SECTION XIX
KOPH
The Trial and Execution of Jesus
CHAPTER 165
Jesus before Caiaphas. Peter denies his Lord thrice. The indictment, signed by seven ruling Jews. A hundred perjured witnesses testify to the truth of the charges.
Caiaphas was the high priest of the Jews; the mob led Jesus to his palace hall.
2 The court had been convened, and all the galleries were packed with scribes and Pharisees already sworn as witnesses against the Lord.
3 The maid who kept the palace door knew John, and this disciple asked that he and Peter be admitted to the hall.
4 The maid permitted them to enter in, and John went in; but Peter was afraid and tarried in the outer court.
5 The woman said to Peter, as he stood beside the door, Are you a follower of this man from Galilee?
6 And Peter said, No, I am not.
7 The men who had brought Jesus to the hall sat by a fire in the outer court, because the night was cool, and Peter sat with them.
8 Another maid who waited in the place saw Peter and she said to him, You surely are from Galilee; your speech is that of Galilee; you are a follower of this man.
9 And Peter said, I know not what you mean; I do not even know this man.
10 And then a servant of Caiaphas, one of those who seized the Lord and brought him to the court, saw Peter and he said to him,
11 Did I not see you in the orchard of Massalian with this seditious Nazarene? I’m sure I did, and you are one of those who followed him.
12 Then Peter rose and stamped upon the floor, and swore by every sacred thing, that he knew not the criminal.
13 Now, John was standing near and when he heard the words and knew that Peter had denied his Lord, he looked at him in sheer astonishment.
14 Just then a cock crew loud beneath the court, and Peter called to mind the words the Lord had said,
15 Before the cock shall crow tomorrow morn you will deny me thrice.
16 And Peter’s conscience smote him heavily, and he went out into the night and wept.
17 Caiaphas sat in state; before him stood the man from Galilee.
18 Caiaphas said, You people of Jerusalem, who is the man that you accuse?
19 They answered: In the name of every loyal Jew we do accuse this man from Galilee, this Jesus, who assumes to be our king, as enemy of God and man.
2 °Caiaphas said to Jesus, Man, you are permitted now to speak and tell about your doctrines and your claims.
21 And Jesus said, You priest of carnal man, why do you ask about my words and works?
22 Lo, I have taught the multitudes in every public place; I have restored your sick to health: have opened up your blinded eyes; have caused your deaf to hear, your lame to walk, and I have brought your dead to life again.
23 My works have not been done in secret place but in your public halls and thoroughfares.
24 Go ask the people, who have not been bought with gold or glittering promises, to tell about my words and works.
25 When Jesus had thus said a Jewish guard came up and smote him in the face and said, How dare you speak thus unto him, the high priest of the Jews?
26 And Jesus said, If I have spoken falsely bear witness unto what I say; if I have told the truth why did you smite me thus?
27 And then Caiaphas said, What’er you do, do in a legal way, for we must answer to a higher court for everything we do or say.
28 Let the accusers of this man present their charges in a legal form.
29 And then Caiaphas’ scribe stood forth and said, I have the accusations here in legal form; the charges made and signed by scribes and priests and Pharisees.
3 °Caiaphas said, Be still, you men, and hear the charges read. The scribe took up a roll and read:
31 To the Sanhedrim of the Jews and to Caiaphas the high priest, most honored men:
32 The highest duty man can render to his nation and his own is to protect them from their foes.
33 The people of Jerusalem are conscious that a mighty foe is in their very midst.
34 A man named Jesus has come forth and claims to be the heir to David’s throne.
35 As an impostor he is foe, and in the name of every loyal Jew we here submit these charges, which we are competent to prove:
36 And first, he blasphemes God; he says he is the son of God; that he and God are one;
37 And he profanes our holy days by healing, and by doing other work upon the Sabbath days;
38 And he proclaims himself the king, successor of our David and our Solomon;
39 And he declares that he will tear our temple down and build it up again in form more glorious in three days;
40 And he declares that he will drive the people from Jerusalem, as he drove out the merchants from the temple court; and bring to occupy our sacred hills a tribe of men that know not God;
41 And he avers that every doctor, scribe and Pharisee and Sadducee, shall go in exile, and shall nevermore return;
42 And to these charges we do set our hands and seals.
Annas.
Abinadab.
Joash.
Simon.
Annanias.
Azaniah.
Hezekiah.
43 Now, when the scribe had read the charges, all the people called for blood; they said, Let such a wretch be stoned; let him be crucified.
44 Caiaphas said, You men of Israel, do you sustain the charges of these men?
45 A hundred men who had been bribed, stood forth to testify; they swore that every charge was true.
46 Caiaphas said to Jesus, Man, have you a word to say? are you the son of God?
47 And Jesus said, So you have said; and then he said no more.
CHAPTER 166
Jesus before the Sanhedrim. Nicodemus pleads for justice; he shows the incompetency of the witnesses. The council fail to declare Jesus guilty, but Caiaphas, the presiding judge, declares him guilty. The mob maltreat Jesus. He is taken to Pilate’s court.
When Jesus would not speak, Caiaphas stood before the Jewish mob and said,
2 Bind fast the prisoner, for he must go before the great Sanhedrim of the Jews to answer for his life.
3 We cannot execute a criminal until our findings have been verified by this, the highest council of the Jews.
4 As soon as it was day the highest council of the people met; the Lord and his accusers stood before the bar.
5 Caiaphas was the chief; he rose and said, Let the accusers of this man from Galilee bring forth their charges and their evidence.
6 Caiaphas’ scribe stood forth and read the charges and the names of those who had accused the man from Galilee.
7 And all the witnesses were made to stand and testify before the council of the Jews.
8 And then the lawyers weighed the evidence, and Nicodemus stood among the men who plead.
9 He raised his hands and said, Let justice now be done, though every scribe and Pharisee and priest and Sadducee, as well as Jesus, the accused, be judged a liar.
10 If we can prove this Jesus to be foe and traitor to our laws and land, let him be judged a criminal and suffer for his crimes.
11 If it be proved that these who testify are perjurers in the sight of God and man, then let them be adjudged as criminals, and let the man from Galilee go free.
12 And then he brought the testimonies of the witnesses before the judges of the law; no two of them agreed. In heat of passion, or for gain, the men had testified.
13 The council would have gladly judged that Jesus was a criminal and sentence him to death; but in the face of all the evidence they were afraid.
14 And then Caiaphas said, You man from Galilee, Before the living God, I now command that you shall answer me, Are you the Christ, the son of God?
15 And Jesus said, If I would answer, Yes, you would not hear, nor yet believe,
16 If I would answer, No, I would be like your witnesses, and stand a liar in the sight of man and God. But this I say,
17 The time will come when you will see the son of man upon the throne of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.
18 And then Caiaphas rent his clothes and said, Have you not heard enough? Did you not hear his vile blasphemous words? What further need have we of witnesses? What shall we do with him?
19 The people said, Put him to death. And then the mob rushed up and spit into his face, and struck him with their hands.
20 And then they bound a cloth about his eyes and smote him in the face and said, You are a prophet; tell us who it was who smote you in the face.
21 And Jesus answered not and like a lamb before his shearer he, the man from Galilee, resisted not.
22 Caiaphas said, We cannot put a man to death until the Roman ruler shall confirm the sentence of this court;
23 So take this criminal away and Pilate will endorse what we have done.
24 And then was Jesus dragged along the way up to the palace of the Roman governor.
CHAPTER 167
Jesus before Pilate. Is pronounced not guilty. Jesus before Herod and is tortured and returned to Pilate, who again declares him innocent. The Jews demand his death. Pilate’s wife urges her husband to have nothing to do with the punishment of Jesus. Pilate weeps.
Into the palace of the Roman governor the Jews would enter not lest they become defiled and be unworthy to attend the feast; but they led Jesus to the palace court, and Pilate met them there.
2 And Pilate said, Why this commotion in the early day? What is your prayer?
3 The Jews replied, We bring before you one, an evil and seditious man.
4 He has been tried before the highest council of the Jews and has been proven traitor to our laws, our state and to the government of Rome.
5 We pray that you will sentence him to death upon the cross.
6 And Pilate said, Why do you bring him unto me? Go to, and judge him for yourselves.
7 You have a law, and by the sanction of the Roman law, you have a right to judge and right to execute.
8 The Jews replied, We have no right to execute a man upon the cross, and since this man is traitor to Tiberius, our counsellors believe that he should meet the most humiliating death – the death upon the cross.
9 But Pilate said, No man can be found guilty of a crime by Roman law until the testimony all is in, and the accused has been permitted to defend himself;
10 So I will take your bill of charges, with the evidence you have, and judge by Roman law.
11 The Jews had made a copy of the accusations in the language of the Roman court, and they had added to the bill:
12 We charge that Jesus is an enemy of Rome; that he demands that men shall pay no tribute to Tiberius.
13 And Pilate took the bill; his guards led Jesus up the steps into the palace hall.
14 And Jesus stood before the Roman governor, and Pilate read to him the charges of the Jews, and said,
15 What is your answer to this bill? These charges, are they true or false?
16 And Jesus said, Why should I plead before an earthly court? The charges have been verified by perjured men; what need I say?
17 Yes, I am king; but carnal men cannot behold the king, nor see the kingdom of the God; it is within.
18 If I had been a king as carnal man is king, my servants would have stood in my defense, and I would not have willingly surrendered to the minions of the Jewish law.
19 I have no testimony from the sons of men. God is my witness, and my words and deeds bear witness to the truth;
20 And every man who comprehends the truth will hearken to my words, and in his soul give witness unto me.
21 And Pilate said, What is the truth?
22 And Jesus said, Truth is the God who knows. It is the changeless one. The Holy Breath is truth; she changes not and cannot pass away.
23 And Pilate went again unto the Jews and said, This man is guilty of no crime; I cannot sentence him to death.
24 And then the Jews grew boisterous; they cried aloud and said, Our council surely knows. The wisest men of all the land have found him guilty of a score of crimes.
25 He would pervert the nation of the Jews; would overthrow the Roman rule and make himself the king. He is a culprit come from Galilee; he must be crucified.
26 And Pilate said, If Jesus is from Galilee he is a subject of the governor of Galilee, who should be judge.
27 Now, Herod had come down from Galilee and with his suite was in Jerusalem.
28 And Pilate sent to him the Lord in chains; he also sent a copy of the charges, and of the testimonies of the Jews, and asked that he would pass in judgment on the case.
29 And Herod said, I have heard much about this man and I am pleased to see him in my court.
30 And then he asked the Lord about his claims, about his doctrines and his aims.
31 And Jesus answered not a word; and Herod was enraged; he said, Do you insult the ruler of the land by answering not?
32 And then he called his guards and said, Take you this man and torture him until he answers me.
33 The guards took Jesus and they smote him; mocked him; wrapped him in a royal robe; they made a crown of thorns and put it on his head; they put a broken reed into his hands;
34 And then they said deridingly, All hail, thou royal king! Where are your armies and your guards? Where are your subjects and your friends?
35 But Jesus answered not a word. Then Herod sent him back to Pilate with this note of courtesy:
36 Most worthy counsellor of Rome, I have examined all the charges and the testimonies that you sent to me regarding this seditious man from Galilee, and while I might adjudge him guilty of the crimes as charged,
37 I yield to you my rights as judge, because you are superior to me in power. I will approve of any judgment you may render in this case.
38 Now, Pilate and the tetrarch had been foes, but the experience of this hour destroyed their enmity and they were friends in after days.
39 When Jesus had been brought again to Pilate’s court, the Roman governor stood forth before the accusers of the Lord and said,
40 I cannot find this Nazarene to be a criminal as charged; there is no evidence that he should suffer death; so I will scourge him well and let him go.
41 The Jews cried angrily, It is not mete that such a dangerous man should live; he must be crucified.
42 Then Pilate said, I bid you wait a little time. And then he went into an inner room and sat in silent thought.
43 And as he mused his wife, a godly woman, chosen from among the Gauls, came in and said,
44 I pray you, Pilate, hearken unto me: Beware of what you do this hour. Touch not this man from Galilee; he is a holy man.
45 If you should scourge this man you scourge the son of God. Last night I saw it all in vision far too vivid to be set aside as idle dream.
46 I saw this man walk on the waters of the sea; I heard him speak and calm an angry storm; I saw him flying with the wings of light;
47 I saw Jerusalem in blood; I saw the statues of the Cæsars fall; I saw a veil before the sun, and day was dark as night.
48 The earth on which I stood was shaken like a reed before the wind. I tell you, Pilate, if you bathe your hands in this man’s blood then you may dread the frowns of great Tiberius, and the curses of the senators of Rome.
49 And then she left, and Pilate wept.
CHAPTER 168
Pilate’s final effort to release Jesus fails. He washes his hands in feigned innocence. Delivers Jesus to the Jews for execution. The Jewish soldiers drive him to Calvary.
A superstitious people are the Jews. They have a faith that they have borrowed from the idol worshippers of other lands, that at the end of every year,
2 They may heap all their sins upon the head of some man set apart to bear their sins.
3 The man becomes a scapegoat for the multitudes; and they believe that when they drive him forth into the wilds, or into foreign lands, they are released from sin.
4 So every spring before the feast they chose a prisoner from the prisons of the land, and by a form their own, they fain would make him bear their sins away.
5 Among the Jewish prisoners in Jerusalem were three who were the leaders of a vile, seditious band, who had engaged in thefts and murders and rapine, and had been sentenced to be crucified.
6 Barabbas bar Jezia was among the men who were to die; but he was rich and he had bought of priests the boon to be the scapegoat for the people at the coming feast, and he was anxiously in waiting for his hour to come.
7 Now, Pilate thought to turn this superstition to account to save the Lord, and so he went again before the Jews and said,
8 You men of Israel, according to my custom I will release to you today a prisoner who shall bear your sins away.
9 This man you drive into the wilds or into foreign lands, and you have asked me to release Barabbas, who has been proven guilty of the murder of a score of men.
10 Now, hear me men, Let Jesus be released and let Barabbas pay his debt upon the cross; then you can send this Jesus to the wilds and hear no more of him.
11 At what the ruler said the people were enraged, and they began to plot to tear the Roman palace down and drive in exile Pilate, and his household and his guards.
12 When Pilate was assured that civil war would follow if he heeded not the wishes of the mob, he took a bowl of water and in the presence of the multitude he washed his hands and said,
13 This man whom you accuse, is son of the most holy Gods, and I proclaim my innocence.
14 If you would shed his blood, his blood is on your hands and not on mine.
15 And then the Jews exclaimed, And let his blood be on our hands and on our children’s hands.
16 And Pilate trembled like a leaf, in fear. Barabbas he released and as the Lord stood forth before the mob the ruler said, Behold your king! And would you put to death your king?
17 The Jews replied, He is no king; we have no king but great Tiberius.
18 Now, Pilate would not give consent that Roman soldiers should imbue their hands in blood of innocence, and so the chief priests and the Pharisees took counsel what to do with Jesus, who was called the Christ.
19 Caiaphas said, We cannot crucify this man; he must be stoned to death and nothing more.
20 And then the rabble said, Make haste! let him be stoned. And then they led him forth toward the hill beyond the city’s gates, where criminals were put to death.
21 The rabble could not wait until they reached the place of skulls. As soon as they had passed the city’s gate, they rushed upon him, smote him with their hands, they spit upon him, stoned him and he fell upon the ground.
22 And one, a man of God, stood forth and said, Isaiah said, He shall be bruised for our transgressions and by his stripes we shall be healed.
23 As Jesus lay all bruised and mangled on the ground a Pharisee called out, Stay, stay you men! behold, the guards of Herod come and they will crucify this man.
24 And there beside the city’s gate they found Barabbas’ cross; and then the frenzied mob cried out, Let him be crucified.
25 Caiaphas and the other ruling Jews came forth and gave consent.
26 And then they lifted Jesus from the ground, and at the point of swords they drove him on.
27 A man named Simon, from Cyrene, a friend of Jesus, was a-near the scene and since the bruised and wounded Jesus could not bear his cross, they laid it on the shoulders of this man and made him bear it on to Calvary.
CHAPTER 169
Judas is filled with remorse. Hurries to the temple and throws the thirty pieces of silver at the feet of the priests who take it and buy a potter’s field. Judas hangs himself. His body is buried in the potter’s field.
Now, Judas who betrayed his Lord, was with the mob; but all the time he thought that Jesus would assert his power and demonstrate the strength of God that he possessed, and strike to earth the fiendish multitudes and free himself;
2 But when he saw his master on the ground and bleeding from a score of wounds, he said,
3 O God, what have I done? I have betrayed the son of God; the curse of God will rest upon my soul.
4 And then he turned and ran with haste until he reached the temple door; he found the priests, who gave to him the thirty silver pieces to betray the Lord, and said,
5 Take back your bribe; it is the cost price of my soul; I have betrayed the son of God.
6 The priests replied, That matters not to us.
7 Then Judas threw the silver on the floor, and, bowed with grief, he went away, and on a ledge beyond the city’s walls he hanged himself and died.
8 In time the fastenings gave way, his body fell into the Hinnon vale and after many days they found it there a shapeless mass.
9 The rulers could not put the price of blood into the treasury, and so they took the thirty silver pieces with which they bought a potter’s field,
10 Where they might bury those who had no rights to lie within their sacred burial grounds.
11 And there they put the body of the man who sold his Lord.