The Testimonium

by Lewis Ben Smith

  I held up my hands for silence. For the life of me I did not know what to do. This man had an enormous following. If I put him to death, would the common people who loved him rise up in open revolt? But if I spared him, the ruling class, whose cooperation is so vital to our government here, would be turned against me, perhaps permanently. What to do?

  I thought of something. Raising my hands for silence, I cried out, “People of Jerusalem, you know that it is my custom to release one prisoner to you during your Passover each year. This year, I give you a choice. Shall I release this Jesus of Nazareth, your king?” I laced my voice with sarcasm, trying to throw scorn on the very idea that this wretched figure could ever be considered royalty. “Or shall I release to you the murderer Bar-Abbas?”

  Once more the crowd roared. “Bar-Abbas! Bar-Abbas!” they cried.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  A half hour had passed. Both scrolls had been deposited, seals intact, inside a rehydration tank, where the ancient papyrus could be rendered supple enough to unroll. Josh sat quietly at a table near the end of the trailer, staring into space. Few words had been spoken, as the magnitude of the find they had made was still soaking in. After setting the controls on each tank to the proper levels, Father MacDonald came and sat across from Josh. Within a few moments, the entire team had taken a seat around the table. Even Dr. Apriceno had left her microscopes behind for the time being.

  “I don’t understand,” said Isabella to Josh when she joined the group. “Having a written document from the hand of Pontius Pilate is something of great significance, but why did you nearly pass out when you saw it?”

  “Because I think I know what it is,” said Josh. “Don’t you, Professor MacDonald?”

  The priest nodded. “It certainly would make sense for it to be there. I cannot imagine any other event from that time, in Judea, that would merit being placed in the Emperor’s most confidential files.”

  “What are you talking about?” Isabella demanded. Then it dawned on her. “Do you mean that you think this is—Pilate’s report about . . .”

  “The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth,” said Josh. He quoted a Latin passage: “‘Atque haec forte potes cognoscere Actuum Pontio Pilatus.’ Justin Martyr wrote that to the Emperor Antoninus Pius around 140 AD. The traditional translation is: ‘And that these things did happen, you can ascertain from the Acts of Pontius Pilate.’ Apparently it was known to the early church that Pilate made a report to Rome about the events surrounding the death of Jesus, and that his narrative supported their claims about those events.”

  “But how can you be so sure that this is that report?” she asked. “Couldn’t it be something else entirely?”

  “That is a possibility,” said Father MacDonald. “However, I can’t think of any other event that occurred during Pilate’s ten years as governor that would merit the Emperor’s interest to this degree.”

  Josh nodded. “There is also that curious reference by Tertullian,” he said.

  Isabella gave him a blank look. “I know who Tertullian was,” she said, “but I don’t remember any reference that would apply here.”

  Josh explained, “In one of his writings, dated to about 180 AD, Tertullian says that Tiberius proposed to the Senate that Jesus of Nazareth be recognized as a god, and that a statue of him be added to the Roman pantheon. Most scholars have dismissed the story due to lack of any earlier reference to such an event, but it could have its roots in Tiberius having read and been impressed by Pilate’s report about Jesus.”

  She nodded. “This is a discovery of enormous significance,” she said. “I need to call Dr. Guioccini and let him know about it. I imagine that the Antiquities Bureau is going to want to make the call on how we deal with this find.”

  “I think that I will need to report this to the Vatican as well,” said MacDonald.

  “What about our press release?” asked Josh. “Aren’t we supposed to do some sort of press conference tomorrow?”

  “I imagine that, from this point forward, those decisions may be made well above our pay grade,” said Dr. Apriceno.

  “I think that this should be a conference call,” said Isabella. “I want all of you available to answer questions and give opinions.” She patched her laptop into the lab’s main computer and dialed in the number. A moment later Dr. Guioccini answered, and when she told him what she wanted, his face appeared on the jumbo monitor a few seconds later.

  “All right, Isabella,” he said. “I know you would not waste my time with something unimportant, so tell me—what have you found? I’ve already seen the pictures you sent of the sword, and received your email about the scrolls that were destroyed by rats. I’m guessing you have opened the locked compartment?”

  “That is correct. Within the last hour or so. The compartment contained two undamaged scrolls, both still sealed with the signet of Tiberius Caesar,” explained Isabella.

  “Marvelous!” the lead archeologist beamed. “But there is more—the look on your face makes that very clear. So continue!”

  Isabella swallowed. “Both scrolls have a written title that appears to match the handwriting on the Tiberius letter, scrawled on the outside of each roll just above the seal. One is called ‘The Last Will and Testament of Caesar Augustus.’”

  “Bravissimo, Isabella!” exclaimed Guioccini. “That is an incredible find! This is a great day for archeology, for Roman history, for all of Italy!” He paused, studying her face through the satellite uplink. “There is more still?” he finally asked.

  “Yes, sir,” she said. “The second scroll is also labeled. The title recorded on it reads ‘The Testimony of Pontius Pilate, Governor of Judea.’”

  The lead archeologist of Italy’s Bureau of Antiquities paled. “You are quite certain of this?” he finally asked.

  “Absolutely.”

  “Is there any possibility, in your professional opinion, that this chamber was tampered with between the time of Tiberius and today?” he asked.

  “I don’t see any way, sir!” she said. “We have followed proper procedure from start to finish, and everything in the chamber was buried under centuries of stone dust. The only thing that has breached that chamber since the first century were those cursed rats!”

  He thought for a long time. Finally, he spoke. “Have all the artifacts been removed from the chamber?”

  “Yes, sir. The reliquary was the last item to be removed,” said Isabella.

  “Very well. Secure all the artifacts in the mobile lab, inform the guards to keep an extra careful watch, and make sure that two of you stay on-site for the evening. I am going to call every member of the Bureau’s governing board and we will be on Capri tomorrow morning to see the finds in person. Father MacDonald, I want you to inform the Vatican of this discovery and tell His Holiness that he may send an emissary of his choosing to attend the meeting as well. After we have viewed the site and the artifacts, we will need to have a sit-down meeting to discuss how to proceed, and how and when to release this information to the public. Dr. Rossini, can your house accommodate a meeting of about fifteen people?”

  “Yes, sir,” said Giuseppe, “although it will be somewhat cozy.”

  “Excellent! I am pleased to have such an excellent team working on this incredible discovery. I do not need to remind any of you just how important this find is. The other artifacts were amazing, but this has the potential to be earth-shaking! Absolute confidentiality is needed. I imagine one of our first orders of business will be to remove all the artifacts you have found from the island to our new research facility for further study. Until then, keep up the security, continue to catalog and analyze the damaged scrolls, and I will see all of you in the morning.” He leaned forward to touch a button on his monitor, and the screen went blank on their end. The five archeologists looked at each other.

  “Well,” said Josh. “Who is good at jigsaw puzzles?”

  They spent the balance of the afternoon laying out the hundreds of fragments they had brought out fr
om the chamber the day before. It was tedious and frustrating work, with moments of exhilaration when they found two pieces that actually matched. But none of them could keep from stealing over to the rehydration tank every little while to look at the two sealed scrolls. What lay inside those ancient rolls of papyrus? What impact would it have? Being in the presence of so much historical suspense sucked much of the air out of the room; the jokes and jibes that had been a part of their banter up to this moment were banished. Finally, about six in the evening, Giuseppe had had enough.

  “This is ridiculous!” he said. “I have tried to piece the same pair of scraps together six times! None of us are focused on our work, so I suggest we have supper and retire.”

  “Don’t forget that more than one of us needs to stay up here tonight,” said Isabella. “A little break for supper is fine, but I don’t want the site unattended for more than a couple of hours, even with the security guards here.”

  Josh spoke up. “Would you like me to stay up here with you?” he asked.

  She considered it a moment. She could see Giuseppe winking at her out of the corner of her eye, but dash it all! She enjoyed the young American’s company, and also trusted him to be professional. “That is all right with me,” she finally said. “But first some supper and a bit of time to clean up!”

  They walked down the hill together as the shadows began to lengthen. Their conversation was less ebullient and humorous than the night before, but all of them were gripped with excitement at the thought of viewing a first-hand written account of the most pivotal event in history. Josh asked MacDonald how long before they could begin to unroll and read the scrolls.

  “I imagine that if we break the seals within forty-eight hours of placing them in the tank, the scrolls will start to unroll a bit within the next day or so. It can be a long and tedious process. We usually are able to expose no more than about ten or fifteen centimeters of the scroll at a time. The Pilate scroll appears to be perhaps two meters in length. One thing I have learned about papyrus scrolls is that no two are alike. Some unroll fairly easily once rehydrated; others are very, very stubborn. I would say that it might be anywhere from two to ten days before we should be able to read the entire contents of each scroll from beginning to end.”

  “Can you imagine the reaction when we reveal this find to the world?” asked Giuseppe.

  “I think the reaction will depend, to a great extent, on the contents,” said Josh.

  “What do you mean?” asked Isabella.

  “Within intellectual circles throughout the West, there is a great hostility to Christianity in modern thought,” replied the young American. “If this document is what we think it is, and the account confirms the New Testament narrative, there will be a large segment of the intelligentsia in Europe and the United States who will denounce it as a fraud and do their best to debunk it.”

  “Don’t forget the Islamic world,” said Father MacDonald. “It is an article of faith for them that the ‘Prophet Isa,’ as they call our Lord, was ‘neither crucified nor killed, but it only had the appearance of it,’ according to the Quran. If this narrative calls that into question, there will be opposition from them too.”

  “And, of course,” said Giuseppe, “if this account disputes any of the claims of the New Testament, many Christians will clamor that it must be faked as well.”

  “You may be right,” said Joshua.

  They ate a quick supper at Rossini’s house, ordering out from Mrs. Bustamante’s excellent menu, and everyone took advantage of real toilet facilities to clean up, wash off, and shave. After a brief confab and an agreement that all of them would be on-site by seven AM, Joshua and Isabella walked up the Via Tiberio back to the ancient ruin where they had met and spend so much time together over the course of the week. As they walked together, Isabella asked a question that she had been turning over in her mind ever since the earlier conversation between the team on the way down to supper.

  “Josh,” she said. “What will you do—if this is the account of Jesus’ trial, and it contradicts the narrative your entire faith is based on?”

  “I have been thinking about that ever since I read that inscription,” he said. “I’ll say this first—I really don’t expect it to contradict the Gospel accounts. Why would Justin Martyr appeal to Pilate’s report if it didn’t back up what he was saying? It would be too risky to do so if the report contained information that was harmful to the Christian cause. But, if the Testimonium should contradict what is in the Scriptures, I would analyze its contents very carefully. I would see if Pilate was speaking from his convictions as a Roman or from first-hand testimony. If everything stood rock solid against my beliefs, I would, well—I’m not sure. I would take a long hard look at my beliefs, but I am not sure that I would abandon them altogether.”

  Isabella digested that a moment, and then spoke again. “Why is it so important whether or not Jesus actually rose from the dead? I mean, I was raised in the church like about every other Italian girl, and I have read the gospels and heard the homilies. Many of the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Scriptures are quite beautiful and express very high moral and ethical standards. But would they be any less so if it turned out that Jesus is still in his grave? Plato and Confucius died, but their teachings are still foundational to Western and Eastern intellectual thought.”

  Josh nodded. “There is an enormous difference, though, between the teachings of Jesus and those of every other philosopher in the history of the world,” he said. “Plato, Aristotle, Buddha, Seneca, Thomas Aquinas, even Muhammad—all of them spoke as mere mortals. They never claimed to be anything but inspired teachers or enlightened individuals. Even Muhammad never claimed to be anything more than God’s prophet. But Jesus of Nazareth was different. He actually claimed to be the Son of God—and more than that, he claimed that He and God were One. His teachings were entirely rooted in this concept of his own uniqueness, and if you take out His claim of divinity, then much of what He taught makes no sense at all.”

  “Did He really claim to be the Son of God,” asked Isabella, “or was that claim retroactively applied to Him by those who came later? I have read the works of many modern scholars who say that Christ was deified long after His death, and that He Himself never made any claim to divinity.”

  Josh nodded. “Of course modern scholars want to say that, especially in America!” he said. “You must remember, my country still has more practicing Christians than any nation in the Western world. You don’t win an audience in America by bad-mouthing Jesus! Or at least, you couldn’t until very recently. And if you acknowledge that the Gospels accurately record the words of Jesus, then you have to either dismiss Him as an outright fraud or a delusional lunatic in order to reject His claim to divinity. So the easy way out, if you don’t want to face the truth of who He was, is to say that the Gospels are a pastiche of myth and legend, built up around a historical figure, that transformed him from a revolutionary religious teacher to an actual deity.”

  “But doesn’t that make more sense than God becoming a carpenter, of all things?” she asked. “After all, the Gospels weren’t written down till over fifty years after the Crucifixion. A lot of stuff could be made up in that interval of time.”

  “If those are the correct dates, you might be right—although not necessarily, even then,” said Josh. “However, modern scholarship has pushed the dates of the Gospels back considerably. For example, look at the books of Luke and Acts. Both by the same author, and written a short time apart—virtually every Bible scholar on earth agrees on that. But Acts ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome, awaiting trial before Caesar. It never tells us how the trial came out, if Paul was condemned or freed, and then we have Paul’s pastoral letters which seem to indicate that he was released and made one last missionary journey before the Great Fire in 66 AD. That journey should be chronicled in Acts—but it isn’t. I’ve always thought that the most logical explanation is that Luke wrote his Gospel, and the book of Acts, before
Paul’s first trial in Rome, as a defense brief of sorts. That would mean that both of those works were completed no later than 62 AD, less than thirty years after the crucifixion. And since the similarities in language lead most scholars to believe that Luke used both Matthew and Mark as sources for his account, then both those Gospels were in existence by then as well! That leaves only John as a later account, and even the early Church agreed that John wrote his Gospel from Ephesus when he was in his nineties, sixty years after the time of Christ and thirty years after the three Synoptic Gospels!”

  “I’d never thought about it that way,” said Isabella. “But still, thirty years is a considerable gap of time.”

  “It is, but do you think it is long enough to make up a claim as drastic as saying that a crucified rabbi, who died in disgrace, was actually the resurrected Son of God? And don’t forget, Paul wrote Galatians around 48 AD or so, only fifteen years after the crucifixion, and it contains numerous references to Jesus as the Risen Lord of Life. Then there is the account in I Corinthians 15, where Paul recites a whole list of witnesses who actually saw Jesus after the Resurrection, and makes reference to having been taught that list right after he became a Christian—which was only five years or so after the event!”

  She threw up her hands in mock surrender. “OK, OK!” she laughed. “So the Gospels accurately record that the early Church believed in the Resurrection. That doesn’t mean it actually happened!”

  “But if it didn’t happen, then where did that belief come from?” asked Josh.

  “Someone could have moved the body,” answered Isabella.

  “That wouldn’t account for the resurrection appearances,” Josh replied.

  “Maybe Jesus wasn’t dead when they placed Him in the tomb,” she mused. “It could be that He revived and escaped and they mistook it for a resurrection from the dead!”