PART I
Christians will frequently find on the Internet statements to the effect that the “The Acts of Pilate” (The Acta Pilati) is to be dismissed as a spurious apocryphal writing (generally connected to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus) which has absolutely no value. But that is based upon the forgeries and false writings of the same name which were circulated within the Roman Empire to attack Christ and Christianity.
However a single old and defaced copy of the genuine Acta Pilati was retained within the pope’s library in the Vatican for a very long time, until a transcript of it was made by the librarian and sent to Reverend George Sluter in the United States in the late 19th century.
Mr. Sluter published “The Acta Pilati” in 1879, and the title page was as follow:
In his introduction Sluter tells us how he came into possession of this remarkable document which was written in Latin. The parchment was concealed among 24,000 manuscripts in the *penetralia* (innermost parts or recesses) of the Vatican. He also mentions that men of letters from the earliest Christian times were familiar with this report to Tiberius Cesar from the Roman governor of Judea. “References to it abound in all profound works concerning the historical aspects of the argument for the divine origin of Christianity”. Indeed the Acta Pilati pre-dates all other writings (including the Gospels) since Pilate wrote it immediately after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (AD 30). “It is a powerful argument for the truth of the Gospel, and from an entirely unique and independent standpoint. It is not from the pen of a Christian Apologist, but from the pen of a Heathen... We may well therefore claim that we have here a powerful collateral secular proof of the truth of Gospel History”.
The author tells us that a scholar from Westphalia, Germany (who was not a theologian), visited the pope’s library and was allowed to read many of the documents which were hidden there. There was a collection called “The Emperor Tiberias Caesar’s Court”, and that is where he found this official report from Pilate and read it. However, he put this out of his mind until he happened to be a guest at the home of the author. That’s when he recalled seeing this manuscript. But it was sometime later that Reverend Sluter wrote and asked him if he could obtain a transcript of the manuscript. The scholar then contacted Father Freelinhusen, the custodian of the library, who agreed to provide a transcript, and then authenticated it as follows: " Rome, Italy April 26th, 1859. I hereby forward you the transcript as it is on record in the Vatican in Tiberius Caesar's Court by Pilate. I certify this to be a true copy word for word, as it occurs there. PETER FREELINHUSEN”.
At the same time Sluter pointed out that “It is exceedingly difficult to gain access to these ancient and valuable manuscripts. They are guarded with the utmost care, and it is next to impossible to procure a copy of any of them, through any means.” Which means that the librarian made a huge exception in this case, and no doubt there was divine Providence at work also.
But Sluter kept it for twenty years as a *private literary treasure*, until he felt compelled to publish it as the urging of many *esteemed friends*. He went on to say: “As being the most ancient non-biblical testimony about Christ—antedating even the first of the Gospels and Epistles—it will be read with feelings of peculiar interest and even awe.” He also pointed out that there was now a complete chain of non-biblical evidence regarding our Savior’s life, starting with the taxing by Caesar Augustus and leading up to the report by Pontius Pilate.
Furthermore, Sluter pointed out that the Early Church Fathers (including Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Eusebius) “deemed this document of the highest authority and value”. Eusebius wrote that Tiberias Caesar wanted the Roman Senate to recognize Jesus as a God, but the Senate declined because Tiberias himself had refused to take that designation. Nonetheless, this document prevented Tiberius from persecuting Christians, and he may even have become a believer.
However, during the reign of emperor Maximinus I, the Acts of Pilate were forged in AD 311 to bring discredit to Christ and Christianity. Many evil things were written in those forgeries. Eusebius recorded this in his Ecclesiastical History, Book IX, chapter 5, page 414. But Sluter says that the fact that this document was attacked proves its value. In fact, it became a *state paper* of the Roman government, and thereby gained a very high standing. The Roman emperors maintained magnificent libraries in which they preserved valuable documents. “Pilate’s report has all the more value to us, in that it is in no sense intended to be in the interest of Jesus, but that its original design was his own defense against possible accusation of maladministration”.
Christians will frequently find on the Internet statements to the effect that the “The Acts of Pilate” (The Acta Pilati) is to be dismissed as a spurious apocryphal writing (generally connected to the apocryphal Gospel of Nicodemus) which has absolutely no value. But that is based upon the forgeries and false writings of the same name which were circulated within the Roman Empire to attack Christ and Christianity.
However a single old and defaced copy of the genuine Acta Pilati was retained within the pope’s library in the Vatican for a very long time, until a transcript of it was made by the librarian and sent to Reverend George Sluter in the United States in the late 19th century.
Mr. Sluter published “The Acta Pilati” in 1879, and the title page was as follow:
The Acta Pilati
Important Testimony of Pontius Pilate
Recently Discovered
Being His Official Report to the Emperor Tiberius
Concerning The
CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
In his Preface the author stated: “My object in publishing this book is to show that the historic evidence for the history contained in the Gospels is ample and explicit... The very fact that it does not give anything new or singular is in favor of its genuineness.... He [Pilate] does not say that Jesus arose from the dead, but that his tomb was found empty... The discovery of this long lost testimony of Pilate, amid the vast mass of unedited parchments in the Vatican, is certainly an event of extraordinary importance in the history of the Christian Evidences...”Important Testimony of Pontius Pilate
Recently Discovered
Being His Official Report to the Emperor Tiberius
Concerning The
CRUCIFIXION OF CHRIST
In his introduction Sluter tells us how he came into possession of this remarkable document which was written in Latin. The parchment was concealed among 24,000 manuscripts in the *penetralia* (innermost parts or recesses) of the Vatican. He also mentions that men of letters from the earliest Christian times were familiar with this report to Tiberius Cesar from the Roman governor of Judea. “References to it abound in all profound works concerning the historical aspects of the argument for the divine origin of Christianity”. Indeed the Acta Pilati pre-dates all other writings (including the Gospels) since Pilate wrote it immediately after the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ (AD 30). “It is a powerful argument for the truth of the Gospel, and from an entirely unique and independent standpoint. It is not from the pen of a Christian Apologist, but from the pen of a Heathen... We may well therefore claim that we have here a powerful collateral secular proof of the truth of Gospel History”.
The author tells us that a scholar from Westphalia, Germany (who was not a theologian), visited the pope’s library and was allowed to read many of the documents which were hidden there. There was a collection called “The Emperor Tiberias Caesar’s Court”, and that is where he found this official report from Pilate and read it. However, he put this out of his mind until he happened to be a guest at the home of the author. That’s when he recalled seeing this manuscript. But it was sometime later that Reverend Sluter wrote and asked him if he could obtain a transcript of the manuscript. The scholar then contacted Father Freelinhusen, the custodian of the library, who agreed to provide a transcript, and then authenticated it as follows: " Rome, Italy April 26th, 1859. I hereby forward you the transcript as it is on record in the Vatican in Tiberius Caesar's Court by Pilate. I certify this to be a true copy word for word, as it occurs there. PETER FREELINHUSEN”.
At the same time Sluter pointed out that “It is exceedingly difficult to gain access to these ancient and valuable manuscripts. They are guarded with the utmost care, and it is next to impossible to procure a copy of any of them, through any means.” Which means that the librarian made a huge exception in this case, and no doubt there was divine Providence at work also.
But Sluter kept it for twenty years as a *private literary treasure*, until he felt compelled to publish it as the urging of many *esteemed friends*. He went on to say: “As being the most ancient non-biblical testimony about Christ—antedating even the first of the Gospels and Epistles—it will be read with feelings of peculiar interest and even awe.” He also pointed out that there was now a complete chain of non-biblical evidence regarding our Savior’s life, starting with the taxing by Caesar Augustus and leading up to the report by Pontius Pilate.
Furthermore, Sluter pointed out that the Early Church Fathers (including Justin Martyr, Tertullian, and Eusebius) “deemed this document of the highest authority and value”. Eusebius wrote that Tiberias Caesar wanted the Roman Senate to recognize Jesus as a God, but the Senate declined because Tiberias himself had refused to take that designation. Nonetheless, this document prevented Tiberius from persecuting Christians, and he may even have become a believer.
However, during the reign of emperor Maximinus I, the Acts of Pilate were forged in AD 311 to bring discredit to Christ and Christianity. Many evil things were written in those forgeries. Eusebius recorded this in his Ecclesiastical History, Book IX, chapter 5, page 414. But Sluter says that the fact that this document was attacked proves its value. In fact, it became a *state paper* of the Roman government, and thereby gained a very high standing. The Roman emperors maintained magnificent libraries in which they preserved valuable documents. “Pilate’s report has all the more value to us, in that it is in no sense intended to be in the interest of Jesus, but that its original design was his own defense against possible accusation of maladministration”.
