Claudia Procula Wife of Pontius Pilate Friend of Mary Magdalene

By Val Wineyard

Most people have heard of Pontius Pilate, but who has heard about his wife, Claudia Procula? She was only 16 when she went with him to take up his position as Prefect in Judea in 26AD. Seven years later Pontius Pilate was judging Jesus for treason against Rome, and Claudia tried to save Jesus. She was a secret follower, or disciple. She showed great courage and later, after Jesus survived the crucifixion, she helped both him and Mary Magdalene escape to Languedoc in the south of France. Claudia had been brought up there as a child and so knew exactly where they should go and by what route..

• Language: English
• Publisher: Val Wineyard
• Release date: Sep 10, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301924097

Val Wineyard

Val lives permanently in the Languedoc region of the south of France and loves every minute of it. She has worked as a journalist, editor or writer all her life; she was writing before she went to school. Now she focuses on the histories and mysteries of the region which she loves to research in the sunshine. She also helps other authors realise their dreams.

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Claudia Procula

The Secret Disciple of Jesus

by Val Wineyard

Published by Val Wineyard Publishing at Smashwords

Copyright 2013 Val Wineyard

Cover pic note; This is a bust of Antonia, Claudia Procula’s aunt. I like to think that Claudia looked like this. Compare the hairstyle with that of Claudia’s mother Julia with the Clues in Roman History chapter.

CONTENTS

She Tried to Save Jesus

What’s In a Name?

Clues in Roman History

The Child of Narbonne

The Adventures of Sejanus

A Husband for Claudia

What Happened to Claudia’s Father?

Easter, Passover, in 33AD

Rebels Unite

The Great Escape

Everybody left Judea

The Final Evidence

The Spiritual Input to Claudia’s Story

Note: comments in the text in Italics are direct quotes

She Tried to Save Jesus

Claudia Procula was a Roman princess from the Claudian family, that of the emperors of the day. She was married to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea from 26AD to 36AD. In 33AD Pontius Pilate heard the case against Jesus Christ and judged that Jesus was guilty of treason against the Roman Empire, the penalty for which was crucifixion.

Claudia is mentioned in the Bible, although not by name.

In St. Matthew, chapter 27, verse 19 it says; When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him saying, Have nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. This verse seems to have been dropped, almost accidentally, into the middle of a discussion about whether Jesus or Barabbas should be released.

Then we hear nothing more about Pilate’s wife.

This event is mysterious because it seems like a nothingness. Only a dream? Since when did a dream mean anything? Why would Claudia care?

The French Bible throws some light on this. It says; While he was sitting for the tribunal, his wife said to him; there is no conflict between you and this innocent man, because today I have suffered a vision because of him.

A vision is rather different. The Romans took dreams and visions seriously; you could quote a dream as evidence in a court case. There exists many a document describing people as lowly as slaves having visions of their master’s murderer; then, a lifelong enemy was convicted. Still today, the Roman Church takes visions seriously, and investigates at length those who have had a vision, of Jesus, or especially the Virgin Mary. Many Christian web-sites, talking about their dreams, see Claudia's dream as a mystic vision sent by God.

The French Bible implies to me that Claudia Procula, the lady who dreamt about Jesus, came and spoke to Pontius Pilate her husband in person. Either way, St. Matthew recorded the incident so either he, or someone else who told him about it, had seen it happen. It's my belief that the courtrooms were far more open in those days than today. It has been suggested to me that it was in fact a courtyard to which the public had access. In films about her, she is shown appearing and disappearing like a ghost, just stopping long enough to whisper in her husband's ear, then Pilate speaks directly to the crowd.

Claudia Procula was a beautiful woman in her mid-twenties; she was tall and slender with regular features, a serious expression, and beautiful eyes, we are told by the mystic, Maria Valtorta.

Claudia’s entry into the court must have caused quite a stir unless there were crowds there and she slipped among them Her huaband was deciding which rebel to crucify and which to set free Jesus and other rebels were about to be sentenced. Yet this verse about her in the Bible is casually dropped into the text and does not appear in any of the other Gospels, although it does appear in some of the apocryphal gospels. Could it be that parts of the story had been edited out?

The editing out of names was quite common in the gospels; people were identified but not named. This editing was to protect anonymity in times when the Romans were on edge and the Jews forever plotting to get the Romans out of their country; especially if the people concerned were Roman but attracted to Jesus' teachings. An example is that of Petronius, the centurion. If he was not named the Romans could not later take any action against him. The centurion is not named in the regular Bible, but he does appear as Petronius in the Gospel of Peter, written over one hundred years later.

Claudia’s name was also left out of the regular Bible, she was just defined as Pilate’s wife, but she was mentioned by her name in other Gospels not in the Bible, which hints that she played a significant role in the Bible story. Did whoever wrote St.Matthew not use her name to protect her? If so, from what? Could it be that she was more involved in the Bible story than had been previously thought? How on earth could she had sent a message to her husband about someone that she did not