PILATE'S LETTER `MAY BE TRUE'

By Fr. J. H. Crehan, S.J.
The ancient document which says that Pontius Pilate tried
desperately to save Christ's life even by calling for 2,000 reinforcements—and found among a bundle of old papers in Liverpool some time ago. is almost certainly apocryphal, but may by historically correct, the Vatican archives have reported.
This interpretation of the document, which purports to be a translation of a letter from Pilate to Tiberius, is supported by what is known about propaganda measures taken during the centuries following Christ's death.
In the final persecutions of about 300 e.o., the Roman government put out several propaganda documents known as the "Acts of Pilate " iD an attempt to justify their position. These were nearly all destroyed by the later Christian emperors, but this did not prevent the Christians, in the time of Constantine, from compiling answers to them. In the course of these answers they attempted to fill in the details about Christ's life. and in particular about His trial and death.
The letter of which this document is said to be a translation, then, may have been written by one of these propaganditts, not to deceive people, but basing his words on sound historical knowledge and probably on a report of Tertullian that a letter had been sent between tae two rulers.
Four letters
There are four extant letters between Pilate and Tiberius.
1. One in Latin. and probably written by a Renaissance scholar in the 16th century. This is the least credible.
2. One in Greek, from Pilate to Claudius. This letter, which is incorrectly dated (to Claudius instead of Tiberius), makes the Roman soldiers witnesses of the Resurrection, including "While my soldiers watched Him, He rose again on the third day." Obviously much earlier than the first, it probably dates from the 4th or 5th century and may also be the work of a Christian propagandist.
3. Another in Greek to Tiberius, relating that the principal charge brought by the Jews against Our Lord was one of having violated the Sabbath. This is a common popular mistake, and one easily made by people with an inadequate knowledge of the Gospels.
4. A letter from Tiberius to Pilate, summoning Pilate back to Rome, and mentioning that 2,000 men have been sent to accompany him back, It seems that the present letter has drawn material from sources and, while it is apocryphal, it may have in fact.
similar clearly a basis
Martyr
It is also worth noting that Pilate who, according to some accounts, was executed by the Romans for trying to save Christ. is revered in the Church of Abyssinia as a martyr.
In addition, his title of "Prefect of Judea", discovered in an inscription some time ago and reported in these columns, may imply that he had a closer relationship with Tiberius than any of the other Governors, none of whom, except that of Egypt, had the title of Prefect. This would increase the historical probability of him having written such a letter.