Posted on 03/21/2005 6:32:31 AM PST by Paul Ciniraj
The following is a historical description of Jesus by Publius Lentulus, governor of Judea, addressed to Tiberius Caesar, emperor of Rome. It was written in Aramaic, on stone and found in an excavated city.
"There lives, at this time, in Judea, a man of singular virtue whose name is Jesus Christ, whom the barbarians esteem as a prophet, but his followers love and adore him as the offspring of the immortal God. He calls back the dead from the graves, and heals all sorts of diseases with a word or a touch.
He is a tall man, and well shaped, of an amiable and reverend aspect; his hair is of a color that can hardly be matched, the color of chestnut full ripe, falling in waves about his shoulders. His forehead high, large and imposing; his cheeks without spot or wrinkle, beautiful with lovely red: his nose and mouth formed with exquisite symmetry; his beard thick and of a color suitable to his hair, reaching below his chin. His eyes bright blue, clear and serene, look innocent, dignified, manly and mature. In proportion of his body, most perfect and captivating, his hands and arms most delectable to behold.
He rebukes with majesty, counsels with mildness, his whole address, whether in word or in deed, being eloquent and grave. No man has ever seen him laugh, yet his manner is exceedingly pleasant; but he has wept in the presence of men. He is temperate, modest and wise; a man, for his extraordinary beauty and divine perfections, surpassing the children of men in every sense."
(From a book "A Call To Joy" by Matthew Kelly, pg:71-72).
-----------------------------
PASTOR PAUL CINIRAJ, Salem Voice, Devalokam (P.O), Kottayam, Kerala, INDIA-686038.
Our ministry (Salem Voice): http://www.geocities.com/salemvoiceministries
Our charities (Baseelia Foundation): http://www.geocities.com/baseeliafoundation
STILL HE WALKED
He could hear the crowds screaming
"crucify" "crucify"...
He could hear the hatred in their voices,
These were His chosen people.
He loved them,
and they were going to crucify Him.
He was beaten, bleeding and weakened...
His heart was broken,
But still He walked.
He could see the crowd as
He came from the palace.
He knew each of the faces so well.
He had created them.
He knew every smile, laugh, and shed tear,
But now they were contorted with rage and anger...
His heart broke,
But still He walked.
Was He scared?
You and I would have been so His humanness
would have mandated that He was.
He felt alone.
His disciples had left,
denied, and even betrayed Him.
He searched the crowd for a loving face
and He saw very few.
Then He turned His eyes
to the only one that mattered
And He knew that He would never be alone.
He looked back at the crowd,
at the people who were spitting At Him,
throwing rocks at Him and mocking Him
and he knew That because of Him,
they would never be alone.
So for them, He walked.
The sounds of the hammer striking the spikes
echoed through the crowd.
The sounds of His cries echoed even louder,
the cheers of the crowd,
as His hands and feet Were nailed to the cross,
intensified with each blow.
Loudest of all was the still small voice
inside his Heart that whispered
"WHY HAVE YOU FORSAKEN ME",
And God's heart broke.
He had let His Son walk.
Jesus could have asked God to end his suffering,
But instead He asked God to forgive.
Not to forgive Him,
but to forgive the ones who were persecuting Him.
As He hung on that cross,
dying an unimaginable death,
He looked out and saw,
not only the faces in the crowd,
But also, the face of every person yet to be,
And His heart filled with love.
As His body was dying,
His heart was alive.
Alive with the limitless,
unconditional love He feels for each of us.
That is why He walked.
When I forget how much My God loves me,
I remember His walk.
When I wonder if I can be forgiven,
I remember His walk.
When I need reminded of how to live like Christ,
I think of His walk.
And to show Him how much I love Him,
I wake up each morning,
turn my eyes to Him,
And I walk.
Blue eyes huh? Well, must be a relative of mine.
This "historical description" is a hoax, a fraud--a pious fraud, perhaps, but a fraud nonetheless. Just google "Publius Lentulus" and you will find many results that explain why.
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09154a.htm
Publius Lentulus
Publius Lentulus is a fictitious person, said to have been Governor of Judea before Pontius, and to have written the following letter to the Roman Senate: "Lentulus, the Governor of the Jerusalemites to the Roman Senate and People, greetings. There has appeared in our times, and there still lives, a man of great power (virtue), called Jesus Christ. The people call him prophet of truth; his disciples, son of God. He raises the dead, and heals infirmities. He is a man of medium size (statura procerus, mediocris et spectabilis); he has a venerable aspect, and his beholders can both fear and love him. His hair is of the colour of the ripe hazel-nut, straight down to the ears, but below the ears wavy and curled, with a bluish and bright reflection, flowing over his shoulders. It is parted in two on the top of the head, after the pattern of the Nazarenes. His brow is smooth and vary cheerful with a face without wrinkle or spot, embellished by a slightly reddish complexion. His nose and mouth are faultless. His beard is abundant, of the colour of his hair, not long, but divided at the chin. His aspect is simple and mature, his eyes are changeable and bright. He is terrible in his reprimands, sweet and amiable in his admonitions, cheerful without loss of gravity. He was never known to laugh, but often to weep. His stature is straight, his hands and arms beautiful to behold. His conversation is grave, infrequent, and modest. He is the most beautiful among the children of men."
Different manuscripts vary from the foregoing text in several details: Dobschutz ("Christusbilder", Leipzig, 1899) enumerates the manuscripts and gives an "apparatus criticus" . The letter was first printed in the "Life of Christ" by Ludolph the Carthusian (Cologne, 1474), and in the "Introduction to the works of St. Anselm" (Nuremberg, 1491). But it is neither the work of St. Anselm nor of Ludolph. According to the manuscript of Jena, a certain Giacomo Colonna found the letter in 1421 in an ancient Roman document sent to Rome from Constantinople. It must be of Greek origin, and translated into Latin during the thirteenth or fourteenth century, though it received its present form at the hands of humanist of the fifteenth or sixteenth century. The description agrees with the so-called Abgar picture of our Lord; it also agrees with the portrait of Jesus Christ drawn by Nicephorus, St. John Damascene, and the Book of Painters (of Mt. Athos). Munter ("Die Sinnbilder und Kunstvorstellungen der alten Christen", Altona 1825, p. 9) believes he can trace the letter down to the time of Diocletian; but this is not generally admitted. The letter of Lentulus is certainly apocryphal: there never was a Governor of Jerusalem; no Procurator of Judea is known to have been called Lentulus, a Roman governor would not have addressed the Senate, but the emperor, a Roman writer would not have employed the expressions, "prophet of truth", "sons of men", "Jesus Christ". The former two are Hebrew idioms, the third is taken from the New Testament. The letter, therefore, shows us a description of our Lord such as Christian piety conceived him.
This is an ancient hoax - the Lentulus document is spurious.
Thank you for the information. I've got it from a book, so I referred it here.
But I doubt, are you saying it as a fraud because of the Is 53:2 "FOR HE SHALL GROW UP BEFORE HIM AS A TENDER PLANT, AND AS A ROOT OUT OF A DRY GROUND; HE HATH NO FORM NOR COMELINESS; AND WHEN WE SHALL SEE HIM, THERE IS NO BEAUTY THAT WE SHOULD DESIRE HIM". If so, I afraid you're mistaken. Because these details Isaiah prophesied about the time He was going for the crucifiction. Read verse 5 "BUT HE WAS WOUNDED FOR OUR TRANSGRESSIONS, HE WAS BRUISED FOR OUR INIQUITIES; THE CHASTISEMENT OF OUR PEACE WAS UPON HIM; AND WITH HIS STRIPES WE ARE HEALED". Who can say He is beauty on that day? Yes. To give us beauty he became unbeauty. To give us peace He became peaceless. To give us life He carried cross and received death.
Isaiah! Thank you. I was thinking of that passage as I read this description but couldn't remember which prophet it was. Don'tcha just HATE it when you can't recall something and it nags at your brain for hours so you can't quite give full concentration to the things you need to be paying attention to!?
Not laughing? In this world!? I doubt it. :-)
The letter from Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar
This is a reprinting of a letter from Pontius Pilate to Tiberius Caesar describing the physical appearance of Jesus. Copies are in the Congressional Library in Washington, D.C.
TO TIBERIUS CAESAR:
A young man appeared in Galilee preaching with humble unction, a new law in the Name of the God that had sent Him. At first I was apprehensive that His design was to stir up the people against the Romans, but my fears were soon dispelled. Jesus of Nazareth spoke rather as a friend of the Romans than of the Jews. One day I observed in the midst of a group of people a young man who was leaning against a tree, calmly addressing the multitude. I was told it was Jesus. This I could easily have suspected so great was the difference between Him and those who were listening to Him. His golden colored hair and beard gave to his appearance a celestial aspect. He appeared to be about 30 years of age. Never have I seen a sweeter or more serene countenance. What a contrast between Him and His bearers with their black beards and tawny complexions! Unwilling to interrupt Him by my presence, I continued my walk but signified to my secretary to join the group and listen. Later, my secretary reported that never had he seen in the works of all the philosophers anything that compared to the teachings of Jesus. He told me that Jesus was neither seditious nor rebellious, so we extended to Him our protection. He was at liberty to act, to speak, to assemble and to address the people. This unlimited freedom provoked the Jews — not the poor but the rich and powerful.
Later, I wrote to Jesus requesting an interview with Him at the Praetorium. He came. When the Nazarene made His appearance I was having my morning walk and as I faced Him my feet seemed fastened with an iron hand to the marble pavement and I trembled in every limb as a guilty culprit, though he was calm. For some time I stood admiring this extraordinary Man. There was nothing in Him that was repelling, nor in His character, yet I felt awed in His presence. I told Him that there was a magnetic simplicity about Him and His personality that elevated Him far above the philosophers and teachers of His day.
Now, Noble Sovereign, these are the facts concerning Jesus of Nazareth and I have taken the time to write you in detail concerning these matters. I say that such a man who could convert water into wine, change death into life, disease into health; calm the stormy seas, is not guilty of any criminal offense and as others have said, we must agree — truly this is the Son of God.
Your most obedient servant,
Pontius Pilate
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.