Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-06-01
Death Sentence of Jesus Christ.

To the Editor Of the Evening Star:
The article copied by The Star of Satur-
day last from the New York Press, entitled
"Christ's Sentence" is a fraud 1t purports
to be a translation OF an inscription in He
brew on a brass plate OF the death SEN
tence of Jesus Christ. discovered in the year
1880, in the city of AQuila- near Naples.
The sentence reads follows: I'm the
seventeenth year of the Emperor Tiberius
(A.D.3D, on the 18th day of the month of
March SUNDAY. or the first day of the
week.. in the holy city OF Jerusalem, dur
ing the Pontifcate of Annas "a. u. 12-2D
and Caiapkas "a. ID. 1886. Pontius PLATE
intendant of the province OF Lower Galilee
sitting in judgment IN the presidential seat
of the praetor, sentences Jesus OF Nazareth
TO death on a cross. between two robbers.
No further evidence is needed of the fab
rication of this document than the attempt
TO date the death sentence. March y, in
the seventeenth year OF Tiberius (AD 81.
was the first day of the week. which we
call Sunday, and IL anything is certain as
TO the day of the trial and execution OF
Jesus ii was on Friday.
This forgery has often been published In
the last fifteen years, and with important
variations. The date of the discovery has
been $50. 1910. 1880 and 100: the date of
the death sentence March "a which would
be the Sabbath. when no trial or execution
was allowed by the Jews, and March %
" hich would be Tuesday. II such an en-
sravei plate exists or was ever seen II is a
that Joseph Smith pretended TO find in 1927
Friday, the day of the Passover full moon
in March or April, was the day of the cruel
fiXion. according TO the Synoptic Gospels
The late Justice Bradley sought to solve the
difficult problem: In what year and on what
day was Jesus crucified? From astronomi-
cal data-that is TO say, lunar calculations
he concluded that there was but one year
between a. D. 2S and 81 inclusive in which
the event could have happened to wit AID.
80 And Mr.. Linn, writing to the London
Standard about the same time reached the
same conclusion. He said that the paschal
full moon in A. ID. 30 fell on Thursday April
6, on which day, at evening. the Passover
meal was eaten, and the trial and cruel
fiXion took place the next day. which was
the same day in the Jewish reckoning-that
is to say, the day before the Sabbath which
began Friday evening.
If any further reason need be given why
March .. A. ID. 81, was not the date of the
crucihxion, let me add that March 26 is the
earliest possible day for the Jewish Pass
over. And now, taking the ascertained and
authorize lively published fact that there
was a full moon March Is, A. d. -. and
April {. A. ID. 30, the Passover full moon
between the years - and 81. inclusive. oc-
CURED as follows: AID. 20. April IL, Sunday;
A. D. 80, April Z, Friday; A. d. 81. March
y, Monday; A. d. 81. April IL. Monday;
A. d. %, April 6. Saturday; AID "a. April
3d. Friday; A. d. 81, April 13 Wednes iay
There may be q discrepancy of one day In
some of these years, because we have not
ascertained the exact hour of the full moon
in any of the seven. For example, in AID
- the Passover may have been on Satur-
day, April 16. And in regard to A D. "a we
know of no authority that dates the cruel
hNion in that year. In conclusion Rabbi Wise
and other learned Jews tell us that the Pass
over was never allowed to fall on Friday.
and, further that no trial or execution was
allowed on that holy day. WBB