solutely silent before Herod, a fact most suggestive of his unworthiness. If the door is shut to the lightminded and foolish virgins, the door of instruction is much rather shut to the flippant and licentious Herod. The silence of God is as terrible as His threatening; even more so, for all threatening is a call to repentance. But the pain of loss is the pain of God's eternal silence. But, as we have seen, Herod treated our Saviour's silence as stupidity, and piqued at his failure to extort either preaching or miracles from Him, he ordered a fool's garment to be put on Him; and thus clothed Jesus is led back to Pilate, with Herod's compliments.* The soul of Jesus, though oppressed with grief, was calm and patient as He stood before Pilate, just as the latter's soul was in a tumult of conflicting emotions, honor being in the death struggle with cowardice. Pilate stiffened his courage for another attempt at getting rid of the case: he offered the chief priests to have the Prisoner flogged-disgrace enough and pain enough--and then to discharge Him. "And Pilate, calling together the chief priests and the magistrates and the people, said to them: You have presented unto me this Man as one that perverteth the people, and behold I, having examined Him Lefore you, find no cause in this Man, in those things wherein you accuse Him; no, nor Herod neither; for I sent you to him, and behold nothing' worthy of death is done to Him. I will chastise Him, therefore, and release Him." Up to this Pilate had only temporized. So far *This is not the only time that making a fool of Christ and His Church has been the means of reconciliation and the basis of treaties between princes, as witness the robbery and mockery of the Holy See these recent times, concocted and carried out, by Napoleon the Third and Victor Emmanuel. his sin was that of a grave enough offence, omission; for he should have instantly released Jesus and protected Him against His enemies. Now he is guilty of the positive injustice of offering to scourge an unconvicted prisoner, nay, a man whom he had publicly proclaimed innocent. The Jews therefore saw that they had gained a point. To a Roman governor, hardened to bloodshed and thinking little of the life of any Jew, innocent or guilty, the step from an unjust scourging to an unjust crucifixion must be a short one. So reasoned the Jewish conspirators, and took heart. However, they were again hindered and delayed by another expedient of Pilate. CHAPTER XLIX. 'BARABBAS OR JESUS?"-PILATE'S WIFe's dream.'CRUCIFY HIM!' Matt. xxvii. 15-26; Mark xv. 6-15; Luke xxiii. 17–24; IT happened that there was a prisoner in Pilate's SCOURGE USED IN TIME OF be granted in honor of the Passover. have friends enough to make a strong claim for Him, especially when I give Him my preference. But this craven trick failed, as had the previous one of sending Jesus to Herod. The mob shouted in favor of Barabbas. The robber and murderer had more friends and truer ones at his command than had the Saviour. Meantime the chief priests were gathering the multitudes, adding thereby mobpower to their other influences over the vacillating Roman judge. Now upon the solemn day, the governor was accustomed of necessity to release to the people one prisoner, whom they would. And he had then a notorious prisoner that was called Barabbas, who was put in prison with some seditious men, who in the sedition had committed murder. And when the multitude had come up, they be-: gan to desire that he would do as he had ever done unto them. They therefore being gathered together, Pilate said: Whom will you that I release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus, that is called Christ? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him up out of envy. But the chief priests and ancients persuaded the people, that they should ask Barabbas, and make Jesus away. And the governor answering, said to them: Whether will you of the two to be released unto you? But the whole multitude together cried out, saying: Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas. And Barabbas was a robber. So Pilate, being willing to satisfy the people, gave sentence that it should be as they required. And he released unto them Barabbas, him who for murder and sedition had been cast into prison, whom they had desired. The acclaim of the people in favor of Barabbas and in preference to Christ adds the fickleness of the multitude to the malignity of the Jewish rulers and the cowardice of the Roman judge as a factor in our Saviour's condemnation. It added, also, a vast weight to the load already oppressing the Victim's divine Heart, for He had ever loved the people by preference. Yet there was one drop of comfort in the sea of misery, for if He was grieved that the people rejected Him, He was glad that poor Barabbas was thereby saved from death. While Pilate was thus beset, a preternatural message came to him through his wife. "As he was sitting in the place of judgment, his wife sent to him, saying: Have thou nothing to do with that just Man, for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of Him." Pilate, we may surmise, was no more a believer in the heathen gods than the generality of his class; but all men believed "Crucify Him!" in the miraculous, and this protest from the world of visions must have added to his uneasiness. He fought on, therefore, with his coward's fight for Jesus. And at this point Pilate's guilt takes on a deeper shade, for he appeals to his own subjects and to the enemies of Jesus for guidance. It was a contest between a timid defender and a raging foe. "And Pilate again spoke to them, desiring to release Jesus: What will you then that I do to the King of the Jews - Jesus, that is called Christ?' He receives His orders instantly: Crucify Him! ** Pilate's appeal was an open bid for the Saviour's supporters to speak out in His favor. It failed utterly. "But they cried again, saying: Crucify Him, crucify Him. And Pilate said to them the third time: Why, what evil hath this Man done? I find no éause of death in Him; I will chastise Him, therefore, and let Him go. But they were instant with loud voices, requiring that He might be crucified, and their voices prevailed." And Pilate again spoke to them, desiring to release Jesus: What will you then that I do to the King of the Jews - Jesus, that is called Christ? But they cried again, And saying: Crucify him, crucify him. what evil hath this man done? I find no cause of death in him; I will chastise him, therefore, and let him go. But they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified, and their voices prevailed. And Pilate, seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, taking water, washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just man; look you to it. And the whole people answering said: His blood be upon us and upon our children. So Pilate, being willing to satisfy the people, gave sentence that it should be as they required. Pilate then surrendered. But yet he wished to soothe his remorse, and therefore he gave to the world the pitiful spectacle of washing his hands of blame for Jesus' death. "And Pilate, seeing that he prevailed nothing, washed his hands. before the people, saying: I am in nocent of the blood of this just Man; look you to it." When Pilate washed his hands of the blood of Jesus he consecrated his self-deception by an act of ceremonious mummery. 6. This drew forth the most awful self-imprecation recorded in history: And the whole people answering said: His blood be upon us and upon our children." Pilate had trembled at the thought of Jesus' blood being spattered upon his hands, but the Jews only gloated over the thought of its being upon their souls and upon their race for ever. their self-cursing is yet and blinded people. But who can describe the feelings of Jesus as He heard those awful words: His blood be upon us. Crucify Him! Crucify Him!" The anathema of upon this hapless Thus it was that the chief priests won their case before Rome's cowardly judge. Their persistence was stronger than his sense of justice, their hate conquered his reluctance to shed innocent blood. Pilate is an example of a safe, a statesmanlike, a moderate character, managing a difficult case and tiding over an awkward predicament. |