PEN PORTRAITS OF CHRIST.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 110, 10 May 1923, Page 7

PEN PORTRAITS OF CHRIST.

3. SPUKIOUS DOCUMENT, j^ The Her. J. Patereon, of St. PanTi, Chrietchurch, writes to the "Lyttelton Times" regarding the cabled information published on the authority of the S Matin " that a new document had been found in the Vatican, a letter from Publius Lentuljis,a friend of Pilate, giving a description of the person of Jeaus. Mr. Paterson pronounces this to be duo to ignorance on the part of the "Matin, • or it may be someone has deliberately pulled the "Matin's" leg. This so-called "Letter of Publius Lentulua," he writes, is a well-known and quite spurious document of the same class as the ous "Letter to Pontius Tilate to the Emperor" and "Report to Pilate the Procurator concerning Jesus Christ sent tio Rome to Tiberius Caesar." It be r longs to a group of fourth century lorgeriee. The following is the full text of it: "In this time there has appeared a man, who lives till now, a man endowed with great powers. Men call him a great prophet; his own disciples term him the Son of God. His name is Jesue Christ. He restores the dead to life and ■ cures the sick of all manners of diseases. This man is of a noble and well proportioned statue, with a face full of Kindness and firmness, bo that the Beholders both love him and fear him. • His hair is the colour of wine and golden at the root—straight and without lustre—but from the level of the ears curling and glossy, and divided I down the centre after the fashion of the Xazarenes. Hia forehead la even and smooth: his face without blemish, and enhanced by a tempered bloom: his countenance ingenuous and kind: his beard is full, and of the same colour as liis hair and forked in form: his eyes blue and extremely brilliant. !In reproof and rebuke he is formidable t in exhortation and teaching gentle and amiable of tongue. None have seen, him to laugh, but many on the contrary to ■weep. His nerson is tall: his hands beautiful and straight. In speaking he is deliberate and. grave, and little given to loquacity. In beauty surpassing most men." v . :» The full proof that this Is a spurious document would not interest your read. ers, but one sentence settles it apart from any other considerations —the words, "His name is Jesus Christ." Tfee name of our Lord was Jesue. The term Christ is a title —Greek form of Messiah. Jesus was not known in His lifetime at "Jesus the Messiah" or "the Christ." After His death and resurrection Hβ became known as Jesus tne Christ, and only later as Jesus Christ—i name and title used together to form one name. '■' * Professor Dickie, of Dunedin, afse discounts ihe value of the discovery, and says: —I'would be greatly surprised to hear of a single competent authority. Catholic or Protestant, during the last two hundred and fifty years, who has regarded it as an authentic document. To mention only two points. "President of the People of Jerusalem" was never, an official title in Roman times, and the name of Pilate's predecessor is known from history to have been not Publius Lentulus, but Valerius Gratus. Hoping that you will find room for this brief illustration of the character of not a few of the theological "discoveriesserved out to the general public by halfeducated amateurs. .-.