What temple?” The Jews say: “That which Solomon built in forty-six years, but which this Man says He will destroy and build it in three days.” Pilate says to them: “I am guiltless of the blood of this just Man: you see to it.” The Jews say: “His blood be on us and on our children.”
2. And Pilate called the elders, and the priests, and Levites to him and said to them secretly: “Do not do this, for there is nothing worthy of death whereof you have accused Him, for your accusation is concerning healing and profaning of the Sabbath.” The elders, and the priests, and Levites say: “If a man blasphemes against Caesar, is he worthy of death or no?” Pilate says: “He is worthy of death.” The Jews say to Pilate: “If a man is worthy of death if he blasphemes against Caesar, [how much more since] this man has blasphemed against God.”
3. Then the governor commanded all the Jews to go out from the Praetorium, and he called Jesus to him and says to Him: “What will I do with You?” Jesus says to Pilate: “Do as it has been given you.” Pilate says: “How has it been given?” Jesus says: “Moses and the prophets foretold concerning My death and rising again.” Now the Jews inquired by stealth and heard, and they say to Pilate: “What more do you need to hear of this blasphemy?” Pilate says to the Jews: “If this word is of blasphemy, you take Him for His blasphemy, and bring Him into your synagogue, and judge Him according to your law.” The Jews say to Pilate: “It is contained in our law, that if a man sins against a man, he is worthy to receive forty stripes save one, but He that blasphemes against God, that he should be stoned with stoning.”
4. Pilate says to them: “Take Him and avenge yourselves on Him in whatever manner you will.” The Jews say to Pilate: “We will that He be crucified.” Pilate says: “He does not deserve to be crucified.”
5. Now as the governor looked around on the multitude of the Jews which stood by, he beheld many of the Jews weeping, and he said: “Not all the multitude desires that He should be put to death.” The elder of the Jews said: “To this end have the whole multitude of us come here, that He should be put to death.” Pilate says to the Jews: “Why should He die?” The Jews said: “Because He called Himself the Son of God, and a King.”
1. But a certain man, Nicodemus, a Jew, came and stood before the governor and said: “I beg you, pious lord, allow me to speak a few words.” Pilate says: “Speak.” Nicodemus says: “I said to the elders, and the priests, and Levites, and to all the multitude of the Jews in the synagogue: Why do you contend with this Man? This Man does many wonderful signs, which no man has done, neither will do: leave Him alone and do not plot any evil against Him. If the signs which He does are of God, they will stand, but if they are of men, they will come to nothing. For truly Moses, when he was sent from God into Egypt, did many signs, which God commanded him to do before Pharaoh, king of Egypt; and there were there certain men, servants of Pharaoh, Jannes and Jambres, and they also did many signs of them which Moses did, and the Egyptians held them as gods, even Jannes and Jambres; and whereas the signs which they did were not of God, they perished and those also that believed on them. And now let this Man go, for He is not worthy of death.”
2. The Jews say to Nicodemus: “You became His disciple and speak on His behalf.” Nicodemus says to them: “Has the governor also become His disciple, that He speaks on His behalf? Did Caesar not appoint him to this dignity?” And the Jews were raging and gnashing their teeth against Nicodemus. Pilate says to them: “Why gnash your teeth against him, when you have heard the truth?” The Jews say to Nicodemus: “May you receive His truth and His portion.” Nicodemus says: “Amen! Amen! May I receive it as you have said.”
1. Now one of the Jews came forward and pressed the governor that he might speak a word. The governor says: “If you will say anything, speak.” And the Jew said: “Thirty-eight years I lay on a bed in suffering of pains, and at the coming of Jesus many that were possessed and laid with various diseases were healed by Him, and certain young men took pity on me, and carried me with my bed, and brought me to Him; and when Jesus saw me, He had compassion, and spoke a word to me: Take up your bed and walk. And I took up my bed and walked.” The Jews say to Pilate: “Ask of him what day it was whereon he was healed?” Pilate said to him that was healed of his sickness: “Tell me truly: what day was it whereon He healed you?” He that was healed says: “On the Sabbath.” The Jews say: “Did we not inform you so, that on the Sabbath He heals and casts out devils?”
2. And another Jew came forward and said: “I was born blind: I heard words but I saw no man’s face; and as Jesus passed by, I cried with a loud voice: Have mercy on me, O Son of David! And He took pity on me and put His hands on my eyes, and I received sight immediately.”
3. And another Jew came forward and said: “I was bowed, and He made me straight with a word.” And another said: “I was a leper, and He healed me with a word.”
And a certain woman named Veronica [[or Bernice]], crying out from afar, said: “I had an issue of blood and touched the hem of His garment, and the flowing of my blood was stopped which I had [for] twelve years.” The Jews say: “We have a law that a woman will not come to give testimony.”
And certain others, even a multitude both of men and women cried out, saying, “This Man is a prophet and the devils are subject to Him.” Pilate says to them which said, “The devils are subject to Him”: “Why were your teachers not also subject to Him?” They say to Pilate: “We do not know.” Others also said: “He raised up Lazarus, who was dead, out of his tomb after four days.” And the governor was afraid and said to all the multitude of the Jews: “Why will you shed innocent blood?”
1. And he called to himself Nicodemus and those twelve men which said that He was not born of fornication, and he said to them: “What will I do, for a sedition rises among the people?” They say to him: “We do not know; let them see to it.” Again, Pilate called for all the multitude of the Jews and says: “You know that you have a custom that at the Celebration of Unleavened Bread I should release a prisoner to you. Now I have a prisoner under condemnation in the prison, a murderer, Barabbas by name, and also this Jesus who stands before you, in whom I find no fault: “Whom would you have me release to you?” But they cried out: “Barabbas!” Pilate says: “What will I do then with Jesus who is called Christ?” The Jews say: “Let Him be crucified!” But certain of the Jews answered: “You are not a friend of Caesar’s if you let this Man go, for He called Himself the Son of God and a King: you will therefore have Him for king, and not Caesar.”
2. And Pilate was angry and said to the Jews: “Your nation is always seditious and you rebel against your benefactors.” The Jews say: “Against what benefactors?” Pilate says: “According as I have heard, your God brought you out of Egypt, out of hard bondage, and led you safe through the sea as by dry land, and in the wilderness He nourished you with manna, and gave you quails, and gave you water to drink out of a rock, and gave to you a law. And in all these things you provoked your God to anger, and sought out a molten calf, and angered your God, and He sought to slay you: and Moses made supplication for you, and you were not put to death. And now you accuse me that I hate the emperor.”
3. And he rose up from the judgment-seat and sought to go forth. And the Jews cried out, saying, “We know our king: even Caesar and not Jesus! For indeed, the wise men brought gifts from the east to Him as to a king, and when Herod heard from the wise men that a king was born, he sought to slay Him, and when His father Joseph knew that, he took Him and His mother and they fled into Egypt. And when Herod heard it, he destroyed the children of the Hebrews that were born in Beth-Lehem.”
4. And when Pilate heard these words, he was afraid. And Pilate silenced the multitude, because they still cried out, and he said to them: “So, then, this is He whom Herod sought?” The Jews say: “Yes, this is He.” And Pilate took water and washed his hands before the sun, saying, “I am innocent of the blood of this just Man: see to it.” Again, the Jews cried out: “His blood be on us and on our children.”
5. Then Pilate commanded the veil to be drawn before the judgment-seat whereon he sat, and he says to Jesus: “Your nation has accused You as being a king: therefore, I have decreed that You should first be scourged according to the law of the pious emperors, and thereafter hanged on the cross in the garden wherein You were taken: and let Dysmas and Gestas, the two criminals, be crucified with You.”
1. And Jesus went forth out of the Praetorium, and the two criminals with Him. And when they had come to the place, they stripped Him of His garments, and girded Him with a linen cloth, and put a crown of thorns around His head: likewise, they also hung up the two criminals. But Jesus said: “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And the soldiers divided His garments among them.
2. And the people stood looking on Him, and the chief priests and the rulers with them derided Him, saying, “He saved others, let Him [then] save Himself if He is the Son of God.” And the soldiers also mocked Him, coming and offering Him vinegar with gall; and they said: “If you are the King of the Jews, save Yourself.”
3. And Pilate, after the sentencing, commanded His accusation to be written for a title in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew according to the saying of the Jews: that He was the King of the Jews.
4. And one of the criminals that were hanged [(Gestas)] spoke to Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself, and us.” But Dysmas answering rebuked him, saying, “Do you not at all fear God, seeing that you are in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward for our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” And he said to Jesus: “Remember me, Lord, in Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him: “Truly, truly, I say to you, that today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
1. And it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the land until the ninth hour, for the sun was darkened: and the veil of the temple was torn apart in the middle. And Jesus called with a loud voice and said: “Father, baddach ephkid rouel!” Which is interpreted: “Into your hands I commit My spirit!” And having thus spoken, He gave up the spirit. And when the centurion saw what was done, he glorified God, saying, “This Man was righteous.” And all the multitudes that had come to the sight, when they beheld what was done, struck their breasts and returned.
2. But the centurion reported to the governor the things that had come to pass: and when the governor and his wife heard, they were greatly worried, and neither ate nor drank that day. And Pilate sent for the Jews and said to them: “Did you see that which came to pass?” But they said: “There was an eclipse of the sun after the accustomed sort.”
3. And His acquaintance had stood far off, and the women which came with Him from Galilee, beholding these things. But a certain man named Joseph, being a counselor, of the city of Arimathea, who also himself looked for the Kingdom of God, this man went to Pilate and begged for the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in a hewn tomb wherein a man was never yet laid.
1. Now when the Jews heard that Joseph had begged for the body of Jesus, they sought for him, and for the twelve men which said that Jesus was not born of fornication, and for Nicodemus and many others which had come forth before Pilate and declared His good works. But they all hid themselves, and Nicodemus alone was seen by them, for he was a ruler of the Jews. And Nicodemus said to them: “How did you come into the synagogue?” The Jews say to him: “How did you come into the synagogue? For you are united with Him, and His portion will be with you in the life to come.” Nicodemus says: “Amen! Amen!” Likewise, Joseph also came forth and said to them: “Why is it that you are agitated against me, because I begged for the body of Jesus? Behold, I have laid it in my new tomb, having wrapped it in clean linen, and I rolled a stone over the door of the cave. And you have not dealt well with the Just One, for you did not convert when you had crucified Him, but you also pierced Him with a spear.”
2. But the Jews took hold on Joseph and commanded him to be put in safeguard until the first day of the week; and they said to him: “Know that the time does not allow us to do anything against you, because the Sabbath dawns: but know that you will not obtain burial, but we will give your flesh to the birds of the sky.” Joseph says to them: “This is the word of Goliath, the boastful, which reproached the living God and the holy David. For God said by the prophet: Vengeance is Mine, and I will repay, says the Lord. And now, behold, one that was uncircumcised, but circumcised in heart, took water and washed his hands before the sun, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see to it. And you answered Pilate and said: His blood be on us and on our children. And now I fear lest the wrath of the Lord come on you and on your children, as you have said.” But when the Jews heard these words, they grew bitter in soul, and caught hold of Joseph, and took him, and shut him up in a house wherein was no window, and guards were set at the door; and they sealed the door of the place where Joseph was shut up.
3. And on the Sabbath day, the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests, and the Levites made an ordinance that all men should appear in the synagogue on the first day of the week. And all the multitude rose up early and took council in the synagogue by what death they should kill him. And when the council was set, they commanded him to be brought with great dishonor. And when they had opened the door, they did not find him. And all the people were beside themselves and amazed, because they found the seals closed, and Caiaphas had the key. And they did not dare any longer to lay hands on them that had spoken in behalf of Jesus before Pilate.
1. And while they yet sat in the synagogue and marveled because of Joseph, there came certain of the guard which the Jews had asked of Pilate to keep the tomb of Jesus, lest perhaps His disciples should come and steal Him away. And they spoke and declared to the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the Levites that which had come to pass: how there was a great earthquake, and we saw a messenger descend from Heaven, and he rolled away the stone from the mouth of the cave and sat on it. And he shined like snow and like lightning, and we were severely afraid and lay as dead men. And we heard the voice of the messenger speaking with the women which waited at the tomb, saying, “Do not fear, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here: He is risen, [just] as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay, and go quickly and say to His disciples that He is risen from the dead, and is in Galilee.”
2. The Jews say: “With what women did He speak?” They of the guard say: “We do not know who they were.” The Jews say: “At what hour was it?” They of the guard say: “At midnight.” The Jews say: “And why did you not take the women?” They of the guard say: “We had become as dead men through fear, and we did not look to see the light of the day; how then could we take them?” The Jews say: “As the Lord lives, we do not believe you.” They of the guard say to the Jews: “So many signs you saw in that Man, and you did not believe; how then should you believe us? Truly you swore correctly, As the Lord lives, for He lives indeed.” Again, they of the guard say: “We have heard that you shut up [the man] that begged for the body of Jesus, and that you sealed the door; and when you had opened it you did not find him. Therefore, give [over] Joseph, and we will give you Jesus.” The Jews say: “Joseph has departed to his own city.” They of the guard say to the Jews: “Jesus also is risen, as we have heard from the messenger, and He is in Galilee.”
3. And when the Jews heard these words, they were severely afraid, saying, “Take heed lest this report be heard and all men incline to Jesus.” And the Jews took counsel, and laid down much money, and gave it to the soldiers, saying, “Say: While we slept, His disciples came by night and stole Him away. And if this comes to the governor’s hearing, we will persuade him and secure you.” And they took the money and did as they were instructed. [[And this report of theirs was published abroad among all men.]]
1. Now a certain priest named Phinehas, and Addas a teacher, and Aggaeus a Levite, came down from Galilee to Jerusalem and told the rulers of the synagogue and the priests and the Levites, saying, “We saw Jesus and His disciples sitting on the mountain which is called Mamilch, and He said to His disciples: Go into all the world and preach to every creature: he that believes and is immersed will be saved, but he that disbelieves will be condemned. [[And these signs will follow them that believe: in My Name they will cast out devils, they will speak with new tongues, they will take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing it will not hurt them; they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover.]] And while Jesus yet spoke to His disciples, we saw Him taken up into Heaven.”
2. The elders, and the priests, and Levites say: “Give glory to the God of Israel and make confession to Him: did you indeed hear and see those things which you have told us?” They that told them say: “As the Lord God of our fathers Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob lives, we did [indeed] hear these things, and we saw Him taken up into Heaven.” The elders, and the priests, and the Levites say to them: “Did you come for this end, that you might tell us [this], or did you come to pay your vows to God?” And they say: “To pay our vows to God.” The elders, and the chief priests, and the Levites say to them: “If you came to pay your vows to God, to what purpose is this idle tale which you have babbled before all the people?” Phinehas the priest, and Addas the teacher, and Aggaeus the Levite say to the rulers of the synagogue, and priests, and Levites: “If these words which you have spoken and seen are sin, behold, we are before you: do to us as seems good in your eyes.” And they took the Scroll of the Law and adjured them that they should no longer tell any man these words, and they gave them to eat and to drink, and put them out of the city; moreover, they gave them money, and three men to go with them, and they set them on their way as far as Galilee, and they departed in peace.
3. Now when these men had departed into Galilee, the chief priests, and the rulers of the synagogue, and the elders gathered together in the synagogue, and shut the gate, and lamented with a great lamentation, saying, “What is this sign which has come to pass in Israel?” But Annas and Caiaphas said: “Why are you troubled? Why do you weep? Do you not know that His disciples gave much gold to them that kept the tomb and taught them to say that a messenger came down and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb?” But the priests and the elders said: “[If] it be so, that His disciples did steal away His body, but how has His soul entered into His body, and how does He reside in Galilee?” But they could not answer these things, and hardly in the end said: “It is not lawful for us to believe the uncircumcised. Should we believe the soldiers, that a messenger came down from Heaven and rolled away the stone from the door of the tomb? But in reality, His disciples gave . . . tomb. Do you not know that it is not lawful for Jews to believe any word of the uncircumcised, knowing that they who received much good from us have spoken according as we taught them?”
1. And Nicodemus rose up and stood before the council, saying, “You speak well. Do you not know, O people of the Lord, the men that came down out of Galilee, that they fear God and are men of substance, hating covetousness, men of peace? And they have told you with an oath, saying, We saw Jesus on Mount Mamilch with His disciples and that He taught them all things that you heard of them; and they say, We saw Him taken up into Heaven. And no man asked them in what manner He was taken up. For just as the scroll of the Holy Writings has taught us that Elijah also was taken up into Heaven, and Elisha cried out with a loud voice, and Elijah cast his hairy cloak on Elisha, and Elisha cast the cloak on [the] Jordan, and passed over, and went to Jericho. And the sons of the prophets met him and said: Elisha, where is your lord Elijah? And he said that he was taken up into Heaven. And they said to Elisha: Has a spirit not caught him up and cast him on one of the mountains? But let us take our servants with us and seek after him. And they persuaded Elisha, and he went with them, and they sought him [for] three days and did not find him; and they knew that he had been taken up. And now listen to me, and let us send into all the mountains of Israel and see whether the Christ was not taken up by a spirit and cast on one of the mountains.” And this saying pleased them all: and they sent into all the mountains, and sought Jesus, and did not find Him. But they found Joseph in Arimathea, and no man dared lay hands on him.
2. And they told the elders, and the priests, and the Levites, saying, “We went about throughout all the coasts of Israel, and we did not find Jesus; but Joseph we found in Arimathea.” And when they heard of Joseph, they rejoiced and gave glory to the God of Israel. And the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests, and the Levites took counsel [regarding] how they should meet with Joseph, and they took a volume of paper and wrote to Joseph these words: “Peace be to you. We know that we have sinned against God and against you, and we have prayed to the God of Israel that you should agree to come to your fathers and to your children, for we are all troubled, because when we opened the door we did not find you; and we know that we devised an evil counsel against you, but the Lord helped you. And the Lord Himself made of no effect our counsel against you, O father Joseph—you that are honorable among all the people.”
3. And they chose out of all Israel seven men that were friends of Joseph, whom Joseph also himself accounted his friends, and the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests, and the Levites said to them: “See: if he receives our letter and reads it, know that he will come with you to us: but if he does not read it, know that he is displeased with us, and salute him in peace and return to us.” And they blessed the men and let them go. And the men came to Joseph, and paid him respect, and said to him: “Peace be to you.” And he said: “Peace be to you and to all the people of Israel.” And they gave him the scroll of the letter, and Joseph received it, and read it, and embraced the letter, and blessed God, and said: “Blessed be the Lord God, who has redeemed Israel from shedding innocent blood; and blessed be the Lord, who sent His messenger and sheltered me under his wings.” And he kissed them and set a table before them, and they ate, and drank, and lay there.
4. And they rose up early and prayed; and Joseph saddled his female donkey and went with the men, and they came to the holy city, even Jerusalem. And all the people came to meet Joseph and cried: “Peace be to your entering in!” And he said to all the people: “Peace be to you”; and all the people kissed him. And the people prayed with Joseph, and they were astonished at the sight of him. And Nicodemus received him into his house, and made a great feast, and called Annas and Caiaphas, and the elders, and the priests, and the Levites to his house. And they celebrated, eating and drinking with Joseph. And when they had sung a hymn, every man went to his house. But Joseph abode in the house of Nicodemus.
5. And the next day, which was the Preparation, the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests, and the Levites rose up early and came to the house of Nicodemus, and Nicodemus met them and said: “Peace be to you.” And they said: “Peace be to you, and to Joseph, and to all your house, and to all the house of Joseph.” And he brought them into his house. And the whole council was set, and Joseph sat between Annas and Caiaphas, and no man dared speak a word to him. And Joseph said: “Why is it that you have called me?” And they beckoned to Nicodemus that he should speak to Joseph. And Nicodemus opened his mouth and said to Joseph: “Father, you know that the respected doctors, and the priests, and the Levites seek to learn a matter from you.” And Joseph said: “Inquire.” And Annas and Caiaphas took the Scroll of the Law and adjured Joseph, saying, “Give glory to the God of Israel and make confession to Him: [[for Achar, when he was adjured by the prophet Joshua, did not deny himself, but declared to him all things and did not hide a word from him: therefore, you also must not hide from us so much as a word.” And Joseph [said]: “I will not hide one word from you.”]] And they said to him: “We were greatly distressed because you begged for the body of Jesus, and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid Him in a tomb. And for this reason, we put you in safeguard in a house wherein there was no window, and we put keys and seals on the doors, and guards did keep the place wherein you were shut up. And on the first day of the week, we opened it and did not find you, and we were deeply troubled, and amazement fell on all the people of the Lord until yesterday. Now, therefore, declare to us what happened to you.”
6. And Joseph said: “On the Day of Preparation, about the tenth hour, you did shut me up, and I remained there the whole Sabbath. And at midnight, as I stood and prayed, the house wherein you shut me up was taken up by the four corners, and I saw as it were a flashing of light in my eyes, and being filled with fear, I fell to the earth. And One took me by the hand and removed me from the place whereon I had fallen; and moisture of water was shed on me from my head to my feet, and an aroma of ointment came around my nostrils. And He wiped my face, and kissed me, and said to me: Do not fear, Joseph: open your eyes and see who it is that speaks with you. And I looked up and saw Jesus, and I trembled and supposed that it was a spirit: and I said the commandments; and He said them with me. And you are not ignorant that a spirit, if it meets any man and hears the commandments, immediately flees. And when I perceived that He said them with me, I said to Him: Rabbi Elijah? And He said to me: I am not Elijah. And I said to Him: Who are You, Lord? And He said to me: I am Jesus, whose body you begged for from Pilate, and clothed Me in clean linen, and covered My face with a napkin, and laid Me in your new cave, and rolled a great stone on the door of the cave. And I said to Him that spoke with me: Show me the place where I laid You. And He brought me and showed me the place where I laid Him, and the linen cloth lay therein, and the napkin that was on His face. And I knew that it was Jesus. And He took me by the hand and set me in the midst of my house, the doors being shut, and laid me on my bed and said to me: Peace be to you. And He kissed me and said to me: Until forty days are ended, do not go out of your house: for behold, I go to My brothers—into Galilee.”
1. And when the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests, and the Levites heard these words of Joseph, they became as dead men and fell to the ground, and they fasted until the ninth hour. And Nicodemus and Joseph comforted Annas, and Caiaphas, and the priests, and the Levites, saying, “Rise up, and stand on your feet, and taste bread, and strengthen your souls, for tomorrow is the Sabbath of the Lord.” And they rose up, and prayed to God, and ate, and drank, and departed—every man to his house.
2. And on the Sabbath, the teachers, and the priests, and Levites sat and questioned one another and said: “What is this wrath that has come on us? For we know His father and His mother.” Levi the teacher says: “I know that His parents feared God and did not hold back their vows, and they paid tithes three times a year. And when Jesus was born, His parents brought Him up to this place and gave sacrifices and burnt-offerings to God. And the great teacher Simeon took Him into his arms and said: Now let Your servant, Lord, depart in peace, for my eyes have seen Your salvation which You have prepared before the face of all peoples: a light to lighten the nations and the glory of Your people Israel. And Simeon blessed them and said to His mother Mary: I give you good tidings concerning this Child. And Mary said: Good, my lord? And Simeon said to her: Good. Behold, He is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against: and a sword will pierce through your own heart also, so that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”
3. They say to Levi the teacher: “How do you know these things?” Levi says to them: “Do you not know that from Him I learned the Law?” The council says to him: “We would see your father.” And they sent after his father, and asked of him, and he said to them: “Why did you not believe my son? The blessed and righteous Simeon, he did teach him the Law.” The council says: “Rabbi Levi, is the word true which you have spoken?” And he said: “It is true.” Then the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests, and the Levites said among themselves: “Come, let us send into Galilee to the three men which came and told us of His teaching and His being taken up, and let them tell us how they saw Him taken up.” And this word pleased them all, and they sent the three men which before had gone with them into Galilee and said to them: “Say to Rabbi Addas, and Rabbi Phinehas, and Rabbi Aggaeus: Peace be to you and to all that are with you. Inasmuch as great questioning has arisen in the council, we have sent to you to call you to this holy place of Jerusalem.”
4. And the men went into Galilee, and found them sitting and meditating on the Law, and saluted them in peace. And the men that were in Galilee said to them that had come to them: “Peace be on all Israel.” And they said: “Peace be to you.” Again, they said to them: “Why have you come?” And they that were sent said: “The council calls you to the holy city [of] Jerusalem.” And when the men heard that they were requested by the council, they prayed to God, and sat down to eat with the men, and ate and drank, and rose up and came in peace to Jerusalem.
5. And the next day, the council was set in the synagogue, and they examined them, saying, “Did you indeed see Jesus sitting on Mount Mamilch, as He taught His eleven disciples, and saw Him taken up?” And the men answered them and said: “Even as we saw Him taken up, even so did we tell it to you.”
6. Annas says: “Set them apart from one another, and let us see if their word agrees.” And they set them apart from one another, and they call Addas first and say to him: “How did you see Jesus taken up?” Addas says: “While He yet sat on Mount Mamilch and taught His disciples, we saw a cloud that overshadowed Him and His disciples: and the cloud carried Him up into Heaven, and His disciples were lying on their faces on the earth.” And they called Phinehas the priest, and questioned him also, saying, “How did you see Jesus taken up?” And he spoke in like manner. And again, they asked Aggaeus, and he also spoke in like manner. And the council said: “It is contained in the Law of Moses: At the mouth of two or three will every word be established.” Abuthem the teacher says: “It is written in the Law: Enoch walked with God and is not, because God took him.” Jairus the teacher said: “Also, we have heard of the death of the holy Moses and have not seen him; for it is written in the Law of the Lord: And Moses died at the mouth of the Lord, and no man knew of his tomb to this day.” And Rabbi Levi said: “Why was it that Rabbi Symeon said when he saw Jesus: Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign spoken against?” And Rabbi Isaac said: “It is written in the Law: Behold, I send My messenger before your face, which will go before you to keep you in every good way, for My Name is named thereon.”
7. Then Annas and Caiaphas said: “You have said those things which are written in the Law of Moses well, that no man saw the death of Enoch, and no man has named the death of Moses. But Jesus spoke before Pilate, and we know that we saw Him receive strikes and spittings on His face, and that the soldiers put a crown of thorns on Him, and that He was scourged and received condemnation from Pilate, and that He was crucified at the Place of a Skull, and two thieves with Him, and that they gave Him vinegar to drink with gall, and that Longinus the soldier pierced His side with a spear, and that Joseph, our honorable father, begged for His body, and that, as he says, He rose again, and as the three teachers say: We saw Him taken up into Heaven, and that Rabbi Levi spoke and testified to the things which were spoken by Rabbi Simeon, and that he said: Behold, this Child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel, and for a sign spoken against.” And all the teachers said to all the people of the Lord: “If this has come to pass from the Lord, and it is marvelous in our eyes, you will surely know, O house of Jacob, that it is written: Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree. And another Writing teaches: The gods which did not make the heavens and the earth will perish.” And the priests and the Levites said to one another: “If His memorial endures until the Sommos, which is called the Jubilee, know that He will prevail forever and raise up for Himself a new people.” Then the rulers of the synagogue, and the priests, and the Levites admonished all Israel, saying, “Cursed is that man who will worship that which man’s hand has made, and cursed is the man who will worship creatures beside the Creator.” And all the people said: “Amen! Amen!”
8. And all the people sang a hymn to the Lord and said: “Blessed be the Lord who has given rest to the people of Israel || According to all that He spoke. Not one word has fallen to the ground of all His good sayings || Which He spoke to His servant Moses. The Lord our God be with us as He was with our fathers: Let Him not forsake us. And let Him not destroy us from turning our heart toward Him, || From walking in all His ways and keeping His statutes || And His judgments which He commanded our fathers. And the Lord will be King over all the earth in that day. And there will be one Lord and His Name one, || Even the Lord our King: He will save us. There is none like to you, O Lord. Great are You, O Lord, || And great is Your Name. Heal us, O Lord, by Your power, || And we will be healed: Save us, Lord, and we will be saved, || For we are Your portion and Your inheritance. And the Lord will not forsake His people || For His great Name’s sake, || For the Lord has begun to make us to be His people.” And when they had all sung this hymn, they departed—each man to his house—glorifying God. [[For His is the glory, world without end. Amen.]]
1. And Joseph arose and said to Annas and Caiaphas: “Truly and rightly do you marvel because you have heard that Jesus has been seen alive after death, and that He has ascended into Heaven. Nevertheless, it is more marvelous that He did not rise alone from the dead, but raised up alive many other dead out of their tombs, and they have been seen by many in Jerusalem. And now listen to me; for we all know the blessed Simeon, the chief priest which received the Child Jesus in his hands in the temple. And this Simeon had two sons, brothers in blood, and we all were at their falling-asleep and at their burial. Therefore, go and look on their tombs: for they are open, because they have risen; and behold, they are in the city of Arimathea dwelling together in prayer. And indeed, men hear them crying out, yet they speak with no man, but are silent as dead men. But come, let us go to them and with all honor and gentleness, bring them to us, and if we adjure them, perhaps they will tell us concerning the mystery of their rising again.”
2. When they heard these things, they all rejoiced. And Annas and Caiaphas, Nicodemus, and Joseph, and Gamaliel went and did not find them in their tomb, but they went to the city of Arimathea and found them there, kneeling on their knees and giving themselves to prayer. And they kissed them, and with all reverence and in the fear of God, they brought them to Jerusalem into the synagogue. And they shut the doors, and took the Law of the Lord, and put it into their hands, and adjured them by the God Adonai and the God of Israel which spoke to our fathers by the prophets, saying, “Do you believe that it is Jesus which raised you from the dead? Tell us how you have arisen from the dead.”
3. And when Karinus and Leucius heard this adjuration, they trembled in their body and groaned, being troubled in heart. And looking up together toward the sky, they made the Sign of the Cross with their fingers on their tongues, and both of them immediately spoke, saying, “Give each of us a volume of paper, and let us write that which we have seen and heard.” And they gave them to them, and each of them sat down and wrote, saying:
1. O Lord Jesus Christ, the life and resurrection of the dead, allow us to speak of the mysteries of Your majesty which you performed after Your death on the Cross, inasmuch as we have been adjured by Your Name. For You commanded us, Your servants, to tell no man the secrets of Your divine majesty which You worked in Hades. Now when we were set together with all our fathers in the deep, in obscurity of darkness, suddenly there came a golden heat of the sun and a purple and royal light shining on us. And immediately, the father of the whole race of men, together with all the patriarchs and prophets, rejoiced, saying, “This Light is the beginning of everlasting light which promised to send to us His coeternal Light.” And Isaiah cried out and said: “This is the Light of the Father, even the Son of God, according as I prophesied when I lived on the earth: The land of Zebulon and the land of Naphtali || Beyond [the] Jordan, Galilee of the nations: The people that walked in darkness have seen a great light, || And they that dwell in the land of the shadow of death, || On them did the light shine. And now it has come and shone on us that sit in death.”
2. And as we all rejoiced in the light which shined on us, there came to us our father Simeon, and he rejoicing said to us: “Glorify the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God; for I received Him in my hands in the temple when He was born a Child, and being moved by the Holy Spirit, I made confession and said to Him: Now my eyes have seen Your salvation, which You have prepared before the face of all people—a light to lighten the nations, and to be the glory of Your people Israel.” And when they heard these things, the whole multitude of the holy ones rejoiced yet more.
3. And after that, there came one as it were a dweller in the wilderness, and he was inquired of by all: “Who are you?” And he answered them and said: “I am John, the voice and the prophet of the Most High, which came before the face of His advent to prepare His ways, to give knowledge of salvation to His people, for the forgiveness of their sins. And when I saw Him coming to me, being moved by the Holy Spirit, I said: Behold, the Lamb of God! Behold, Him that takes away the sins of the world! And I immersed Him in the Jordan River, and saw the Holy Spirit descending on Him in the likeness of a dove, and heard a voice out of Heaven, saying, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And now I have come before His face and come down to declare to you that He is at hand to visit us, even the Dayspring, the Son of God, coming from on high to us that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death.”
And when father Adam that was first created heard this, even that Jesus was immersed in [the] Jordan, he cried out to his son Seth, saying, “Declare to your sons the patriarchs and the prophets all that you heard from Michael the chief-messenger, when I sent you to the gates of Paradise that you might plead for God to send you His messenger to give you the oil of the Tree of Mercy to anoint my body when I was sick.” Then Seth drew near to the holy patriarchs and prophets, and he said: “When I, Seth, was praying at the gates of Paradise, behold, Michael the messenger of the Lord appeared to me, saying, I am sent to you from the Lord: it is I that am set over the body of man. And I say to you, Seth, do not trouble yourself with tears, praying and pleading for the oil of the Tree of Mercy, that you may anoint your father Adam for the pain of his body: for you will not be able to receive it, except in the last days and times—except when five thousand and five hundred years are accomplished: then the most beloved Son of God will come on the earth to raise up the body of Adam and the bodies of the dead, and He will come and be immersed in [the] Jordan. And when He has come forth out of the water of [the] Jordan, then He will anoint with the oil of mercy all that believe on Him, and that oil of mercy will be to all generations of them that will be born of water and of the Holy Spirit, to life eternal. Then the most beloved Son of God, even Christ Jesus, will come down on the earth and will bring in our father Adam into Paradise, to the Tree of Mercy.” And when they heard all these things from Seth, all the patriarchs and prophets rejoiced with a great rejoicing.
1. And while all the holy ones were rejoicing, behold, Satan, the prince and chief of death, said to Hades: “Make yourself ready to receive Jesus, who boasts of Himself that He is the Son of God, whereas He is a Man that fears death and says: My soul is sorrowful even to death. And He has been my great enemy, doing me great harm, and many that I had made blind, lame, dumb, leprous, and possessed He has healed with a word: and some whom I have brought to you dead, He has taken them away from you.”
2. Hades answered and said to Satan the prince: “Who is He that is so mighty, if He is a Man that fears death? For all the mighty ones of the earth are held in subjection by my power, even they whom you have brought me subdued by your power. If, then, you are mighty, what manner of Man is this Jesus who, though He fears death, resists your power? If He is so mighty in His Manhood, truly I say to you [that] He is almighty in His Godhead, and no man can withstand His power. And when He says that He fears death, He would ensnare you, and woe will be to you for everlasting ages.” But Satan, the prince of Tartarus, said: “Why do you doubt and fear to receive this Jesus, which is your adversary and mine? For I tempted Him, and I have stirred up my ancient people of the Jews with envy and wrath against Him. I have sharpened a spear to thrust Him through. I have mingled gall and vinegar to give Him to drink, and I have prepared a cross to crucify Him and nails to pierce Him: and His death is near at hand, that I may bring Him to you to be subject to you and me.”
3. Hades answered and said: “You have told me that it is He that has taken away dead men from me. For there are many which while they lived on the earth have taken dead men from me, yet not by their own power but by prayer to God, and their almighty God has taken them from me. Who is this Jesus which by His own word, without prayer, has drawn dead men from me? Perhaps it is He which by the word of His command restored to life Lazarus, who was four days dead, and stank, and was corrupt—whom I held here dead.” Satan, the prince of death, answered and said: “It is that same Jesus.” When Hades heard that, he said to him: “I adjure you by your strength and my own that you do not bring Him to me. For at that time I, when I heard the command of His word, quaked and was overwhelmed with fear, and all my servants with me were troubled. Neither could we keep Lazarus, but he, like an eagle, shaking himself, leaped forth with all agility and swiftness, and departed from us, and the earth also which held the dead body of Lazarus immediately gave him up alive. Therefore, I now know that that Man which was able to do these things is a God strong in command and mighty in manhood, and that He is the Savior of mankind. And if you bring Him to me, He will set free all that are here shut up in the hard prison and bound in the chains of their sins that cannot be broken, and will bring them to the life of His Godhead forever.”
1. And as Satan the prince, and Hades, spoke thus together, suddenly there came a voice as of thunder and a spiritual cry: “Remove, O princes, your gates, || And be lifted up, you everlasting doors, || And the King of Glory will come in!” When Hades heard that, he said to Satan the prince: “Depart from me and go out of my abode. If you are a mighty man of war, fight against the King of Glory. But what have you to do with him?” And Hades cast Satan forth out of his dwelling. Then Hades said to his wicked servants: “Shut the hard gates of brass, and put the bars of iron on them, and resist firmly, lest we that hold captivity be taken captive.”
2. But when all the multitude of the holy ones heard it, they spoke with a voice of rebuking to Hades: “Open your gates, that the King of Glory may come in!” And David cried out, saying, “Did I not, when I was alive on earth, foretell to you: Let them give thanks to the Lord, || Even His mercies and His wonders to the children of men; Who has broken the gates of brass and split the bars of iron in pieces? He has taken them out of the way of their iniquity.” And thereafter, in like manner Isaiah said: “Did I not, when I was alive on earth, foretell to you: The dead will arise, || And they that are in the tombs will rise again, || And they that are in the earth will rejoice, || For the dew which comes of the Lord is their healing? And again, I said: O death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
3. When they heard that from Isaiah, all the holy ones said to Hades: “Open your gates! Now you will be conquered, and weak, and without strength.” And there came a great voice as of thunder, saying, “Remove, O princes, your gates, || And be lifted up, you doors of Hades, || And the King of Glory will come in.” And when Hades saw that they so cried out twice, he said, as if he did not know it: “Who is the King of Glory?” And David answered Hades and said: “The words of this cry do I know, for by His Spirit I prophesied the same; and now I say to you that which I said before: The Lord strong and mighty, || The Lord mighty in battle, || He is the King of Glory. And: The Lord looked down from Heaven that He might hear the groanings of them that are in chains and deliver the children of them that have been slain. And now, O you most foul and stinking Hades, open your gates, so that the King of Glory may come in.” And as David spoke thus to Hades, the Lord of majesty appeared in the form of a Man, and descended the eternal darkness, and broke the bonds that could not be loosed: and the support of His everlasting might visited us that sat in the deep darkness of our transgressions and in the shadow of death of our sins.
1. When Hades, and death, and their wicked servants saw that, they were stricken with fear—they and their cruel officers—at the sight of the brightness of such a great light in their own realm, seeing Christ suddenly in their abode, and they cried out, saying, “We are conquered by You! Who are You that is sent by the Lord for our confusion? Who are You that without all damage of corruption, and with the signs of Your majesty unblemished, does in wrath condemn our power? Who are You that is so great and so small, both humble and exalted, both soldier and commander, a marvelous warrior in the shape of a bondsman, and a King of Glory dead and living, whom the Cross bore slain on it? You that lay dead in the tomb have come down to us living; and at Your death all creation quaked and all the stars were shaken; and You have become free among the dead and routed our legions. Who are You that set free the prisoners that are held bound by original sin and restored them into their former liberty? Who are You that shed Your divine and bright light on them that were blinded with the darkness of their sins?” After the same manner, all the legions of devils were stricken with [the] same fear and cried out all together in the terror of their confusion, saying, “Where are You from, Jesus—a Man so mighty and bright in majesty, so excellent, without spot and clean from sin? For that world of earth which has always been subject to us until now, and paid tribute to our profit, has never sent to us a dead man like You, nor ever dispatched such a gift to Hades. Who then are You that so fearlessly enters our borders, and not only does not fear our torments, but also attempts to carry away all men out of our bonds? Perhaps You are that Jesus, of whom Satan our prince said that by Your death of the Cross You should receive the dominion of the whole world.”
2. Then the King of Glory in His majesty trampled on death, and laid hold on Satan the prince, and delivered him to the power of Hades, and drew Adam to Him—to His own brightness.
Then Hades, receiving Satan the prince, with severe reproach said to him: “O prince of perdition and chief of destruction, Beelzebub, the scorn of the messengers and spitting of the righteous, why would you do this? You would crucify the King of Glory, and at His demise promised us great spoils from His death: like a fool you did not know what you did. For behold, this Jesus now puts to flight by the brightness of His majesty all the darkness of death, and has broken the strong depths of the prisons, and let out the prisoners, and loosed them that were bound. And all that were sighing in our torments rejoice against us, and at their prayers our dominions are vanquished and our realms conquered, and now no nation of men fears us anymore. And beside this, the dead which were never accustomed to be proud, triumph over us, and the captives which never could be joyful, threaten us. O prince Satan, father of all the wicked, and ungodly, and renegades, why would you do this? They that from the beginning until now have despaired of life and salvation—now none of their customary roarings are heard, neither do any groan from them ring out in our ears, nor is there any sign of tears on the face of any of them. O prince Satan, holder of the keys of Hades—those riches of yours which you had gained by the Tree of Transgression and the losing of Paradise—you have lost by the tree of the Cross, and all your gladness has perished. When you hung Christ Jesus the King of Glory, you worked against yourself and against me. Henceforth, you will know what eternal torments and infinite pains you are to suffer in my keeping forever. O prince Satan, author of death and head of all pride, you should have first sought out [some] matter of evil in this Jesus! Why did you undertake, without cause, to crucify Him unjustly, against whom you found no blame, and to bring into our realm the innocent and righteous One, and to lose the guilty, and the ungodly, and unrighteous of the whole world?” And when Hades had spoken thus to Satan the prince, then the King of Glory said to Hades: “Satan the prince will be in your power throughout all ages in the place of Adam and his children, even those that are My righteous ones.”
1. And the Lord stretching forth His hand, said: “Come to Me, all you holy ones of Mine which bear My image and My likeness—You that by the tree, and the Devil, and death were condemned. Behold! Now the Devil and death are condemned by the tree.” And all the holy ones were immediately gathered together in one under the hand of the Lord. And the Lord holding the right hand of Adam, said to him: “Peace be to you with all your children that are My righteous ones.” But Adam, casting himself at the knees of the Lord, prayed to Him with tears and pleadings, and said with a loud voice: “I will magnify You, O Lord, for You have set me up and not made my foes to triumph over me: O Lord my God, I cried to You and You have healed me; Lord, You have brought my soul out of Hades, You have delivered me from them that go down to the pit. Sing praises to the Lord all you holy ones of His, and give thanks to Him for the remembrance of His holiness! For there is wrath in His indignation and life is in His good pleasure!” In like manner, all the holy ones of God kneeled and cast themselves at the feet of the Lord, saying with one accord: “You have come, O Redeemer of the world! That which You foretold by the Law and by Your prophets, that have You accomplished in deed. You have redeemed the living by Your cross, and by the death of the Cross You have come down to us, so that You might save us out of Hades and death through Your majesty. O Lord, just as You have set the Name of Your glory in the heavens and set up Your cross for a sign of redemption on the earth, so, Lord, set up the sign of the victory of your cross in Hades, so that death may have no more dominion.”
2. And the Lord stretched forth His hand and made the Sign of the Cross over Adam and over all His holy ones, and He took the right hand of Adam and went up out of Hades, and all the holy ones followed Him. Then holy David cried aloud and said: “Sing to the Lord a new song, || For He has done marvelous things. His right hand has worked salvation for Him and His holy arm. The Lord has made known His saving health, || Before the face of all nations He has revealed His righteousness.” And the whole multitude of the holy ones answered, saying, “Such honor have all His holy ones. Amen! Hallelujah!”
3. And thereafter, Habakkuk the prophet cried out and said: “You went forth for the salvation of Your people to set free Your chosen.” And all the holy ones answered, saying, “Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord! God is the Lord and has shown us light. Amen! Hallelujah!” Likewise after that, the prophet Micah also cried, saying, “What God is like You, O Lord, taking away iniquity and removing sins? And now You withhold Your wrath for a testimony that You are merciful of free will, and You turn away and have mercy on us; You forgive all our iniquities and have sunk all our sins in the depths of the sea, as You swore to our fathers in the days of old.” And all the holy ones answered, saying, “This is our God forever and ever; He will be our guide, world without end. Amen! Hallelujah!” And so spoke all the prophets, making mention of holy words out of their praises, and all the holy ones followed the Lord, crying: “Amen! Hallelujah!”
But the Lord, holding the hand of Adam, delivered him to Michael the chief-messenger, and all the holy ones followed Michael the chief-messenger, and he brought them all into the glory and beauty of Paradise. And there met with them two men, ancients in days, and when they were asked by the holy ones: “Who are you that have not yet been dead in Hades with us and are set in Paradise in the body?” Then one of them answering, said: “I am Enoch, who was translated here by the word of the Lord, and this that is with me is Elijah the Tishbite, who was taken up in a chariot of fire: and up to this day we have not tasted death, but we are received until the coming of Antichrist, to fight against him with signs and wonders of God, and to be slain by Him in Jerusalem, and after three and a half days to be taken up alive again on the clouds.”
1. And as Enoch and Elijah spoke thus with the holy ones, behold, there came another man of vile attire, bearing on his shoulders the Sign of the Cross; whom when they beheld, all the holy ones said to him: “Who are you? For your appearance is as of a robber; and why is it that you bear a sign on your shoulders?” And he answered them and said: “You have rightly spoken, for I was a robber, doing all manner of evil on the earth. And the Jews crucified me with Jesus, and I beheld the wonders in the creation which came to pass through the Cross of Jesus when He was crucified, and I believed that He was the Maker of all creatures and the Almighty King, and I begged Him, saying, Remember me, Lord, when you come into Your kingdom. And He immediately received my prayer and said to me: Truly, I say to you: this day you will be with me in Paradise. And He gave me the Sign of the Cross, saying, Bear this and go to Paradise, and if the messenger that keeps Paradise does not allow you to enter in, show him the Sign of the Cross; and you will say to him: Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who now is crucified, has sent me.
2. And when I had done so, I spoke all these things to the messenger that keeps Paradise; and when he heard this from me, he immediately opened the door, and brought me in, and set me at the right hand of Paradise, saying, Behold now, tarry a little [while], and Adam the father of all mankind will enter in with all his children that are holy and righteous, after the triumph and glory of the ascending up of Christ the Lord that is crucified.” When they heard all these words of the robber, all the holy patriarchs and prophets said with one voice: “Blessed is the Lord Almighty, the Father of eternal good things, the Father of mercies—You that have given such grace to Your sinners and have brought them again into the beauty of Paradise and into Your good pastures: for this is the most holy life of the Spirit. Amen. Amen.”
1. These are the divine and holy mysteries which we saw and heard, even I, Karinus, and Leucius: but we were not allowed to relate further the rest of the mysteries of God, according as Michael the chief-messenger strictly charged us, saying, “You will go with your brothers to Jerusalem and remain in prayer, crying out and glorifying the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, who has raised you from the dead together with Him: and you will not be speaking with any man, but sit as mute men, until the hour comes when the Lord Himself allows you to declare the mysteries of His Godhead.” But to us, Michael the chief-messenger gave command that we should go over [the] Jordan to a place rich and fertile, where there are many which rose again together with us for a testimony of the resurrection of Christ the Lord. For only three days were allowed to us who rose from the dead, to keep the Passover of the Lord in Jerusalem with our relatives that are living for a testimony of the resurrection of Christ the Lord: and we were immersed in the holy river of Jordan and received white robes, every one of us. And after the three days, when we had kept the Passover of the Lord, all of them were caught up in the clouds which had risen again with us, and were taken over [the] Jordan, and were no longer seen by any man. But to us it was said that we should remain in the city of Arimathea and continue in prayer.
2. These are all [the] things which the Lord commanded us to declare to you: give praise and thanksgiving to Him, and convert, so that He may have mercy on you. Peace be to you from the same Lord Jesus Christ which is the Savior of us all. Amen.
3. And when they had finished writing all things in the several volumes of paper, they arose; and Karinus gave that which he had written into the hands of Annas, and Caiaphas, and Gamaliel; likewise, Leucius gave that which he had written into the hands of Nicodemus and Joseph. And suddenly they were transfigured, and became exceedingly white, and were no longer seen. But their writings were found to be the same, neither more nor less by one letter.
4. And when all the synagogue of the Jews heard all these marvelous sayings of Karinus and Leucius, they said to one another: “All these things were certainly worked by the Lord; and blessed be the Lord, world without end. Amen.” And they went out, all of them, in great trouble of mind, striking their breasts with fear and trembling, and departed—every man to his own home.
5. And all these things which were spoken by the Jews in their synagogue, Joseph and Nicodemus immediately declared to the governor. And Pilate himself wrote all the things that were done and said concerning Jesus by the Jews and laid up all the words in the public books of his Praetorium.
[[1. After these things, Pilate entered into the temple of the Jews and gathered together all the chiefs of the priests, and the grammarians, and scribes, and doctors of the Law, and went in with them into the holy place of the temple and commanded all the doors to be shut, and said to them: “We have heard that you have in this temple a certain great Bible; therefore, I ask you that it be presented before us.” And when that great Bible adorned with gold and precious jewels was brought by four ministers, Pilate said to them all: “I adjure you by the God of your fathers which commanded you to build this temple in the place of His sanctuary, that you do not hide the truth from me. You know all the things that are written in this Bible; but tell me now if you have found in the Writings that this Jesus whom you have crucified is the Son of God which should come for the salvation of mankind, and in what year of the times He must come. Declare to me whether you crucified Him in ignorance or knowingly.”
2. And Annas and Caiaphas, when they were thus adjured, commanded all the rest that were with them to go out of the temple; and they themselves shut all the doors of the temple and of the sanctuary, and they said to Pilate: “You have adjured us, O excellent judge, by the building of this temple to make manifest to you the truth and reason. After we had crucified Jesus, not knowing that He was the Son of God, but supposing that by some chance He did His wondrous works, we made a great assembly in this temple; and as we conferred with one another concerning the signs of the mighty works which Jesus had done, we found many witnesses of our own nation who said that they had seen Jesus alive after His Passion, and that He had passed into the height of Heaven. Moreover, we saw two witnesses whom Jesus raised from the dead, who declared to us many marvelous things which Jesus did among the dead, which things we have in writing in our hands. Now our custom is that every year before our assembly we open this Holy Bible and inquire of the testimony of God. And we have found in the first book of the Seventy how Michael the messenger spoke to the third son of Adam the first man concerning the five thousand and five hundred years, wherein should come the most beloved Son of God, even Christ: and furthermore, we have thought that perhaps this same was the God of Israel which said to Moses: Make an ark for the covenant, two and a half cubits in length, and one and a half cubits in breadth, and one and a half cubits in height. For by those five and a half cubits we have understood and known the fashion of the Ark of the Old Covenant, for that in five and a half thousand years Jesus Christ should come in the ark of His body: and we have found that He is the God of Israel, even the Son of God. For after His Passion, we the chiefs of the priests, because we marveled at the signs which came to pass on His account, opened the Bible, and searched out all the generations to the generation of Joseph, and Mary the mother of Christ, taking her to be the seed of David: and we found that from the day when God made the heavens, and the earth, and the first man, from that time to the Flood are two thousand two hundred and twelve years; and from the Flood to the building of the tower five hundred and thirty-one years; and from the building of the tower to Abraham six hundred and six years; and from Abraham to the coming of the children of Israel out of Egypt four hundred and seventy years; and from the going of the children of Israel out of Egypt to the building of the temple five hundred and eleven years; and from the building of the temple to the destruction of the same temple four hundred and sixty-four years: so far we found in the Scroll of Ezra; and inquiring from the burning of the temple to the coming of Christ and his birth we found it to be six hundred and eighty-six years, which together were five thousand and five hundred years, just as we found it written in the Bible that Michael the chief-messenger declared before to Seth, the third son of Adam, that after five and a half thousand years Christ the Son of God should come. Until now have we told no man, lest there should be a schism in our synagogues; and now, O excellent judge, you have adjured us by this Holy Bible of the testimonies of God, and we declare it to you: and we also have adjured you by your life and health that you do not declare these words to any man in Jerusalem.” And Pilate, when he heard these words of Annas and Caiaphas, laid them all up among the acts of the Lord and Savior in the public books of his Praetorium and wrote a letter to Claudius, the king of the city of Rome, saying:]]
Pontius Pilate to Claudius: Greetings. Recently a matter occurred which I myself brought to light: for the Jews through envy have punished themselves and their posterity with fearful judgments of their own responsibility; for whereas their fathers had promises that their God would send them His Holy One out of Heaven who should rightly be called their King, and promised that He would send Him on earth by a virgin; He, then, came when I was governor of Judea, and they beheld Him enlightening the blind, cleansing lepers, healing the palsied, driving devils out of men, raising the dead, rebuking the winds, walking on the waves of the sea [with] dry feet, and doing many other wonders, and all the people of the Jews calling Him the Son of God: the chief priests therefore, moved with envy against Him, took Him, and delivered Him to me, and brought against Him one false accusation after another, saying that He was a sorcerer and did things contrary to their law. But I, believing that these things were so, having scourged Him, delivered Him to their will: and they crucified Him, and when He was buried, they set guards over Him. But while my soldiers watched Him, He rose again on the third day: yet so much was the malice of the Jews kindled that they gave money to the soldiers, saying, “Say that His disciples stole His body away.” But they, though they took the money, were not able to keep silence concerning that which had come to pass, for they also have testified that they saw Him arisen, and that they received money from the Jews. And I have reported these things to your mightiness for this reason, lest some other should lie to you, and you should deem right to believe the false tales of the Jews.