Ante-Nicene Fathers/Volume VIII/Remains of the Second and Third Centuries/Hegesippus/Acts of the Church/Fragment 2

Concerning the Relatives of Our Saviour.

There still survived of the kindred of the Lord the grandsons of Judas, who according to the flesh was called his brother.&#160; These were informed against, as belonging to the family of David, and Evocatus brought them before Domitian C&#230;sar:&#160; for that emperor dreaded the advent of Christ, as Herod had done.

So he asked them whether they were of the family of David; and they confessed they were.&#160; Next he asked them what property they had, or how much money they possessed.&#160; They both replied that they had only 9000 denaria between them, each of them owning half that sum; but even this they said they did not possess in cash, but as the estimated value of some land, consisting of thirty-nine plethra only, out of which they had to pay the dues, and that they supported themselves by their own labour.&#160; And then they began to hold out their hands, exhibiting, as proof of their manual labour, the roughness of their skin, and the corns raised on their hands by constant work.

Being then asked concerning Christ and His kingdom, what was its nature, and when and where it was to appear, they returned answer that it was not of this world, nor of the earth, but belonging to the sphere of heaven and angels, and would make its appearance at the end of time, when He shall come in glory, and judge living and dead, and render to every one according to the course of his life.

Thereupon Domitian passed no condemnation upon them, but treated them with contempt, as too mean for notice, and let them go free.&#160; At the same time he issued a command, and put a stop to the persecution against the Church.

When they were released they became leaders of the churches, as was natural in the case of those who were at once martyrs and of the kindred of the Lord.&#160; And, after the establishment of peace to the Church, their lives were prolonged to the reign of Trajan.