43From henceforth shall this bread be called Remembrance bread; this wine shall be Remembrance wine; and when you eat this bread and drink this wine remember me.
Jesus teaches the eleven. Tells them that they will all be estranged from him, and that Peter will deny him thrice before the morning. He speaks final words of encouragement. Promises the Comforter.
Jesus teaches the eleven. Tells them that they will all be estranged from him, and that Peter will deny him thrice before the morning. He speaks final words of encouragement. Promises the Comforter.
Now,after Judas had gone forth to meet the emissaries of the priests and to betray his Lord,
2The master said, The hour has come, the son of man will now be glorified.
3My little children, I am with you yet a little while; soon you will seek me and will find me not, for where I go you cannot come.
4I give to you a new command: As I love you and give my life for you, so shall you love the world, and give your life to save the world.
5Love one another as you love yourselves, and then the world will know that you are sons of God, disciples of the son of man whom God has glorified.
6And Peter said, Lord, where you go there I will go, for I would lay my life down for my Lord.
7And Jesus said, Boast not of bravery, my friend; you are not strong enough tonight to follow me.
8Now, Peter, hear! you will deny me thrice before the cock shall crow tomorrow morn.
9And then he looked upon the eleven and said, You all will be estranged from me this night.
10The prophet said, Lo, he will smite the shepherd of the sheep; the sheep will flee and hide away.
11But after I am risen from thedead, lo, you will come again, and I will go before you into Galilee.
12And Peter said, My Lord, though every other man forsake you I will not.
13And Jesus said, O Simon Peter, lo, your zeal is greater than your fortitude! Behold, for Satan cometh up to sift you as a pan of wheat, but I have prayed that in your faith you shall not fail; that after trial you may stand a tower of strength.
14And the disciples all exclaimed, There is no power on earth that can estrange, or cause us to deny our Lord.
15And Jesus said, Let not your hearts be sad; you all believe in God; believe in me.
16Behold, for there are many mansions in my Fatherland. If there were not I would have told you so.
17I go unto my Fatherland, and will prepare a place for you that where I am there you may be. But now you do not know the way unto my Fatherland.
18And Thomas said, We do not know where you intend to go; how could we know the way?
19And Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, the life; I manifest the Christ of God. No man can reach my Fatherland except he comes with me through Christ.
20If you had known and comprehended me, then you would know my Father-God.
21And Philip said, Show us the Father and we will be satisfied.
22And Jesus said, Have I been with you all these years and still you know me not?
23He who has seen the son has seen the Father, for in the son the Father has revealed himself.
24Lo, I have told you many times that what I speak and what I do are not the words and works of man;
25They are the words and works of God, who lives in me and I in him.
26Hear me, you faithful men: He who believes in me and in my Father-God shall say and do what I have said and done.
27Yea, more, he shall do greater works than I have ever done, because I go to him whose works we do, and then I can reach forth my hand in helpfulness.
28And in my name, through Christ, you may petition God and he will grant you your request.
29Do you believe what I have said? Yes, you believe, and if you love the Christ and follow me then you will keep my words.
30I am the vine; you are the branches of the vine; my Father is the husbandman,
31The branches that are worthless, bearing naught but leaves, the husbandman will cut away and cast into the fire to be burned.
32And he will prune the branches that bear fruit that they may yield abundantly.
33The branch cannot bear fruit if separated from the vine; and you cannot bear fruit when separate from me.
34Abide in me, and do the works that God, through me, has taught you how to do, and you will bear much fruit, and God will honor you as he has honored me.
35And now I go my way, but I will pray my Father-God and he will send another Comforter to you, who will abide with you.
36Behold, this Comforter of God, the Holy Breath, is one with God, but she is one the world cannotreceive because it sees her not; it knows her not.
37But you know her, and will know her, because she will abide within your soul.
38I will not leave you desolate, but in the Christ, which is the love of God made manifest to men, I will be with you all the way.
Jesus reveals more fully the mission of the Holy Breath. Tells his disciples plainly that he is about to die, and they are sad. He prays for them and all the world of believers. They leave the banquet hall.
Jesus reveals more fully the mission of the Holy Breath. Tells his disciples plainly that he is about to die, and they are sad. He prays for them and all the world of believers. They leave the banquet hall.
Now,John was deeply grieved because the master said, I go away, and where I go you cannot come.
2He wept and said, Lord, I would go with you through every trial and to death.
3And Jesus said, And you shall follow me through trials and through death; but now you cannot go where I will go; but you shall come.
4And Jesus spoke again unto the eleven and said, Grieve not because I go away, for it is best that I should go away. If I go not the Comforter will not come to you.
5These things I speak while with you in the flesh, but when the Holy Breath shall come in power, lo, she will teach you more and more, and bring to your remembrance all the words that I have said to you.
6There are a multitude of things yet to be said; things that this age cannot receive, because it cannot comprehend.
7But, lo, I say, Before the great day of the Lord shall come, the Holy Breath will make all mysteriesknown—
8The mysteries of the soul, of life, of death, of immortality; the oneness of a man with every other man and with his God.
9Then will the world be led to truth, and man will be the truth.
10When she has come, the Comforter, she will convince the world of sin, and of the truth of what I speak, and of the rightness of the judgment of the just; and then the prince of carnal life will be cast out.
11And when the Comforter shall come I need not intercede for you; for you will stand approved, and God will know you then as he knows me.
12The hour has come when you will weep; the wicked will rejoice, because I go away; but I will come again, and all your sorrows shall be turned to joy;
13Yea, verily, you will rejoice as one who welcomes back a brother from the dead.
14And the disciples said, Our Lord, speak not in proverbs any more; speak plainly unto us; we know that you are wise and know all things.
15What is the meaning of your words, I go away, but I will come again?
16And Jesus said, The hour is come when you will all be scattered forth, and every man will be afraid;
17Will flee to save his life and leave me all alone; yet I will not be all alone; my Father-God is with me all the way.
18And wicked men will take me to the judgment seat of wicked men, and in the presence of the multitudes I will give up my life, a pattern for the sons of men.
19But I will rise again and come to you.
20These things I speak that you may be established in the faith when they shall come to pass.
21And you shall bear the buffetings of men, and follow in the thorny path I tread.
22Be not dismayed; be of good cheer. Lo, I have overcome the world, and you shall overcome the world.
23Then Jesus lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, My Father-God, the hour has come;
24The son of man must now be lifted from the earth, and may he falter not, that all the world may know the power of sacrifice;
25For as I give my life for men, lo, men must give their lives for other men.
26I came to do thy will, O God, and in the sacred name, the Christ is glorified, that men may see the Christ as life, as light, as love, as truth,
27And through the Christ become themselves the life, the light, the love, the truth.
28I praise thy name because of these whom thou hast given me, for they have honored thee and they will honor thee;
29And none of them are lost, and none are gone away, except the blinded son of carnal life, who hath gone forth to sell his Lord.
30O God, forgive this man, because he knows not what he does.
31And now, O God, I come to thee, and am no more in mortal life; keep thou these men to whom I have made known thy wisdom and thy love.
32As they believe in me, and in the words I speak, may all the world believe in them and in the words they speak.
33As thou hast sent me forth into the world, so I have sent them forth. I pray that thou wouldst honor them as thou hast honored me.
34I do not pray that thou wouldst take them from the world, but that they may be guarded from the evil of the world, and not be subject to temptations that are too great for them to bear.
35They once were of the world, but now are of the world no more, as I am of the world no more.
36Thy word is truth, O God, and by thy word let them be sanctified.
37I do not pray for these alone, O God; I also pray for all who will believe on me, and will accept the Christ because of what they do and say, that they may all be one.
38As I am one with thee, and thou art one with me, may they be one with us,
39That all the world may know that thou hast sent me forth to do thy will, and that thou lovest them as thou hast ever loved me.
40When Jesus had thus said, they sung the Jewish song of praise, and then arose and went their way.
Jesus visits Pilate, who urges him to flee from the country to save his life. Jesus refuses to do so. He meets his disciples in Massalian’s orchard. The scene in Gethsemane. The Jewish mob led by Judas appears.
Jesus visits Pilate, who urges him to flee from the country to save his life. Jesus refuses to do so. He meets his disciples in Massalian’s orchard. The scene in Gethsemane. The Jewish mob led by Judas appears.
AsJesus and the eleven went out, a Roman guard approached and said, All hail! Is one of you the man from Galilee?
2And Peter said, We all are men from Galilee; whom do you seek?
3The guard replied, I seek for Jesus, who is called the Christ.
4And Jesus answered, Here am I.
5The guard spoke out and said, I do not come in an official way; I bear to you a message from the governor.
6Jerusalem is all alive with vengeful Jews who swear that they will take your life, and Pilate would confer with you, and he would have you come to him without delay.
7And Jesus said to Peter and the rest, Go to the vale, and by the Kidron wait for me, and I will go alone and see the governor.
8And Jesus went up with the guard, and when he reached the palace, Pilate met him at the gate and said,
9Young man, I have a word to say that may be well for you. I have observed your works and words three years and more;
10And I have often stood in your defense when your own countrymen would fain have stoned you as a criminal.
11But now the priests, the scribes and Pharisees have stirred the common people to a stage of frenzied wantonness and cruelty, and they intend to take your life,
12Because, they say, that you have sworn to tear their temple down; to change the laws that Moses gave; to exile Pharisee and priest and seat yourself upon a throne.
13And they aver that you are full in league with Rome.
14The streets of all Jerusalem are filled this moment with a horde of madmen all intent to shed your blood.
15There is no safety for you but in flight; wait not until the morning sun. You know the way to reach the border of this cursed land.
16I have a little band of guards, well horsed and armed, and they will take you out beyond the reach of harm.
17You must not tarry here, young man, you must arise and go.
18And Jesus said, A noble prince has Cæsar in his Pilate Pontius, and from the point of carnal man your words are seasoned with the wise man’s salt; but from the point of Christ your words are foolishness.
19The coward flees when danger comes; but he who comes to seek and save the lost must give his life in willing sacrifice for those he comes to seek and save.
20Before the pasch has been consumed, lo, all this nation will be cursed by shedding blood of innocence; and even now the murderers are at the door.
21And Pilate said, It shall not be; the sword of Rome will be unsheathed to save your life.
22And Jesus said, Nay, Pilate, nay; there are no armies large enough in all the world to save my life.
23And Jesus bade the governor farewell, and went his way; but Pilate sent a double guard with him lest he should fall into the hands of those who were alert to take his life.
24But in a moment Jesus disappeared; the guards saw him no more, and in a little while he reached the brook of Kidron where the eleven were.
25Now, just beyond the brook there was an orchard and a home where one, Massalian, lived, where Jesus oft had been.
26Massalian was his friend, and he believed that Jesus was the Christ that Jewish prophets long ago had said would come.
27Now, in the orchard was asacred knoll; Massalian called the place Gethsemane.
28The night was dark, but in the orchard it was doubly dark and Jesus bade the eight disciples tarry by the brook,
29While he, with Peter, James and John went to Gethsemane to pray.
30They sat beneath an olive tree, and Jesus opened up the mysteries of life to Peter, James and John. He said,
31The Spirit of eternity is One unmanifest; and this is God the Father, God the Mother, God the Son in One.
32In life of manifests the One became the Three, and God the Father is the God of might; and God the Mother is omniscient God, and God the Son is love.
33And God the Father is the power of heaven and earth; and God the Mother is the Holy Breath, the thought of heaven and earth; and God the Son, the only son, is Christ, and Christ is love.
34I came as man to manifest this love to men,
35As man I have been subject unto all the trials and temptations of the human race; but I have overcome the flesh, with all its passions and its appetites.
36What I have done all men can do.
37And I am now about to demonstrate the power of man to conquer death; for every man is God made flesh.
38I will lay down my life, and I will take it up again, that you may know the mysteries of life, of death, and of the resurrection of the dead.
39I lay me down in flesh, but I will rise in spirit form with power to manifest myself so mortal eyes can see.
40So in a trinity of days I will show forth the all of life, the all of death, the meaning of the resurrection of the dead.
41And what I do all men can do.
42And you, my three, who constitute the inner circle of the Church of Christ, will show to men the attributes of all the Gods.
43And Peter shall make known the Power of God; and James shall show the Thought of God; and John shall demonstrate the Love of God.
44Be not afraid of men, for you have been sent forth to do the mighty works of God the Father, God the Mother, God the Son.
45And all the powers of carnal life cannot destroy your life until your work is done.
46I leave you now, and I will go out in the darkness all alone and talk with God.
47By sorrow I am overwhelmed. I leave you here to watch with me.
48Then Jesus went three hundred cubits toward the east, and fell upon his face and prayed; he said,
49My God! my God! is there a way by which I may escape the horrors of the coming hours? My human flesh shrinks back; my soul is firm; so not my will, but thine, O God, be done.
50In agony he prayed; the strain upon the human form was great; his veins were burst asunder, and his brow was bathed in blood.
51And then he went back to the three, and found them all asleep; he said,
52O Simon, Simon, do you sleep! Could you not watch with me a single hour? Be vigilant, and watch and pray that your temptations be not too great for you to bear.
53I know the spirit is alert and willing; but the flesh is weak.
54And then he went again and prayed, O Father, God! if I must drink this bitter cup, give me the strength of body, as I have the strength of soul; for not my will, but thine be done.
55And when he went again to his disciples; lo, he found them still asleep. He wakened them and said to James,
56Have you been sleeping while your master has been wrestling with the greatest foe of men? Could you not watch with me a single hour?
57And then he went again and prayed. O God, I yield to thee; thy will be done.
58And then again he went back to the three, and still they slept. He said to John,
59With all the love you have for me, could you not watch with me a single hour?
60And then he said, It is enough; the hour has come, and my betrayer is at hand; arise and let us go.
61And when they came again to Kidron, lo, the eight disciples were asleep, and Jesus said, You men, awake; behold, for the betrayer of the son of man is come.
Judas betrays his Lord with a kiss. Jesus is seized by the mob and the disciples flee to save their lives. Jesus is taken unto Jerusalem. Peter and John follow the mob.
Judas betrays his Lord with a kiss. Jesus is seized by the mob and the disciples flee to save their lives. Jesus is taken unto Jerusalem. Peter and John follow the mob.
TheLord with the eleven were in the orchard of Massalian, and as they talked they saw a band of men with lanterns and with swords and clubs approaching them.
2And Jesus said, Behold the emissaries of the evil one! and Judas leads the way.
3And the disciples said, Lord, let us flee to save our lives.
4But Jesus said, Why should we flee to save our lives when this is the fulfillment of the words of prophets and of seers?
5And Jesus went alone to meet the men; and as they came he said, Why are you here, you men? whom do you seek?
6And they replied, We seek the man from Galilee. We seek for Jesus, one who calls himself the Christ.
7And Jesus answered, Here am I.
8And then he raised his hands and with a mighty thought he brought the ethers to the state of light; and all the orchard was aglow with light.
9The frenzied men were driven back and many fled and tarried not until they reached Jerusalem; and others fell upon their faces on the ground.
10The bravest men, and they with hardest hearts, remained, and when the light had paled, the Lord again inquired, Whom do you seek?
11And Ananias said, We seek the man from Galilee; we seek for Jesus, he who calls himself the Christ.
12And Jesus answered him and said, I told you once before; but now I tell you once again that I am he.
13By Ananias, Judas stood; but in a moment he had gone and coming up behind the Lord he said, My Lord; and then he kissed him as a sign that he was Jesus whom they sought.
14And Jesus said, Do you, Iscariot, come and thus betray your master with a kiss?
15This thing must need be done; but woe to him who does betray his Lord.
16Your carnal greed has seared your conscience and you know not what you do; but in a little time your conscience will assert itself, and in remorse, lo, you will close your span and take your life.
17Then the eleven came, laid hold of Judas and would have done him harm; but Jesus said,
18You must not harm this man; you have no right to judge this man; his conscience is his judge, will sentence him and he will execute himself.
19And then the mob led on by Malchus, servant of Caiaphas, laid hold of Jesus, and was binding him with chains.
20And Jesus said, Why do you come in dead of night with swords and clubs to take me in this sacred place?
21Have I not spoken in the public places of Jerusalem? Have I not healed your sick, and opened up your blinded eyes, and made your lame to walk, your deaf to hear? You could have found me any day.
22And now you try to bind me down with chains; what are these chains but links of reeds? And then he raised his hands; the chains were broken and they fell to earth.
23And Malchus thought the Lord would flee to save his life, and with a club he fain would smite him in the face.
24But Peter had a sword, and rushing up he smote the man and wounded him.
25But Jesus said, Stay, Peter, stay; put up your sword; you are not called to fight with swords and clubs. Whoever wields the sword shall perish by the sword.
26I do not need protection by the sons of men, for I could call this moment and a legion, yea, twelve legions of the messengers of God, would come and stand in my defense; but then it is not well.
27And then he said to Malchus, Man, I would not have you harmed. And then he laid his hand upon the wound that Peter made, and it was healed.
28Then Jesus said, Be not concerned lest I should tear myself away from you and flee to save my life. I have no wish to save my life; do with me as you wish.
29And then the mob rushed up to seize the eleven to take them back to stand for trial as the aids of Jesus in his crimes.
30But the disciples, every one of them, deserted Jesus, and they fled to save their lives.
31Now, John was last to flee; the mob laid hold of him and tore his garments all to shreds; but he escaped in nakedness.
32Massalian saw the man, and took him to his home and gave him other clothes; and then he followed after them who led the Lord away.
33And Peter was ashamed because of his weak cowardice, and when he was himself again he joined with John and followed close behind the mob, and came into Jerusalem.
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.
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.
Caiaphaswas the high priest of the Jews; the mob led Jesus to his palace hall.
2The court had been convened, and all the galleries were packed with scribes and Pharisees already sworn as witnesses against the Lord.
3The maid who kept the palace door knew John, and this disciple asked that he and Peter be admitted to the hall.
4The maid permitted them to enter in, and John went in; but Peter was afraid and tarried in the outer court.
5The woman said to Peter, as he stood beside the door, Are you a follower of this man from Galilee?
6And Peter said, No, I am not.
7The 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.
8Another 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.
9And Peter said, I know not what you mean; I do not even know this man.
10And 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,
11Did 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.
12Then Peter rose and stamped upon the floor, and swore by every sacred thing, that he knew not the criminal.
13Now, 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.
14Just then a cock crew loud beneath the court, and Peter called to mind the words the Lord had said,
15Before the cock shall crow tomorrow morn you will deny me thrice.
16And Peter’s conscience smote him heavily, and he went out into the night and wept.
17Caiaphas sat in state; before him stood the man from Galilee.
18Caiaphas said, You people of Jerusalem, who is the man that you accuse?
19They 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.
20Caiaphas said to Jesus, Man, you are permitted now to speak and tell about your doctrines and your claims.
21And Jesus said, You priest of carnal man, why do you ask about my words and works?
22Lo, I have taught the multitudes in every public place; I have restored your sick to health: haveopened up your blinded eyes; have caused your deaf to hear, your lame to walk, and I have brought your dead to life again.
23My works have not been done in secret place but in your public halls and thoroughfares.
24Go ask the people, who have not been bought with gold or glittering promises, to tell about my words and works.
25When 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?
26And 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?
27And 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.
28Let the accusers of this man present their charges in a legal form.
29And 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.
30Caiaphas said, Be still, you men, and hear the charges read. The scribe took up a roll and read:
31To the Sanhedrim of the Jews and to Caiaphas the high priest, most honored men:
32The highest duty man can render to his nation and his own is to protect them from their foes.
33The people of Jerusalem are conscious that a mighty foe is in their very midst.
34A man named Jesus has come forth and claims to be the heir to David’s throne.
35As an impostor he is foe, and in the name of every loyal Jew we here submit these charges, which we are competent to prove:
36And first, he blasphemes God; he says he is the son of God; that he and God are one;
37And he profanes our holy days by healing, and by doing other work upon the Sabbath days;
38And he proclaims himself the king, successor of our David and our Solomon;
39And he declares that he will tear our temple down and build it up again in form more glorious in three days;
40And 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;
41And he avers that every doctor, scribe and Pharisee and Sadducee, shall go in exile, and shall nevermore return;
42And to these charges we do set our hands and seals.
43Now, 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.
44Caiaphas said, You men of Israel, do you sustain the charges of these men?
45A hundred men who had been bribed, stood forth to testify; they swore that every charge was true.
46Caiaphas said to Jesus, Man, have you a word to say? are you the son of God?
47And Jesus said, So you have said; and then he said no more.
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.
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.
WhenJesus would not speak, Caiaphas stood before the Jewish mob and said,
2Bind fast the prisoner, for he must go before the great Sanhedrim of the Jews to answer for his life.
3We cannot execute a criminal until our findings have been verified by this, the highest council of the Jews.
4As soon as it was day the highest council of the people met; the Lord and his accusers stood before the bar.
5Caiaphas was the chief; he rose and said, Let the accusers of this man from Galilee bring forth their charges and their evidence.
6Caiaphas’ scribe stood forth and read the charges and the names of those who had accused the man from Galilee.
7And all the witnesses were made to stand and testify before the council of the Jews.
8And then the lawyers weighed the evidence, and Nicodemus stood among the men who plead.
9He 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.
10If 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.
11If 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.
12And 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.
13The 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.
14And 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?
15And Jesus said, If I would answer, Yes, you would not hear, nor yet believe,
16If 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,
17The time will come when you will see the son of man upon the throne of power and coming in the clouds of heaven.
18And 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?
19The people said, Put him to death. And then the mob rushed up and spit into his face, and struck him with their hands.
20And 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.
21And Jesus answered not and like a lamb before his shearer he, the man from Galilee, resisted not.
22Caiaphas said, We cannotput a man to death until the Roman ruler shall confirm the sentence of this court;
23So take this criminal away and Pilate will endorse what we have done.
24And then was Jesus dragged along the way up to the palace of the Roman governor.
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.
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.
Intothe 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.
2And Pilate said, Why this commotion in the early day? What is your prayer?
3The Jews replied, We bring before you one, an evil and seditious man.
4He 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.
5We pray that you will sentence him to death upon the cross.
6And Pilate said, Why do you bring him unto me? Go to, and judge him for yourselves.
7You have a law, and by the sanction of the Roman law, you have a right to judge and right to execute.
8The 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.
9But 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;
10So I will take your bill of charges, with the evidence you have, and judge by Roman law.
11The Jews had made a copy of the accusations in the language of the Roman court, and they had added to the bill:
12We charge that Jesus is an enemy of Rome; that he demands that men shall pay no tribute to Tiberius.
13And Pilate took the bill; his guards led Jesus up the steps into the palace hall.
14And Jesus stood before the Roman governor, and Pilate read to him the charges of the Jews, and said,
15What is your answer to this bill? These charges, are they true or false?
16And Jesus said, Why should I plead before an earthly court? The charges have been verified by perjured men; what need I say?
17Yes, I am king; but carnal men cannot behold the king, nor see the kingdom of the God; it is within.
18If 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.
19I have no testimony from the sons of men. God is my witness, and my words and deeds bear witness to the truth;
20And every man who comprehends the truth will hearken to mywords, and in his soul give witness unto me.
21And Pilate said, What is the truth?
22And 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.
23And Pilate went again unto the Jews and said, This man is guilty of no crime; I cannot sentence him to death.
24And 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.
25He 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.
26And Pilate said, If Jesus is from Galilee he is a subject of the governor of Galilee, who should be judge.
27Now, Herod had come down from Galilee and with his suite was in Jerusalem.
28And 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.
29And Herod said, I have heard much about this man and I am pleased to see him in my court.
30And then he asked the Lord about his claims, about his doctrines and his aims.
31And Jesus answered not a word; and Herod was enraged; he said, Do you insult the ruler of the land by answering not?
32And then he called his guards and said, Take you this man and torture him until he answers me.
33The 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;
34And then they said deridingly, All hail, thou royal king! Where are your armies and your guards? Where are your subjects and your friends?
35But Jesus answered not a word. Then Herod sent him back to Pilate with this note of courtesy:
36Most 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,
37I 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.
38Now, Pilate and the tetrarch had been foes, but the experience of this hour destroyed their enmity and they were friends in after days.
39When Jesus had been brought again to Pilate’s court, the Roman governor stood forth before the accusers of the Lord and said,
40I 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.
41The Jews cried angrily, It is not mete that such a dangerous man should live; he must be crucified.
42Then Pilate said, I bid you wait a little time. And then hewent into an inner room and sat in silent thought.
43And as he mused his wife, a godly woman, chosen from among the Gauls, came in and said,
44I pray you, Pilate, hearken unto me: Beware of what you do this hour. Touch not this man from Galilee; he is a holy man.
45If 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.
46I 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;
47I 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.
48The 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.
49And then she left, and Pilate wept.
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.
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.
Asuperstitious 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,
2They may heap all their sins upon the head of some man set apart to bear their sins.
3The 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.
4So 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.
5Among 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.
6Barabbas 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.
7Now, Pilate thought to turn this superstition to account to save the Lord, and so he went again before the Jews and said,
8You men of Israel, according to my custom I will release to you today a prisoner who shall bear your sins away.
9This 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.
10Now, 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.
11At 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.
12When 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 thepresence of the multitude he washed his hands and said,
13This man whom you accuse, is son of the most holy Gods, and I proclaim my innocence.
14If you would shed his blood, his blood is on your hands and not on mine.
15And then the Jews exclaimed, And let his blood be on our hands and on our children’s hands.
16And 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?
17The Jews replied, He is no king; we have no king but great Tiberius.
18Now, 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.
19Caiaphas said, We cannot crucify this man; he must be stoned to death and nothing more.
20And 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.
21The 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.
22And 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.
23As 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.
24And there beside the city’s gate they found Barabbas’ cross; and then the frenzied mob cried out, Let him be crucified.
25Caiaphas and the other ruling Jews came forth and gave consent.
26And then they lifted Jesus from the ground, and at the point of swords they drove him on.
27A 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.
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.
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;
2But when he saw his master on the ground and bleeding from a score of wounds, he said,
3O God, what have I done? I have betrayed the son of God; the curse of God will rest upon my soul.
4And 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,
5Take back your bribe; it is the cost price of my soul; I have betrayed the son of God.
6The priests replied, That matters not to us.
7Then 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.
8In time the fastenings gave way, his body fell into the Hinnon vale and after many days they found it there a shapeless mass.
9The 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,
10Where they might bury those who had no rights to lie within their sacred burial grounds.
11And there they put the body of the man who sold his Lord.
The crucifixion. Jesus prays for his murderers. Pilate puts an inscription above the cross. Jesus speaks words of encouragement to the penitent thief. Commits to John the care of his mother and Miriam. The soldiers divide his garments among themselves.
The crucifixion. Jesus prays for his murderers. Pilate puts an inscription above the cross. Jesus speaks words of encouragement to the penitent thief. Commits to John the care of his mother and Miriam. The soldiers divide his garments among themselves.
TheJewish mob pushed on toward Calvary and as they went the Marys, Miriam, and other women not a few, were close beside the Lord.
2They wept aloud. When Jesus saw them weeping and lamenting thus he said,
3Weep not for me, for though I go away, go through the gateway of the cross, yet on the next day of the sun, lift up your hearts, for I will meet you at the sepulchre.
4The great procession came to Calvary. The Roman soldiers had already bound the two state prisoners to the cross.
5(They were not nailed, but simply bound.)
6Four soldiers of the Roman guard that Herod brought from Galilee were called to execute the orders of the court.
7These were the men who had been set apart to torture Jesus and secure from him confession of his guilt.
8These were the men who scourged him, put a crown of thorns upon his head, a broken reed into his hands, and wrapped him in a royal robe, and bowed in mockery, before him as a king.
9These soldiers took the Lord and stripped him, laid him on the cross and would have bound him there with cords; but this would not suffice.
10The cruel Jews were near with hammer and with nails; they cried, not cords, but nails; drive fast the nails and hold him to the cross.
11And then the soldiers took the nails and drove them through his feet and hands.
12They offered him a sedative to drink, a draught of vinegar and myrrh; but he refused to drink the draught.
13The soldiers had prepared a place in which to plant Barabbas’ cross between the other criminals; and here they raised the cross of Jesus, who was called the Christ;
14And then the soldiers and the mob sat down to watch him die.
15And Jesus said, My Father-God, forgive these men; they know not what they do.
16Now, Pilate had prepared atablet to be placed upon the cross on which was written in the tongues of Hebrew, Latin and the Greek these words of truth: JESUS THE CHRIST, KING OF THE JEWS.
17And this was placed upon the cross. The priests were angered when they read these words upon the tablet of the cross.
18And then they prayed that Pilate would not say, He is the Christ, king of the Jews; but say, He claims to be the Christ, king of the Jews.
19But Pilate said, What I have written, I have written; let it stand.
20The Jewish multitudes who saw the Lord upon the cross were wild with joy; they said, All hail, fake king!
21You who would tear the temple down and in three days would build it up again, why don’t you save yourself?
22If you are Christ, the son of God, come from the cross; then all men will believe.
23The priests and scribes and Pharisees looked on the scene and scoffed; they said, He rescued others from the grave; why don’t he save himself?
24The Jewish soldiers and the Roman guards who came from Galilee were loud in mocking and deriding him.
25One of the other men upon the cross joined in the mockery; he said, If you are Christ, you have the power; just speak the Word, and save yourself and me.
26The other man upon the cross rebuked the man; he said, You wretch! have you no fear of God?
27This man is innocent of any crime while you and I are guilty and are paying up the debts we owe.
28And then he said to Jesus, Lord, I know thy kingdom comes, the kingdom that the world can never comprehend;
29And when thou comest on the clouds of heaven, remember me.
30And Jesus said, Behold, for I will meet you in the realm of souls this day.
31Now, standing near unto the cross were many women from Judea and from Galilee. Among them were the mother of the Lord and Miriam,
32And Mary, mother of the two apostles, James and John, and Mary Magdalene, and Martha, Ruth and Mary, and Salome.
33When Jesus saw his mother and the singer Miriam standing close beside the cross and John a-near, he said to John,
34In your most tender care I leave my mother and my sister Miriam.
35And John replied, While they shall live my home shall be the home of your thrice blessed mother and your sister Miriam.
36According to a custom of the Jews, to those who were the executioners of law and took the lives of criminals, belonged the garments of the criminals.
37So when the Lord was crucified, the Roman guards divided up among themselves the garments of the Lord.
38But when they found his coat it was a seamless coat and highly prized.
39For it the guards cast lots, and thus determined who should have the prize.
40And thus the scripture was fulfilled, which said, And they divided all my robes among themselves, and for my vesture they cast lots.