THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS

尼古拉前执事 · Post by **尼古拉前执事** » Thu 14 July 2005 9:54 pm

I am not sure if this version is completely accurate. Does anyone know? Part of this is read on Great Friday or Great Saturday depending on the local tradition, so I thought it might be good to post here even if it is apocryphal.

THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS,
formerly called the ACTS OF PONTIUS PILATE

CHAPTER 1

Christ accused to Pilate by the Jews of healing on the Sabbath, 9. summoned before Pilate by a messenger who does him honor, 20. worshipped by the standards bowing down to him.
Annas and Caiaphas, and Summas, and Datam, Gamaliel, Judas, Levi, Nephthalim, Alexander, Cyrus, and other Jews, went to Pilate about Jesus, accusing him with many bad crimes.

This Gospel was used by many churches by the end of the third century. It was sometimes called the Acts of Pilate, which unfortunately was also the title of a pagan forgery. (Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History, charges the Pagans with having forged and published a book called the Acts of Pilate, and takes occasion to observe that the internal evidence of this Gospel shows it was not the work of any unbeliever.) This confusion of titles causes some critical scholars to assume both books of that name are forgeries, and that this book was published much later by Christians, partly to confront the spurious one of the pagans, and partly to support appeals made by Christians of former ages to the Acts of Pilate, which could no longer be produced.

However, other equally learned scholars believe this is the original book really written by Nicodemus, who had conversed with Christ and become his disciple. Whether or not it should be canonical, it is of very great antiquity and was appealed to by several of the ancient Church Fathers. It contains passages of great dramatic intensity. This translation was made from the Gospel published by Grynaeus in the Orthodoxographa, vol. 1, tome 2, p. 643.

And said, We are assured that Jesus is the son of Joseph the carpenter, and born of Mary, and that he declares himself the Son of God, and a king; and not only so, but attempts the dissolution of the Sabbath, and the laws of our fathers.

Compare with "And when he was come into his own country, he taught them in their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and said, Whence hath this [man] this wisdom, and [these] mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this [man] these things? And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief." (Matthew 13:54-58; the Greek words "brethren" and "sisters" mean relatives, but not necessarily by blood); "And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?" (John 6:42); see also John 5:17-23. On "breaking the Sabbath," see Matthew 12:1-8 and Luke 13:14.

Pilate replied: What is it which he declares? And what is it which he attempts dissolving?
The Jews told him, We have a law which forbids doing cures on the Sabbath day; but he cures both the lame and the deaf, those afflicted with the palsy, the blind, and lepers, and demoniacs, on that day by wicked methods.

The commandment on the Sabbath (Exodus 20:8-10) prohibits "work," but says nothing about performing cures. However, when Jesus found a man with a withered hand in the synagogue, "...they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him." (Mark 3:2)

Pilate replied, How can he do this by wicked methods? They answered, He is a conjurer and casts out devils by the prince of the devils; and so all things become subject to him.

Compare with: "But when the Pharisees heard [it], they said, This [fellow] doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils. And Jesus knew their thoughts, and said unto them, Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand: And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how shall then his kingdom stand? And if I by Beelzebub cast out devils, by whom do your children cast [them] out? Therefore they shall be your judges. But if I cast out devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God is come unto you." (Matthew 12:24-28; see also Mark 3:22 and Luke 11:15)

Then said Pilate, Casting out devils seems not to be the work of an unclean spirit, but to proceed from the power of God.
The Jews replied to Pilate, We entreat your highness to summon him to appear before your tribunal, and hear him yourself.
Then Pilate called a messenger and said to him, By what means will Christ be brought here?
Then went the messenger forth, and knowing Christ, worshipped him; and having spread the cloak which he had in his hand upon the ground, he said, Lord, walk upon this, and go in, for the governor calls you.
When the Jews perceived what the messenger had done they exclaimed against him to Pilate, and said, Why did you not give him his summons by a minor officer who keeps order, and not by a messenger? For the messenger, when he saw him, worshipped him and spread the cloak which he had in his hand upon the ground before him, and said to him, Lord, the governor calls you.
Then Pilate called the messenger and said, Why have you done thus?
The messenger replied, When you sent me from Jerusalem to Alexander, I saw Jesus sitting in a humble figure upon a she- ass, and the children of the Hebrews cried out, Hosannah, holding boughs of trees in their hands.
Others spread their garments in the way and said, Save us, you who are in heaven; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

For an example of this on another occasion, see Matthew 21:8.

Then the Jews cried out against the messenger and said, The children of the Hebrews made their acclamations in the Hebrew language; and how could you, who are a Greek, understand the Hebrew?
The messenger answered them and said, I asked one of the Jews and said, What is this which the children do cry out in the Hebrew language?
And he explained it to me, saying, They cry out Hosannah, which being interpreted is, O Lord, save me; or, O Lord, save.
Pilate then said to them, Why do you yourselves testify to the words spoken by the children, namely, by your silence? In what has the messenger done amiss? And they were silent.
Then the governor said unto the messenger, Go forth and endeavor by any means to bring him in.
But the messenger went forth and did as before, and said, Lord, come in, for the governor is calling you.
And as Jesus was going in by those who carried the banners, the tops of them bowed down and worshipped Jesus.
Whereupon the Jews exclaimed vehemently against the ensigns.

Ensigns were low-ranking soldiers who carried the flags.

But Pilate said to the Jews, I know it is not pleasing to you that the tops of the banners did of themselves bow and worship Jesus; but why do you exclaim against the ensigns, as if they had bowed and worshipped?
They replied to Pilate, We saw the ensigns themselves bowing and worshipping Jesus.
Then the governor called the ensigns and said unto them, Why did you do thus?
The ensigns said to Pilate, We are all pagans and worship the gods in temples; how should we think anything about worshipping him? We only held the banners in our hands and they bowed themselves and worshipped him.
Then Pilate said to the rulers of the synagogue, You yourselves choose some strong men and let them hold the banners, and we shall see whether they will then bend of themselves.
So the elders of the Jews sought out twelve of the most strong and able old men and made them hold the banners and they stood in the presence of the governor.
Then Pilate said to the messenger, Take Jesus out, and by some means bring him in again. And Jesus and the messenger went out of the hall.
And Pilate called the ensigns who before had borne the banners and swore to them that if they had not borne them in that manner when Jesus before entered in, he would cut off their heads.
Then the governor commanded Jesus to come in again.
And the messenger did as he had done before, and very much entreated Jesus that he would go upon his cloak and walk on it, and he did walk upon it and went in.
And when Jesus went in, the banners bowed themselves as before and worshipped him.

CHAPTER 2

Pilate's wife has compassion on him. 7. He is charged with being born in fornication. 12. Testimony to the betrothing of his parents. Hatred of the Jews to him. 1. Now when Pilate saw this, he was afraid and was about to rise from his seat.
But while he thought to rise, his own wife who stood at a distance, sent to him, saying, Have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered much concerning him in a vision this night.

Compare with: "When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him." (Matthew 27:19)

When the Jews heard this they said to Pilate, Did we not say to you, He is a conjuror? Behold, he has caused your wife to dream.
Pilate then called Jesus and said, You have heard what they testify against you, and you make no answer?
Jesus replied, If they had not a power of speaking, they could not have spoken; but because everyone has the command of his own tongue to speak both good and bad, let him look to it.
But the elders of the Jews answered and said to Jesus, What shall we look to?
In the first place, we know this concerning you, that you were born through fornication; secondly, that upon the account of your birth the infants were slain in Bethlehem; thirdly, that your father and mother Mary fled into Egypt because they could not trust their own people.
Some of the Jews who stood by spoke more favorably, We cannot say that he was born through fornication, but we know that his mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, so he was not born through fornication.
Then Pilate said to the Jews who affirmed him to be born through fornication, Your account is not true, seeing there was a betrothment, as they testify who are of your own nation.
Annas and Caiaphas spoke to Pilate, All this multitude of people is to be regarded, who cry out that he was born through fornication and is a conjuror; but they who deny him to be born through fornication are his proselytes and disciples.
Pilate answered Annas and Caiaphas, Who are the proselytes? They answered, They are those who are the children of pagans and have not become Jews, but followers of him.
Then replied Eleazar, and Asterius, and Antonius, and James, Caras and Samuel, Isaac and Phinees, Crispus and Agrippa, Annas and Judas, We are not proselytes, but children of Jews, and speak the truth, and were present when Mary was betrothed.

These men are not mentioned in the New Testament; it is unlikely the Crispus baptized by Paul (I Corinthians 1:14) is the same man.

Then Pilate addressing himself to the twelve men who spoke this, said to them, I abjure you by the life of Caesar, that you faithfully declare whether he was born through fornication and those things be true which you have related.
They answered Pilate, We have a law, whereby we are forbidden to swear, it being a sin: Let them swear by the life of Caesar that it is not as we have said, and we will be contented to be put to death.

The Old Testament is replete with examples of swearing by an oath, and nowhere is it forbidden to do so. These men deny being proselytes of Christ, but they seem to be referring to his words: "Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time, Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine oaths: But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for it is God's throne; Nor by the earth; for it is his footstool: neither by Jerusalem; for it is the city of the great King. Neither shalt thou swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil." (Matthew 5:33-37; also see Matthew 23:16-22).

The rule for conscientious Christians is in James 5:12, which reads: "But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath: but let your yea be yea; and [your] nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation." For this reason, our courts allow witnesses with religious scruples to "affirm" rather than "swear."

Then said Annas and Caiaphas to Pilate, Those twelve men will not believe that we know him to be basely born and to be a conjuror, although he pretends that he is the son of God and a king, which we are so far from believing that we tremble to hear.
Then Pilate commanded everyone to go out except the twelve men who said he was not born through fornication, and for Jesus to withdraw to a distance, and said to them, Why have the Jews a mind to kill Jesus?
They answered him, They are angry because he wrought cures on the Sabbath day. Pilate said, Will they kill him for a good work? They said unto him, Yes, Sir.

Compare with: "Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God." (John 10:31-33)

CHAPTER 3

Christ is exonerated by Pilate. 11. Disputes with Pilate concerning Truth.
Then Pilate, filled with anger, went out of the hall and said to the Jews, I call the whole world to witness that I find no fault in that man.

Compare with John 18:38 and Luke 23:14, 15.

The Jews replied to Pilate, If he had not been a wicked person, we would not have brought him before you.
Pilate said to them, Then you take him and try him by your law.
Then the Jews said, It is not lawful for us to put anyone to death.

The Jews' argument was specious; they certainly did kill people by stoning. (Crucifixion was a Roman method of execution.)

Pilate said to the Jews, The command, therefore you shall not kill, belongs to you, but not to me.

Pilate's reply is half-taunt, half-threat. "Thou shalt not kill" in Exodus 20:13 is not a prohibition against capital punishment, but is more accurately translated "Thou shalt do no murder." He seems to imply they are intent on murdering Jesus, and suggesting that he is not bound by any commandment which would prevent him from murdering them.

And he went again into the hall and called Jesus by himself and said to hm, Are you the king of the Jews?
And Jesus answering said to Pilate, Do you speak this of yourself, or did the Jews tell it to you concerning me?
Pilate answered to Jesus, Am I a Jew? The whole nation and rulers of the Jews have delivered you up to me. What have you done?
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight and I should not have been delivered to the Jews; but now my kingdom is not away.
Pilate said, Are you a king then? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king: to this end was I born, and for this end came I into the world; and for this purpose I came, that I should bear witness to the truth; and everyone who is of the truth, is hearing my voice.

This is in Matthew 27:11, Mark 15:2, and John 18:33-37.

Pilate said to him, What is truth?
Jesus said, Truth is from heaven.
Pilate said, Therefore truth is not on earth.
Jesus said to Pilate, Believe that truth is on earth among those who, when they have the power of judgment, are governed by truth and form right judgment.

Pilate's question is in John 18:38, but not Christ's answer.

CHAPTER 4

Pilate finds no fault in Jesus. 16. The Jews demand his crucifixion.
Then Pilate left Jesus in the hall and went out to the Jews and said, I find not any single fault in Jesus.
The Jews said to him, But he said, I can destroy the temple of God and in three days build it up again.
Pilate said to them, What sort of temple is that of which he speaks?
The Jews said to him, That which Solomon was forty-six years in building, he said he would destroy and in three days build up.

Compare with: "Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body." (John 2:18-21)

Pilate said to them again, I am innocent from the blood of that man; you look to it.

See Matthew 27:24 for this, and Pilate's washing his hands to symbolize it.

The Jews said to him, His blood be upon us and our children. Then Pilate called together the elders and scribes, priests and Levites, and said to them privately, Do not act thus; I have found nothing in your charge against him concerning his curing sick persons and breaking the Sabbath, worthy of death.

Compare with: "Then answered all the people, and said, His blood [be] on us, and on our children." (Matthew 27:25) This verse should never be used as a justification for persecuting Jews, for in the Old Testament the shedding of innocent blood is avenged by God, and the New Testament teaching is that Christ's blood is upon us all.

Christ's curse on a fig tree foreshadowed Israel's self-inflicted curse (Matthew 21:18, 19; Mark 11:12- 14), which was fulfilled in Israel's history by the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, an event foretold by Christ: "And Jesus went out, and departed from the temple: and his disciples came to [him] for to shew him the buildings of the temple. And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? Verily I say unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down." (Matthew 24:1,2)

The priests and Levites replied to Pilate, By the life of Caesar, if anyone be a blasphemer, he is worthy of death; but this man has blasphemed against the Lord.

The reference is "And he that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he shall surely be put to death, [and] all the congregation shall certainly stone him: as well the stranger, as he that is born in the land, when he blasphemeth the name [of the Lord], shall be put to death." (Leviticus 24:16)

Then the governor again commanded the Jews to depart out of the hall, and calling Jesus, said to him, What shall I do with you?
Jesus answered him, Do according as it is written.
Pilate said to him, How is it written?
Jesus said to him, Moses and the prophets have prophesied concerning my suffering and resurrection.

Old Testament prophecies concerning Christ's suffering and resurrection will be cited in the appropriate places, but none are attributed to Moses.

On hearing this, the Jews were provoked and said to Pilate, Why will you any longer hear the blasphemy of that man?
Pilate said to them, If these words seem to you blasphemy, you take him, bring him to your court, and try him according to your law.
The Jews replied to Pilate, Our law says he shall be obliged to receive nine and thirty lashes, but if after this he will blaspheme against the Lord, he shall be stoned.
Pilate said to them, If that speech of his was blasphemy, you try him according to your law.
The Jews said to Pilate, Our law commands us not to put anyone to death: we desire that he may be crucified, because he deserves the death of the cross.
Pilate said to them, It is not proper he should be crucified; let him be only whipped and sent away.

Compare with: "I will therefore chastise him and release [him]." (Luke 23:16)

But when the governor looked upon the people that were present and the Jews, he saw many of the Jews in tears, and said to the chief priests of the Jews, All the people do not desire his death.
The elders of the Jews answered to Pilate, We and all the people came here for this very purpose, that he should die.
Pilate said to them, Why should he die?
They said to him, Because he declares himself to be the Son of God, and a King.

CHAPTER 5

Nicodemus speaks in defence of Christ, and relates his miracles. 12. Another Jew, 26. with Veronica, 34. Centurio, and others, testify of his miracles.
But Nicodemus, a certain Jew, stood before the governor, and said, I entreat you, O righteous judge, that you would favor me with the liberty of speaking a few words.

Nicodemus was more than just "a certain Jew," but a Pharisee and ruler of the Jews; his first encounter with Jesus is recorded in John 3.

Pilate said to him, Speak on.
Nicodemus said, I spoke to the elders of the Jews, and the scribes, and priests and Levites, and all the multitude of the Jews in their assembly; what is it you would do with this man?
He is a man who has wrought many useful and glorious miracles such as no man on earth ever wrought before nor will ever work. Let him go, and do him no harm; if he comes from God, his miracles (his miraculous cures) will continue; but if from men, they will come to nothing.

The same idea is in Acts 5:38,39, which says "...if this counsel or this work be of men, it will come to nought: But if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it; lest haply ye be found even to fight against God."

Thus Moses, when he was sent by God into Egypt, wrought the miracles which God commanded him before Pharaoh king of Egypt; and though the magicians of that country, Jannes and Jambres, wrought by their magic the same miracles which Moses did, yet they could not work all which he did;

For the miracles Moses did in the presence of Pharaoh (circa 1491 B.C.), see Exodus 8. The Egyptian magicians, Jannes and Jambres, are mentioned in II Timothy 3:8.

And the miracles which the magicians wrought, were not of God, as you know, O Scribes and Pharisees; but they who wrought them perished, and all who believed them.
And now let this man go; because the very miracles for which you accuse him are from God, and he is not worthy of death. 8. The Jews then said to Nicodemus, Are you become his disciple and making speeches in his favor?
Nicodemus said to them, Is the governor become his disciple also, and does he make speeches for him? Did not Caesar place him in that high post?
When the Jews heard this they trembled and gnashed their teeth at Nicodemus, and said to him, May you receive his doctrine for truth, and have your lot with Christ!
Nicodemus replied, Amen; I will receive his doctrine, and my lot with him, as you have said.
[New paragraph in the oldest extant manuscripts] Then another certain Jew rose up, and desired permission from the governor to hear him a few words.
And the governor said, Speak what you have a mind.
And he said, I lay for thirty-eight years by the sheep- pool at Jerusalem, laboring under a great infirmity and waiting for a cure which should be wrought by the coming of an angel, who at a certain time troubled the water; and whoever first stepped in after the troubling of the water was made whole of whatever disease he had.
And when Jesus saw me languishing there, he said to me, Will you be made whole? And I answered, Sir, I have no man, when the water is troubled, to put me into the pool.
And he said unto me, Rise, take up your bed and walk. And I was immediately made whole, and I took up my bed and walked.

This exact story is in John 5:1-9; other healings in which Christ said "Rise and walk" are in Matthew 9:6, Mark 2:11, and Luke 5:24.

The Jews then said to Pilate, Our Lord Governor, please ask him what day it was on which he was cured of his infirmity.
The infirm person replied, It was on the Sabbath.
The Jews said to Pilate, Did we not say that he wrought his cures on the Sabbath, and cast out devils by the prince of devils?
Then another certain Jew came forth, and said, I was blind, could hear sounds, but could not see anyone; and as Jesus was going along, I heard the multitude passing by, and I asked what was there.
They told me that Jesus was passing by; then I cried out, saying, Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me. And he stood still, and commanded that I should be brought to him, and said to me, What do you want?
I said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
He said to me, Receive your sight. And presently I saw, and followed him, rejoicing and giving thanks.

This may be the story of blind Bartimaeus in Mark 10:46-52. Compare the similar, if not identical healing, of an unnamed man in Luke 18:35-43.

Another Jew also came forth and said, I was a leper, and he cured me by his word only, saying, I will, be you clean; and presently I was cleansed from my leprosy.

A more complete account is in Matthew 8:1-4, Mark 1:40-45, and Luke 5:12-14.

And another Jew came forth and said, I was crooked, and he made me straight by his word.

A similar story about the healing of a woman is in Luke 13:11.

[New paragraph in the oldest extant manuscripts] And a certain woman named Veronica said, I was afflicted with an issue of blood twelve years, and I touched the hem of his garments, and presently the issue of my blood stopped.

The "issue" (meaning flow) of blood may refer to a menstruation abnormality or some wound that would not heal. The account is found in Matthew 9:20-22 and Luke 8:43-48. Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical History (1.7, c. 18), affirms that this miracle was performed on a woman named Veronica, and refers to a statue she erected to the honor of Christ.

The Jews then said, We have a law, that a woman shall not be allowed to give evidence.
And, after other things, another Jew said, I saw Jesus invited to a wedding with his disciples, and there was a lack of wine in Cana of Galilee;
And when the wine was all drank, he commanded the servants that they should fill six pots which were there with water, and they filled them up to the brim, and he blessed them and turned the water into wine, and all the people drank, being surprised at this miracle.

This was the first public miracle Christ performed in Galilee, recorded in John 2:1-11.

And another Jew stood forth and said, I saw Jesus teaching in the synagogue at Capernaum, and there was in the synagogue a certain man who had a devil; and he cried out, saying, Let me alone; what have we to do with you, Jesus of Nazareth? Are you come to destroy us? I know that you are the Holy One of God.
And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold your peace, unclean spirit, and come out of the man; and presently he came out of him and did not at all hurt him.

The identical account is in Luke 4:33-37.

The following things were also said by a Pharisee; I saw that a great company came to Jesus from Galilee and Judaea, and the sea-coast, and many countries about Jordan, and many infirm persons came to him, and he healed them all.
And I heard the unclean spirits crying out, and saying, You are the Son of God. And Jesus strictly charged them that they should not make him known.

This corresponds with Matthew 4:23-25 and Mark 3:11.

[New paragraph in the oldest extant manuscripts] After this another person whose name was Centurio, said, I saw Jesus in Capernaum, and I entreated him, saying, Lord, my servant lies at home sick of the palsy.
And Jesus said to me, I will come and cure him.
But I said, Lord, I am not worthy that you should come under my roof; but only speak the word, and my servant will be healed.
And Jesus said to me, Go your way; and as you have believed, so be it done for you. And my servant was healed from that same hour.

The man named Centrio is not mentioned in the New Testament. The details correspond with those in Matthew 8:5-13, where the man is identified as a Roman centurion, however, and certainly not a Jew.

Then a certain nobleman said, I had a son in Capernaum, who lay at the point of death; and when I heard that Jesus was come into Galilee, I went and pleaded that he would come down to my house and heal my son, for he was at the point of death.
He said to me, Go your way; your son lives.
And my son was cured from that hour.
Besides these, also many others of the Jews, both men and women, cried out and said, He is truly the Son of God, who cures all diseases only by his word, and to whom the devils are altogether subject.
Some of them further said, This power can proceed from none but God.
Pilate said to the Jews, Why are not the devils subject to your doctors?
Some of them said, The power of subjecting devils cannot proceed but from God.
But others said to Pilate that he had raised Lazarus from the dead after he had been four days in his grave.

For the raising of Lazarus, see John 11:11-46. (Verse 33, "Jesus wept," is the shortest in the Bible.)

On hearing this, the governor trembled and said to the multitude of the Jews, What will it profit you to shed innocent blood?

CHAPTER 6

Pilate is dismayed by the turbulence of the Jews, 5. who demand Barabbas to be released and Christ to be crucified, 9. Pilate warmly expostulates with them, 20. washes his hands of Christ's blood, 23. and sentences him to be whipped and crucified.
Then Pilate having called together Nicodemus, and the fifteen men who said that Jesus was not born through fornication, and said to them, What shall I do, seeing there is likely to be a tumult among the people?

This is apparently a discrepancy; verse 2:16 says there were twelve men, not fifteen.

They said unto him, We do not know; let them look to it who raise the tumult.
Pilate then called the multitude again and said to them, You know that you have a custom, that I should release to you one prisoner at the feast of the passover;
I have a noted prisoner, a murderer, who is called Barabbas, and Jesus who is called Christ, in whom I find nothing that deserves death; which of them therefore have you a mind that I should release to you?
They all cry out and say, Release to us Barabbas.

On Pilate's attempt to barter Barabbas for Christ, see Matthew 27:15-26, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23:13-25, and John 18:39, 40.

Pilate said to them, What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?
They all answer, Let him be crucified.
Again they cried out and said to Pilate, You are not the friend of Caesar if you release this man, for he has declared that he is the Son of God and a king. Are you inclined that he should be king, and not Caesar?
Then Pilate filled with anger said to them, Your nation has always been seditious, and you are always against those who have been serviceable to you.
The Jews replied, Who are those who have been serviceable to us?
Pilate answered them, Your God who delivered you from the hard bondage of the Egyptians, and brought you over the Red Sea as though it had been dry land, and fed you in the wilderness with manna and the flesh of quails, and brought water out of the rock, and gave you a law from heaven:
You provoked him all ways, and desired for yourselves a molten calf, and worshipped it, and sacrificed to it, and said, These are your Gods, O Israel, which brought you out of the land of Egypt!
On account of which your God was inclined to destroy you; but Moses interceded for you, and your God heard him and forgave your iniquity.
Afterwards you were enraged against, and would have killed your prophets, Moses and Aaron, when they fled to the tabernacle, and you were always murmuring against God and his prophets.

Here, as before, Pilate demonstrates familiarity with the Old Testament.

And arising from his judgment seat, he would have gone out, but the Jews all cried out, We acknowledge Caesar to be king, and not Jesus.
Whereas this person, as soon as he was born, the wise men came and offered gifts unto him; which when Herod heard, he was exceedingly troubled and would have killed him.
When his father knew this, he fled with him and his mother Mary into Egypt. Herod, when he heard he was born, would have slain him; accordingly he sent and slew all the children which were in Bethlehem and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under.

See Matthew 2 for Herod's Massacre of the Innocents.

When Pilate heard this account, he was afraid; and commanding silence among the people, who made a noise, he said to Jesus, Are you therefore a king?
All the Jews replied to Pilate, He is the very person whom Herod sought to have slain.
Then Pilate took water and washed his hands before the people and said, I am innocent of the blood of this just person, you look to it.
The Jews answered and said, His blood be upon us and our children.

Refer to previous notes at 4:4, 6.

Then Pilate commanded Jesus to be brought before him, and spoke to him in the following words:
Your own nation has charged you as making yourself a king; wherefore I, Pilate, sentence you to be whipped according to the laws of former governors; and that you be first bound, then hanged upon a cross in that place where you are now a prisoner, and also two criminals with you, whose names are Dimas and Gestas.

It is certain that Christ was crucified between two thieves (Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27, Luke 22:37), but their names are not recorded in the Canon, evidently because there was confusion on that in the oral tradition. Here they are named Dimas and Gestas; in I Infancy 8:3, their names are Titus and Dumachus.

CHAPTER 7

Manner of Christ's crucifixion with the two thieves.
Then Jesus went out of the hall, and the two thieves with him.
And when they came to the place which is called Golgotha, they stripped him of his raiment, and girded him about with a linen cloth, and put a crown of thorns upon his head, and put a reed in his hand.

Golgotha means Place of a Skull, see Matthew 27:33 and John 19:19. In Greek the word is Calvary, with the same meaning.

And in like manner did they to the two thieves who were crucified with him, Dimas on his right hand and Gestas on his left.
But Jesus said, My Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
And they divided his garments, and upon his vesture they cast lots.

Compare with: "Then the soldiers, when they had crucified Jesus, took his garments, and made four parts, to every soldier a part; and also [his] coat: now the coat was without seam, woven from the top throughout. They said therefore among themselves, Let us not rend it, but cast lots for it, whose it shall be: that the scripture might be fulfilled, which saith, They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots. These things therefore the soldiers did." (John 19:23, 24; see also Mark 15:24) The soldiers unwittingly fulfilled Psalm 22:18, "They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon by vesture."

The people in the meantime stood by, and the chief priests and elders of the Jews mocked him, saying, He saved others, let him now save himself if he can; if he be the Son of God, let him now come down from the cross.
The soldiers also mocked him and took vinegar and gall and offered it to him to drink, and said to him, If you are king of the Jews, deliver yourself.

Vinegar (soured wine) and gall may have been thought to have an analgesic effect, and was perhaps customarily given suffering prisoners on the point of death. Jesus refused it. Matthew 27:34, 48, mentions vinegar was offered a second time as a humane gesture to assuage Christ's thirst. See also John 19:29, where it says he accepted that offer. These actions fulfilled the Messianic prophecy, "They gave me also gall for my meat; and in by thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." (Psalm 69:21)

Then Longinus, a certain soldier, took a spear and pierced his side, and presently there came forth blood and water.

Recorded in John 19:34, but the soldier's name is not mentioned. This fulfilled "...they shall look upon me whom they have pierced..." (Zechariah 12:10)

And Pilate wrote the title upon the cross in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek letters: This is the king of the Jews.

Compare with Matthew 27:37; Luke 23:38; and John 19:19-22, which is a fuller account: "And Pilate wrote a title, and put [it] on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. This title then read many of the Jews: for the place where Jesus was crucified was nigh to the city: and it was written in Hebrew, [and] Greek, [and] Latin. Then said the chief priests of the Jews to Pilate, Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews. Pilate answered, What I have written I have written."

But one of the two thieves who were crucified with Jesus, whose name was Gestas, said to Jesus, If you are the Christ, deliver yourself and us.
But the thief who was crucified on his right hand, whose name was Dimas, answering, rebuked him, and said, Do not you fear God, who are condemned to this punishment? We indeed receive rightly and justly the demerit of our actions; but this Jesus, what evil has he done?
After this groaning, he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
Jesus answered and said to him, Truly I say to you, that this day you will be with me in Paradise.

Matthew 27:44 and Mark 15:32 say both thieves reviled Christ at first; the subsequent repentance of the one is recorded in Luke 23:39-43, and agrees with the story here.

CHAPTER 8

Miraculous appearance at his death. 10. The Jews say the eclipse was natural. 12. Joseph of Arimathaea embalms Christ's body and buries it.
And it was about the sixth hour, and darkness was upon the face of the whole earth until the ninth hour.

The sixth hour means noon, which was about the same time the paschal lambs were ritually killed. This mid-day darkness before the death of Christ is noted in Matthew 27:45, Mark 15:33, Luke 23:44-45.

Note these curious Old Testament verses, which early Christians related to this event: "And it shall come to pass in that day, [that] the light shall not be clear, [nor] dark: But it shall be one day which shall be known to the Lord, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, [that] at evening time it shall be light." (Zechariah 14:6, 7); "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day." (Amos 8:9)

And while the sun was eclipsed, behold the veil of the temple was rent from the top to the bottom; and the rocks also were rent, and the graves opened, and many bodies of saints which slept arose.

Matthew 27:51-53 mentions all these events, but says the dead arose only after the Resurrection of Christ: "And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, And came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many."

Mark 15:38 speaks only of the temple veil being torn, but agrees with Matthew that it was torn from top to bottom. (This veil was the curtain before the Holy of Holies and was worth remarking to show it was not done by human hands.) Luke 23:45 mentions only that the temple veil was torn.

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Hely, Hely, lama zabacthani, which being interpreted is, My God, why have you forsaken me?

This is a transliteration; compare with: "And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46) Note that Psalm 22 begins with the words, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?"

The Church teaches that since Christ appropriated our nature, he experienced true separation from God in his humanity, knowing suffering and distress, yet he did not despair. He spoke these words in the name of humanity, to put an end to the alienation of man from God. For as God he was never forsaken by the Father, but with this cry humanity is accepted and saved.

And after these things, Jesus said, Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. And having said this, he gave up the ghost.
But when the centurion saw that Jesus thus crying out gave up the ghost, he glorified God and said, Of a truth this was a just man.

Matthew 27:54 and Mark 15:39 say the centurion confessed Christ not merely as a "just man," but as the Son of God.

And all the people who stood by were exceedingly troubled at the sight, and reflecting upon what had passed, smote upon their breasts, and then returned to the city of Jerusalem.
The centurion went to the governor and related to him all that had happened;
And when he had heard all these things, he was exceeding sorrowful;
And calling the Jews together, said to them, Have you seen the miracle of the sun's eclipse, and the other things which came to pass while Jesus was dying?
Which when the Jews heard, they answered to the governor, The eclipse of the sun happened according to its usual custom.
But all those who were the acquaintances of Christ stood at a distance, as did the women who had followed Jesus from Galilee, observing all these things.
And behold a certain man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus, but not openly so for fear of the Jews, came to the governor and entreated the governor that he would give him the body of Jesus from the cross.
And the governor gave him permission.
And Nicodemus came, bringing with him a mixture of myrrh and aloes about a hundred pound weight; and they took down Jesus from the cross with tears and bound him with linen cloths with spices, according to the custom of burying among the Jews,
And placed him in a new tomb, which Joseph had built and caused to be cut out of a rock, in which never any man had been put; and they rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre.

The Jewish Sabbath was (and is) from sundown Friday to sundown Saturday, so it was urgent to bury Christ. This account is very complete, but all the details can be learned only by examining each of the canonical Gospels: "When the even was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, And laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed." (Matthew 27:57-60)

"And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling [unto him] the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. And when he knew [it] of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre." (Mark 15:42-46)

"And, behold, [there was] a man named Joseph, a counselor; [and he was] a good man, and a just: (The same had not consented to the counsel and deed of them;) [he was] of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God. This [man] went unto Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in linen, and laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn in stone, wherein never man before was laid. And that day was the preparation, and the sabbath drew on." (Luke 23:50-54)

"And after this Joseph of Arimathaea, being a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, besought Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus: and Pilate gave [him] leave. He came therefore, and took the body of Jesus. And there came also Nicodemus, which at the first came to Jesus by night, and brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about an hundred pound [weight]. Then took they the body of Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes with the spices, as the manner of the Jews is to bury. Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden; and in the garden a new sepulchre, wherein was never man yet laid. There laid they Jesus therefore because of the Jews' preparation [day], for the sepulchre was nigh at hand." (John 19:38-42)

Taken together, these sources reveal: 1) Joseph of Arimathaea was a high counsellor; 2) although he had been a secret disciple for fear of the Jews, he now came boldly to Pilate; 3) he was rich; 4) he buried Jesus in his own tomb; 5) Pilate checked with the centurion to make certain Jesus was dead before authorizing Joseph to take the body; 6) Nicodemus indeed assisted Joseph in removing Jesus from the cross and burying him, having provided a hundred pounds of spices; 7) a stone was rolled in front of the tomb to seal it. That Jesus was buried in the tomb of a rich man fulfilled the prophecy: "And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death..." (Isaiah 53:9)

CHAPTER 9

The Jews become angry with Nicodemus; 5. and with Joseph of Arimathaea, 7. whom they imprison.
When the unjust Jews heard that Joseph had begged and buried the body of Jesus, they sought after Nicodemus, and those fifteen men who had testified before the governor that Jesus was not born through fornication, and other good persons who had shown any good actions towards him.
But when they all concealed themselves through fear of the Jews, Nicodemus alone showed himself to them and said, How can such persons as these enter into the synagogue?
The Jews answered him, But how dare you who were a confederate with Christ enter into the synagogue ? Let your lot be along with him in the other world.
Nicodemus answered, Amen; so may it be, that I may have my lot with him in his kingdom.
In like manner Joseph, when he came to the Jews, said to them, Why are you angry with me for desiring the body of Jesus of Pilate? Behold, I have put him in my tomb, and wrapped him up in clean linen, and put a stone at the door of the sepulchre:
I have acted rightly towards him; but you have acted unjustly against that just person, in crucifying him, giving him vinegar to drink, crowning him with thorns, tearing his body with whips, and prayed down the guilt of his blood upon you.
The Jews at the hearing of this were disquieted and troubled, so they seized Joseph and commanded him to be put in custody before the Sabbath and kept there till the Sabbath was over.
And they said to him, Make confession; for at this time it is not lawful to do you any harm, till the first day of the week come. But we know that you will not be thought worthy of a burial; but we will give your flesh to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth.

The first day of the week, for Jews and Christians, is Sunday.

Joseph answered, That speech is like the speech of proud Goliath, who reproached the living God in speaking against David. But you scribes and doctors know that God said by the prophet, Vengeance is mine, and I will repay to you evil equal to that which you have threatened to me.

For Goliath of Gath, the giant slain by David, see I Samuel 17:4-51. Goliath's proud speech was: "Come to me, and I will give thy flesh unto the fowls of the air, and to the beasts of the field." (II Samuel 21:19, and I Chronicles 20:5 say David also killed Goliath's giant brother and son.)

On vengeance belonging to God: "To me [belongeth] vengeance, and recompense; their foot shall slide in [due] time: for the day of their calamity [is] at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste." (Deuteronomy 32:35); the New Testament says: "Vengeance [belongeth] unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. [It is] a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:30, 31)

The God whom you have hanged upon the cross is able to deliver me out of your hands. All your wickedness will return upon you.
For the governor, when he washed his hands, said, I am clear from the blood of this just person. But you answered and cried out, His blood be upon us and our children. According as you have said, may you perish forever.

Notice it is not Joseph who curses them, but they who have cursed themselves. As in the example of God's foreknowledge that he would "harden" Pharaoh's heart (Exodus 7:3, 10:1), it is clear that during the plagues on Egypt, Pharaoh repeatedly hardened his own heart. In other words, God rejects only those who first reject him.

Similarly, it is commonly said the Church excommunicates its unrepentant members, but in actuality they have excommunicated themselves by disqualifying themselves from participating in the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist, or Communion. Excommunication is not consigning people to hell; it is barring them from the sacraments until they repent and confess their sins.

The elders of the Jews, upon hearing these words, were exceedingly enraged and seized Joseph. They put him into a chamber where there was no window; they fastened the door and put a seal on the lock.
And Annas and Caiaphas placed a guard at it and took counsel with the priests and Levites, that they should all meet after the Sabbath, and they conspired to what death they should put Joseph.
When they had done this, the rulers, Annas and Caiaphas, ordered Joseph to be brought forth.

In this place there is a portion of the manuscript lost or omitted, which cannot be supplied.

CHAPTER 10

Joseph's escape. 2. The soldiers relate Christ's resurrection. 18. Christ is seen preaching in Galilee. 21. The Jews repent of their cruelty to him.
When all the assembly heard this, they marveled and were astonished because they found the same seal over the lock of the chamber, but could not find Joseph.
Then Annas and Caiaphas went forth, and while they were all marvelling at Joseph's absence, behold, one of the soldiers who guarded the sepulchre of Jesus spoke in the assembly.
That while they were guarding the sepulchre of Jesus, there was an earthquake and: We saw an angel of God roll away the stone of the sepulchre and sit upon it;

Matthew 28:2-4 and 28:11 is the only canonical Gospel reporting that the soldiers also saw the angel who appeared to the women.

And his countenance was like lightning and his garment like snow; and we became through fear like persons dead.
And we heard an angel saying to the women at the sepulchre of Jesus, Do not fear; I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified; he is risen as he foretold.
Come and see the place where he was laid; and go presently and tell his disciples that he is risen from the dead, and he will go before you into Galilee; there you shall see him as he told you.
Then the Jews called together all the soldiers who kept watch at the sepulchre of Jesus and said to them, Who are those women to whom the angel spoke? Why did you not seize them?
The soldiers answered and said, We know not who the women were; besides we became as dead persons through fear, and how could we seize those women?
The Jews said to them, As the Lord lives, we do not believe you.
The soldiers answered the Jews, When you saw and heard Jesus working so many miracles and did not believe him, how should you believe us? You well said, As the Lord lives, for the Lord truly does live.
We have heard that you shut up Joseph, who buried the body of Jesus, in a chamber under a lock which was sealed, and when you opened it, found him not there.
So you produce Joseph whom you put under guard in the chamber, and we will produce Jesus whom we guarded in the sepulchre.
The Jews answered and said, We will produce Joseph; you produce Jesus. But Joseph is in his own city of Arimathaea.
The soldiers replied, If Joseph be in Arimathaea, then Jesus is in Galilee. We heard the angel inform the women.
On hearing this, the Jews were afraid and said among themselves, If by any means these things should become public, then everybody will believe in Jesus.
Then they gathered a large sum of money and gave it to the soldiers, saying, You tell the people that the disciples of Jesus came in the night when you were asleep and stole away the body of Jesus, and if Pilate the governor should hear of this, we will satisfy him and secure you.
The soldiers accordingly took the money and said as they were instructed by the Jews; and their report was spread abroad among all the people.

See Matthew 28:12-15.

[New paragraph in the oldest extant manuscripts] But a certain priest Phinees, Ada a schoolmaster, and a Levite named Ageus, they three came from Galilee to Jerusalem and told the chief priests and all who were in the synagogues,
We have seen Jesus, whom you crucified, talking with his eleven disciples and sitting in the midst of them in Mount Olivet, and saying to them,
Go forth into the whole world, preach the Gospel to all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit; and whoever shall believe and be baptized shall be saved.

See Matthew 28:16-30 and Mark 16:15, 16.

And when he had said these things to his disciples, we saw him ascending up to heaven.
When the chief priests, and elders, and Levites heard these things, they said to these three men, Give glory to the God of Israel and make confession to him, whether those things are true, which you say you have seen and heard.
They answered and said, As the Lord of our fathers lives, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, according as we heard Jesus talking with his disciples, and according as we saw him ascending up to heaven, so we have related the truth to you.
And the three men further answered and said, adding these words, If we should not admit to the words which we heard Jesus speak, and that we saw him ascending into heaven, we should be guilty of sin.
The chief priests immediately rose up, and holding the book of the law in their hands, adjured these men, saying, From now on you shall no more declare those things which you have spoken concerning Jesus.
And they gave them a large sum of money, and sent other persons along with them to conduct them to their own country, so they might not by any means make any stay at Jerusalem.
Then the Jews assembled all together, and having expressed the most lamentable concern, said, What is this extraordinary thing which is come to pass in Jerusalem?
But Annas and Caiaphas comforted them, saying, Why should we believe the soldiers who guarded the sepulchre of Jesus, in telling us that an angel rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?
Perhaps his own disciples told them this, and gave them money that they should say so, and they themselves took away the body of Jesus.
Besides, consider this, that there is no credit to be given to foreigners, because they also took a large sum of us, and they have declared to us according to the instructions which we gave them. They must either be faithful to us, or to the disciples of Jesus.

CHAPTER 11

Nicodemus counsels the Jews. 6. Joseph found. 11. Invited by the Jews to return. 19. Relates the manner of his miraculous escape.
Then Nicodemus arose and said, You say right, O sons of Israel, for you have heard what those three men said, who have sworn by the Law of God, We have seen Jesus speaking with his disciples upon Mount Olivet, and we saw him ascending up to heaven.
And the scripture teaches us that the blessed prophet Elijah was taken up to heaven; and Elisha being asked by the sons of the prophets, Where is our father Elijah? He said to them, He is taken up to heaven.
And the sons of the prophets said to him, Perhaps the spirit has carried him into one of the mountains of Israel; perhaps we shall find him there. And they besought Elisha, and he walked about with them three days, and they could not find him.

For this story of Elijah and Elisha, see II Kings 2:9-17.

And now hear this, O sons of Israel, let us send men into the mountains of Israel, perhaps in the event that the spirit has carried away Jesus, and perhaps there we shall find him and be satisfied.
And the counsel of Nicodemus pleased all the people; and they sent forth men who sought for Jesus, but could not find him: and they returned and said, We went all about, but could not find Jesus, but we have found Joseph in his city of Arimathaea.
The rulers and all the people were glad upon hearing this, and praised the God of Israel, because Joseph was found, whom they had shut up in a chamber and could not find.
And when they had formed a large assembly, the chief priests said, By what means shall we bring Joseph back to us to speak with him?
And taking a piece of paper, they wrote to him and said, Peace be with you and all your family. We know that we have offended against God and you. Be pleased to give a visit to us your fathers, for we were perfectly surprised at your escape from prison.
We know that it was malicious counsel which we took against you, and that the Lord took care of you, and the Lord himself delivered you from our designs. Peace be unto you, Joseph, who are honorable among all the people.
And they chose seven of Joseph's friends and said to them, When you come to Joseph, salute him in peace, and give him this letter.
Accordingly, when the men came to Joseph, they saluted him in peace and gave him the letter.
And when Joseph read it, he said, Blessed be the Lord God who delivered me from the Israelites so they could not shed my blood. Blessed be God, who has protected me under your wings.
And Joseph kissed them and took them into his house. The next morning, Joseph mounted his ass and went along with them to Jerusalem.
And when all the Jews heard these things, they went out to meet him and cried out, saying, Peace attend your coming here, father Joseph.
To which he answered, Prosperity from the Lord attend all the people.
And they all kissed him; and Nicodemus took him to his house, having prepared a large entertainment.
But on the next day, being a preparation-day, Annas, and Caiaphas, and Nicodemus said to Joseph, Make confession to the God of Israel and answer to us all those questions which we shall ask you;
For we have been very much troubled that you did bury the body of Jesus, and that when we had locked you in a chamber, we could not find you; and we have been afraid ever since, till this time of your appearance among us. Tell us therefore before God all that came to pass.
Then Joseph answered, You did indeed put me under confinement, on the day of preparation, till the morning.
But while I was standing at prayer in the middle of the night, the house was surrounded with four angels; and I saw Jesus as the brightness of the sun, and fell down upon the earth for fear.
But Jesus took hold of my hand and lifted me from the ground, and the dew was then sprinkled upon me; but he, wiping my face, kissed me, and said unto me, Fear not, Joseph; look upon me, for it is I.
Then I looked upon him, and said Rabboni Elias! He answered me, I am not Elias, but Jesus of Nazareth, whose body you buried.
I said to him, Show me the tomb in which I laid you.
Then Jesus, taking me by the hand, led me unto the place where I laid him, and showed me the linen clothes, and napkin which I put round his head. Then I knew that it was Jesus, and worshipped him, and said, Blessed be he who comes in the name of the Lord.
Jesus again taking me by the hand, led me to Arimathaea to my own house, and said to me, Peace be to you; but go not out of your house till the fortieth day; but I must go to my disciples.

Forty days seems to have special significance in the Bible. Noah sent a raven from the ark after the flood had lasted forty days (Genesis 7:17, 8:6); the embalming of Jacob took forty days (Genesis 50:3); Moses fasted forty days (Exodus 24:18, 34:28); spies were in the land of Canaan forty days (Numbers 13:25); Goliath's defiance lasted forty days (I Samuel 19:8); Elijah's divinely-provided meal lasted forty days (I Kings 19:8); Jonah's warning of the destruction of Nineveh lasted forty days (Jonah 3:4); Christ fasted and was tempted by the devil for forty days (Luke 4:2); and more specific to this reference, the period between Christ's Resurrection and Ascension was forty days (Acts 1:3).

CHAPTER 12

The Jews are astonished and confounded. 17. Simeon's two sons, Charinus and Lenthius, rise from the dead at Christ's crucifixion. 19. Joseph proposes to get them to relate the mysteries of their resurrection. 21. They are sought and found, 22. brought to the synagogue, 23. privately sworn to secrecy, 25. and undertake to write what they had seen.
When the chief priests and Levites heard all these things, they were astonished and fell down with their faces on the ground as dead men, and crying out to one another said, What is this extraordinary sign which is come to pass in Jerusalem? We know the father and mother of Jesus.
And a certain Levite said, I know many of his relations, religious persons, who are accustomed to offer sacrifices and burnt-offerings in the temple with prayers to the God of Israel.
And when the high priest Simeon took him up in his arms, he said to him, Lord, now let your servant depart in peace according to your word; for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared before the face of all people: a light to enlighten the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.
Simeon in the same manner blessed Mary the mother of Jesus and said to her, I declare to you concerning that child; He is appointed for the fall and rising again of many, and for a sign which shall be spoken against.
Yea, a sword shall pierce through your own soul also, and the thoughts of many hearts shall be revealed.

This is a recapitulation of Christ's early life. For Simeon's words, see Luke 2:25-35.

Then said all the Jews, Let us send for those three men who said they saw him talking with his disciples in Mount Olivet.
After this, they asked them what they had seen, and they answered with one accord, In the presence of the God of Israel we affirm that we plainly saw Jesus talking with his disciples in Mount Olivet, and ascending up to heaven.
Then Annas and Caiaphas took them into separate places, and examined them separately; they unanimously confessed the truth and said they had seen Jesus.
Then Annas and Caiaphas said, Our law says, By the mouth of two or three witnesses every word shall be established.

The Jews realized their quandary at having misapplied their law: "At the mouth of two witnesses, or three witnesses, shall he that is worthy of death be put to heath; [but] at the mouth of one witness he shall not be put to death." (Deuteronomy 17:6)

But what have we said? The blessed Enoch pleased God, and was translated by the word of God; and the burying-place of the blessed Moses in known.

Enoch, the father of Methuselah, lived three hundred sixty-five years (Genesis 5:24) and "walked with God: and he [was] not; for God took him," which is understood to mean, like Elijah, he was "translated" to God without dying: "By faith Enoch was translated that he should not see death; and was not found, because God had translated him: for before his translation he had this testimony, that he pleased God." (Hebrews 11:5)

The Jews knew only the general location where Moses died; a mystery surrounds his death, for Moses received a "divine burial" at the hand of God: "So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the word of the Lord. And he buried him in a valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth- peor: but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day." (Deuteronomy 34:5, 6)

There is a cryptic reference in Jude 9: "Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said, The Lord rebuke thee."

But Jesus was delivered to Pilate, whippe

尼古拉前执事 · Post by **尼古拉前执事** » Thu 14 July 2005 9:59 pm

DELIVERANCE: RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD
The Descent into Hell
April 29, 2000
Holy Saturday

GOSPEL: Matthew 28: 1-20
EPISTLE: Romans 6:3-11

Today’s Gospel lesson is used in Western churches as the Gospel for Easter Sunday; the last few verses (vv.16-20) are generally used for Trinity Sunday in the West, which is the Sunday after Pentecost. In the Orthodox Church, the narrative of the Resurrection (today’s Gospel) plus the Lord’s commission to evangelize the earth (vv.16-20) is used for Holy Saturday. Easter Sunday (i.e. Pascha in the Orthodox Church) then becomes a victory celebration of light triumphing over darkness and the Sunday after Pentecost becomes All Saints Sunday.

Today’s Epistle lesson is used in the West either for Easter or in late June.

BACKGROUND: THE DESCENT INTO HELL

To understand the Orthodox perspective on Pascha (Easter Sunday), it helps to understand the events of Holy Saturday -- when the Lord Jesus descended into hell. The Apostle Paul mentioned that Christ descended into hell (i.e. Hades); by doing so He led captivity captive (Ephesians 4:8-9). In writing this, Paul quoted from David (Psalm 68:18), indicating that Old Testament prophecy had predicted this. David used the words "to God the Lord belong escapes from death" (Psalm 68:20). The Apostle Peter also addressed this when he wrote of Christ "preaching to the demons in prison" (1 Peter 3:19).

From an Old Testament prophetic point of view, Holy Saturday is a very important day. Three major feasts existed under Mosaic Law where attendance was mandatory: Passover, Weeks and Tabernacles (Exodus 23:14-17). Ignoring these feasts resulted in one being cut off from Israel (Numbers 9:10-14). Within these feasts were certain days being proclaimed a Sabbath -- no matter which day of the week it feel on. Of the first three days of Passover in 30 AD, Friday (the 14th of Nisan) was not a Sabbath, Saturday (the 15th of Nisan) was both a Sabbath and the weekly Sabbath and Sunday (the 16th of Nisan) was not a Sabbath. The 14th of Nisan was the day of the slaying of the Passover lamb, and was the day Jesus was crucified. The 16th of Nisan was the day of the offering of the first fruits of the barley harvest and was the day of the Lord’s resurrection. Between these two days was the Sabbath of the 15th of Nisan; by being set aside as a Sabbath, it was taught as being very important and holy.

In "leading captivity captive", what Paul is referring to is that of raising the righteous out of captivity in Hades where they had been held captive awaiting their redemption. There are many references to this in the Psalms, but the references are difficult to put in their context. A very helpful reference is the First Century historical account called The Gospel of Nicodemus. This work can be traced to Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea, both prominent members of the Sanhedrin (Matthew 27:57-60, Mark 15:42-46, Luke 23:50-53, John 19:38-42) who had performed the burial rites for Jesus. Joseph was described as a "rich man" (Matthew 25:57) and Nicodemus was referred to in this work as a toparch (ruler of several cities, compare John 3:1) and the third richest man in Jerusalem. (See Appendix I for a summary of the Gospel of Nicodemus.)

The Gospel of Nicodemus is not a "Gospel" in the sense of the four synoptic Gospels but is an historical account of the death and resurrection of Christ. It has two parts: Part I The Acts of Pilate; Part II The Descent into Hell. There are three versions of each part: Part I has two in Greek, one in Latin; Part II has one in Greek, two in Latin. Thus, one cannot use it word for word like Scripture but one can treat it as an historical source like Josephus’ writings. However, some of the imagery and quotes from Scripture found in the Gospel of Nicodemus are also used in the Orthodox Liturgy for Pascha. Thus it’s applicability.

OLD TESTAMENT READINGS ON DELIVERANCE

A large number of Old Testament readings are prescribed for Holy Saturday Vespers having themes of deliverance:

The Passover Sacrifice (Exodus 12:1-11): This reading describes how the Passover lamb was to be slain. An unblemished male was to be slain at twilight and its blood was to be applied to the doorposts and the lintel (i.e. the top support of the door frame). Some have suggested that the application of the blood using a branch of hyssop traced the outline of the cross. With the blood on their doors, they would be passed-over when the Lord passed through and struck the land of Egypt (v.13). All this was done to show how Christ, as the Lamb of God (John 1:29, 36) would be sacrificed for us (1 Corinthians 5:7).

Freedom from Slavery: The Red Sea (Exodus 13:20-15:19): After Israel left Egypt, Pharaoh changed his mind and pursued Israel with his entire army. Israel, who was largely unarmed, was led by the Lord in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night (13:21).

Trapped between the mountains, the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s army, the people were terrified and cried to Moses. Moses said, "Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord which He will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom you have seen today, you will never see them again forever" (14:13). Moses then stretched his hand over the Red Sea and divided the waters (14:21). Israel crossed on dry ground, and the Egyptians pursued. Moses then stretched his hand over the Red Sea again and the waters inundated the Egyptians (14:22-28). Josephus (1st. Century Jewish historian) added that the return of the waters to inundate Pharaoh’s army involved a violent electrical storm also (Antiquities, II, xvi, 3).

Following their deliverance, Israel sang the song of Moses (15:1-18) accompanied by timbrels, as Miriam led the women in dancing (15:20).

Jonah and Nineveh: Jonah 1, 2, 3, 4 : The Book of Jonah is unusual in that the entire focus of the book is the mission of a Hebrew prophet to a Gentile city. Jonah lived in the early 8th Century BC and was told by the Lord to prophesy against Nineveh, a city in Northern Assyria, 600 miles from Jerusalem. Nineveh was an ancient city, was built by Nimrod following the Flood (Genesis 10:11) and was the Capital city of the Assyrian Empire in the late 8th Century BC.

Instead of going to Nineveh, Jonah "fled to Tarshish (i.e. Spain) from the presence of the Lord" (l:3). The Lord then sent a fierce storm on the Mediterranean Sea so that the ship was about to break up (1:4). The sailors ascertained by casting lots that the storm came up on account of Jonah (1:7). They therefore asked Jonah what they should do to him in order to calm the storm (1:11). Jonah replied, "Pick me up and throw me into the sea" (1:12). The sailors were unwilling to shed innocent blood and tried rowing harder; when all hope seemed lost, they asked the Lord to forgive them and threw Jonah overboard (1:13-15). Immediately the storm ceased and the sailors all made vows and offered sacrifices to the Lord (1:16). Jonah, however, was swallowed by a great sea creature that the Lord appointed (1:17).

Jonah was in the stomach of the sea creature three days and three nights (1:17). There he prayed for help from the "belly of Sheol" (2:2). "Water encompassed me to the soul of death. The great deep surrounded me; weeds were wrapped around my head" (2:5). "Then the Lord commanded the sea creature and it vomited Jonah up onto the dry land" (2:10).

Jonah received another vision directing him to go to Nineveh (3:1). This time he obeyed. Walking through the streets, he proclaimed that Nineveh would be overthrown in 40 days (3:4). Word of his encounter with the sea creature and the storm may have gotten back to Nineveh, because Jonah received instant attention. All the people of Nineveh believed God and began fasting in sackcloth and ashes, including the King of Nineveh (3:5-6). When God saw their repentance, He relented concerning their destruction and spared the city (3:10). Succeeding generations in Nineveh, however, forgot the Lord and about 150 years later, Nineveh was obliterated so completely that it wasn’t until the 19th Century that archaeologists finally discovered its location.

One message for us from Jonah is that "as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great sea creature, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" (Matthew 12:40).

Another message for us is "the men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here" (Matthew 12:41, compare also Hebrews 2:3).

Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath: 1 Kings 17:8-24: This account took place in the days of Ahab and Jezebel while Elijah withheld rain from the Land for 3 1/2 years. As he entered Zarephath, he asked a widow to bring him some water and bread (v.8). She said that because of the famine, she had only enough flour and oil for one more meal for herself and her son; after that she was resigned to dying of starvation (v.12). Elijah instructed her to use that last little bit to make him a little bread cake, then some for her and her son. "For thus says the Lord, `The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty until the day the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth’" (v.14). Jesus later used this account as an example of how "no prophet is accepted in his own country" (Luke 4:24).

While Elijah was staying in the upper room of the widow’s house, her son got sick and died. Elijah raised the child from the dead. According to tradition, the son was the future Prophet Jonah (Prologue, September 22).

This account has a strong message for us: putting the things of God first has significant benefits. The widow had very little; yet by faith she gave of what she had to Elijah. Her benefits were an unlimited food supply, her son resurrected, and her testimony remembered as being greater than all the widows in Israel (Luke 4:25-26).

Elisha and the Shunammite Woman: 2 Kings 4:8-37: A very similar situation occurred regarding Elisha. The unnamed Shunammite woman recognized Elisha as a man of God and persuaded her husband to build an upper room and furnish it for Elisha to stay in as he traveled back and forth in the country (vv.9-10). Elisha appreciated this unsolicited kindness and one day asked the woman what he could do for her (v.13). When she didn’t ask for anything at all, Elisha’s servant Gehazi suggested that what she really wanted was a son, since she was barren (v.14). Elisha then told her, "At this season next year, you shall embrace a son" (v.16).

When the child was older, he died of a sudden head injury, perhaps an aneurysm, and his mother laid him on Elisha’s bed in the upper room (vv.18-21). She then saddled a donkey and left with one of the servants to find Elisha at Mount Carmel (vv.22-25). Finding him, she grabbed hold of his feet and wouldn’t let go or leave (vv.27-30). Elisha returned to Shunam with the woman and raised her son from the dead (vv.33-37).

Like the previous reading, this one has a similar message. "He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward" (Matthew 10:41). The Shunammite woman brings to mind the activities of the Myrrh-Bearing Women that accompanied Jesus (Mark 15:40-41) and provided for Him out of their possessions (Luke 8:3). The eight Myrrh-Bearing women are remembered in the Orthodox Church on the 3rd Sunday of Pascha.

The Young Men in the Furnace: Daniel 3:1-23: During the Babylonian captivity, King Nebuchadnezzar ruled most of the then-known world. Near Babylon, he had a 90 foot tall gold statue (perhaps of himself) made and sent word to all his officials to come bow down to it at the dedication of the statue (vv.1-5). Anyone not doing so was to be thrown into a huge furnace (v.6, 11).

Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego had been appointed by the Prophet Daniel as officials over the province of Babylon, where Daniel was ruler over the whole province and chief prefect over the Magi (2:48-49). Some of the Chaldeans complained to the king that the Jews (Daniel’s officials) were not obeying the king’s command (v.12). The king was angry and called them in to give an account, threatening them with the furnace, and asking, "What god is there who can deliver you out of my hands?" (vv.14-15) They replied, "Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king. But even if He does not, let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up" (vv.17-18).

The king ordered the furnace heated seven times hotter than usual and had his best soldiers throw Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego in, tied and bound (vv.19-21). The soldiers died from getting too close to the flames; but the three officials were observed to be loosed and walking about in the flames accompanied by one described as a "Son of the Gods" (vv.24-25). Coming out of the fire, they were not singed, and didn’t even smell like the fire (vv.26-27). King Nebuchadnezzar then issued another decree ordering a very severe penalty for anyone speaking anything offensive against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego (v.19).

Accompanying this reading on Holy Saturday is the short Apocryphal work from the Septuagint, "Song of the Holy Children", which documents the words used by Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego as they sang praise to God while walking about in the furnace.

This reading speaks to us of our deliverance from the fires of Hades and hell that we and our brothers and sisters, the saints, are blessed with. Our enemy, here pictured by an ungodly king of this world, endeavors to throw us into the fire, but the Son of God rescues us.

Abraham’s Sacrifice of Isaac: Genesis 22:1-18: Another reading for Vespers is the account of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac that was prophetic regarding the Father’s sacrifice of His Only Begotten Son (John 3:16, 1 John 4:9). The Lord had spoken to Abraham, telling him to take "your son, your only son, whom you love, Isaac, and go to the land of Moriah; and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I will tell you" (v.2). This location was the same place where Solomon later built the first Temple (2 Chronicles 3:1).

After traveling three days, they reached the foot of the mountain (v.4). Abraham told his servants to stay there at the foot of the mountain with the donkey, "and I and the lad will go yonder; and we will worship and return to you" (v.5). As they walked up the mountain carrying the wood, the fire, and the knife, young Isaac asked his father, "Behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering?" (v.7). Abraham replied, "God will provide for Himself the lamb for the burnt offering, my son" (v.8).

Hebrews addresses Abraham’s faith: "(Abraham) concluded that God was able to raise (Isaac) up even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense" (Hebrews 11:19).

EPISTLE LESSON - ROMANS 6:3-12 - DELIVERANCE BY BAPTISM

The Epistle lesson for Holy Saturday also emphasizes deliverance:

We were baptized into Christ’s death (v.3)
We were buried with Him through baptism into death (v.4)
Just as Christ was raised, so we should walk in newness of live (v.4)
If we were united in the likeness of His death, so we shall be in His resurrection (v.5)
We are no longer slaves of sin (v.6)
Death no longer has dominion over Him (v.9)
Likewise we are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus (v.11)
In the Scriptures, Egypt is often used figuratively as a model of slavery and sin. For example, the Lord delivered Israel from "the house of slavery" (Deuteronomy 5:6, 7:8; Exodus 20:2). And Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God rather than to enjoy the temporary pleasures of sin in Egypt (Hebrews 11:25). Holy Saturday speaks of us as being delivered from this slavery also.

The word in verse 5 translated united (Greek: sumphutos) means to grow up together with as a plant grows up together with other plants. Thus John Chrysostom explained this section as follows: "Baptism is the Cross for us. What the Cross then, and burial, is to Christ, that Baptism has been to us, even if not in the same respects. For He died Himself and was buried in the Flesh, but we have done both to sin. Wherefore, he (Paul) does not say, planted together (i.e. united) in His death, but in the likeness of His death. For both the one and the other is a death, but not of the same subject. The one is of the Flesh, that of Christ; the other is of sin, which is our own.....Do you believe that Christ died, and that He was raised again? Believe then the same of yourself" (Homily x on Romans 6).

Chrysostom said that there are actually two deaths for us involved here. "The one is done by Christ in Baptism, and the other it is our duty to effect by earnestness afterwards. For that our former sins were buried came of His gift. But the remaining death to sin after baptism must be the work of our own earnestness; however, we find God here also giving us large help (Homily xi on Romans 6).

OLD TESTAMENT READINGS ON RESURRECTION

As with the Epistle lesson, there are a number of Old Testament readings for Holy Saturday Vespers dealing with various aspects of the Resurrection.

The New Covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-34:

When the Lord instituted "The Lord’s Supper", He said, "For this is My blood of the New Covenant"... "I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s Kingdom" (Matthew 26:28-29, Mark 14:24-25, Luke 22:20).

The New Covenant was prophesied by Jeremiah and Jeremiah’s words were quoted verbatim in Hebrews 8. The basic tenets of the New Covenant are:

The Lord will put His Laws in their mind and write them on their heart (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10)
He will be their God and they will be His people (Jeremiah 31:33, Hebrews 8:10)
No one will need to be taught; all will know the Lord (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:11)
He will forgive them and remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12)
These tenets of the New Covenant are present and available now, but as a foretaste. Since the Cup is "My blood of the New Covenant" (Matthew 26:28), we participate in the New Covenant as we participate in the Lord’s Supper by faith. Thus we participate in the Messianic banquet of the Body of Christ. For one to avoid participation in the Lord’s Supper is to exclude himself from the New Covenant. The Lord’s Supper has always been the central focus of the Orthodox worship.

Judgment is Removed: Zephaniah 3:8-15:

The writings of Zephaniah have mixed images of the First and Second Coming of Christ. Some of the things concerning the First Coming are:

He will give His people purified lips to call on the Name of the Lord (v.9)
My worshippers will bring My offerings (v.10)
No one will feel shame (v.11)
His people will be humble and lowly, and will take refuge in the Name of the Lord (v.12)
There will be no lies or deceit in their mouth (v.13)
The judgments against them will be taken away (v.15)
This does not mean that every Christian for the last 2,000 years has always spoken the truth, been humble, etc. There have been many that have come to the Lord’s Supper unworthily. And Jesus even served the cup to Judas, knowing that he would soon betray Him (Luke 22:19-23). However, Paul warned that "he who eats and drinks (of the Lord’s Supper) in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord’s Body (1 Corinthians 11:29).

Passover in the Promised Land: Joshua 5:10-15

As Joshua led the people into the Promised Land, the Lord spoke to him saying, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you" (v.9). As they celebrated their first Passover in the Promised Land, the manna ceased as suddenly as it started (v.12).

About this time, Joshua was by Jericho preparing for the siege of the city; no one went in or out of Jericho (v.13, 6:1). While there, Joshua looked up and saw a man standing opposite him, sword in hand. Joshua went to him and asked: "Are you for us or for our adversaries?" (v.13). The man said, "No, rather I indeed come now as captain of the host of the Lord". Joshua fell on his face and said, "What has my Lord to say to His servant?" The man said, "Remove your sandals from your feet for the place where you are standing is holy" (vv.14-15).

Manna was God’s special provision to get His people through the wilderness (Exodus 16:35, Numbers 11:7). Jesus called the manna "bread from heaven" and said that the "true bread from heaven is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world" (John 6:32-33). He then went on to say that "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world" (John 6:51). Here He is speaking of the Lord’s Supper, which is God’s special provision for the wilderness of this life.

Once we have arrived in the Promised Land at the Second Coming, the manna will not be necessary and we will drink of the fruit of the vine new with our Lord (Matthew 26:29). At that time, everyone will know the Lord (Jeremiah 31:34), and everywhere will be holy ground. And we will all join the saints and angels in worshipping the captain of the host of the Lord.

The Favorable Year of the Lord: Isaiah 61:1-9:

This passage begins speaking of Christ’s first coming and transitions to His second coming. Early in His three year ministry, Jesus read this passage for the Public Reading of the Scriptures during the Synagogue worship in Nazareth (Luke 4:16-19). After reading it, He proclaimed, "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). However, this was too much for Nazareth and they tried to throw the Lord off a cliff (Luke 4:29).

This passage is messianic throughout (Messiah means anointed one): "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me because the Lord has anointed Me..." (v.1). In this passage, Messiah will:

Bring the Gospel to the afflicted
Heal the broken hearted
Proclaim liberty to captives
Restore the sight of the blind (LXX)
Proclaim the favorable year of the Lord
Proclaim the day of God’s vengeance
Comfort all who mourn
The people of God will rebuild the ancient ruined cities
Gentiles will be their servants
They will be priests of the Lord
They will eat the strength of the Gentiles (LXX)
They will inherit the land a second time, and everlasting joy shall be upon their heads (LXX)
There will be no shame or humiliation.
A Call for the Lord’s Return - Isaiah 63:11-64:5:

In this passage, the people of God recall the days of old when Moses led His people out of Egypt. The imagery refers to the Lord as "His Glorious Arm" which went "at the right hand of Moses who divided the waters before them to make for Himself an everlasting Name" (v.12). The writer refers to the Lord as "our Father" (v.16), even though "Abraham does not know us and Israel does not recognize us". Those who are expected to know God don’t recognize the prophet as one of them. The prophet was asking the Lord to straighten this out.

In his downcast state, he asks that the Lord would "rend the heavens and come down that the mountains might quake at His Presence (64:1); and as fire kindles brushwood, to make His Name known to His adversaries. This is where the Church is now. The Lord will remember those who work righteousness and who remember His ways (v.5).

GOSPEL LESSON: MATTHEW 28:1-20 - THE RESURRECTION

On the 3rd Sunday of Pascha two weeks from today, the Gospel lesson is the parallel account of the Resurrection from Mark 15:43-16:8. There the focus is on the role of the Myrrh-Bearing Women at the Cross, the Tomb, etc., and the sequence of events at the Tomb. Therefore we will not cover that aspect of the Gospel lesson here.

The use of this Gospel lesson for Holy Saturday takes on a more global perspective than just a remembering of the historical events of that Sunday morning. First, the Gospel lesson describes the events of Sunday morning, yet it is used in anticipation of that on Holy Saturday. Second, the Gospel lesson concludes with the Lord’s commission to evangelize the earth. Thus Holy Saturday deals not just with the events but with the longer term implications of the events.

The Cover-up By the Jewish Leaders:

The Chief Priests and Pharisees remembered that Jesus had said that He would rise from the dead after three days (Matthew 27:63). In this they may have been more cognizant of His words than His disciples. But their reaction was to conspire with Pilate to seal the stone and set a 24 hour guard. On this, John Chrysostom comments: "Everywhere deceit recoils upon itself, and against its will supports the truth. Observe: it was necessary for it to be believed that He died, and that He rose again, and that He was buried; and all these are brought to pass by His enemies." "For if only the soldiers had sealed, they might have said that the soldiers, having given up the body to be stolen, gave His disciples opportunity to feign the history concerning His Resurrection. But now having themselves made it sure, they are not able to say even this."

"Do you see how they labor for the truth against their will? For they themselves came to Pilate, themselves asked, themselves sealed, setting the watch, so as to be accusers and refuters one of another" (Homily lxxxix on Matthew 27).

This was carried to extreme when some of the guards that had kept watch at the Tomb reported these events to the Chief Priests (v.11). After consulting together, the Chief Priests and elders gave a large sum of money to the soldiers, telling them to say that Jesus’ disciples stole the body by night (vv.12-13). Matthew concludes that this falsehood "was commonly reported among the Jews until this day" (v.15).

Some of the soldiers refused to accept the bribe, however. The centurion at the cross (Matthew 27:54) was also in charge at the tomb. Longinus (his name) and two of his soldiers would not accept the bribe, so the Jewish leaders conspired to kill them also. Hearing of the plot, Longinus and his friends resigned their commission, received baptism from the Apostles, and left for Cappadocia. The Jewish leaders, however, slandered them to Pilate, and Pilate sent other soldiers to hunt them down and behead them (Prologue, October 16).

The Logic of the Resurrection:

In contrast to the campaign of falsehood on the part of the Jewish leaders, we note the disciples reporting events objectively as they happen. For example, the Chief Priests’ conversation with Pilate was reported as "Sir, we remember while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, `After three days, I will rise’" (Matthew 27:63). Matthew, one of the Twelve, in writing his Gospel, didn’t have to repeat the term "deceiver", but he did even though it was derogatory toward himself and his cause. Even after the Resurrection when the Lord met them in Galilee, Matthew reported that "some doubted" (Matthew 28:17). These are not the words of someone who stole the body in order to pretend a resurrection occurred. These are the words of someone who is reporting things objectively as they happen.

John Chrysostom went into this at length. "When should they have stolen Him? On the Sabbath? And how? For it was not lawful so much as to go out (Exodus 16:29). And even if they transgressed the Law, how should they have dared, who were so timid, to come forth (John 20:19)? And how could they also have been able to persuade the multitude (Acts 2:14-36)? By saying what? By doing what? And from what sort of zeal could they have stood in behalf of the dead? Expecting what recompense? What requital? Seeing Him yet alive and merely seized (by the Jews), they had fled (Matthew 26:56). And after His death were they likely to speak boldly in His behalf, unless He had risen again? And how should these things be reasonable? For that they were neither willing nor able to feign a resurrection that did not take place is plain from all this (Homily lxxxix on Matthew 29).

Responding to the claim of the Jewish rulers that His disciples stole His body, Chrysostom continued, "How did they steal Him? O most foolish of all men! For because of the clearness and conspicuousness of the truth, they are not even able to make up a falsehood. For indeed what they said was highly incredible, and the falsehood had not even speciousness. For how, I ask, did the disciples steal Him, men poor and unlearned, and not venturing so much as to show themselves? (John 20:19) What? Was not a seal put upon it? What? Were there not so many watchmen, and soldiers, and Jews stationed round it? What? Did not those men suspect this very thing, and take thought, and break their rest, and continue anxious about it? And why moreover did they steal it? That they might feign the doctrine of the resurrection? And how should it enter their minds to feign such a thing, men who were well content to be hidden and to live? And how could they remove the stone that was made sure? (A stone 4 feet diameter by 1 foot thick weighs about 2,200 lb.). How could they have escaped the observation of so many? No, though they had despised death, they would not have attempted without purpose, and fruitlessly, to venture in defiance of so many who were on the watch"? (If a centurion was in charge, 100 soldiers were involved!) "...If they did not dare so much as to stand their ground when they saw Him alive (Matthew 26:56), how when He was dead could they but have feared such a number of soldiers?"

"For if the disciples had not strength to watch with Him, and that, though upbraided by Him (Matthew 26:40-46), how could they have ventured upon these things?" If they were going to steal His body, they would have done it the first night before the Jewish rulers set the guard in place (Homily xc on Matthew 28).

Then, of course, there is the testimony of the burial clothes. Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus had wrapped Jesus’ body in strips of linen with about a hundred pounds of myrrh and aloes, creating a "mummy" or a cocoon (John 19:39-40). This was a burial rite used only by the wealthy. "The body was covered in spices and in paste and these were tied to the body by layers of white roller bandage. The paste hardened and impregnated the bandages until a hard preservative mold or cocoon was formed about the body. A cap was put on the head, and often the jaw was held in position by a bandage under the chin" (Gower, New Manners and Customs of Bible Times, pp. 72-74). When Peter and John came to the Tomb on Easter morning, they "saw the linen clothes lying there" (John 20:5-6). This is the undisturbed 100 lb. cocoon; Jesus had passed through the cloth of the cocoon as He rose, leaving them lying there. No wonder that John saw and believed when presented with this evidence (John 20:8).

From all this, the Resurrection is the only logical conclusion. As John Chrysostom said, "When (the Jewish rulers) confess the body was not there, but the stealing it is shown to be false and incredible -- by their watching it and by the seals and by the timidity of the disciples -- the proof of the Resurrection even now appears incontrovertible" (Ibid.).

The Great Commission:

On the evening of the Resurrection, the Eleven minus Thomas were huddled together in the upper room in Jerusalem when the Lord appeared to them (John 20:19). A week later the same thing occurred when Thomas was present (John 20:26). The end of Matthew’s Gospel picks up just after this after they all had returned to Galilee to the mountain which Jesus had appointed (Matthew 28:16; also Matthew 28:7, 10; Matthew 26:32). The occasion described (Matthew 28:16) may be the same event (or series of events) that Paul described where the Lord appeared to 500 brethren at one time (1 Corinthians 15:6).

Included in the Gospel reading for Holy Saturday are Jesus’ words, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you. And lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20). Thus the Holy Saturday reading reaches for longer term implications of the Resurrection than is immediately at hand.

At this occasion in Galilee, the Spirit had not yet been given since Christ had not yet ascended. Thus, they are not yet able to do these things (make disciples of all nations) because they don’t have the means yet. But they will acquire the means in a few weeks at Pentecost.

John Chrysostom pointed out that when the Lord said, "I am with you", "This He said to the prophets also in the Old Testament continually, as well as to Jeremiah objecting to his youth (Jeremiah 1:6, 8), to Moses objecting to his unskilled speech (Exodus 4:10, 12), and to Ezekiel shrinking from the office (Ezekiel 2, 3). ...And not with these men only did He promise to be, but also with all that believe after them" (Ibid.).

APPENDIX I

SUMMARY OF THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS

Part II: The Descent into Hell

Three different versions of the Descent into Hell exist, one in Greek, two in Latin. Some details differ from one version to another, but this synopsis attempts to summarize what is a consensus of all three accounts. In the following, the Greek text of the Descent into Hell is summarized by chapter. Some details mentioned only in the two Latin texts are also included.

Chapter 14: Phineas (a priest); Haggai (a Levite) and Adas (a soldier or teacher) came from Galilee and reported to the Pharisees that Jesus was teaching His disciples in Galilee in the days following the crucifixion. They also reported seeing people long dead, including Karinus and Leucius, two sons of the righteous Simeon who held Christ as a baby (Luke 2:25-32).

Chapter 15: Nicodemus testified that this is not incredible; Elijah had done that too. Nicodemus counseled that they send soldiers to Galilee to try to find Jesus and ask His pardon for the evil they’d done to Him. This they did. They didn’t find Jesus, but they did find Joseph of Arimathea who had been locked in a windowless room by the Sanhedrin for his part in the burial of Jesus, but who had disappeared. They invited Joseph to speak to them: he testified how the Lord appeared to him and had taken him out of the locked room to Arimathea.

Chapter 16: They found three priests from Galilee who witnessed the Ascension. Their testimony agreed and by the Mosaic Law, they were legally bound to accept this as factual (Deuteronomy 19:15). Joseph and Nicodemus testified that they had indeed buried Him.

Chapter 17: Joseph testified that there were others raised with Jesus, some of whom they know: Simeon and his two sons (Karinus and Leucius) who were buried in the recent past. Joseph suggested going to Arimathea to see them. Thus Annas, Caiaphas, Joseph, Nicodemus, Gamaliel and others went to Arimathea and brought Karinus and Leucius to Jerusalem.

Chapter 18: Asked to give an account of their resurrection, Karinus and Leucius separately wrote an account. In Hades, they were with all the righteous that had fallen asleep, when a great light lit up Hades. Isaiah, in Hades, testified that this is what he wrote of (Isaiah 9:1-2) that Zebulon and Naphtali would see a great light. Then John the Baptist arrived in Hades, testifying that he had been preparing the way for the Son of God (Matthew 3:3, Mark 1:4, John 1:29, Luke 3:22). John continued that he had been sent to preach similarly in Hades.

Chapter 19: Adam, the first created, then asked his son Seth to tell everyone of an angelic visit by Michael that occurred just before Adam died. Seth explained how the angel told him that 5,500 years after the Creation, the Son of God would become incarnate and would raise up Adam and all those out of him into Paradise. All the patriarchs and prophets exulted greatly.

Chapter 20: Then Satan came and said to Hades to be sure to be ready to secure Jesus when He arrived. Hades cautioned Satan that if Jesus could raise the dead with just a single word, how could he withstand Him? Satan called Hades a coward. Hades reminded Satan that Lazarus had been in Hades’ bowels but had been dragged out by force like the flight of an eagle. Hades feared that if Jesus came, He might drag out all the rest from there also.

Chapter 21: As they were speaking there was a great voice like thunder: "Life up your gates O ye rulers; and be ye lifted up, ye everlasting gates; and the King of Glory shall come in" (Psalm 24:7). Hades, Satan and their demons immediately went to secure the "gates of brass and bars of iron". The forefathers mocked Satan and David reminded him of his prophecy concerning what was happening here. For example, David had prophesied, "Lift up your heads, O gates, and be lifted up, O ancient doors that the King of Glory may come in! Who is the King of Glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O gates, and lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of Glory may come in! Who is this King of Glory? The Lord of Hosts; He is the King of Glory" (Psalm 24:7-10). The ancient doors (Hebrew: olam: long duration, antiquity, futurity) have very little meaning aside from the events of Holy Saturday. Again "He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and broke their bands apart. Let them give thanks to the Lord for His loving kindness and for His wonders to the sons of men! For He has shattered gates of bronze and cut bars of iron asunder" (Psalm 107:14-16). These people David also referred to as "prisoners" and "the sons of death" (Psalm 79:11, 102:20).

Again a voice of thunder cried, "Lift up the gates". Satan answered, "Who is this King of Glory?" The angels answered, "The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle!" (Psalm 24:8). Immediately the gates of brass were shattered and the iron bars broken. The King of Glory came in the form of a man and lit up all the dark places of Hades.

Chapter 22: Then the King of Glory trampled on death by His Majesty and seized Satan by the head and delivered him to His angels to be bound in Hades until His second appearing.

Chapter 23: As Hades received Satan, he criticized him saying, "Through what necessity did you have to crucify the King of Glory that He might come here and deprive us of our power? Like a fool, you didn’t know what you were doing (compare 1 Corinthians 2:8). Look and see; not one of the dead has been left in here. All that you gained by the tree of knowledge you lost by the tree of the Cross. Now that I have received you, by experience you will learn how many evils I shall do to you."

Chapter 24: Then the King of Glory raised Adam and embraced him along with Eve and all the rest of the patriarchs, prophets, martyrs, forefathers and saints. As He was bringing them all out, Adam was filled with joy and said, "I thank Your Majesty, O Lord that You have brought me up out of the lowest Hades" (Psalm 86:13). "I will extol You, O Lord; for You have lifted me up, and have not made my foes to rejoice over me. O Lord God, I cried unto You and You have healed me. O Lord You have brought out my soul from the powers below; You have saved me from them that go down into the pit. Sing praises to the Lord, all His saints, and confess to the memory of His holiness; since there is anger in His indignation and life in His goodwill" (Psalm 30:1-6). All the prophets and saints said, "We thank You, O Christ, Savior of the world, for You have brought our life up out of destruction" (compare Psalm 103:4). As they went, they continued to say, "Blessed is He that comes in the Name of the Lord" (Psalm 118:26, compare Matthew 21:9, 23:39, Mark 11:9, Luke 13:35, 19:38, John 12:13). David sang, "Sing unto the Lord a new song, for He has done wonderful things; His right hand and His holy arm have brought salvation to Himself. The Lord has made known His salvation; His righteousness has He revealed in the sight of the heathen" (Psalm 98:1-2).

Before leaving Hades, all the saints asked the Lord to leave as a sign of victory the sign of the Cross in the midst of Hades, which He did.

Chapter 25: After leaving Hades, the Lord gave all the saints to the Archangel Michael who brought them to Paradise. Meeting them there were Enoch and Elijah who had never died (Genesis 5:24, 2 Kings 2:11-13). Enoch and Elijah told them that the two of them were to remain there until the end of time at which time they were to be sent by God to withstand Antichrist, to be slain by him and after three days to be raised and snatched up into the clouds to meet the Lord (Revelation 11:3-12, compare 1 Thessalonians 4:17).

Chapter 26: As they arrived, they met another man who had the look of a robber and who was carrying a cross. He identified himself as the robber who was crucified with the Lord Jesus and, after rebuking his fellow robber, asked Jesus to remember him when He came in His Kingdom. Jesus had said, "Today you shall be with Me in Paradise" (Luke 23:39-43). At Michael’s instructions he had been waiting for his brethren the saints to come also. On hearing this, the saints cried out, "Great is the Lord and great is His strength" (Psalm 147:5).

Chapter 27: Then Karinus and Leucius testified that these are the things that they saw and heard. They had been sent by Michael to proclaim the Lord’s Resurrection, to be baptized in the Jordan, and to celebrate the Passover of the Resurrection for three days. They said they were unable to stay longer or speak in further detail concerning the mystery of God per Michael’s instruction. Karinus gave his roll to Annas, Ceiaphas and Gamaliel and Leucius gave his roll to Nicodemus and Joseph. Then they were transfigured and disappeared.

Following the disappearance of Karinus and Leucius, there was much weeping and breast beating on the part of the Sanhedrin. For forty days and nights, they lamented, expecting vengeance and destruction from God. The second Latin version closes by saying that God gave them an opportunity for repentance "but they were not found worthy to be turned to the Lord."

The Saint Euphrosynos Cafe

THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS

THE GOSPEL OF NICODEMUS

From http://www.stathanasius.org/bible/holy_saturday.html