The trial of Jesus in the Acta Pilati

Summary

It is probable that an official record of the trial of Jesus before Pilate was made at the time and preserved. The authentic acta of the Christian martyrs are among the evidence which suggests that this would have been done, and they may indicate in a general fashion the form which it would have taken. We do not know, however, whether the prefect of Judaea would have sent a copy of the record to Rome, but that he should have reported the trial and execution of Jesus to Tiberius seems inherently probable, especially in view of the fact that it was the general belief in antiquity not only that Pilate would have done this but that his acta must be extant in the archives of the imperial government.

Several Christian writers mention the ‘acts of Pilate’, and justin gives the impression of referring to an actual document, the contents of which he knows himself and which the emperor and his associates, to whom his Apology is nominally addressed, can be invited to consult. In the course of developing an argument from prophecy Justin enumerates those details of Christ's passion which fulfilled prophetic passages in the Old Testament. These include the piercing of the hands and feet of Jesus and the distribution of his garments, as foretold in Psalm 22, and also the setting of Jesus on the judgement seat (bema), as part of the mockery, with the cry ‘Judge for us.’ This last incident is based on a possible interpretation of John 19: 13 which takes the verb transitively and supposes that the mockers made Jesus sit on the judgement seat during the trial before Pilate. This is seen by Justin as a fulfilment of Isa. 58: 2.