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救赎：基督受审和被钉致读者

本书所描写的基督的受苦、受审、被定罪、被钉十字架和受死，在基督徒的心目中永远受到最深的关注，并为一切抱着公正的态度阅读它的人开启了新的思维渠道。这里的亮光照耀在基督被钉前最后的教训和行动上，向乐意追求的人显明许多神圣的重要真理;上天赐予作者的特别亮光，向认真阅读的人展示。{5Red 2.1}

出版者

1、基督的受苦

逾越节的晚餐

文士和祭司们聚集商议怎样才能拿住耶稣而不引起民间的骚乱;因为许多目睹祂大能作为的人都相信祂是至高者的先知，若是企图对祂冒昧行事就会大大激起众怒。所以权贵们认定，公开施暴并非上策，最好有人叛变。{5Red 3.1}

那十二个人中的犹大私下提议要把耶稣卖到他们手里，领他们到救主常去祷告和退休的地方。在这个安静的场所，他们一定可以捉到祂，因为那里不会有群众反对他们。始终贪财的犹大与祭司和官长们约定，为三十块钱把他的夫子卖在他们手里。生命和荣耀的主竟被祂的一个门徒为区区三十块钱出卖，遭受耻辱和死亡。{5Red 3.2}

犹大的心并不是突然变得如此卑鄙败坏的。他贪爱财利，这种恶习象其它任何一种未受抑制的恶习一样，日益增长，越来越强，直到胜过了爱救主的心，他就成了一个拜偶像的人了。他的心志因贪婪而变得恶劣了;而一个受贪财之心奴役的人有犯任何罪行的危险。我们对犹大的背叛感到惊骇;但他的情况却代表一大批人的状况，他们虽然归在基督的旗下，实际上却是祂最恶劣的敌人。他们只崇拜自我和金钱，把基督徒的名号当作外衣，用来掩饰他们邪恶的行为。他们为金钱出卖自己的正直，为一点属世的利益出卖他们的救主。{5Red 3.3}

犹大和那些想要救主性命的人约定把夫子卖到他们手中之后，便与其他门徒混在一起，好像没有做什么错事，很关心为逾越节做准备似的。这个叛徒以为夫子看不透他卑鄙的企图，尽管每一天都有新的证据表明众人心中的思念和主意在祂面前都是赤露敞开的。{5Red 4.1}

耶稣与门徒在楼房相会，不久他们就看出有一件什么事重重地压在祂心上。终于，祂用令人伤感的声调说：“我很愿意在受害以先和你们吃这逾越节的筵席”(路22:15)。祂清楚地预见到即将发生的大事。祂预期到祂来要拯救之人的忘恩和残忍，看到他们因而注定的可怕命运，就极其忧伤，心如刀绞。{5Red 4.2}

耶稣与祂门徒在一起的交谈，经常是安静喜乐的时节，是他们大家所非常珍视的。过去几次逾越节的筵席，是特别有兴味;可是这一次耶稣却感到愁苦，祂的门徒虽然不知道其原因何在，但对于祂的忧愁却深表同情。这实际上是祂最后一次过逾越节;因为在上帝的羔羊为世人的罪孽被杀时候，预表要与原型相遇。{5Red 4.3}

“耶稣对他们说：我很愿意在受害以先和你们吃这逾越节的筵席。我告诉你们，我不再吃这筵席，直到成就在上帝的国里。耶稣接过杯来，祝谢了说：你们拿这个，大家分着喝。我告诉你们，从今以后，我不再喝这葡萄汁，直等上帝的国来到。又拿起饼来，祝谢了，就擘开，递给他们，说：这是我的身体，为你们舍的，你们也应当如此行，为的是记念我。饭后也照样拿起杯来，说：这杯是用我血所立的新约，是为你们流出来的”(路22:15-20)。主在这最后的一次逾越节设立了圣餐礼。{5Red 5.1}

那时耶稣用自己的榜样给门徒上了谦卑的一课。祂象仆人一样束上腰，洗了门徒的脚，同时严肃温柔地与他们交谈。祂是上帝无瑕无疵的圣子，却屈身洗跟从祂之人的脚，作为祂爱他们的一个最后的记号。祂完成这个任务之后，就对他们说：“我向你们所做的，你们明白吗?你们称呼我夫子，称呼我主，你们说的不错，我本来是。我是你们的主，你们的夫子，尚且洗你们的脚，你们也当彼此洗脚。我给你们作了榜样，叫你们照着我向你们所做的去做”(约13:12-15)。{5Red 5.2}

门徒中间起了争论：谁应该在祂的国里最受尊荣;因为他们尽管常常受到相反的明确指示，还是坚持认为耶稣会在耶路撒冷建立一个现世的国度;而最近祂的荣进圣城，以及祂接受他们的方式，振奋了他们心中的这种信仰。耶稣曾抑制过他们追求尊荣的渴望，而今又用一个谦卑仁爱的举动加强了祂的教训，为要使他们深感对于彼此的责任，他们非但不应为地位而争吵，反而应该看别人比自己强。{5Red 5.3}

门徒在逾越节与所爱的夫子一同就餐时，发现祂依然显得极其忧伤痛苦。一片乌云笼罩了他们，预示着某种可怕的灾难，其性质是他们所不明白的。他们默默进餐的时候，耶稣说：“我实实在在的告诉你们，你们中间有一个人要卖我了”(约13:21)。这句话令他们惊讶莫名，惊惶失措。他们不明白，他们中间怎么会有人背叛他们神圣的教师。他们为什么要出卖祂，卖给谁呢?谁的心能生出这种恶计呢!他们这十二个蒙恩的人既然一直比别人更有特权听祂的教训，体验祂奇妙非凡的爱，又蒙祂特别器重，竟然使他们与祂自己有亲密的交谊，他们中间肯定谁也不会出卖祂的! {5Red 6.1}

他们既充分了解祂这话的意思，也记得凡祂所说的话都是何等真实，他们心中就不禁惧怕并对自己怀疑起来了。他们开始省察自己，看看心里有没有藏着一点反对他们夫子的意念。他们以极痛苦的心情，一个一个地问耶稣说：“主，是我吗”(太26:22)?惟有犹大坐在那里默不作声。约翰大为困惑，最后问耶稣说：“主啊，是谁呢”(约13:25)?耶稣回答说：“同我蘸手在盘子里的，就是他要卖我。人子必要去世，正如经上指着祂所写的，但卖人子的人有祸了，那人不生在世上倒好”(太26:23,24)。当门徒问“主，是我吗”的时候，他们曾严密地彼此注视着每一个人的脸色。所以犹大的静默，使大家的视线都集中在他身上。在大家发问和表示惊异的混乱情形之中，犹大没有听见耶稣回答约翰的话。现在他为要避免众门徒的注意起见，就像他们一样问耶稣说，“拉比!是我吗?”耶稣严肃地回答说：“你说的是”(太26:25)。犹大因自己的罪行被揭露，不禁惊异狼狈，就赶紧起来离开楼房;但在他离开的时候，耶稣说：“你所做的，快做吧”(约13:27)! {5Red 6.2}

耶稣对待犹大所表示的忍耐，实在令人感动。主藉着向犹大显明上帝的儿子完全明了他一切的思想和意图，表达了无限的怜悯，再一次给了他悔改的机会。在犹大完成背叛之前，主屈尊给了犹大最后一个有关祂神性的令人信服的证据，以便他在为时太晚之前转意悔改。犹大虽然既惊讶又惊慌，却没有受感动而悔改。当他的罪行被揭露时，他反倒更加坚决要实现自己的计划。他出去要贯彻他卖主的阴谋。{5Red 7.1}

救主宣布犹大有祸时，有两重用意：第一是给这个虚伪的门徒最后一个机会，救他自己脱离叛徒的厄运;其次，要给其他门徒那证明祂为弥赛亚的最大凭据，揭露犹大隐密的意图。耶稣说：“我这话不是指着你们众人说的，我知道我所拣选的是谁。现在要应验经上的话，说：‘同我吃饭的人用脚踢我。’如今事情还没有成就，我要先告诉你们，叫你们到事情成就的时候，可以信我是基督”(约13:18,19)。{5Red 7.2}

犹大的退去使在场的人都感到轻松。救主立刻容光焕发，门徒们心头的压抑感也消除了，因为他们看到天国的亮光重新回到了主苍白疲倦的面容上。耶稣有许多话要对祂所爱的门徒讲，是祂不愿当着众人讲的，因为群众理解不了祂即将阐明的神圣真理。在主复活之前，就连门徒都不能充分理解这些真理。{5Red 8.1}

耶稣看着祂忠心的门徒说：“如今人子得了荣耀，上帝在人子身上也得了荣耀。上帝要因自己荣耀人子，并且要快快的荣耀祂”(约13:31,32)。然后祂就告诉他们祂不久就要与他们离别。可是在祂这样作之前，祂先指明了祂使命的伟大目的。祂把这目的永远摆在他们面前。祂的卑辱和受苦将要荣耀天父的名，这就是祂的喜乐。所以祂要先将祂门徒的思想引到这一个题目上去。热心的彼得不确定这事就不能罢休。他问道：“主往哪里去?”耶稣回答说：“我所去的地方，你现在不能跟我去，后来却要跟我去。”但这使彼得的兴趣更强烈了，他就催促耶稣充分解释祂话语的意思，说：“主啊，我为什么现在不能跟祢去?我愿意为祢舍命。”耶稣忧伤地回答说：“你愿意为我舍命吗?我实实在在的告诉你，鸡叫以先，你要三次不认我”(约13:36-38)。然后，祂怜爱地望着祂这小群人，不久他们就要被撇下，没有牧人了，祂便设法使他们的心思摆脱祂的话语给他们造成的困惑，温柔地说：“你们心里不要忧愁;你们信上帝，也当信我。在我父的家里有许多住处;若是没有，我就早已告诉你们了。我去原是为你们预备地方去。我若去为你们预备了地方，就必再来接你们到我那里去，我在哪里，叫你们也在那里。我往哪里去，你们知道;那条路，你们也知道”(约14:1-4)。{5Red 8.2}

耶稣以最深切的关怀倾心说出了安慰、劝勉和祷告的话，这些话会永远铭刻在祂门徒的心思意念中。救主口中所出的这些话，由受默示的约翰记载在《约翰福音》第十五、十六和十七章中，门徒们在大失望和大考验中一再重述这些话，好使自己的心不至消沉下去。然而直到主复活之后，他们才充分明白和赏识祂在这个难忘的场合所说的话。但救赎主在那个楼房所发出的真理已由门徒的见证传到全地，并且历久犹新，安慰灰心的人，给千万相信的人带来平安和盼望。{5Red 9.1}

耶稣和门徒离开了那间楼房，穿过汲沦溪。忧伤和痛苦再一次重重地压在祂心上。祂就以极悲痛的声调对门徒说：“今夜你们为我的缘故，都要跌倒，因为经上记着说，‘我要击打牧人，羊就分散了。’但我复活以后，要在你们以先往加利利去”(太26:31,32)。彼得再次急切地向主保证自己的忠诚，说：“众人虽然跌倒，我总不能”(可14:29)。耶稣却象从前一样责备他的自信说：“我实在告诉你，就在今天夜里，鸡叫两遍以先，你要三次不认我。”但彼得只是“极力地说，我就是必须和祢同死，也总不能不认祢，众门徒都是这样说”(可14:30,31)。{5Red 9.2}

耶稣和门徒一路往橄榄山脚的客西马尼园去，这是祂时常去与祂的父交通的幽静的地点。虽是夜间，但明月当空，在祂眼前照出一棵茂盛的葡萄树。祂叫门徒注意这棵树，说：“我是真葡萄树，我父是栽培的人。凡属我不结果子的枝子，祂就剪去;凡结果子的，祂就修理干净，使枝子结果子更多”(约15:1,2)。{5Red 10.1}

犹太民族是不结果子的枝子，所以要与活葡萄树基督耶稣分离。外邦人要被嫁接到树干上，成为活枝子，享有那滋养了真葡萄树的生命。这枝子要被修剪，以便多结果子。耶稣考虑到要和门徒分离，便劝诫他们要凭着信心坚定地与祂联络，好使他们成为活葡萄树的一部分，并且结出累累硕果。“你们要常在我里面，我也常在你们里面。枝子若不常在葡萄树上，自己就不能结果子;你们若不常在我里面，也是这样。我是葡萄树，你们是枝子。常在我里面的，我也常在他里面，这人就多结果子;因为离了我，你们就不能做什么”(约15:4,5)。{5Red 10.2}

当罪人悔改自己的罪，并且与基督联合，象枝子被嫁接在葡萄树上时，这人的性情就被改变，得以与上帝的性情有分。他就爱基督所爱，恨基督所恨。他的愿望就与上帝的旨意和谐一致了。他珍藏储存基督的话，祂的话也常在他里面。救主赐生命的原则就被传达给基督徒。就如没有叶子而且显然没有生命的幼枝被嫁接到活葡萄树上，纤维连纤维，脉络连脉络，从活葡萄树汲取生命和力量，直到长成母干上茂盛的枝子。{5Red 11.1}

祂还使他们铭记推进祂所开展之工作，并且结出果子来荣耀上帝的重要性：“不是你们拣选了我，是我拣选了你们，并且分派你们去结果子，叫你们的果子常存，使你们奉我的名，无论向父求什么，祂就赐给你们”(约15:16)。门徒们是蒙拣选保管上帝真理的人。他们是证人，见证天父承认耶稣是上帝的儿子。他们已见过祂的奇事，听过祂的教训，他们的本分是要把救恩的信息传给世人，以便藉着他们的证据，人们可以用活泼的信心持住基督。门徒就要这样结出果子来荣耀上帝。{5Red 11.2}

耶稣叫门徒放心，祂决不会撇弃他们，而要披上能力，并要成为他们的中保，在天父右边，好呈上他们奉祂儿子的名所做的祈求。门徒当时没有充分理解夫子这话的意思，但后来在他们的宗教经验中，他们珍爱这宝贵的应许，并奉耶稣的名向天父呈上他们的祈求。{5Red 11.3}

耶稣警告门徒不要期待世人的称赞。祂说：“世人若恨你们，你们知道，恨你们以先已经恨我了。你们若属世界，世界必爱属自己的;只因你们不属世界，乃是我从世界中拣选了你们，所以世界就恨你们”(约15:18,19)。那些与世界有一样精神的人会得到世人的笑容和嘉许;但耶稣的谦卑门徒却要遭受嘲笑和逼迫。耶稣说他们会为祂名的缘故被带到君王和官长面前，而且凡想要杀他们的，都会大受撒但欺骗，还以为自己是在侍奉上帝。人的智巧所能发明出来的各种侮辱和残忍行为都会加在跟从基督之人身上。但他们在这一切的磨难中要记得，他们的主也经受过同样的羞辱和苦难。他们要记住祂的话：“仆人不能大于主人。他们若逼迫了我，也要逼迫你们;若遵守了我的话，也要遵守你们的话。但他们因我的名要向你们行这一切的事，因为他们不认识那差我来的”(约15:20,21)。{5Red 12.1}

耶稣谨慎地将祂死后的大事展开在门徒面前，以便当逼迫临身时，他们可以预备好忍受，而不要受试探背离真道以避免苦难和羞辱。祂逐渐地引导他们明白他们要传给世人的大主题，使他们铭记他们所处地位的重要性，他们曾目睹上帝对祂儿子的奇妙显现，曾见过基督行奇事，领受祂智慧的言语。祂说：“你们也要作见证，因为你们从起头就与我同在”(约15:27)。那些门徒的历史，以及他们要记录的证据，要成为历代有思想之人研究的对象。{5Red 12.2}

耶稣对门徒明说祂曾离开祂的父面前，到世上来，而今祂要离开世界，回到祂的父那里去。但祂没有给他们脑中塞进太多的东西使他们搞不懂。祂说：“我还有好些事要告诉你们，但你们现在担当不了”(约16:12)。耶稣知道他们没有坚强到足以能听有关祂受辱受死的全部奇妙真理。在祂复活之后，他们才能更好地明白和赏识这些真理。{5Red 13.1}

耶稣只有一点时间安慰和指示祂那一小群信徒了。祂告别的劝勉充满了同情和真理。与所爱的夫子共度的最后那些时刻对门徒来说是极其宝贵的。祂当时象一位分别为圣的大祭司向天父倾诉心中的重担，为祂的教会献上了众天使从未听过的祈求。这个祷告深刻而丰满，广如大地，高及上天。祂用人性的膀臂坚定地抱住亚当的子孙，用祂强壮的神性膀臂握住无穷之主的宝座，就这样将地与天、将有限的人和无限的上帝连接起来。{5Red 13.2}

2、客西马尼园

救赎主和祂的门徒慢慢地走向客西马尼园。逾越节之夜的满月从无云的天空照耀着大地。从各地来过节的人所搭的帐篷皆已沉寂无声。{5Red 14.1}

耶稣一路和祂的门徒亲切地交谈，并教导他们。及至走近客西马尼园，祂就变得异常沉默。门徒们不知所措，忧虑不安地注意祂的面部表情，希望能看出夫子发生这种改变的原因。他们虽常见祂情绪低落，但从来没有见过祂这样极度忧伤和沉默。祂越往前走，这种令人惊异的忧伤就越为沉重。然而他们不敢问祂究竟是为什么缘故。祂的身体摇摆不定，好像即将仆倒。门徒便急切地寻找祂经常退修的地方，以便他们的夫子可以休息。{5Red 14.2}

进园的时候，祂对同伴们说：“你们坐在这里，等我到那边去祷告”(太26:36)。祂选择彼得、雅各和约翰陪祂走到园内僻静的地方。祂习惯到这个退隐之地来，用热切的祷告振奋自己的精神，好应付考验和责任，祂常常整夜都是这样度过的。在这种情形之下，祂的门徒经常儆醒祷告片时，然后便安睡在离他们夫子不远的地方，直到清早祂唤醒他们重新出去作工。所以，耶稣的这个举动并没有引起门徒注意。{5Red 14.3}

现在救主每走一步都感到非常费力。祂大声呻吟着，似乎被压在可怕的重担之下;可是祂为了使所拣选的那三个门徒不受到惊吓，就充分解释了祂要遭受的痛苦。倘若没有门徒扶着祂，有两次祂就要跌在地上了。耶稣觉得必须更孤独些，便对那三个蒙恩的门徒说：“我心里甚是忧伤，几乎要死;你们在这里等候，和我一同警醒”(太26:38)。门徒以前从未听过祂说这么悲伤的话。祂的身体因极度的痛苦而抽搐，祂苍白的面容显出一种无法形容的忧伤。{5Red 15.1}

祂走到离门徒稍远一点的地方——不是很远，只是到他们能看见祂听到祂的地方——便俯伏在寒冷的地面上。祂被一种可怕的恐惧压倒了，惟恐上帝正在离开祂。祂感到自己因罪的鸿沟而与祂的父隔开了。这相隔的鸿沟是那么宽，那么黑，又是那么深，甚至祂的心灵为之战栗不已。祂抽搐着紧紧地伏在冰冷的地上，似乎是要避免自己被迫离开上帝更远。深夜的寒露落在祂俯伏着的身上，但救赎主毫不介意。从祂灰白抽搐的嘴唇中发出悲痛的呼求，说：“我父啊!倘若可行，求祢叫这杯离开我。然而不要照我的意思，只要照祢的意思”(太26:39)。{5Red 15.2}

那使上帝的儿子遭受这种极端痛苦的，并不是因为害怕祂不久就要遭受的身体上的痛苦;而是因为祂正在承受人类犯罪的刑罚，在天父的不悦之下战栗不已。祂不可以让自己的神性来帮助祂。祂作为一个人，必须承受人类犯罪的结果和创造主对其悖逆百姓的不悦。祂既感到自己与天父的联合中断了，就害怕自己的人性经受不住与黑暗权势之君迫近的斗争;那样人类就会无可挽救地沦丧，撒但就会得胜，地球就会成为他的王国。世人的罪重重地压在救主身上，使他俯伏在地;因世人的罪而招致的天父的愤怒似乎在摧毁祂的生命。{5Red 15.3}

基督在旷野的试探中与撒但斗争时，人类的命运曾危在旦夕。但基督得胜了。试探者暂时离开了祂。如今他又回来作最后一次可怕的斗争。在基督服务的三年期间，撒但一直为这最后的尝试作准备。这最后一搏对他来说至关重要。他这次若失败了，就没有掌权的希望了。地上的国最终就会成为的基督的国，祂会“捆住那壮士”(太12:29)，并把他驱逐出去。{5Red 16.1}

在救主这次遭受极度痛苦的时候，门徒起先很不安，因为看到他们素常那么镇静庄严的夫子在与言语无法形容的忧伤搏斗;但他们很疲倦，终于睡着了，撇下祂独自受痛苦。约过了一小时，耶稣感到需要人的同情，便痛苦地挣扎着起来，踉踉跄跄地来到同伴们那里。可是却没有同情的面容在祂长久的挣扎之后问候祂;门徒们都沉睡了。唉!要是他们认识到这是他们与所爱的夫子在地上为人时一起度过的最后一夜，要是他们知道明天祂会遭遇什么事，他们就不会屈服于睡眠的机能了。{5Red 16.2}

耶稣的声音惊醒了他们。他们看到祂向他们俯身，祂的表情和态度显出祂已极度筋疲力尽。祂素常平静的面貌因剧烈的痛苦而改变了，以致他们几乎认不出祂来。祂选出西门彼得来，对他说：“西门!你睡觉吗?不能儆醒片时吗”(可14:37)?西门啊，如今你自夸的忠诚在哪里呢?你最近还宣称能与主同死同坐监，却在祂遭受痛苦和试探的时辰撇下祂，享受熟睡安歇! {5Red 17.1}

那曾靠着耶稣胸膛的蒙爱的门徒约翰，现在也睡着了。约翰对他夫子所有的爱，总应该使他儆醒吧?在他所爱的救主最忧伤的时候，他总应该与祂一同恳切祈祷吧?自我牺牲的救赎主过去常在寒冷的山间或林间用整夜的工夫为祂的门徒祈祷，使他们不至于在受试探的时候失了信心。倘若现在耶稣问雅各、约翰从前所问过的一个问题：“我所喝的杯，你们能喝吗?我所受的洗，你们能受吗?”他们就不敢像过去那样回答说：“我们能”(太20:22)了。{5Red 17.2}

门徒的软弱引起了上帝儿子的怜悯和同情。祂惟恐他们在祂被卖及钉死的时候，经不起那必然临到他们身上的考验。祂没有因他们的软弱而严厉地责备他们，只说：“总要儆醒祷告，免得入了迷惑。”祂的心灵既体恤他们的软弱，就为他们没能对祂尽责说出一个理由：“你们心灵固然愿意，肉体却软弱了”(可14:38)。{5Red 18.1}

这时，上帝的儿子又被非人类所能忍受的痛苦所袭，于是祂筋疲力尽，步履蹒跚地回到先前挣扎的地方去。祂再次俯伏在地上。祂的痛苦较前更甚。园中的柏树和棕榈树，似乎在沉默地望着祂受苦。从它们茂密的枝条上，落下大滴的露水在祂憔悴的身上，好像自然界也在为那单独与黑暗势力斗争的创造主流泪呢! {5Red 18.2}

不久之前，耶稣曾像一棵高大的香柏树巍然屹立，与那向祂侵袭的暴风雨相抗衡。顽固的意志和充满恶毒和诡诈的人心，曾妄想扰乱和制胜祂。但祂以上帝儿子的神圣威严屹然而立。现在祂却像一根被狂怒的风暴所袭击而弯折的芦苇。不久以前，祂曾以高贵的言辞向门徒倾吐心声，自称与天父为一，且用具有神圣权威之人才能说的话将祂所拣选的教会揽在怀中。现在祂发出的则是强忍着的痛苦哀号声，祂紧紧地伏在冰冷的地上，似乎为得解脱。{5Red 18.3}

救主的话传到昏睡的门徒耳中，说：“我父啊!这杯若不能离开我，必要我喝，就愿祢的旨意成全”(太26:42)。上帝爱子的痛苦迫使祂的毛孔中滴出了血汗。祂再次摇摇晃晃地站起来，祂人性的心怀渴望祂同伴们的同情，祂便到门徒正睡觉的地方去。耶稣既来到他们身边，他们就醒过来了。他们看见祂脸上痛苦的血汗，心中便充满了恐惧。他们不明白祂心灵上的剧痛。{5Red 19.1}

祂没有再跟他们讲话，而是又离开他们，回到原来祷告的地方，祂既为大黑暗的恐怖所压倒，便俯伏在地。上帝儿子所具有的人性，在这考验的时辰中战栗不已。那可怕的时刻已经来到，——那时刻将要决定世界的终局。天军都以强烈的兴趣等候着结果。人类的命运正在天平上摇摆不定。就是现在，上帝的儿子还可以拒绝喝那犯罪人类当喝的杯。祂尽可以从祂的额上擦去血汗，而听凭人类在他们的罪孽中灭亡。无穷上帝的儿子愿意喝那屈辱剧痛的苦杯吗?那无罪的一位愿意承受上帝咒诅的结果，以拯救有罪的人吗?从耶稣灰白的嘴唇战战兢兢地说出以下的话：“我父啊!这杯若不能离开我，必要我喝，就愿祢的旨意成全”(太26:42)。{5Red 19.2}

祂三次发出这样的祈祷。三次，祂的人性因那最后的大牺牲而畏缩不前。但现在人类的历史呈现在世界的救赎主面前。祂看出如果不管那些违犯律法的人，他们就必在天父的不悦之下灭亡。祂看出罪恶的势力，也看到人类完全无力自救。随后，一个注定遭劫之世界的灾难和悲哀出现在祂面前。祂看到世界迫近的厄运，于是下了决心。祂愿意付任何代价来拯救人类。祂接受血的洗礼，使千百万将亡的人可以藉着祂而得永生。祂已经离开了完全圣洁、快乐、荣耀的天庭，来拯救一只迷失的羊，就是这个因犯罪而堕落的世界。现在祂决不偏离祂所拣选的使命。祂要到达痛苦不幸的深渊，好搭救沦丧堕落的人类。{5Red 19.3}

既作了这个决定，并且到了最后的紧要关头，祂便像9死去一样仆倒在地。请问，这时祂的门徒在哪里呢?他们何不用手轻轻地扶起他们倒在地上的夫子，擦去那比世人更憔悴的额上的血迹呢?救主“独自踹酒榨，众民中无一人与祂同在”(赛63:3)。可是祂原不是独自一人。祂曾说过：“我与父原为一”(约10:30)。上帝是与祂儿子一同受苦的。人类无法理解无穷的上帝在舍了祂的儿子去受羞辱、痛苦和死亡时所做出的牺牲。这是天父对人类无边大爱的证据。{5Red 20.1}

在天上遵行基督旨意的众天使很渴望去安慰祂;但他们无力减轻祂的忧伤。他们从未感受到堕落世界的罪恶，所以惊讶地看着他们所崇拜爱慕的对象遭受着无法形容的忧伤。虽然门徒们没能在主作斗争的难堪时辰同情祂，全天庭却充满了同情，并且心痛地关注等候着结果。当主最后作出决定时，一位天使便奉差从上帝的宝座而来，照顾受打击的救赎主。{5Red 20.2}

门徒忽然被照耀并环绕着上帝儿子的荣光所惊醒。他们大吃一惊，跳了起来，看见天使披着亮光，跪在他们仆倒在地的夫子身边。他们看见天使用右手捧起救主的头到自己的胸前，并用左手指天。他们听见他的声音好像最甜美的音乐，说出安慰的话，提醒基督祂胜过强悍狡敌的重大结果。门徒想起登山变像的情景，记得在圣殿中环绕着耶稣的荣耀，以及从云彩中发出来的上帝的声音。现在有相同的荣耀再度显现，他们就不再为他们的主而担心了。祂是在上帝照顾之下;一位大能的天使已奉差遣来保护祂。随后门徒又被那压服他们的非常困倦所胜。耶稣又发现他们睡着了。基督是胜过撒但的，而祂得胜的结果，则是数百万的人要与祂在荣耀的国里一同得胜。{5Red 21.1}

对人来说幸运的是，天使没有奉差来告诉救主说祂三次的祷告“让这杯离开我”已经得蒙准许了。否则门徒确实可能继续睡下去，困锁在绝望的睡眠里。然而天使却奉命从天而来，是要支持救赎主喝下那端到祂面前的苦杯。如今祂的祷告用语改变了，祂以顺服的精神祷告说：“这杯若不能离开我，必要我喝，就愿祢的旨意成全”(太26:42)。现在救主苍白而血迹斑斑的脸上有了属天的平静。{5Red 21.2}

天使的荣耀令门徒眼花缭乱。他们想起登山变像的情景，记得在圣殿中环绕着耶稣的荣耀，以及从云彩中发出来的上帝的声音。现在有相同的荣耀再度显现，他们就不再为他们的主而担心了。因为祂是在上帝照顾之下;一位大能的天使已奉差遣来保护祂脱离祂的敌人们。随后门徒又被那压服他们的非常困倦所胜，又睡着了。{5Red 22.1}

世界的救主起来，第三次到祂门徒那里去，发现他们又在沉睡。祂以忧伤的表情望着他们。祂的话惊醒了他们：“现在你们仍然睡觉安歇吧，时候到了，人子被卖在罪人手里了”(太26:45)。{5Red 22.2}

正当祂说话的时候，便听见那寻找祂的暴徒的脚步声，于是祂说：“起来!我们走吧，看哪!卖我的人近了。”犹大带头，大祭司紧跟着他。当敌人走近时，耶稣转身对门徒说：“起来!我们走吧，看哪!卖我的人近了”(太26:46)。救主的面容显出镇静庄严的表情，当祂迎着卖祂的人走去的时候，祂刚才痛苦的痕迹已完全不见了。{5Red 22.3}

祂站在门徒的前头说：“你们找谁?他们回答说：找拿撒勒人耶稣。”耶稣回答说，“我就是”(约18:4,5)。当祂说这一句话的时候，暴徒都踉跄后退，祭司、长老、兵丁、甚至犹大，都无力地仆倒在地。这使耶稣有充足的机会可以逃走，只要祂选择这么做。但祂仍站在那里，好像是已经得了荣耀，立在那些粗鄙刚硬的人之中。当耶稣回答说“我就是”的时候，那方才伺候耶稣的天使，便置身于耶稣和杀人的暴徒之间。他们看见一道神圣的光芒照在救主的脸上，并有一个像鸽子的形体遮蔽着祂。他们邪恶的心肠便充满了恐惧。在这种神圣荣光的显现之下，他们片刻难当，都像死人一样仆倒在地。{5Red 22.4}

天使退去，荣光消逝。耶稣仍泰然自若地站在那里，月光照在祂苍白的面容上，周围是仆倒在地毫无力气的人们，门徒则惊得哑口无言。天使离开后，罗马兵丁才开始站起来，祭司们和犹大也都来围着基督。他们似乎为自己的懦弱而羞愧，同时又怕祂还要逃脱他们的手。于是救赎主再问他们说：“你们找谁?”他们又回答说：“找拿撒勒人耶稣。”救主便说：“我已经告诉你们，我就是。”于是指着门徒说：“你们若找我，就让这些人去吧”(约18:7,8)。在这种屈辱的时辰，基督也没有为自己着想，而是为祂所爱的门徒着想。祂希望救他们免受进一步的力量考验。{5Red 23.1}

叛徒犹大没有忘记他所要作的事。他走到耶稣面前，好像知己的朋友一样，拉着祂的手，与祂亲嘴。耶稣对他说：“朋友!你来要作的事，就作吧。”祂说这话时，声音因忧伤而震颤：“你用亲嘴的暗号卖人子吗”(太26:50;路22:48)?这一句话本应当激发那叛徒的天良，打动他的铁石心肠，可是廉耻、正气和人间的感情都已离开了他。他胆大倨傲地站着，毫无谦和的表示。他已经把自己交给撒但，所以没有力量抵抗他。耶稣没有拒绝叛徒的亲吻。祂就这样给我们树立了容忍、仁爱和怜悯的榜样，是无与伦比的。{5Red 23.2}

杀人的暴徒们虽然因所见到和所感受到的事而惊奇敬畏，但是他们看见犹大摸着那刚才在他们眼前显出荣耀的人，便又大胆狂妄起来。他们来捉拿耶稣，并着手捆绑祂那经常行善的双手。{5Red 24.1}

门徒看见那帮强悍的人无力地仆倒在地上时，就认为他们的夫子肯定不会让人捉拿自己的。因为那曾使暴徒像死人一样的仆倒在地的同一个能力，也能使他们一直没有办法，直到耶稣和祂的同伴逃跑。及至门徒看见暴徒拿出绳子，捆绑他们所爱之主的双手时，他们便大失所望，愤愤不平。彼得勃然大怒，冒失地拔出刀来，砍掉大祭司仆人的一只耳朵。{5Red 24.2}

耶稣看见彼得所做的事，便松开罗马兵丁所紧紧捆住的两手，说：“到了这个地步，由他们吧”(路22:51)!并摸那受伤的耳朵，耳朵立时就好了。于是对彼得说：“收刀入鞘吧，凡动刀的，必死在刀下，你想我不能求我父，现在为我差遣十二营多天使来吗?若是这样，经上所说，事情必须如此的话，怎么应验呢?”“我父所给我的那杯，我岂可不喝呢”(太26:52-54;约18:11)?耶稣转向帮助组建那帮杀人暴徒的祭司长、守殿官并长老，对他们说：“你们带着刀棒出来拿我，如同拿强盗吗?我天天教训人，同你们在殿里，你们并没有拿我。但这事成就，为要应验经上的话”(可14:48,49)。{5Red 24.3}

门徒看见耶稣没有救自己脱离敌人的手，反而让人拿住并捆绑祂，便因祂容忍这样的侮辱临到自己和他们身上，就大为不平。他们刚才还看到祂权能的表现，令那些来捉拿祂的暴徒们仆倒在地，还看到祂医好被彼得砍掉一只耳朵的那个仆人的耳朵，他们知道祂若愿意就能救祂自己脱离这帮行凶暴徒的手。他们因祂没有这么做而心里责怪祂，并因不能理解祂的行为而感到羞辱和惊惧，就“都离开祂逃走了”(太26:56)。但基督早已预言这件事说：“看哪!时候将到，且是已经到了，你们要分散，各归自己的地方去，留下我独自一人，其实我不是独自一人，因为有父与我同在”(约16:32)。{5Red 25.1}

犹大也很惊讶，耶稣竟把自己交在那些谋害祂的人手里。他常得知救主的敌人们要设计捉拿祂，但耶稣总是会悄悄离开，挫败他们的毒计。如今这个叛徒却惊讶地看到他的夫子竟让自己被捆绑并带走了。这个虚伪的门徒自以为耶稣让自己被捉拿只是为要显出权能，以一种非凡的方式救自己脱离敌人的手。他知道此外谁也不能救祂脱离那帮武装分子。犹太人三年来一直在密谋捉拿祂，而今他们既然达到了目的，就不会让祂逃脱死亡了。{5Red 25.2}

耶稣被暴徒们呵斥催促着行路。祂被捆绑并被严密地看守着，所以行路颇为痛苦。祂先被解到现任大祭司的岳父亚那的公馆里去。犹太人请示并遵行这人的指示，犹如上帝的命令一般。亚那渴望先看到拿撒勒人耶稣成为阶下囚。让亚那看过之后，祂又被匆匆带走了。因为祭司和官长们曾决定，要是拿住了祂，就要立刻审讯并定祂的罪。这是因为他们惧怕百姓。百姓既记得祂在他们中间所行慈善怜悯的行为，就会救祂脱离他们的手。{5Red 26.1}

3、在审判厅里

那群武装暴徒带着他们的囚犯穿过黑暗狭窄的街道，用灯笼火把照路，因为当时还是凌晨，天色很暗。救主在侮辱和嘲笑中被匆匆带到现任大祭司该亚法的官邸。祂在这里被逼迫祂的人粗暴地控告，被祭司轻蔑地质问，且被所有聚集在那里的人辱骂。然而当救主忍受这种审问的愚弄时，祂的心却被一种比祂的敌人们所能造成的剧痛更厉害的痛苦刺透了。那时祂听到祂所爱的门徒发咒起誓说不认得祂。{5Red 27.1}

耶稣的两个门徒在客西马尼园离弃了他们的夫子之后，曾回过神来，斗胆远远地跟随那解着耶稣的暴徒。这两个门徒就是彼得和约翰。祭司认识约翰是耶稣的一个众所周知的门徒，所以让他进到救主受审的院子里，希望约翰看到他夫子所受的屈辱，就会感染鼓动他敌人们的那种精神，不屑于相信遭受这样侮辱的人是上帝的儿子了。约翰替彼得说了一声，彼得也进去了。{5Red 27.2}

这时将近破晓，是夜里最冷的时候，所以院子里生着火。有一群人围着那火，彼得冒昧地挤在他们中间，站着烤火。他不希望有人认出自己是耶稣的门徒，所以装出不在乎的样子混在众人当中，希望别人当他是一个捉拿耶稣的人。{5Red 27.3}

但是火光照着彼得的脸，那个看门的使女仔细地看了他一下。她记得这个人曾与约翰一同进来，就猜想他或许是耶稣的一个门徒。这个使女便用一种奚落的态度对彼得说：“你不也是这人的门徒吗”(约18:17)?彼得惊慌失措了。众人立时都注目看他。彼得假装不明白她的话，但那使女一直向周围的人说，这人是耶稣一伙的。彼得觉得不能不回答了，于是发怒说：“女子!我不认得祂”(路22:57)。这是彼得第一次不承认耶稣，立时鸡就叫了。可怜的彼得啊!这么快就羞辱了你的夫子，这么快就否认了你的主!救主在祂的屈辱中被祂最热心的一个门徒羞辱并离弃了。{5Red 28.1}

彼得起先不希望别人知道他的真身份。他装作漠不关心的样子，就是把自己放在仇敌的势力范围之内，成为容易受撒但试探的目标。他想在表面上显示不关心他夫子受审的事，但当他听见那残酷的辱骂，并看见主所受的嘲笑和虐待时，心中不胜悲痛。而且他想到耶稣竟肯忍受这样的待遇，甚至羞辱自己和祂的门徒，心中又不胜惊奇而恼怒。他心中既有这些矛盾的情绪，就很难保持漠不关心的态度。但为要掩饰他的真正情绪，他就与逼迫耶稣的人一同说一些不适当的戏言。可是他的态度是很不自然的。{5Red 28.2}

他的行动既是虚伪的，所以他讲话的时候虽然装出漠不关心的样子，却不能抑制那因堆在他夫子头上的侮辱而感到的愤怒。因而他又一次被人注意到了，又有人说他是耶稣的一个门徒。这一次他发誓否认这种指控。鸡叫了第二遍，但彼得没有听见，因为他一心想要装假到底。大祭司的一个仆人，是被彼得削掉耳朵的那人的亲属，问他说：“我不是看见你同祂在园子里吗?”“你真是他们一党的，因为你是加利利人。”“你的口音把你露出来了”(约18:26;可14:70;太26:73)。{5Red 29.1}

彼得听了这些话，就勃然大怒。这时彼得为要彻底欺骗询问他的人，并证明自己虚伪的身份，就发咒起誓地不承认他的夫子。立时鸡叫了第三遍。这一次彼得听见了，当那卑鄙的咒语还在他口内，那尖锐的鸡鸣还在他耳中的时候，救主从那些横眉怒目的审判官前转过身来，正面望着这个可怜的门徒。同时彼得的眼睛也恰好看到他的夫子。在耶稣那温和的面貌上，彼得看出深切的慈悲和忧伤，并没有一点的怒容。{5Red 29.2}

彼得的良心觉悟了，他的记忆恢复了。彼得想起在短短的几个小时之前，他曾应许和他的主一同坐监，一同舍命。他想起当救主在楼房里告诉他，今天夜里他要三次不认主的时候，他心中是何等的委屈不平。彼得刚才声明他不认识耶稣，可是现在他极悲痛地看出他的主是如何彻底认识他的为人，如何准确地洞悉他的内心，而他竟不知道自己的虚伪。他心里悲叹，因为他认识到他的夫子不仅在敌人手中忍受了最苦毒的屈辱，还在祂一个门徒的手中遭受了额外的羞辱，这个门徒在祂受审的时候竟然离弃祂，不肯认祂。{5Red 29.3}

基督的那一望促成了彼得的悔改。彼得在那一瞥中看出了忧伤、慈爱和原谅。彼得这时思潮起伏。救主的亲切怜悯、祂的仁爱宽容，以及祂对门徒的温柔和忍耐——这一切，他都想起来了。他回忆救主的警戒：“西门!西门!撒但想要得着你们，好筛你们像筛麦子一样，但我已经为你祈求，叫你不至于失了信心”(路22:31,32)。他又想到自己卑鄙的忘恩负义、虚伪和妄誓，就非常自怨自恨。于是他再向他的夫子望了一望，只见一只亵慢的手举起来打祂的脸。他再也看不下去，他的心碎了，他从审判厅中冲出去了。{5Red 30.1}

他在黑暗之中单独向前急行，不知道也不管往哪里去，最后他无意中到了客西马尼园。几小时之前，他在这里沉睡，而救主却在与黑暗的权势搏斗。那为血汗所染污，并因剧痛而痉挛的圣颜，又出现在他眼前。他痛心地回忆耶稣曾在这里独自祷告、哀哭、挣扎，而那些在磨炼的时候应当与祂患难与共的人却睡着了。他记起救主严肃的忠告：“总要儆醒祷告，免得入了迷惑”(太26:41)。几小时之前的情景，活活地浮上心头。他再次目睹了耶稣的眼泪和呻吟。他知道自己在救主的屈辱和忧愁之外，又给祂加上了最沉重的打击。想到这里，他不禁悔恨交加，心碎肠断，仆倒在他的主在无法形容的惨痛之下仆倒的同一地点。{5Red 30.2}

彼得的第一个错误就是在基督吩咐他要警醒祷告时睡着了。在最关键的时刻，上帝的儿子需要他的同情和衷心祈祷的时候，他却不能满足祂的需要。众门徒因睡觉而遭受了很大的损失。耶稣原计划要加强他们，使他们能忍受即将遭受的严峻考验。要是他们在那段悲伤的时间在园中与亲爱的救主一同警醒，并祷告上帝，彼得就不至于倚靠自己微薄的力量，也不至于不认他的主了。{5Red 31.1}

门徒们本应该以高尚的尽心祈祷度过这个重要的夜更，这会使他们得到力量，目睹上帝的儿子所受可怕的痛苦。他们就可以在看见祂钉十字架的时候有所准备了。他们就能多少明白祂所受非常之惨痛的性质，也就更能回忆祂预先所告诉他们关于祂受苦、受死和复活的话了。在那最黑暗时辰的忧郁之中，就会有一线的希望照亮他们的黑暗并支持他们的信心了。基督已预先告诉他们将要发生这些事。祂知道在祂的门徒应该警醒祷告时，黑暗权势会用来麻痹他们意识的能力。{5Red 31.2}

门徒约翰进入审判厅时，没有想隐瞒他是跟从耶稣的人。他没有杂在那些辱骂嘲笑他夫子的人群当中。别人也没有质问他，因为他没有隐瞒自己的身份，使别人猜疑他。他找到一个不至受暴徒注意，而同时又是离耶稣最近的地方。在那里他能看见并听到他的主受审时所有的情形。{5Red 32.1}

假使要彼得为他的夫子争战，他必是一个勇敢的战士。但当一个轻蔑的手指着他时，他却显明是一个懦夫了。许多不怕为他们的主积极争战的人，常因仇敌的讥诮而否认了他们的信仰。他们与所应该避免的人为伍，就把自己置于试探之下。他们无异邀请仇敌来试探他们，使他们在言语和行为上，犯了一些在其他情况之下所决不至犯的错误。今日的基督徒，因为怕受痛苦或是怕受侮辱而隐瞒自己的信仰，就是否认了他们的主，与彼得在审判厅里所作的没有什么分别。总有些人自夸有思想和行动的自由，讥笑本着良心害怕做错之人的审慎。然而如果义人被说服，放弃自己的信仰，那些被撒但用来引诱他们灭亡的人就会藐视他们。{5Red 32.2}

然而彼得和约翰却看到耶稣受了许多嘲弄式的审问。必须有一种合法审判的借口;而且要严格保密，免得百姓得着消息并前来作见证为耶稣辩护，把祂所行大能的事公诸于众。这就必激起民众对于犹太公会的公愤。他们的处理办法会被认为不当，而耶稣会被释放，并受到群众又一次的尊荣。{5Red 33.1}

当公会议员正在集合的时候，亚那和祭司该亚法又审问了耶稣一次，想要惹祂说出一些对祂不利的言论。他们希望确定祂两条罪案，凭其中一条或两条定祂的罪。一条告祂扰乱治安，是叛乱的领袖。若是这条罪案得到证实，罗马当局就会定祂的罪。另一条罪案控告祂是一个亵渎的人。这条若得到证实，犹太人就会定祂的罪。{5Red 33.2}

大祭司质问耶稣关于祂所讲的道和那些相信祂的门徒。耶稣简要地回答说：“我从来是明明的对世人说话。我常在会堂和殿里，就是犹太人聚集的地方教训人;我在暗地里并没有说什么。你为什么问我呢?可以问那听见的人，我对他们说的是什么;我所说的，他们都知道”(约18:20,21)。{5Red 33.3}

耶稣很清楚质问祂的人想要引祂说出会使罗马当局担心的言论，以为祂在设法建立一个秘密组织，企图最终建立一个新的王国。所以祂就对亚那明说，关于祂的宗旨或教训，祂没有一点不可告人的事。祂转向质问祂的人，以惊人的强调说：“你为什么问我呢?”祭司和官长们岂没有差奸细窥探祂的行动，并把祂的每一句话都报告给他们吗?这些奸细岂不是每次都参加民众的集会，把祂一切的言行报告给祭司吗?耶稣回答说：“可以问那听见的人，我对他们说的是什么。”祂的话对亚那是一种斥责，他数月以来紧紧地跟着祂，想要使祂陷入圈套并带祂到百姓不能发言的秘密法庭前，以便用假见证来达到他们用正当的方法所不能达到的目的。{5Red 34.1}

耶稣的话如此切身率直，以致大祭司觉得这个囚犯能看透他的心。亚那虽因这些话而对耶稣充满了仇恨，但他却掩饰了这种仇恨，直到有更合适的机会发泄他的恶毒和嫉妒。然而大祭司的一个仆人既以为他的主人没有得到应得的尊敬，就打耶稣的脸，说：“你这样回答大祭司吗?”对于这种侮辱的问题和击打，耶稣温和地回答说：“我若说的不是，你可以指证那不是，我若说的是，你为什么打我呢”(约18:22,23)? {5Red 34.2}

天上的至尊原可叫祂各营忠诚的天使来帮助，保护祂脱离狠毒的仇敌。但祂的使命却是在人性中温柔地忍受嘲弄和鞭打，给人留下一个忍耐克制的榜样。耶稣落在其手中的那些人丝毫不尊重这种庄严的克制。祂是他们的阶下囚，使他们向祂发泄他们败坏的心肠所能发明的最卑鄙的侮辱。{5Red 35.1}

当议会都聚集在审判厅时，该亚法便主持审判。这人曾视耶稣为他的劲敌。救主的纯朴结合祂的口才，吸引了大批的群众去听祂的教训，其中所含的智慧是他们在祭司或文士的口中从未听到过的。人们渴望听耶稣讲道并甘愿接受祂的道理，曾引起大祭司苦毒的嫉妒。{5Red 35.2}

耶稣从容沉静地站在大祭司面前，众人的眼睛都盯着祂，极其兴奋。该亚法望着这个囚徒，一时之间突然对祂尊贵的仪表心生景仰。他不由地觉悟到这个人的确是很像上帝。但是这种思想在他心中只是昙花一现。他随即藐视了这种想法，立刻就用讥诮傲慢的声调吩咐耶稣在他们面前行一件曾使祂在民间大有名声的奇事。但救主好像没有听见他的话似地默不作声。{5Red 35.3}

众人不由地将亚那和该亚法那种激怒凶恶的态度，与耶稣镇定庄严的风度作了比较。救主身上似乎散发出一种圣洁的感化力，弥漫在祂周围的空气中。连这些硬着心肠的民众心中也生发了一个问题：难道这么像上帝的人要被当作一个普通囚犯而定罪吗?该亚法看出可能产生的影响，就赶紧进行审问。他在审判席上就位，而耶稣则站在审判席下。两边都是审判官和对审判特别感兴趣的人。罗马兵丁则排列在审判席下面的审判台上。{5Red 36.1}

大祭司穿着华丽的衣袍站起来，他戴着闪闪发光的冠冕和贵重的胸牌，在从前的日子，胸牌上常有上帝的荣耀闪现。这种炫耀的装扮与耶稣的粗布衣服形成了鲜明的对比。可是祂这个穿着简朴衣服的人却曾在天庭施行统治，穿着光明的衣服，由圣天使陪伴。但祂在这里却站在属世的审判席脚下，为自己的生命受审。{5Red 36.2}

祭司和官长们间一起商议，必须定耶稣的罪，无论他们能不能提供祂有罪的证据。必须控告祂犯有会被罗马当局视为有罪的罪行，否则他们就不能合法地做什么对祂不利的事。控告祂的人能找到许多人证明祂曾公开谴责祭司和文士，称他们为假冒为善的人和凶手;但这对罗马人来说没什么分量，罗马人自己也很厌烦法利赛人的主张。这种见证对撒都该人来说也没什么分量;因为他们在与法利赛人激烈争论时，也曾将这样的话语用在他们身上。控告耶稣的人极力避免引起撒都该人与法利赛人的敌对，因为如果这两派的人陷入争论，耶稣就容易从他们手中逃脱了。{5Red 36.3}

他们能得到充足的证据证明耶稣不顾他们的遗传，且对他们许多的礼节出言不逊;但这种证据没有价值，因为对罗马人或撒都该人来说是没有分量的。他们也不敢控告祂干犯安息日，惟恐经过查究就显明祂在那日工作的性质。如果祂医治受苦之人的神迹一一显露出来，祭司们所抱的目的就必失败了。{5Red 37.1}

基督曾就祂身体的殿说过，祂能拆毁，三日内再建造起来。祂的听众却把这些话理解为指犹太人的圣殿。在基督的一切言论中，除了这句话以外，祭司们找不到任何控告祂的把柄。罗马人曾参与重建圣殿和修饰圣殿的工作，并且常因此自豪，认为这是科学与艺术的杰作。祭司们算定：若是证明耶稣这个卑微的人竟宣称自己能拆毁圣殿，三日内再建造起来，就必惹起他们的愤怒。惟有在这一点上，犹太人、罗马人、法利赛人和撒都该人是能意见一致的，因为他们大家对于圣殿表示莫大的尊敬。{5Red 37.2}

此外，他们还贿买了假证人来证明耶稣有煽动叛乱并想建立独立政府的罪。他们希望以此加深罗马人的忧惧，达到他们想要的目的。但这些证人被召来时，他们的见证含糊不清又自相矛盾，所以毫无价值。在接受盘问时，他们只好改掉自己的证词。众人显然看出对耶稣的控告是不能成立的。救主的生活一直是无可指责的，祂的道理又是非常纯洁的，让人的嫉妒和恶意无懈可击。{5Red 38.1}

他们终于找到了两个证人。他们的见证并不像其他的假见证那么自相矛盾。其中一个被贿买来控告耶稣的道德败坏的见证人把耶稣说得象他自己一样低劣：“这个人曾说，我能拆毁上帝的殿，三日内又建造起来”(太26:61)。在比喻性预言中，耶稣曾这样预言祂的死和复活，祂的斗争和胜利，但祂的敌人却曲解祂的话去迎合他们自己的意图。耶稣的话乃是真理和事实，证人的证据却是虚伪恶毒的。如果他们照着耶稣原来所说的话报告出来，就不能因此来定祂的罪。如果耶稣不过只是一个人，像犹太人所说的，那么，祂的话也只能说祂没有理性和夸大其辞而已，却不能曲解为犯了亵渎的罪。{5Red 38.2}

该亚法催促耶稣回答对祂的控告;但救主既知道他的判决已定，就一言不答。最后那两个证人的证据一点不能定祂死罪;耶稣自己则保持从容静默。祭司和官长们开始担心自己终究会达不到目的。他们又失望又不知所措，因为他们的假见证不能定他们的囚犯有罪。现在惟一的希望就是让耶稣说出可以当众定祂有罪的话。{5Red 39.1}

以赛亚早就在预言的异象中描绘了基督在这个场合的沉默：“祂被欺压，在受苦的时候却不开口，祂像羊羔被牵到宰杀之地，又像羊在剪毛的人手下无声，祂也是这样不开口”(赛53:7)。{5Red 39.2}

最后大祭司向天举起右手，用严肃起誓的方式对耶稣说：“我指着永生上帝叫祢起誓告诉我们，祢是上帝的儿子基督不是”(太26:63)?全国的最高权威就这样发出要求，且是奉上帝的名发出的，耶稣为向律法表示尊敬，就回答说：“你说的是。”当祂以平和的声音和尊严的仪态作出这个回答时，每一个耳朵都在倾听，每一只眼睛都注视着祂。当祂接着说下去的时候，似乎有一道天上来的光照射在祂苍白的脸上。祂说：“然而我告诉你们，后来你们要看见人子坐在那权能者的右边，驾着天上的云降临”(太26:64)。{5Red 39.3}

基督的神性一时透过祂的人性闪耀出来。大祭司在救主锐利的目光之前胆战心惊了。基督的神色似乎洞察他隐藏的意念，并刺入他的内心。在他有生之年，他永不能忘记上帝的儿子那洞察人心的一瞥。耶稣这次自愿的承认，声称自己上帝儿子的身份，是以极其公开的方式、在极其严肃的誓言之下作出的。基督在这句话中，向在场的人提出了与当时相反的情景来。祂是生命和荣耀的主，必要坐在上帝的右边。祂必作天与地的至高审判者，凡经过祂所判决的事再无申诉的余地。祂使他们一瞥那日的景象，那时，祂不会被一帮暴徒包围和虐待，被本地的祭司和审判官催逼，而会以大能力大荣耀，由天军陪伴，驾天云降临，向祂的仇敌宣布判决。{5Red 40.1}

耶稣知道这样的声明会有什么结果;他们会定祂的罪。耍阴谋的祭司们如今达到目的了。耶稣已亲自宣布自己是基督。大祭司为要使在场的人感到他是为天国受辱的尊严发热心，就撕开自己的衣服，并向天举起双手，好像出于圣洁的深恶痛绝似的，以一种蓄意引人施暴的音调说：“祂说了僭妄的话，我们何必再用见证人呢?这僭妄的话，现在你们都听见了。你们的意见如何?”他们回答说：“祂是该死的”(太26:65,66)。{5Red 40.2}

祭司和审判官们虽因从耶稣的话而取得的进展而欢欣鼓舞，却渴望隐瞒他们恶毒的满足感。如今他们逼近祂，好像不相信自己所听到的话似的，同时问道：“祢若是基督，就告诉我们。”耶稣平静地看着伪善的质问者，回答说：“我若告诉你们，你们也不信;我若问你们，你们也不回答”(路22:67;68)。耶稣原可追溯预言，向控告祂的人证明关于弥赛亚的预言正在应验。祂原能这样止息他们的声音，但他们不会相信。祂原能向他们指出祂大能的奇事，但他们既已决心反对天上的亮光，就没有能力能改变他们了。{5Red 41.1}

当时在场的有些人注意了耶稣的话和祂安祥地站在狂怒的审判官们面前时象上帝一样的仪态。福音的种子在那天撒在了他们心里，最终发芽生长，结出了丰盛的果子。祂的话语在听到的许多人心中激发的尊重和敬畏要不断增长，并发展成完全相信耶稣是世界的救赎主。一些目睹那个场面的人后来也在审判厅中处于与耶稣相似的地位;并因他们是基督的门徒而为自己的生命受审。{5Red 41.2}

法官宣布耶稣的罪状之后，众人就像撒但一样疯狂起来。他们呼喊的声音犹如猛兽的怒吼。他们向耶稣冲过来，喊着说：祂是有罪的，把祂杀死。如果没有罗马兵丁保护的话，耶稣就不能活到被钉在髑髅地十字架上的时候了。如果没有罗马当局出来干涉，并用武力弹压暴徒，祂就要在法官面前被他们活活地撕碎了。{5Red 41.3}

耶稣虽被捆绑，却也是被看守着的，且被两个人抓着，免得祂逃脱逼迫祂之人的手。祭司和官长们不顾自己高贵的体统，竟用龌龊的话语来辱骂上帝的儿子。他们拿祂的出身来挖苦祂。他们声称，祂出身卑微，却擅敢自称为弥赛亚，就该受最可耻的死。同时有最下流的人用最卑鄙的手段来侮辱救主。他们用一件破旧的衣服蒙在祂头上，又用拳头打祂的脸，说：“基督啊!祢是先知，告诉我们打祢的是谁”(太26:68)?当他们把衣服拿开时，一个卑贱的匪徒吐了一口唾沫在祂脸上。但救主没有向祂周围被迷惑的人说一句报复的话，他们肆行无忌，因为看出祭司和官长支持他们的行为。{5Red 42.1}

耶稣知道众天军正在目睹祂的屈辱，也知道最小的天使若是被召来帮助祂，也能立刻驱散侮辱祂的众人，救祂脱离他们的势力。耶稣自己用祂神性的一瞥或一句话，也能击倒激昂的众人，使他们象死人一样，或使他们受惊吓，从祂面前逃跑，象祂对亵渎圣殿的那些人所做的一样。然而在救赎计划中，祂却应该忍受恶人的嘲笑和虐待，而且祂在成为人类的救赎主时，就已同意这一切。上帝的天使如实地记录了他们所爱的元帅所受的每一侮辱的表情、言语和行为。将来总有一天，这些凌辱基督并吐唾沫在祂恬静而灰白的脸上的匪类，必要看见祂脸上发出比太阳更为光明的荣耀。在那个可怕的时辰，他们要向大山和岩石呼求说：“把我们藏起来，躲避坐宝座者的面目和羔羊的忿怒”(启6:16)。{5Red 42.2}

耶稣被推来搡去，受到严重的侮辱和虐待，终于连罗马官员都感到羞耻，甚为愤慨，因为一个还没有什么罪证的人竟会受到最恶劣之人毫无人道的对待。因此他们谴责犹太当局为取人的性命审判人并宣布人的罪状乃是擅用不属于他们的权柄。罗马官员们声称，犹太人这么做是违犯罗马政权的，而且连犹太人的律法也不许单凭人自己的口供来定他的罪。罗马当局的干涉暂时缓和了这一场风暴。{5Red 43.1}

就在那时，忽然审判厅里发出一种粗哑的喊呼声，使全场的人大为震惊：该亚法啊!祂是无罪的，求你释放祂罢!祂没有做什么该死的事!这时，身材高大的犹大正从震惊的群众中间挤过去。他的面色青白憔悴，额角上大汗淋漓。他冲到审判座前，把卖主所得的银钱丢在大祭司面前。他急切地拉住该亚法的外袍，哀求他释放耶稣，说祂是无辜的，什么罪恶都没有。该亚法恼怒地推开了犹大，可是自己张皇失措，不知说些什么才好。祭司们的卑鄙无耻这时都暴露出来了。众人都看出是他们贿赂了犹大，把他的夫子交在寻索祂命的人手中。{5Red 43.2}

犹大继续哀求该亚法不要与耶稣作对，宣称祂确实是上帝的儿子，并且咒诅自己，因为他卖了无辜之人的血。但是那惊魂方定的大祭司，却带着轻蔑地神色回答说：“那与我们有什么相干，你自己承当罢”(太27:4)。然后他就对众人说犹大是一个可怜的疯子，一个疯狂地跟从耶稣的人，并且告诫他们不要为任何影响所胜以致释放这个囚犯，这囚犯是一个卑鄙的骗子。{5Red 44.1}

犹大看出自己的恳求已是徒然，就俯伏在耶稣脚前，承认祂是上帝的儿子，并恳求祂赦免他的罪，恳求祂运用祂象上帝一样的能力救祂自己脱离祂的敌人。救主没有用表情或言语谴责这个出卖祂的人。祂知道他正因自己的罪行遭受最痛苦的自责。祂哀怜地望着犹大，并且宣称祂为彼时来到世间。{5Red 44.2}

会众都感到惊奇。他们诧异耶稣显出这种属天的容忍。他们再一次感悟到这个人决不是平凡的人。可是他们又疑问，如果祂是上帝的儿子，祂为什么不救自己脱离捆绑并制胜那些控告祂的人呢? {5Red 45.1}

贪财的心败坏了犹大高贵的性情，使他成了撒但合用的工具，用来出卖基督。当马利亚用贵重的香膏膏主的时候，耶稣因犹大贪婪的精神而含蓄地责备了他。他因而感到恼火，便向那试探者屈服，轻易地让撒但进入他心里。然而当他决定把夫子卖给行凶的祭司和官长们时，他却没有想到耶稣会让自己被捉拿。他以为祭司们贿赂他会受骗，而他这个叛徒会得钱用于自己的目的，耶稣则有新的机会展现祂的神能，救祂自己脱离敌人的诡计。{5Red 45.2}

从犹大在园中卖主的时候起，他就一直看着救主。他急切地期待祂奇袭祂的敌人，在他们面前显出上帝儿子的性质，使他们的阴谋和能力都归枉然。然而当他看到耶稣温顺地接受他们的虐待，竟让自己受审并且定罪致死时，他便心里难受，充分认识到自己的罪行——他卖了他神圣的夫子去受辱受死。他想起耶稣一直对他多么仁慈体谅，他就满心懊悔，痛苦非常。他如今也鄙视耶稣所责备的贪心了，这种贪财之心已诱使他为区区几十块钱卖了救主。{5Red 45.3}

犹大看出自己恳求大祭司饶了耶稣的性命已是徒然，就绝望地从审判厅中冲出去，口里喊着说：太晚了!太晚了!他觉得自己不能活着看耶稣被钉十字架，便在懊悔的苦恼中出去上吊自杀了。{5Red 46.1}

后来犹大丢在祭司脚前的那些钱被用来卖了一块公共墓地。“祭司长拾起银钱来，说：‘这是血价，不可放在库里。’他们商议，就用那银钱买了窑户的一块田，为要埋葬外乡人。所以那块田直到今日还叫做‘血田’”(太27:6-8)。{5Red 46.2}

若是需要什么见证来证明耶稣的无辜，那就是犹大的招供了。他的招供不仅证明救主无辜，而且直接应验了预言。撒迦利亚曾在预言的异象中看到后来的世代和上帝的爱子受审的事。犹大的行为是这样描绘的：“我对他们说：‘你们若以为美，就给我工价。不然，就罢了!’于是他们给了三十块钱作为我的工

【Note to the Reader】

The sufferings of Christ, His trial, condemnation, crucifixion, and death, as depicted in this little book, cannot fail to waken the deepest interest in the Christian mind, and to open new channels of thought for all those who read it in a spirit of candor. The light here thrown upon the last teachings and acts of Christ, prior to his crucifixion, makes plain to the inquiring mind many sacred and important truths; and the special illuminations with which the author has been favored by heaven, commend these pages to the careful perusal of the reader.---Publishers.?{5Red 2.1}[1]

《The Sufferings of Christ》

【The Passover Supper】

The Passover Supper. The scribes and priests now counseled together how they might take Jesus without raising a tumult among the people; for many of those who witnessed his mighty works believed him to be the prophet of the Most High, and would have been greatly incensed at any attempt upon his liberty. So the dignitaries decided that open violence would not be good policy, but that treachery must serve their purpose.?{5Red 3.1}[2]

Judas, one of the twelve, proposed secretly to betray Jesus into their hands, by leading them to one of the Saviour’s resorts for prayer and retirement. In this quiet place they could make sure of their prey, for there would be no multitude to oppose them. Judas, ever greedy for gain, made a contract with the priests and rulers to betray his Master into their hands for thirty pieces of silver. The Lord of life and glory was sold to ignominy and death by one of his disciples for a paltry sum of money.?{5Red 3.2}[3]

The heart of Judas had not suddenly grown thus base and corrupt. His love of mammon, like any vice which is left unchecked, had daily grown stronger, until it overbalanced his love for the Saviour, and he had become an idolater.?We look with horror upon the treachery of Judas; but his case represents a large class who file in under the banner of Christ, yet are really his worst enemies. They use the name of Christian as a cloak to hide their evil deeds, and sell their integrity for money, and their Saviour for a little worldly advantage.?{5Red 3.3}[4]

After Judas had closed the contract by which he agreed to betray his Master into the hands of those who thirsted for his life, he mingled with the other disciples as though innocent of wrong, and interested in the work of preparing for the passover. The betrayer thought that his base purposes were hidden from his Master, although every day furnished fresh evidence that the thoughts and intents of all hearts were open unto him.?{5Red 4.1}[5]

Jesus met his disciples in the upper chamber, and they soon perceived that something weighed heavily upon his mind. At length, in a voice of touching sadness, he addressed them thus: “With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer.” He clearly foresaw the events which were to transpire in the near future. His heart was wrung with grief as he contemplated the ingratitude and cruelty of those he had come to save, and saw pictured before him the terrible fate that awaited them in consequence.?{5Red 4.2}[6]

The interviews between Jesus and his disciples were usually seasons of calm joy, highly prized by all of them. The passover suppers had been scenes of special interest; but upon this occasion Jesus was troubled in spirit, and his disciples sympathized with his grief although they knew not its cause. This was virtually the last passover?that was ever to be celebrated; for type was to meet antitype in the slaying of the Lamb of God for the sins of the world.{5Red 4.3}[7]

“And he said unto them, With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer; for I say unto you, I will not any more eat thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves; for I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come. And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you; this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” At this last passover the Lord’s supper was instituted.?{5Red 5.1}[8]

Jesus, by his example, then gave his disciples a lesson of humility. Having girded himself like a servant, he washed the feet of his disciples, conversing with them the while in solemn tenderness. He, the spotless Son of God, stooped to wash the feet of his followers, as one of the last tokens of his love for them. When he had completed the task, he said unto them, “Know ye what I have done unto you? Ye call me Master and Lord; and ye say well; for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet; for I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done unto you.”?{5Red 5.2}[9]

A contention had arisen among the disciples of Jesus as to who should be most honored in his kingdom; for notwithstanding the express instruction they had so often received to the?contrary, they had clung to the idea that Jesus would establish a temporal kingdom in Jerusalem; and the late demonstrations upon his entering the city, and the manner in which he had received them, revived this belief in their minds. Jesus had checked their aspirations for honor, and now strengthened the lesson by an act of humility and love, calculated to impress them with a sense of their obligations to one another, and that instead of quarreling for place, each should count the others better than himself.?{5Red 5.3}[10]

As the disciples sat at the passover with their beloved Master, they observed that he still appeared greatly troubled and depressed. A cloud settled over them all, a premonition of some dreadful calamity, the character of which they did not understand. As they ate in silence, Jesus said, “Verily, I say unto you that one of you shall betray me.” Amazement and consternation seized them at these words. They could not comprehend how any one of them could deal treacherously by their divine Teacher. For what cause could they betray him, and to whom? Whose heart could give birth to such a design! Surely not one of the favored twelve who had been privileged above all others to hear his teachings, and who had experienced his marvelous love, and for whom he had shown such great respect by bringing them into close communion with himself!?{5Red 6.1}[11]

As they realized the full import of his words, and remembered how true his sayings were, a sudden fear and self-distrust seized them. They began to examine their own hearts to ascertain if one thought against the Master found lodgment there. With the most painful feelings, one?after another inquired, “Lord, is it I?” But Judas sat silent. John, in deep distress, inquired at last, Who is it, Lord? and Jesus answered, “He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. The Son of man goeth as it is written of him, but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed; it had been good for that man if he had not been born.” The disciples had searched one another’s faces closely as they asked, “Lord, is it I?” and now the silence of Judas drew all eyes to himself. Amid the confusion of questions and the expressions of astonishment, Judas had not heard the words of Jesus in answer to John’s question. But now, to escape the searching scrutiny of the disciples, he asked as they had done, “Master, is it I?” Jesus replied with solemn accents, “Thou hast said.” Confused and overcome by the unexpected discovery of his crime, Judas hastily rose to leave the room; but as he went out, Jesus said, “What thou doest, do quickly.”?{5Red 6.2}[12]

There was a touching forbearance manifested in the dealing of Jesus with Judas. It evinced an infinite mercy, giving him one more chance of repentance, by showing him that all his thoughts and purposes were fully known to the Son of God. He deigned to give one final, convincing proof of his divinity to Judas before the consummation of his treachery, that he might turn from his purpose before repentance was too late. But Judas, although surprised and alarmed, was not moved to repentance, but went forth and proceeded to carry out the work he had engaged to do.?{5Red 7.1}[13]

The purpose of the Saviour in pronouncing the woe upon Judas was twofold: First, to give the?false disciple a last opportunity to save himself from the betrayer’s doom; and, secondly, to give the disciples a crowning evidence of his Messiahship, in revealing the hidden purpose of Judas. Said Jesus: “I speak not of you all; I know whom I have chosen; but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.”?{5Red 7.2}[14]

The withdrawal of Judas was a relief to all present. The Saviour’s face immediately lighted, and the oppressive shadow was lifted from the disciples, as they saw the peace of Heaven return to the pale, worn countenance of their Lord. Jesus had much to say to his beloved disciples that he did not wish to say in the presence of the multitude, who could not understand the sacred truths he was about to unfold. Even the disciples could not fully understand them till after the resurrection should have taken place.?{5Red 8.1}[15]

Looking upon his faithful followers, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him.” He then informed them of his approaching separation from them. The ardent Peter could not rest while the matter remained in uncertainty. He inquired, “Lord, whither goest thou?” Jesus answered, “Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterward.” But Peter’s interest was intensely roused, and he urged Jesus to explain his full meaning, saying, “Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.” Jesus answered sorrowfully, “Wilt?thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thrice.” Then, looking with pitying love upon his little flock, so soon to be left without a shepherd, he sought to draw their minds from the perplexity into which his statements had thrown them, and said tenderly, “Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know.”?{5Red 8.2}[16]

With the deepest interest Jesus poured forth the burden of his soul in words of comfort, of counsel and prayer, which would ever remain imprinted on the minds and hearts of his disciples. These words from the lips of the Saviour, traced by the inspired John in chapters fifteen, sixteen, and seventeen, were repeated again and again by the disciples to stay their sinking hearts in their great disappointment and trial. Not until after the resurrection, however, were the words spoken upon this memorable occasion fully understood and appreciated.?{5Red 9.1}[17]

Jesus with his disciples now left the upper chamber, and crossed the brook Kedron. Sorrow and anguish again pressed heavily upon his heart. With touching sadness he addressed his companions: “All ye shall be offended because of me this night; for it is written, I will smite the Shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered. But after that I am risen I will go before you into Galilee.” Peter, again anxious to assure his?Master of his fidelity, said, “Although all shall be offended, yet will not I.” Jesus, reproving his confidence as before, said, “Verily I say unto thee, that this day, even in this night, before the cock crow twice, thou shalt deny me thrice.” But Peter only “spake the more vehemently, If I should die with thee I will not deny thee in any wise. Likewise also said they all.”?{5Red 9.2}[18]

Jesus now repaired with his disciples to the garden of Gethsemane, at the foot of Mount Olivet, a retired place which he had often visited for seasons of communion with his Father. It was night; but the moon was shining bright, and revealed to him a flourishing grape-vine. Drawing the attention of the disciples to it, he said, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.”?{5Red 10.1}[19]

The Jewish nation was a fruitless branch, and was therefore to be separated from the living vine, which was Christ Jesus. The Gentiles were to be engrafted upon the stalk, to become a living branch, partaker of the life that nourished the true vine. This branch was to be pruned that it might be fruitful. In view of his separation from his disciples, Jesus now exhorted them to connect themselves firmly to him by faith, that they might become a part of the living vine, and bear a rich harvest of fruit. “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abideth in me,?and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit; for without me ye can do nothing.”?{5Red 10.2}[20]

When the sinner has repented of his sins, and is united with Christ, as the branch is engrafted in the vine, the nature of the man is changed, and he is a partaker of the divine nature. He treasures up the words of Christ, and they abide in him. The life-giving principle of the Saviour is communicated to the Christian. Just so the little scion, leafless and apparently lifeless, is engrafted into the living vine, and, fiber by fiber, vein by vein, drinks life and strength from it, till it becomes a flourishing branch of the parent stalk.?{5Red 11.1}[21]

He still impressed upon them the importance of carrying forward the work which he had begun, and bearing fruit to the glory of God: “Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain; that whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he may give it you.” The disciples were the chosen depositaries of the truth of God. They were witnesses of the Father’s acknowledgment of Jesus as the Son of God. They had beheld his miracles, heard his teachings, and it was theirs to give his message of salvation to the world, that through their evidence men might lay hold of Christ by living faith. Thus would the disciples bring forth fruit to the glory of God.?{5Red 11.2}[22]

Jesus assured his disciples that he would in no case forsake them, but would be clothed with power, and would become their Advocate at the right hand of the Father, to present the petitions they might ask in the name of his Son. The disciples did not then fully comprehend the?words of their Master, but later in their religious experience they cherished the precious promise, and presented their prayers to the Father in the name of Jesus.?{5Red 11.3}[23]

Jesus warned his disciples not to expect the commendation of the world. Said he, “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own; but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” Those who are of the same spirit with the world receive its smiles and approbation; but the humble disciples of Jesus were to suffer scorn and persecution. Jesus declared that they should be brought before kings and rulers for his name’s sake, and whosoever should destroy their lives would be so deceived by Satan as to think they were doing God service. Every indignity and cruelty that the ingenuity of man could devise would be visited upon the followers of Christ. But in all their trials they were to remember that their Master had endured like reproach and suffering. They were to remember his words: “The servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent me.”?{5Red 12.1}[24]

Jesus carefully opened before his disciples the events which would follow his death, that when persecution should overtake them they might be prepared to endure it, and not be tempted to apostatize from their faith to avert suffering and dishonor. He impressed upon them the?importance of their position as those who had witnessed the wonderful manifestations of God to his Son, who had beheld the miracles of Christ, and received his words of wisdom. Said he, “Ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.” The history of those disciples, and the evidence which they were to record, were to be the study of thinking minds through all ages.?{5Red 12.2}[25]

Jesus plainly stated to the disciples that he had left the presence of his Father to come unto the world, and that he was now about to leave the world and return to his Father; but he refrained from crowding their minds and confusing their understanding. Said he, “I have many things to say unto you; but ye cannot bear them now.” He knew they were not strong enough to hear all the wonderful truths relative to his humiliation and death. After his resurrection they would be better able to understand and appreciate them.?{5Red 13.1}[26]

Jesus now had but a short time in which to comfort and instruct his little band of followers. His farewell counsel was rich in sympathy and truth. Exceeding precious to his disciples were those last moments passed with their beloved Master. Like a consecrated high priest he now poured forth the burden of his soul to his Father in a petition for his church such as the angels had never before heard. This prayer was deep and full, broad as the earth, and reaching high Heaven. With his human arm he encircled the children of Adam in a firm embrace; and with his strong divine arm he grasped the throne of the Infinite, thus uniting earth to Heaven, and finite man to the infinite God.?{5Red 13.2}[27]

【In The Garden】

The Redeemer, in company with his disciples, slowly made his way to the garden of Gethsemane. The passover moon, broad and full, shone from a cloudless sky. The city of pilgrims’ tents was hushed into silence.?{5Red 14.1}[28]

Jesus had been earnestly conversing with and instructing his disciples; but as he neared Gethsemane he became strangely silent. His disciples were perplexed, and anxiously regarded his countenance, hoping there to read an explanation of the change that had come over their Master. They had frequently seen him depressed, but never before so utterly sad and silent. As he proceeded, this strange sadness increased; yet they dared not question him as to the cause. His form swayed as if he was about to fall. His disciples looked anxiously for his usual place of retirement, that their Master might rest.?{5Red 14.2}[29]

Upon entering the garden he said to his companions, “Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder.” Selecting Peter, James, and John to accompany him, he proceeded farther into the recesses of the garden. He had been accustomed to brace his spirit for trial and duty by fervent prayer in this retreat, and had frequently spent the entire night thus. On these occasions his disciples, after a little season of watching and prayer, would sleep undisturbed at a little distance from their Master until he awoke them in the morning to go forth and labor anew. So this act of Jesus called forth no remark from his companions.?{5Red 14.3}[30]

Every step that the Saviour now took was with labored effort. He groaned aloud as though suffering under the pressure of a terrible burden; yet he refrained from startling his three chosen disciples by a full explanation of the agony which he was to suffer. Twice his companions prevented him from falling to the ground. Jesus felt that he must be still more alone, and he said to the favored three, “My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death; tarry ye here, and watch with me.” His disciples had never before heard him utter such mournful tones. His frame was convulsed with anguish, and his pale countenance expressed a sorrow past all description.?{5Red 15.1}[31]

He went a short distance from his disciples—not so far but that they could both see and hear him—and fell prostrate with his face upon the cold ground. He was overpowered by a terrible fear that God was removing his presence from him. He felt himself being separated from his Father by a gulf of sin, so broad, so black and deep that his spirit shuddered before it. He clung convulsively to the cold, unfeeling ground as if to prevent himself from being drawn still farther from God. The chilling dews of night fell upon his prostrate form, but the Redeemer heeded it not. From his pale, convulsed lips wailed the bitter cry, “O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.”?{5Red 15.2}[32]

It was not a dread of the physical suffering he was soon to endure that brought this agony upon the Son of God. He was enduring the penalty of man’s transgression, and shuddering?beneath the Father’s frown. He must not call his divinity to his aid, but as a man, he must bear the consequences of man’s sin and the Creator’s displeasure toward his disobedient subjects. As he felt his unity with the Father broken up, he feared that his human nature would be unable to endure the coming conflict with the prince of the power of darkness; and in that case the human race would be irrecoverably lost, Satan would be victor, and the earth would be his kingdom. The sins of the world weighed heavily upon the Saviour, and bowed him to the earth; and the Father’s anger in consequence of that sin seemed crushing out his life.?{5Red 15.3}[33]

In the conflict of Christ with Satan in the wilderness of temptation, the destiny of the human race was at stake. But Christ was conqueror, and the tempter left him for a season. He had now returned for the last fearful conflict. Satan had been preparing for this final trial during the three years of Christ’s ministry. Everything was at stake with him. If he failed here, his hope of mastery was lost; the kingdoms of the earth would finally become Christ’s who would “bind the strong man” (Satan), and cast him out.?{5Red 16.1}[34]

During this scene of the Saviour’s anguish, the disciples were at first much troubled to see their Master, usually so calm and dignified, wrestling with a sorrow that exceeded all utterance; but they were tired, and finally dropped asleep, leaving him to agonize alone. At the end of an hour, Jesus, feeling the need of human sympathy, rose with painful effort and staggered to the place where he had left his companions.?But no sympathizing countenance greeted him after his long struggle; the disciples were fast asleep. Ah! if they had realized that this was their last night with their beloved master while he lived a man upon earth, if they had known what the morrow would bring him, they would hardly have yielded to the power of slumber.?{5Red 16.2}[35]

The voice of Jesus partially aroused them. They discerned his form bending over them, his expression and attitude indicating extreme exhaustion. They scarcely recognized in his changed countenance the usually serene face of their Master. Singling out Simon Peter, he addressed him: “Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour?” Oh! Simon, where is now thy boasted devotion? Thou, who didst but lately declare thou couldst go with thy Lord to prison or to death, hast left him in the hour of his agony and temptation, and sought repose in sleep!?{5Red 17.1}[36]

John, the loving disciple who had leaned on the breast of Jesus, was also sleeping. Surely, the love of John for his Master should have kept him awake. His earnest prayers should have mingled with those of his loved Saviour in the time of his supreme sorrow. The self-sacrificing Redeemer had passed entire nights in the cold mountains or in the groves, praying for his disciples, that their faith might not fail them in the hour of their temptation. Should Jesus now put to James and John the question he had once asked them: “Can ye drink of the cup that I drink of? and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?” they would not have ventured to answer, “We are able.”?{5Red 17.2}[37]

The evidence of the weakness of his disciples excited the pity and sympathy of the Son of God. He questioned their strength to endure the test they must undergo in witnessing his betrayal and death. He did not sternly upbraid them for their weakness, but, in view of their coming trial, exhorted them: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” Then, his spirit moving in sympathy with their frailty, he framed an excuse for their failure in duty toward him: “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.”?{5Red 18.1}[38]

Again the Son of God was seized with superhuman agony, and, fainting and exhausted, staggered back to the place of his former struggle. Again he was prostrated to the earth. His suffering was even greater than before. The cypress and palm trees were the silent witnesses of his anguish. From their leafy branches dropped heavy dew upon his stricken form, as if nature wept over its Author wrestling alone with the powers of darkness.?{5Red 18.2}[39]

A few hours before, Jesus had stood like a mighty cedar, withstanding the storm of opposition that spent its fury upon him. Stubborn wills, and hearts filled with malice and subtlety strove in vain to confuse and overpower him. He stood forth in divine majesty as the Son of God. But now he was like a bruised reed beaten and bent by the angry storm. A short time before, he had poured out his soul to his disciples in noble utterances, claiming unity with the Father, and giving his elect church into his arms in the language of one who had divine authority. Now his voice uttered suppressed wails of?anguish, and he clung to the cold ground as if for relief.?{5Red 18.3}[40]

The words of the Saviour were borne to the ears of the drowsy disciples: “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” The anguish of God’s dear Son forced drops of blood from his pores. Again he staggered to his feet, his human heart yearning for the sympathy of his companions, and repaired to where his disciples were sleeping. His presence roused them, and they looked upon his face with fear, for it was stained with blood, and expressed an agony of mind which was to them unaccountable.?{5Red 19.1}[41]

He did not again address them, but, turning away, sought again his retreat and fell prostrate, overcome by the horror of a great darkness. The humanity of the Son of God trembled in that trying hour. The awful moment had arrived which was to decide the destiny of the world. The heavenly hosts waited the issue with intense interest. The fate of humanity trembled in the balance. The Son of God might even then refuse to drink the cup apportioned to guilty men. He might wipe the bloody sweat from his brow, and leave men to perish in their iniquity. Will the Son of the Infinite God drink the bitter potion of humiliation and agony? Will the innocent suffer the consequence of God’s curse, to save the guilty? The words fall tremblingly from the pale lips of Jesus: “O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.”?{5Red 19.2}[42]

Three times has he uttered that prayer. Three times has humanity shrunk from the last crowning sacrifice. But now the history of the human?race comes up before the world’s Redeemer. He sees that the transgressors of the law, if left to themselves, must perish under the Father’s displeasure. He sees the power of sin, and the utter helplessness of man to save himself. The woes and lamentations of a doomed world arise before him. He beholds its impending fate, and his decision is made. He will save man at any cost to himself. He accepts his baptism of blood, that perishing millions through him may gain everlasting life. He left the courts of Heaven, where all was purity, happiness, and glory, to save the one lost sheep, the one world that had fallen by transgression, and he will not turn from the mission he has chosen. He will reach to the very depths of misery to rescue a lost and ruined race.{5Red 19.3}[43]

Having made the decision and reached the final crisis, he fell in a dying condition to the earth from which he had partially risen. Where now were his disciples, to place their hands tenderly beneath the head of their fainting Master, and bathe that brow, marred indeed more than the sons of men? The Saviour trod the winepress alone, and of all the people there was none with him. And yet he was not alone. He had said, “I and my Father are one.” God suffered with his Son. Man cannot comprehend the sacrifice made by the infinite God in giving up his Son to reproach, agony, and death. This is the evidence of the Father’s boundless love to man.?{5Red 20.1}[44]

The angels who did Christ’s will in Heaven were anxious to comfort him; but it was beyond their power to alleviate his sorrow. They had never felt the sins of a ruined world, and they beheld with astonishment the object of?their adoration subject to a grief beyond all expression. Though the disciples had failed to sympathize with their Lord in the trying hour of his conflict, all Heaven was full of sympathy and waiting the result with painful interest. When it was finally determined, an angel was sent from the throne of God to minister unto the stricken Redeemer.?{5Red 20.2}[45]

The disciples were suddenly aroused from their slumber by a bright light shining upon and around the Son of God. They started up in amazement, and beheld a heavenly being, clothed in garments of light, bending over their prostrate Master. With his right hand he lifted the head of the divine sufferer upon his bosom, and with his left hand he pointed toward Heaven. His voice was like the sweetest music, as he uttered soothing words presenting to the mind of Christ the grand results of the victory he had gained over the strong and wily foe. Christ was victor over Satan; and, as the result of his triumph, millions were to be victors with him in his glorified kingdom.?{5Red 21.1}[46]

Well was it for the children of men that the angel’s errand was not to notify the Saviour that his thrice-repeated prayer, Let this cup pass from me, had been granted. Then indeed might the disciples have slept on, locked in the slumber of hopeless despair. But the angel was sent from Heaven to support the Redeemer in drinking the cup that was presented him. The language of his prayer was now changed; in the spirit of submission he prayed: “If this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done.” A heavenly serenity now rested upon the Saviour’s pale and blood-stained face.?{5Red 21.2}[47]

The glorious vision of the angel dazzled the eyes of the disciples. They remembered the mount of transfiguration, the glory that encircled Jesus in the temple, and the voice of God issuing from the cloud. They saw the same glory here revealed, and had no farther fear for their Master, since God had taken him in charge and an angel was present to protect him from his foes. They were weary and heavy with sleep, and again they dropped into unconsciousness.?{5Red 22.1}[48]

The Saviour of the world arose and sought his disciples, and, for the third time, found them fast asleep. He looked sorrowfully upon them. His words, however, aroused them: “Sleep on now, and take your rest; behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”?{5Red 22.2}[49]

Even while these words were upon his lips, the footsteps of the mob that was in search of him were heard. Judas took the lead and was closely followed by the high priest. Jesus turned to his disciples, as his enemies approached, and said, “Rise, let us be going; behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.” The countenance of the Saviour wore an expression of calm dignity; no traces of his recent agony were visible as he stepped forth to meet his betrayer.?{5Red 22.3}[50]

He stood in advance of his disciples, and inquired, “Whom seek ye?” They answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus replied, “I am he.” As these words were uttered, the mob staggered back; and the priests, elders, soldiers, and even Judas, dropped powerless to the ground. This gave Jesus ample opportunity to escape from them if he had chosen to do so. But he stood?as one glorified amid that coarse and hardened band. When Jesus answered. “I am he,” the angel who had lately ministered unto him moved between him and the murderous mob, who saw a divine light illuminating the Saviour’s face, and a dove-like form overshadowing him. Their wicked hearts were filled with terror. They could not for a moment stand upon their feet in the presence of this divine glory, and they fell as dead men to the ground.?{5Red 22.4}[51]

The angel withdrew; the light faded away; Jesus was left standing, calm and self-possessed, with the bright beams of the moon upon his pale face, and still surrounded by prostrate, helpless men, while the disciples were too much amazed to utter a word. When the angel departed, the Roman soldiers started to their feet, and, with the priests and Judas, gathered about Christ as though ashamed of their weakness, and fearful that he would yet escape from their hands. Again the question was asked by the Redeemer, “Whom seek ye?” Again they answered, “Jesus of Nazareth.” The Saviour then said, “I have told you that I am he. If, therefore, ye seek me, let these go their way”—pointing to the disciples. In this hour of humiliation Christ’s thoughts were not for himself, but for his beloved disciples. He wished to save them from any farther trial of their strength.?{5Red 23.1}[52]

Judas, the betrayer, did not forget his part, but came close to Jesus, and took his hand as a familiar friend, and bestowed upon him the traitor’s kiss. Jesus said to him, “Friend, wherefore art thou come?” His voice trembled with sorrow as he addressed the deluded Judas: “Betrayest thou the Son of man with a kiss?”?This most touching appeal should have roused the conscience of the betrayer, and touched his stubborn heart; but honor, fidelity, and human tenderness had utterly forsaken him. He stood bold and defiant, showing no disposition to relent. He had given himself up to the control of Satan, and he had no power to resist him. Jesus did not reject the traitor’s kiss. In this he gives us an example of forbearance, love, and pity, that is without a parallel.?{5Red 23.2}[53]

Though the murderous throng were surprised and awed by what they had seen and felt, their assurance and hardihood returned as they saw the boldness of Judas in touching the person of Him whom they had so recently seen glorified. They now laid violent hands upon Jesus, and proceeded to bind those precious hands that had ever been employed in doing good.?{5Red 24.1}[54]

When the disciples saw that band of strong men lying prostrate and helpless on the ground, they thought surely their Master would not suffer himself to be taken; for the same power that prostrated that hireling mob could cause them to remain in a state of helplessness until Jesus and his companions should pass unharmed beyond their reach. They were disappointed and indignant as they saw the cords brought forward to bind the hands of Him whom they loved. Peter in his vehement anger rashly cut off, with his sword, an ear of the servant of the high priest.?{5Red 24.2}[55]

When Jesus saw what Peter had done, he released his hands, though held firmly by the Roman soldiers, and saying, “Suffer ye thus far,” he touched the wounded ear, and it was instantly made whole. He then said to Peter, “Put up?again thy sword into his place; for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword. Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” “The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?” Jesus then turned to the chief priest, and captains of the temple, who helped compose that murderous throng, “and said, are ye come out as against a thief with swords and with staves to take me? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took me not; but the Scriptures must be fulfilled.”?{5Red 24.3}[56]

When the disciples saw that Jesus did not deliver himself from his enemies, but permitted himself to be taken and bound, they were offended that he should suffer this humiliation to himself and them. They had just witnessed an exhibition of his power in prostrating to the ground those who came to take him, and in healing the servant’s ear, which Peter had cut off, and they knew that if he chose he could deliver himself from the murderous mob. They blamed him for not doing so, and mortified and terror-stricken by his unaccountable conduct they forsook him and fled. Christ had foreseen this desertion, and in the upper chamber had forewarned them of the course which they would take at this time, saying, “Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave me alone; and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.”?{5Red 25.1}[57]

Judas was himself surprised that Jesus should deliver himself into the hands of those who?sought to destroy him. He had frequently known the Saviour’s enemies to lay plans to take him, but Jesus would quietly depart and defeat their murderous designs. Now the betrayer saw with astonishment that his Master suffered himself to be bound and led away. The false disciple flattered himself, however, that Jesus had only permitted himself to be taken that he might manifest his power by delivering himself from his enemies in a miraculous manner. He knew that nothing else could free him from that armed band. For three years the Jews had been secretly planning to take him, and now that they had accomplished this they would not let him escape death, if they could prevent it.?{5Red 25.2}[58]

Jesus was hurried off by the hooting mob. He moved painfully, for his hands were tightly bound and he was closely guarded. He was first conducted to the house of Annas, the father-in-law of the high priest, the man whose counsel was sought and carried out by the Jewish people as the voice of God. Annas craved the fearful satisfaction of first seeing Jesus of Nazareth a bound captive. Having once been shown to Annas, he was hurried away; for the priests and rulers had decided that if they once had possession of his person, there should be no delays in his trial and condemnation. This was because they feared that the people, remembering his acts of charity and mercy among them, would rescue him out of their hands.?{5Red 26.1}[59]

【In the Judgment Hall】

The armed band, with their prisoner, threaded the dark and narrow streets, guided by torches and lanterns, for it was yet early morning and very dark. Amid insult and mockery, the Saviour was hurried to the palace of the officiating high priest, Caiaphas. Here he was coarsely accused by his persecutors, and sneeringly questioned by the priest, and reviled by the whole assembly. But while enduring this mockery of an examination, the Saviour’s heart was pierced by a keener pang than it was in the power of his enemies to inflict. It was when he heard his beloved disciple deny him with cursing and swearing.?{5Red 27.1}[60]

After deserting their Master in the garden, two of the disciples regained their presence of mind and ventured to follow, at a distance, the mob that had Jesus in charge. These disciples were Peter and John. The priest recognized John as a well-known disciple of Jesus, and admitted him to the hall where the Saviour was being questioned because he hoped that John, while witnessing the humiliation of his leader, would become affected with the same spirit that actuated his enemies, and scorn the idea of one who could be subjected to such indignities, being the Son of God. John, having secured himself an entrance, spoke in behalf of his companion, Peter, and gained the same favor for him.?{5Red 27.2}[61]

The coldest hour of the night was that preceding the dawn, and a fire had been lighted in the hall. Around this a company were gathered; and Peter presumptuously took his place with?the rest by the fire, and stood warming himself. He did not wish to be recognized as one of the disciples of Jesus, and he thought by mingling carelessly with the people he would be taken for one of those who had brought Jesus to the hall.?{5Red 27.3}[62]

But, as the light flashed upon Peter’s countenance, the woman who kept the door cast a searching glance upon him; she had noticed that he came in with John, and conjectured that he was one of Christ’s followers. She interrogated him in a taunting manner: “Art not thou also one of this man’s disciples?” Peter was startled and confused; the eyes of the company instantly fastened upon him. He pretended not to understand her, but she was persistent, and said to those around her that this man was with Jesus. Peter, feeling compelled to answer, said angrily, “Woman, I know him not.” This was the first denial, and immediately the cock crew. O Peter! So soon ashamed of thy Master! So soon to cowardly deny thy Lord! The Saviour is dishonored and deserted in his humiliation by one of his most zealous disciples.?{5Red 28.1}[63]

In the first place, Peter had not designed that his real character should be known; and, in assuming an air of indifference, he placed himself on the enemy’s ground, and became an easy subject to Satan’s temptation. He appeared to be disinterested in the trial of his Master, while in reality his heart was wrung with sorrow as he heard the cruel taunts and saw the mockery and abuse he was suffering. In addition to this he was surprised and angry that Jesus should humiliate himself and his followers by passively submitting to such treatment. Under these conflicting emotions, it was difficult to preserve his character?of indifference. His appearance was unnatural, as he endeavored to join with the persecutors of Jesus in their untimely jests, in order to cover his true feelings.?{5Red 28.2}[64]

He was acting a lie, and while trying to talk unconcernedly he could not restrain expressions of indignation at the abuse heaped upon his Master. Accordingly attention was called to him the second time, and he was again charged with being a follower of Jesus. He now denied the accusation with an oath. The cock crew the second time; but Peter heard it not, for he was now thoroughly intent upon carrying out the character which he had assumed. One of the servants of the high priest, being a near kinsman to the man whose ear the disciple had cut off, asked him, “Did not I see thee in the garden with him?” “Surely thou art one of them; for thou art a Galilean, and thy speech agreeth thereto.”?{5Red 29.1}[65]

At this, Peter flew into a rage, and to fully deceive his questioners, and to justify his assumed character, he denied his Master with cursing and swearing. And immediately the cock crew the third time. Peter heard it then; and while the degrading oaths were fresh upon his lips, and the shrill crowing of the cock was yet ringing in his ears, the Saviour turned his face from the frowning judges, and looked full upon his poor disciple. At the same time Peter’s eyes were involuntarily fixed upon his Master. He read in that gentle countenance deep pity and sorrow; but there was no anger there.?{5Red 29.2}[66]

Peter was conscience-smitten; his memory was aroused; he recalled to mind his promise of a few short hours before, that he would go to?prison or to death for his Lord. He remembered his grief when the Saviour told him in the upper chamber that he would deny his Master thrice that same night. Peter had just declared that he knew not Jesus, but he now realized with bitter grief how well his Lord knew him, and how accurately he had read his heart, the falseness of which was unknown even to himself. He groaned in spirit as he realized that not only was his Master enduring the bitterest humiliation at the hands of his enemies, but he was suffering additional dishonor at the hands of one of his disciples, who had forsaken and refused to acknowledge him in the hour of his trial.?{5Red 29.3}[67]

The look of Christ conveyed volumes to the repentant Peter. He read in that glance sorrow, love, and pardon. A tide of memories rushed over him. He remembered the Saviour’s tender mercy, his kindness and long-suffering, the patience with which he dealt with his followers. He remembered the caution of Jesus to him: “Simon, behold, Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.” He reflected with horror upon his base ingratitude, his falsehood and perjury. He looked once more at his Master, and saw a sacrilegious hand raised to smite him in the face. Unable to longer endure the scene, he rushed, heart-broken, from the hall.?{5Red 30.1}[68]

He pressed on in solitude and darkness, he knew and cared not whither. At last he found himself in the garden of Gethsemane, where a short time before he had slept while the Saviour wrestled with the powers of darkness. The suffering face of his Lord, stained with bloody?sweat and convulsed with anguish, rose before him. He remembered with bitter remorse that Jesus had wept and agonized in prayer alone while those who should have sustained him in that trying hour were sleeping. He remembered his solemn charge: “Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation.” The scene of a few short hours before came vividly to his mind. He witnessed again the tears and groans of Jesus. It was torture to his bleeding heart to know that he had added the heaviest burden to the Saviour’s humiliation and grief. He fell prostrate upon the very spot where his Lord had sunk beneath his inexpressible weight of woe.?{5Red 30.2}[69]

Peter’s first mistake was in sleeping when Christ had bidden him to watch and pray. At the most critical moment, when the Son of God was in need of his sympathy and heartfelt prayers, he was incapable of giving them to him. The disciples lost much by sleeping; Jesus designed to fortify them for the severe test of faith to which they were to be subjected. If they had spent that mournful period in the garden in watching with the dear Saviour, and in prayer to God, Peter would not have been left to depend upon his own feeble strength; he would not have denied his Lord.?{5Red 31.1}[70]

This important night-watch should have been spent by the disciples in noble mental struggles and prayers, which would have brought them strength to witness the terrible agony of the Son of God. It would have prepared them, as they should behold his sufferings upon the cross, to understand in some degree the nature of the overpowering anguish which he endured. They would then have been better able to recall the?words he had spoken to them in reference to his sufferings, death, and resurrection; and amid the gloom of that trying hour some rays of hope would have lighted up the darkness, and sustained their faith. Christ had told them before that these things would take place. He knew the power which the prince of darkness would use to paralyze the senses of his disciples when they should be watching and praying.?{5Red 31.2}[71]

The disciple John, upon entering the judgment hall, did not try to conceal the fact that he was one of the followers of Jesus. He did not mingle with the rough company that were insulting and mocking his Master. He was not questioned, for he did not assume a false character and thus lay himself liable to suspicion. He sought a retired corner secure from observation of the mob, but as near Jesus as it was possible for him to be. In this place he could hear and see all that transpired at the trial of his Lord.?{5Red 32.1}[72]

If Peter had been called to fight for his Master, he would have proved a bold and courageous soldier; but he became a coward when the finger of scorn was pointed at him. Many who do not hesitate to engage in active warfare for the Lord, are driven to deny their faith through the ridicule of their enemies. They place themselves in the way of temptation by associating with those whom they should avoid. They thus invite the enemy to tempt them, and are led to do and say that which they would never have been guilty of under other circumstances. The disciple of Christ, who, in our day, disguises his faith through dread of suffering or reproach, denies his Lord as virtually as did Peter in the judgment hall. There are always those who?boast of their freedom of thought and action, and laugh at the scruples of the conscientious who fear to do wrong. Yet if those righteous persons are persuaded to yield their faith, they are despised by the very ones who were Satan’s agents to tempt them to their ruin.?{5Red 32.2}[73]

Peter, however, as well as John, witnessed much of the mock trial of Jesus. It was necessary that there should be a pretense of legal trial; but great secrecy was maintained lest the people should obtain information of what was being done, and come forward with their testimony in vindication of Jesus, bringing to light the mighty works which he had done. This would bring the indignation of the people upon the Sanhedrim: their acts would be condemned and brought to naught; and Jesus would be liberated and receive new honor at the hands of the people.?{5Red 33.1}[74]

While the members of the Sanhedrim council were being called together, Annas and Caiaphas the priest questioned Jesus, with the purpose of provoking him to make some statement which they could use to his disadvantage. They brought two charges against him, by one or both of which they meant to effect his condemnation. One was that he was a disturber of the peace, the leader of a rebellion. If this charge could be verified he would be condemned by the Roman authorities. The other charge was that he was a blasphemer. This, if proved true, would secure his condemnation among the Jews.?{5Red 33.2}[75]

The high priest questioned Jesus concerning his doctrine, and the disciples who believed in him. Jesus answered briefly: “I spake openly?to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them; behold, they know what I said.”?{5Red 33.3}[76]

Jesus was well aware that his questioner designed to draw some statement from him which should awaken the fears of the Roman authorities that he was seeking to establish a secret society with the purpose of finally setting up a new kingdom. He therefore plainly stated to Annas that he had no secrets in regard to his purpose or doctrines. Turning upon his interrogator he said with startling emphasis, “Why askest thou me?” Had not the priests and rulers set spies to watch his movements and report his every word? Had they not been present at every gathering of the people, and carried information of all his sayings and doings on these occasions to the priests? “Ask them that heard me, what I have said,” replied Jesus; and his words were a rebuke to Annas, who had hunted him for months, striving to entrap him, and to bring him before a secret tribunal, in which the people could have no voice, that he might obtain by perjury what it was impossible to gain by fair means.?{5Red 34.1}[77]

The words of Jesus were so close and pointed that the high priest felt that his very soul was being read by his prisoner. Though Annas was filled with hatred against Jesus at these words, he disguised it until a more fitting opportunity presented itself of giving vent to his malice and jealousy. But one of the servants of the high priest, assuming that his master was not treated?with due respect, struck Jesus in the face, saying, “Answerest thou the high priest so?” To this insulting question and blow, Jesus mildly returned, “If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me?”?{5Red 34.2}[78]

The Majesty of Heaven might have summoned to his aid legions of loyal angels to protect him against the malignity of his enemies; but it was his mission, in the character of humanity, meekly to endure taunts and stripes, leaving an example of patient forbearance to the children of men. Those into whose power Jesus had fallen had no respect for this sublime forbearance. The fact that he was a passive captive in their hands was the signal for them to wreak upon him the basest insults which their corrupt hearts could invent.?{5Red 35.1}[79]

When the council was fully assembled in the judgment hall, Caiaphas took his position as presiding officer. This man had ever regarded Jesus as his rival. The combined simplicity and eloquence of the Saviour had attracted large crowds to listen to his teachings, which contained wisdom such as they had never heard from the lips of priests or scribes. The anxiety of the people to hear Jesus, and their readiness to accept his doctrines, had roused the bitter jealousy of the high priest.?{5Red 35.2}[80]

Jesus stood calm and serene before the high priest, while the eyes of the multitude were upon him, and the wildest excitement prevailed around. For a moment Caiaphas looked upon the captive, struck with a sudden admiration for his dignified bearing. A conviction came over him that this man was akin to God. The next instant he banished the thought, scorning the suggestions of his own mind. Immediately, his voice was heard in?sneering, haughty tones, requesting Jesus to work before him one of those mighty miracles which had given him such fame among the people; but his words fell upon the ears of the Saviour as though he heard them not.?{5Red 35.3}[81]

The people involuntarily compared the excited and malignant deportment of Annas and Caiaphas with the calm, majestic bearing of Jesus. A holy influence seemed to emanate from the Saviour and pervade the atmosphere surrounding him. The question arose even in the minds of the hardened multitude present, Is this man of Godlike presence to be sentenced as a common criminal? Caiaphas, perceiving the influence that was obtaining, hastened the trial. He took his position on the throne of judgment, while Jesus stood at its foot. On either side were the judges and those specially interested in the trial. The Roman soldiers were ranged on the platform, below the throne.?{5Red 36.1}[82]

The high priest arose in his gorgeous robe, with glittering tiara and costly breastplate, upon which, in former days, the light of God’s glory had often flashed. In strong contrast with this display were the coarse habiliments of Jesus. And yet he who was clad in homely garb had reigned in the courts of Heaven, crowned, and with garments of brightness, attended by holy angels. Yet there he stood at the foot of an earthly throne to be tried for his life.?{5Red 36.2}[83]

The priests and rulers had decided in counsel together that Jesus must be condemned, whether or not they could furnish evidence of his guilt. It was necessary to bring charges against him which would be regarded as criminal by the Roman power or they could legally effect nothing?against him. His accusers could find plenty who would testify that he had denounced the priests and scribes; that he had called them hypocrites and murderers; but this would weigh nothing with the Romans, who were themselves disgusted with the pretension of the Pharisees. Such testimony would also weigh nothing with the Sadducees; for in their sharp contentions with the Pharisees, they had used to them language of the same import. His accusers were anxious to avoid raising the opposition of the Sadducees against the Pharisees; for if the two parties fell to contending among themselves, Jesus would be likely to escape from their hands.?{5Red 36.3}[84]

They could secure abundant evidence that Jesus had disregarded their traditions, and spoken irreverently of many of their ordinances; but such evidence was of no value, as it would have no weight with either the Romans or Sadducees. They dared not accuse him of Sabbath-breaking for fear an examination would reveal what had been the character of his work upon that day. In that event his miracles wrought to heal the afflicted would be brought to light, and defeat the very object they wished to gain.?{5Red 37.1}[85]

Christ had said, concerning the temple of his body, that he could destroy it, and raise it again in three days. These words were understood by his hearers to refer to the Jewish temple. Of all that Jesus had said, the priests could find nothing which they could use against him save this. The Romans had engaged in rebuilding and embellishing the temple. They took great pride in it as a work of science and art; and the priests counted upon their indignation when it was proven that Jesus, a humble man, had declared?himself able to build it in three days if it should be destroyed. On this ground, Romans and Jews, Pharisees and Sadducees, could meet; for all held the temple in great veneration.?{5Red 37.2}[86]

In addition to this they had bribed false witnesses to testify that Jesus was guilty of inciting rebellion and seeking to establish a separate government. This they hoped would farther excite the apprehensions of the Romans and accomplish the desired object. But when these witnesses were called, their testimony was so vague and contradictory that it was worthless. Upon cross-questioning, they were led to falsify their own statements. It was becoming apparent to the people that the charges against Jesus could not be maintained. The life of the Saviour had been so faultless, and his doctrine so pure, that envy and malice could find little in either capable of being misrepresented.?{5Red 38.1}[87]

Two witnesses were at last found whose evidence was not so contradictory as the others had been. One of them, a corrupt man who had sold his honor for a sum of money, spoke of Christ as on a level with himself. Said he, “This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.” In the figurative language of prophecy, Jesus had thus foretold his own death and resurrection, his conflict and victory; but his enemies had misconstrued his words to suit their own purposes. The words of Jesus were truth and verity; the evidence was false and malicious. If the words of Jesus had been reported exactly as he uttered them, there would have been nothing offensive in them. If he had been a mere man, as they assumed him to be, his declaration?would only have indicated an unreasonable, boastful spirit, but could not have been construed into blasphemy.?{5Red 38.2}[88]

Caiaphas urged Jesus to answer to the charge made against him; but the Saviour, knowing that his sentence was already determined, answered him nothing. The evidence gained from the last two witnesses proved nothing against him worthy of death; and Jesus himself remained calm and silent. The priests and rulers began to fear that they would fail to gain their object after all. They were disappointed and perplexed that they had failed to gain anything from the false witnesses upon which to condemn their prisoner. Their only hope now was to make Jesus speak out and say something which would condemn him before the people.?{5Red 39.1}[89]

The silence of Christ upon this occasion had already been described by Isaiah in prophetic vision: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.”?{5Red 39.2}[90]

The high priest now raised his right hand to toward Heaven in a most imposing manner, and with a solemn voice addressed Jesus: “I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.” Thus appealed to by the highest acknowledged authority in the nation, and in the name of the Most High, Jesus, to show proper respect for the law, answered, “Thou hast said.” Every ear was bent to listen, and every eye was fixed upon his face, as with calm voice and dignified manner, he made this reply. A heavenly light seemed to illuminate his pale countenance as he added, “Nevertheless?I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.?{5Red 39.3}[91]

For a moment the divinity of Christ flashed through his guise of humanity; and the high priest quailed before the penetrating eyes of the Saviour. That look seemed to read his hidden thoughts, and burn into his heart; and never in after-life did he forget that searching glance of the persecuted Son of God. This voluntary confession of Jesus, claiming his Sonship with God, was made in the most public manner, and under the most solemn oath. In it he presented to the minds of those present a reversal of the scene then being enacted before them, when he, the Lord of life and glory, would be seated at the right hand of God, the supreme Judge of Heaven and earth, from whose decision there could be no appeal. He brought before them a view of that day, when, instead of being surrounded and abused by a riotous mob, headed by the priests and judges of the land, he would come in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory, escorted by legions of angels, to pronounce the sentence of his enemies.?{5Red 40.1}[92]

Jesus knew what would be the result of this announcement; that it would secure his condemnation. The object of the designing priests was now gained. Jesus had declared himself to be the Christ. The high priest, in order to give those present the impression that he was jealous for the insulted majesty of Heaven, rent his garments, and, lifting his hands toward heaven as if in holy horror, said, in a voice calculated to rouse the excited people to violence, “He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses??behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. What think ye?” The answer of the judges was, “He is guilty of death.”?{5Red 40.2}[93]

The priests and judges, exulting in the advantage they had gained through the words of Jesus, but anxious to hide their malicious satisfaction, now pressed close to him, and, as if they could not believe that they had heard aright, simultaneously inquired, “Art thou the Christ? tell us.” Jesus looked calmly at his hypocritical questioners, and answered, “If I tell you, ye will not believe. And if I ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go.” Jesus could have traced down the prophecies, and given his accusers evidence that the very things were then taking place which had been predicted in regard to Messiah. He could have silenced them thus; but they would not then have believed. He could have pointed them to his mighty miracles; but they had set their hearts against the light of Heaven, and no power could change them.?{5Red 41.1}[94]

There were some in that assembly who heeded the words of Jesus and noted his Godlike bearing as he stood serenely before the infuriated judges. The gospel seed found lodgment that day in hearts where it was eventually to spring up and yield an abundant harvest. The reverence and awe which his words inspired in the hearts of many who heard them were to increase and develop into perfect faith in Jesus as the world’s Redeemer. Some of the witnesses of that scene were themselves afterward placed in a similar position to that of Jesus in the judgment hall; and were tried for their lives because they were the disciples of Christ.?{5Red 41.2}[95]

When the condemnation of Jesus was pronounced?by the judges, a satanic fury took possession of the people. The roar of voices was like that of wild beasts. They made a rush toward Jesus, crying, He is guilty, put him to death! and had it not been for the Roman soldiers, Jesus would not have lived to be hanged upon the cross of Calvary. He would have been torn in pieces before his judges, had not Roman authority interfered, and by force of arms withheld the violence of the mob.?{5Red 41.3}[96]

Although Jesus was bound, yet he was also guarded, and held by two men lest he should escape from the hands of his persecutors. The judges and rulers now entirely forgot the dignity of their office, and abused the Son of God with foul epithets, railing upon him in regard to his parentage, and declaring that his presumption in proclaiming himself the Messiah, notwithstanding his low birth, made him deserving of the most ignominious death. Most dissolute men engaged in this infamous abuse of the Saviour. An old garment was thrown over his head, and his jeering persecutors struck him in the face, crying, “Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?” Upon the garment being removed, one poor wretch spat in his face. But the Saviour directed no word or look of retaliation against the deluded souls around him, who had cast off all restraint because they perceived that the priests and rulers sanctioned their acts.?{5Red 42.1}[97]

Jesus realized that the hosts of Heaven were witnessing his humiliation, and that the least angel, if summoned to his aid, could have instantly dispersed that insulting throng, and delivered him from their power. Jesus himself could have stricken down the excited multitude?like dead men, by a look or word of his divinity, or driven them frightened from his presence, as he had the defilers of the temple. But it was in the plan of redemption that he should suffer the scorn and abuse of wicked men, and he consented to all this when he became the Redeemer of man. The angels of God faithfully recorded every insulting look, word, and act directed against their beloved Commander; and the base men who scorned and spat upon the calm, pale face of Christ, were one day to look upon it in its glory, shining brighter than the sun. In that awful time they would pray to the rocks and the mountains: “Hide us from the face of Him who sitteth upon the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.”?{5Red 42.2}[98]

Jesus was pushed hither and thither, and so insulted and abused that at last the Roman officers were ashamed and angry that a man against whom nothing had yet been proven should be subject to the brutal treatment of the worst class of persons. Accordingly they accused the Jewish authorities of assuming to exercise a power that did not belong to them, in trying a man for his life, and pronouncing his condemnation. They declared that in doing this they infringed upon the Roman power, and that it was even against the Jewish law to condemn any man to death on his own testimony. This intervention of Roman authority caused a lull in the rude excitement.?{5Red 43.1}[99]

Just then a hoarse voice rang through the hall, which sent a thrill of terror through the hearts of all present: He is innocent. Spare him, O Caiaphas! He has done nothing worthy of death! The tall form of Judas was now?seen pressing his way through the startled crowd. His face was pale and haggard, and large drops of perspiration stood upon his forehead. He rushed to the throne of judgment, and threw down before the high priest the pieces of silver he had received as the price of his Lord’s betrayal. He eagerly grasped the robe of Caiaphas, and implored him to release Jesus, declaring that he was innocent of all crime. Caiaphas angrily shook him off, but he was confused and knew not what to say. The perfidy of the priests was revealed before the people. It was evident to all that Judas had been bribed to deliver Jesus into the hands of those who sought his life.?{5Red 43.2}[100]

Judas continued to beseech Caiaphas to do nothing against Jesus, declaring that he was indeed the Son of God, and cursing himself that he had betrayed innocent blood. But the high priest, having recovered his self-possession, answered with chilling scorn, “What is that to us? see thou to that.” He then represented to the people that Judas was some poor maniac, one of the mad followers of Jesus, and charged them not to let any influence prevail to release the prisoner, who was a base deceiver.?{5Red 44.1}[101]

Finding his prayers were in vain, Judas fell at the feet of Jesus, acknowledging him to be the Son of God, begging forgiveness for his sin, and imploring him to exercise his God-like power and deliver himself from his enemies. The Saviour did not reproach his betrayer either by look or word. He knew that he was suffering the bitterest remorse for his crime. He gazed compassionately upon Judas, and declared that for that hour he had come into the world.?{5Red 44.2}[102]

A murmur of surprise ran through the assembly at the heavenly forbearance manifested by Jesus. Again a conviction swept over their minds that this man was more than mortal. But the question then arose, If he was indeed the Son of God, why did he not free himself from his bonds and rise triumphant above his accusers??{5Red 45.1}[103]

The love of money had perverted the nobler nature of Judas, making him a fit agent for Satan to use in the betrayal of Christ. When Judas had become annoyed at the implied rebuke of Jesus because of his covetous spirit upon the occasion of Mary anointing her Lord with costly ointment, he yielded to the tempter, and gave Satan easy access to his mind. But when he decided to sell his Master to the murderous priests and rulers, he had no thought that Jesus would permit himself to be taken. He thought the priests would be cheated of their bribe, and he, the betrayer, would secure the money to use for some purpose of his own, and Jesus would have a new opportunity to display his divine power in delivering himself from the wiles of his enemies.?{5Red 45.2}[104]

From the time of his betrayal in the garden, Judas had not lost sight of the Saviour. He eagerly looked for him to surprise his enemies by appearing before them in the character of the Son of God, setting at naught all their plots and power. But when he saw him meekly submitting to their abuse, suffering himself to be tried and condemned to death, his heart smote him, and he realized the full extent of his own crime—he had sold his divine Master to shame and death. He remembered how kind and considerate Jesus had ever been to him, and his heart filled with remorse and anguish. He now?despised the covetousness which Jesus had reproved, and which had tempted him to sell the Saviour for a few pieces of silver.?{5Red 45.3}[105]

Perceiving that his entreaties to spare the life of Jesus availed nothing with the high priest, he rushed from the hall in despair, crying, It is too late! It is too late! He felt unable to live to see Jesus crucified, and, in an agony of remorse, went out and hanged himself.?{5Red 46.1}[106]

Afterward the money which Judas had cast down before the priest was used for the purchase of a public burial ground. “And the chief priests took the silver pieces, and said, It is not lawful for to put them into the treasury, because it is the price of blood. And they took counsel, and bought with them the potter’s field, to bury strangers in. Wherefore that field was called, The field of blood, unto this day.”?{5Red 46.2}[107]

If any testimony had been needed to prove the innocence of Jesus, it was given in the confession of Judas. Not only was it an evidence of the innocence of the Saviour, but the event was a direct fulfillment of prophecy. In prophetic vision Zechariah had looked down the ages and seen the trial of God’s dear Son. The act of Judas is thus described: “And I said unto them, If ye think good, give me my price; and if not, forbear. So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said unto me, Cast it unto the potter; a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the Lord.”?{5Red 46.3}[108]

【Condemnation of Jesus】

When Jesus was asked the question, Art thou the Son of God? he knew that to answer in the affirmative would make his death certain; a denial would leave a stain upon his humanity. There was a time to be silent, and a time to speak. He had not spoken until plainly interrogated. In his lessons to his disciples he had declared: “Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father who is in Heaven.” When challenged, Jesus did not deny his relationship with God. In that solemn moment his character was at stake and must be vindicated. He left on that occasion an example for man to follow under similar circumstances. He would teach him not to apostatize from his faith to escape suffering or even death.?{5Red 47.1}[109]

Had the Jews possessed the authority to do so, they would have executed Jesus at once upon the hasty condemnation of their judges; but such power had passed from them into the hands of the Romans, and it was necessary that the case be referred to the proper authorities of that government for final decision. The Jews were anxious to hasten the trial and execution of Jesus, because if it were not brought about at once there would be a delay of a week on account of the immediate celebration of the passover. In that case Jesus would be kept in bonds, and the intense excitement of the mob that was clamoring for his life, would have been allayed, and a natural reaction would have set in. The better part of the people would have become aroused in his behalf, and in all probability his release would be accomplished. The priests and rulers felt that there was no time to lose.?{5Red 47.2}[110]

The whole Sanhedrim, followed by the multitude, escorted Jesus to the judgment hall of Pilate, the Roman governor, to secure a confirmation of the sentence they had just pronounced. The Jewish priests and rulers could not themselves enter Pilate’s hall for fear of ceremonial defilement, which would disqualify them for taking part in the paschal feast. In order to condemn the spotless Son of God, they were compelled to appeal for judgment to one whose threshold they dared not cross for fear of defilement. Blinded by prejudice and cruelty, they could not discern that their passover festival was of no value, since they had defiled their souls by the rejection of Christ. The great salvation that he brought was typified by the deliverance of the children of Israel, which event was commemorated by the feast of the passover. The innocent lamb slain in Egypt, the blood of which sprinkled upon the door-posts caused the destroying angel to pass over the homes of Israel, prefigured the sinless Lamb of God, whose merits can alone avert the judgment and condemnation of fallen man. The Saviour had been obedient to the Jewish law, and observed all its divinely appointed ordinances. He had just identified himself with the paschal lamb as its great antitype, by connecting the Lord’s supper with the passover. What a bitter mockery then was the ceremony about to be observed by the priestly persecutors of Jesus!?{5Red 48.1}[111]

Pilate beheld, in the accused, a man bearing the marks of violence, but with a serene and noble countenance and dignified bearing. Many cases?had been tried before the Roman governor, but never before had there stood in his presence a man like this. He discovered no trace of crime in his face; and something in the prisoner’s appearance excited his sympathy and respect. He turned to the priests, who stood just without the door, and asked, “What accusation bring ye against this man?”?{5Red 48.2}[112]

They were not prepared for this question. They had not designed to state the particulars of the alleged crime of Jesus. They had expected that Pilate would, without delay, confirm their decision against the Saviour. However they answered him that they had tried the prisoner according to their law and found him deserving of death. Said they, “If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up unto thee.” But Pilate was not satisfied with the explanation of the Jews, and reminded them of their inability to execute the law. He intimated that if their judgment only was necessary to procure his condemnation, it was useless to bring the prisoner to him. Said he, “Take ye him, and judge him according to your law.”?{5Red 49.1}[113]

The treacherous priests felt that they were outwitted; they saw that it would not do to specify the grounds for their condemnation of Jesus. The charge of blasphemy would be regarded by Pilate as the expression of religious bigotry and priestly jealousy; and the case would be at once dismissed. But if they could excite the apprehensions of the Roman governor that Jesus was a leader of sedition, their purpose would be accomplished. Tumults and insurrections were constantly arising among the Jews against the?Roman government, for many affirmed that it was against the Jewish law to pay tribute to a foreign power. The authorities had found it necessary to deal very rigorously with these revolts among the people, and were constantly on the watch for developments of that character, in order to suppress them at once. But Jesus had always been obedient to the reigning power. When the scheming priests sought to entrap him by sending spies to him with the question, “Is it lawful to render tribute to Caesar?” he had directed their attention to the image and superscription of Caesar upon the tribute money, and answered, “Render unto Caesar the things which are Caesar’s.” Jesus himself had paid tribute, and had taught his disciples to do so.?{5Red 49.2}[114]

In their extremity the priests called the false witnesses to their aid. “And they began to accuse him, saying, We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Caesar, saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”?{5Red 50.1}[115]

Pilate was not deceived by this testimony. He now became confident that a deep plot had been laid to destroy an innocent man, who stood in the way of the Jewish dignitaries. He turned to the prisoner and “asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he answered him and said, Thou sayest it.” Jesus stood before Pilate, pale, bruised, and faint from loss of sleep and food. He had been hurried from place to place, and subjected to insult and violence; yet his bearing was noble, and his countenance was lighted as though a sunbeam were shining upon it.?{5Red 50.2}[116]

When his answer was heard by Caiaphas, who stood at the threshold of the judgment hall, the high priest joined with others in calling Pilate to?witness that Jesus had admitted his crime by this answer, which was a virtual acknowledgment that he was seeking to establish a throne in Judah in opposition to the power of Caesar. Priests, scribes, and rulers, all united in noisy denunciations of Jesus, and in importuning Pilate to pronounce sentence of death upon him. The lawless uproar of the infuriated priests and dignitaries of the temple confused the senses of the Roman governor. Finally, when some measure of quiet was secured, he again addressed Jesus, saying, “Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they witness against thee. But Jesus yet answered nothing; so that Pilate marveled.” The silence of the Saviour perplexed him. He saw in the prisoner no marks of a seditious character, and he had no confidence in the accusations of the priests. Hoping to gain the truth from him, and to escape from the clamor of the excited crowd, he requested Jesus to step with him into his house. When he had done so, and the two were alone, Pilate turned to Jesus, and in a respectful voice asked him, “Art thou the King of the Jews?”?{5Red 50.3}[117]

Jesus did not directly answer this question. He knew that conviction was awakened in the heart of Pilate, and he wished to give him an opportunity to acknowledge how far his mind had been influenced in the right direction. He therefore answered, “Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others tell it thee of me?” The Saviour wished a statement from Pilate whether his question arose from the accusations just made by the Jews, or from his desire to receive light from Christ. Pilate longed for a more intelligent faith. The dignified bearing of Jesus, and his?calm self-possession when placed in a position where there would naturally be developed a spirit of hate and revenge, astonished Pilate and won his deep respect. The direct question just asked him by Jesus was immediately understood by him, which evidenced that his soul was stirred by conviction. But pride rose in the heart of the Roman judge and overpowered the Spirit of God. “Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me; what hast thou done?”?{5Red 51.1}[118]

Pilate’s golden opportunity had passed. Jesus, however, did not leave him without farther light. At his desire God sent an angel to Pilate’s wife; and, in a dream, she was shown the pure life and holy character of the man who was about to be consigned to a cruel death. Jesus did not directly answer the question of Pilate as to what he had done; but he plainly stated to him his mission:—?{5Red 52.1}[119]

“My kingdom is not of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews; but now is my kingdom not from hence. Pilate therefore said unto him, Art thou a king then? Jesus answered, Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice.”?{5Red 52.2}[120]

Jesus thus sought to convince Pilate that he was innocent of aspiring to kingly honors upon earth. Pilate had been confused by the disturbed and divided elements of the religious world, and his mind grasped eagerly at the words of Jesus declaring that he had come into?the world to bear witness to the truth. Pilate had heard many voices cry, Here is the truth! I have the truth! But this man, arraigned as a criminal, who claimed to have the truth, stirred his heart with a great longing to know what it was, and how it could be obtained. He inquired of Jesus, “What is truth?” But he did not wait for a reply; the tumult of the excited crowd was continually increasing; their impatient cries jarred upon his ears, and recalled him to his judicial position. He went out to the Jews, who stood beyond the door of the hall, and declared in an emphatic voice, “I find in him no fault at all.”?{5Red 52.3}[121]

Those words, traced by the pen of inspiration, will forever stand as a proof to the world of the base perfidy and falsehood of the Jews in their charges against Jesus. Even the heathen magistrate pronounced him innocent. As Pilate thus spoke, the rage and disappointment of the priests and elders knew no bounds. They had made great efforts to accomplish the death of Jesus, and now that there appeared to be a prospect of his release they seemed ready to tear him in pieces. They lost all reason and self-control, and gave vent to curses and maledictions against him, behaving more like demons than men. They were loud in their censures of Pilate, and threatened the vengeance of the Roman law against him if he refused to condemn one who, they affirmed, had set himself up against Caesar.?{5Red 53.1}[122]

During all this uproar, Jesus stood unmoved, uttering no word in answer to the abuse that was heaped upon him. He had spoken freely to Pilate when alone with him, that the light of his truth might illuminate the darkened?understanding of the Roman governor; and now he could say nothing more to prevent him from committing the fearful act of condemning to death the Son of God. Pilate turned again to Jesus and inquired, “Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly.”?{5Red 53.2}[123]

Angry voices were now heard, declaring that the seditious influence of Jesus was well known throughout all the country. Said they, “He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.” Pilate at this time had no thought of condemning Jesus, because he was certain that he was the victim of the envious and designing priests. As he afterward stated to Jesus, he had the power to condemn or to release him; but he dreaded the ill-will of the people; so when he heard that Jesus was a Galilean and was under the jurisdiction of Herod, he embraced the opportunity to spare himself from farther difficulty, and refused to decide the case, sending him to Herod, who was then in Jerusalem.?{5Red 54.1}[124]

Jesus was faint and weary from loss of sleep and food, and the ill-treatment he had received; yet his suffering condition awakened no pity in the hearts of his persecutors. He was dragged away to the judgment hall of Herod amid the hooting and insults of the merciless mob. Besides escaping responsibility in regard to the trial of Jesus, Pilate thought this would be a good opportunity to heal an old quarrel between himself and Herod. He thought that this act on his part would be regarded by Herod as an acknowledgment of his superior authority, and?would thus bring about a reconciliation. In this he was not wrong for the two magistrates made friends over the trial of the Saviour.?{5Red 54.2}[125]

When Herod had first heard of Jesus and the mighty works wrought by him, he was terror-stricken, and said, “It is John whom I beheaded; he is risen from the dead;” “therefore mighty works do show forth themselves in him.” Herod had never before met Jesus, but he had long desired to see him, and witness his marvelous power. He was pleased that he was brought to him a prisoner, for he made no doubt that he could force him to work a miracle as a condition of saving his life. Herod’s conscience was far less sensitive than when he had trembled with horror at the request of Herodias for the head of John the Baptist. For a time he had felt the keen stings of remorse for the terrible act he had committed to gratify the revenge of a cruel woman; but his moral perceptions had become more and more degraded by his licentious life, till his sins appeared but trifles in his eyes. The men who are capable of the worst crimes are those who have once been convicted by the Spirit of truth, and have turned away from the light into the darkness of iniquity. Herod had very nearly become a disciple of John; but at the very point of decision, he had fallen into the snare of Satan and put to death one whom he knew to be a true prophet.?{5Red 55.1}[126]

As the Saviour was brought before Herod, the rabble surged and pressed about, crying out against the prisoner, some charging him with one crime and some with another. Herod commanded silence and directed that Jesus be unbound, for he wished to interrogate him. He?looked with curiosity, mingled with an impulse of pity, upon the pale, sad face of the Saviour, which was marked with deep wisdom and purity, but showed extreme weariness and suffering. Herod, as well as Pilate, knew from his acquaintance with the character of the Jews, that malice and envy had caused them to condemn this innocent man.?{5Red 55.2}[127]

Herod urged Jesus to save his life by working a miracle that would give evidence of his divine power. But the Saviour had no such work to do. He had taken upon himself the nature of man, and was not to perform a miracle to gratify the curiosity of wicked men, nor to save himself one jot of the pain and humiliation that man would suffer under similar circumstances. Herod urged him to prove that he was not an impostor by demonstrating his power before the crowd. He summoned for the purpose maimed, crippled, and deformed persons, and, in an authoritative manner, commanded Jesus to heal these subjects in his presence, urging that if he had really worked such remarkable cures as were reported of him, he still had power to do like wonders, and could now turn it to his own profit by procuring his release.?{5Red 56.1}[128]

But Jesus stood calmly before the haughty ruler as one who neither saw nor heard. Herod repeatedly urged his proposition upon Jesus, and reiterated the fact that he had the power to release or to condemn him. He even dared to boast of the punishment he had inflicted upon the prophet John for presuming to reprove him. To all this, Jesus made no answer either by word or look. Herod was irritated by the profound silence of the prisoner, which indicated an utter?indifference to the royal personage before whom he had been summoned. Open rebuke would have been more palatable to the vain and pompous ruler than to be thus silently ignored.?{5Red 56.2}[129]

Had Jesus desired to do so, he could have spoken words which would have pierced the ears of the hardened king. He could have stricken him with fear and trembling by laying before him the full iniquity of his life, and the horror of his approaching doom. But Jesus had no light to give one who had gone directly contrary to the knowledge he had received from the greatest of prophets. The ears of Christ had ever been open to the earnest plea of even the worst sinners; but he had no ear for the commands of Herod. Those eyes, that had ever rested with pity and forgiveness upon the penitent sinner, however defiled and lowly, had no look to bestow upon Herod. Those lips, that had dropped precious words of instruction, and were ever ready to answer the questions of those who sought knowledge, and to speak comfort and pardon to the sinful and desponding, had no words for proud and cruel Herod. That heart, ever touched by the presence of human woe, was closed to the haughty king who felt no need of a Saviour.?{5Red 57.1}[130]

The silence of Jesus could no longer be borne by Herod; his face grew dark with passion, and he angrily threatened Jesus; but the captive still remained unmoved. Herod then turned to the multitude and denounced him as an impostor. His accusers well knew that he was no impostor; they had seen too many evidences of his power to be thus misled. They knew that even the grave had opened at his command, and the dead had walked forth, clothed again with life. They had?been greatly terrified when Herod commanded him to work a miracle; for of all things they dreaded an exhibition of his divine power, which would prove a death-blow to their plans, and would perhaps cost them their lives. Therefore the priests and rulers began to cry out vehemently against him, accusing him of working miracles through the power given him of Beelzebub, the prince of devils.?{5Red 57.2}[131]

Some cried out that he claimed to be the Son of God, the King of Israel. Herod, hearing this, said, in derision, A king, is he? Then crown him, and put upon him a royal robe, and worship your king. Then turning to Jesus he angrily declared that if he refused to speak, he should be delivered into the hands of the soldiers, who would have little respect for his claims or his person; if he was an impostor it would be no more than he deserved; but if he was the Son of God he could save himself by working a miracle. No sooner were these words uttered than the mob, at the instigation of the priests, made a rush toward Jesus. Had not the Roman soldiers forced them back, the Saviour would have been torn in pieces.?{5Red 58.1}[132]

At the suggestion of Herod, a crown was now plaited from a vine bearing sharp thorns, and this was placed upon the sacred brow of Jesus; and an old tattered purple robe, once the garment of a king, was placed upon his noble form, while Herod and the Jewish priests encouraged the insults and cruelty of the mob. Jesus was then placed upon a large block, which was derisively called a throne, an old reed was placed in his hand as a scepter, and, amid satanic laughter, curses, and jeers, the rude throng bowed to him mockingly as to a king. Occasionally some?murderous hand snatched the reed that had been placed in his hand, and struck him on the head with it, forcing the thorns into his temples, and causing the blood to flow down his face and beard.?{5Red 58.2}[133]

Satan instigated the cruel abuse of the debased mob, led on by the priest and rulers, to provoke, if possible, retaliation from the world’s Redeemer, or to drive him to deliver himself by a miracle from the hands of his persecutors, and thus break up the plan of salvation. One stain upon his human life, one failure of his humanity to bear the terrible test imposed upon it, would make the Lamb of God an imperfect offering, and the redemption of man would be a failure. But he who could command the heavenly hosts, and in an instant call to his aid legions of holy angels, one of whom could have immediately overpowered that cruel mob,—he who could have stricken down his tormentors by the flashing forth of his divine majesty,—submitted to the coarsest insult and outrage with dignified composure. As the acts of his torturers degraded them below humanity, into the likeness of Satan, so did the meekness and patience of Jesus exalt him above the level of humanity.?{5Red 59.1}[134]

When Herod saw that Jesus submitted passively to all the indignity that was heaped upon him, preserving an unparalleled serenity through it all, he was moved by a sudden fear that after all this might not be a common man who stood before him. He was greatly perplexed when he looked upon the pure, pale face of the prisoner, and questioned if he might not be a God come down to earth. The very silence of Jesus spoke conviction to the heart of the king, such as no words could have done. Herod noticed that while?some bowed before Jesus in mockery, others, who came forward for the same purpose, looked into the sufferer’s face and saw expressed there a look so like a king that they turned back, ashamed of their own audacity. Herod was ill at ease, and, hardened as he was, dared not ratify the condemnation of the Jews; and he therefore sent Jesus back to Pilate.?{5Red 59.2}[135]

The Saviour, tottering with weariness, pale and wounded, wearing a robe of mockery and a crown of thorns, was mercilessly hurried back to the court of the Roman governor. Pilate was very much irritated; for he had congratulated himself on being rid of a fearful responsibility when he referred the accusers of Jesus to Herod. He now impatiently inquired of the Jews what they would have him do. He reminded them that he had already examined the prisoner and found no blame in him; that his accusers had failed to sustain a single charge against him; that he had sent Jesus to Herod, a tetrarch of Galilee, and one of their own nation, who also found nothing worthy of death against the prisoner. Said Pilate, “I will therefore chastise him and release him.”?{5Red 60.1}[136]

Here Pilate exposed his weakness. He had declared that Jesus was innocent of the crimes of which he was accused, yet he was willing to make a partial sacrifice of justice and principle in order to compromise with an unfeeling mob; he was willing to suffer an innocent man to be scourged, that their inhuman wrath might be appeased. But the fact that he proposed to make terms with them placed Pilate at a disadvantage with the ungovernable crowd, who now presumed upon his indecision, and clamored the more for the life of the prisoner. Pilate turned to the people, and?represented to them that the priests and elders had not substantiated in any degree the charges brought against Jesus. He hoped by this means to raise their sympathy for him, so they would be willing to release him. Meanwhile Jesus had fallen through exhaustion upon the marble pavement. Just then a messenger pressed through the crowd, and placed in Pilate’s hand a letter from his wife, which ran thus:—?{5Red 60.2}[137]

“Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.” Pilate’s wife was not a Jew; but the angel of God had sent this warning to her, that, through her, Pilate might be prevented from committing the terrible crime of delivering up to death the divine Son of God.?{5Red 61.1}[138]

Pilate turned pale when he read the message; but the priests and rulers had occupied the interval in farther inflaming the minds of the people, till they were wrought up to a state of insane fury. The governor was forced to action; he turned to the crowd and spoke with great earnestness: “Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” It was customary at this feast for the governor to release one prisoner, whomsoever the people desired to be set at liberty. Pilate seized this as an opportunity to save Jesus; and by giving them a choice between the innocent Saviour and the notable robber and murderer, Barabbas, he hoped to rouse them to a sense of justice. But great was his astonishment when the cry, “Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas!” was started by the priests, and taken up by the mob, resounding through the hall like the hoarse cry of demons.?{5Red 61.2}[139]

Pilate was dumb with surprise and disappointment; but by appealing to the people, and yielding his own judgment, he had compromised his dignity, and lost control of the crowd. The priests saw that though he was convinced of the innocence of Jesus, he could be intimidated by them, and they determined to carry their point. So when Pilate inquired, “What shall I do then with Jesus, who is called Christ?” they with one accord cried out, “Let him be crucified!”?{5Red 62.1}[140]

“And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified.” Here Pilate again revealed his weakness, in submitting the sentence of Jesus to a lawless and infuriated mob. How true were the words of the prophet: “Judgment is turned away backward, and justice standeth afar off; for truth is fallen in the street, and equity cannot enter.” The governor’s cheek paled as he heard the terrible cry: “Crucify him!” He had not thought it would come to that—a man whom he had repeatedly pronounced innocent, to be consigned to the most dreaded of deaths. He now saw what a terrible thing he had done in placing the life of a just man in the balance against the decision of those, who, from envy and malice, had delivered him up to trial. Pilate had taken step after step in the violation of his conscience, and in excusing himself from judging with equity and fairness, as his position demanded he should do, until now he found himself almost helpless in the hands of the Jews.?{5Red 62.2}[141]

Again he asked the question, “Why, what evil hath he done?” and again they cried out, “Crucify him!” Once more Pilate expostulated with them against putting to death one against whom they?could prove nothing. Again, to conciliate them, he proposed to chastise him and let him go. It was not enough that the Saviour of the world, faint with weariness and covered with wounds, must be subjected to the shameful humiliation of such a trial; but his sacred flesh must be bruised and mangled to gratify the satanic fury of the priests and rulers. Satan, with his hellish army had gained possession of them.?{5Red 62.3}[142]

Pilate, in the vain hope of exciting their pity, that they might decide this was sufficient punishment, now caused Jesus to be scourged in the presence of the multitude. The pale sufferer, with a crown of thorns upon his head, and stripped to the waist, revealing the long, cruel stripes, from which the blood flowed freely, was then placed side by side with Barabbas. Although the face of Jesus was stained with blood, and bore marks of exhaustion and pain, yet his noble character could not be hidden, but stood out in marked contrast with that of the robber chief, whose every feature proclaimed him to be a debased and hardened desperado.?{5Red 63.1}[143]

Pilate was filled with sympathy and amazement as he beheld the uncomplaining patience of Jesus. Gentleness and resignation were expressed in every feature; there was no cowardly weakness in his manner, but the strength and dignity of long-suffering. Pilate did not doubt that the sight of this man, who had borne insult and abuse in such a manner, when contrasted with the repulsive criminal by his side, would move the people to sympathy, and they would decide that Jesus had already suffered enough. But he did not understand the fanatical hatred of the priests for Christ, who, as the Light of the?world, had made apparent their darkness and error.?{5Red 63.2}[144]

Pilate, pointing to the Saviour, in a voice of solemn entreaty said to priests, rulers, and people, “Behold the man.” “I bring him forth to you that ye may know that I find no fault in him.” But the priests had moved the mob to mad fury; and, instead of pitying Jesus in his suffering and forbearance, they cried, “Crucify him, crucify him!” and their hoarse voices were like the roaring of wild beasts. Pilate, losing all patience with their unreasoning cruelty, cried out despairingly, “Take ye him, and crucify him; for I find no fault in him.”?{5Red 64.1}[145]

The Roman governor, familiarized with cruel scenes, educated amid the din of battle, was moved with sympathy for the suffering prisoner, who, contemned and scourged, with bleeding brow and lacerated back, still had more the bearing of a king upon his throne than that of a condemned criminal. But the hearts of his own people were hardened against him. The priests declared, “We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”?{5Red 64.2}[146]

Pilate was startled by these words; he had no correct idea of Christ and his mission; but he had an indistinct faith in God and in beings superior to humanity. The thought that had once before passed through his mind now took more definite shape, and he questioned if it might not be a divine personage who stood before him, clad in the purple robe of mockery, and crowned with thorns, yet with such a noble bearing that the stanch Roman trembled with awe as he gazed upon him.?{5Red 64.3}[147]

“When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; and went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.” Jesus had already told Pilate that he was the Messiah, that his kingdom was not of this world; and he had no farther words for a man who so abused the high office of judge as to yield his principles and authority to the demands of a blood-thirsty rabble. Pilate was vexed at the silence of Jesus, and haughtily addressed him:—?{5Red 65.1}[148]

“Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above; therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.” Jesus here laid the heaviest burden of guilt upon the Jewish judges, who had received unmistakable evidence of the divinity of Him whom they had condemned to death, both from the prophecies and his own teachings and miracles. What a scene was this to hand down to the world through all time! The pitying Saviour, in the midst of his intense suffering and grief, excuses as far as possible the act of Pilate, who might have released him from the power of his enemies.?{5Red 65.2}[149]

Pilate was now more convinced than before of the superiority of the man before him, and tried again and again to save him. “But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar’s friend; whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar.” This was touching Pilate in a weak point. He had been looked upon with some suspicion by the government;?and he knew that a report of unfaithfulness on his part would be likely to cost him his position. He knew that if the Jews became his enemies he could hope for no mercy at their hands; for he had before him an example of the perseverance with which they sought to destroy one whom they hated without reason.?{5Red 65.3}[150]

The implied threat in the declaration of the priests, regarding his allegiance to Caesar, intimidated Pilate, so that he yielded to the demands of the mob, and delivered Jesus up to the crucifixion rather than risk losing his position. But the very thing he dreaded came upon him afterward in spite of his precautions. His honors were stripped from him; he was cast down from his high office; and, stung by remorse and wounded pride, he committed suicide not long after the crucifixion.?{5Red 66.1}[151]

“When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person; see ye to it.” Caiaphas answered defiantly, “His blood be on us, and on our children;” and his words were echoed by the priests and rulers, and taken up by the crowd in an inhuman roar of voices. “Then answered all the people and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.”?{5Red 66.2}[152]

At this exhibition of satanic madness, the light of conviction shone more clearly upon the mind of Pilate. He had never before witnessed such rash presumption and heartless cruelty. And in strong contrast with the ungovernable passion of his persecutors was the dignified repose of Jesus. In his own mind Pilate said, He?is a god, and thought he could discern a soft light shining about his head. Looking thus upon Christ he turned pale with fear and self-condemnation; then, confronting the people with a troubled countenance, he said, I am clear of his blood. Take ye him and crucify him; but mark ye, priests and rulers, I pronounce him a just man, and may He whom he claims as his Father judge you for this day’s work, and not me. Then turning to Jesus he continued, Forgive me for this act; I am not able to save you.?{5Red 66.3}[153]

Only a short time before, the governor had declared to his prisoner that he had power to release or to condemn him; but he now thought that he could not save him, and also his own position and honor; and he preferred to sacrifice an innocent life rather than his own worldly power. Had he acted promptly and firmly at the first, carrying out his convictions of right, his will would not have been overborne by the mob; they would not have presumed to dictate to him. His wavering and indecision proved his irredeemable ruin. How many, like Pilate, sacrifice principle and integrity, in order to shun disagreeable consequences. Conscience and duty point one way, and self-interest points another; and the current, setting strongly in the wrong direction, sweeps away into the thick darkness of guilt him who compromises with evil.?{5Red 67.1}[154]

Satan’s rage was great as he saw that all the cruelty which he had led the Jews to inflict upon Jesus had not forced the least murmur from his lips. Although he had taken upon himself the nature of man, he was sustained by a Godlike fortitude, and departed in no particular from the will of his Father.?{5Red 67.2}[155]

Wonder, O Heavens! and be astonished, O earth! Behold the oppressor and the oppressed. A vast multitude inclose the Saviour of the world. Mocking and jeering are mingled with the coarse oaths of blasphemy. His lowly birth and his humble life are commented upon by unfeeling wretches. His claim to be the Son of God is ridiculed by the chief priests and elders, and the vulgar jest and insulting sneer are passed from lip to lip. Satan has full control of the minds of his servants. In order to do this effectually, he had commenced with the chief priests and the elders, and imbued them with a religious frenzy. This they had communicated to the rude and uncultivated mob, until there was a corrupt harmony in the feelings of all, from the hypocritical priests and elders down to the most debased. Christ, the precious Son of God, was led forth and delivered to the people to be crucified.?{5Red 68.1}[156]

【Calvary】

They hurried Jesus away with loud shouts of triumph; but their noise ceased for a time when they passed a retired place, and saw at the foot of a lifeless tree the dead body of Judas, who had betrayed Christ. It was a most revolting spectacle; his weight had broken the cord by which he had hung himself to the tree, and, in falling, his body had become horribly mangled, and was then being devoured by dogs. The mutilated remains were ordered to be buried at once, and the crowd passed on; but there was less noisy mockery, and many a pale face revealed the fearful thoughts within. Retribution seemed?already to be visiting those who were guilty of the blood of Jesus.{5Red 68.2}[157]

By this time the news of the condemnation of Jesus had spread through all Jerusalem, striking terror and anguish to thousands of hearts, but bringing a malicious joy to many who had been reproved by the teachings of the Saviour. The priests had been bound by a promise not to molest any of his disciples if Jesus were delivered up to them; so all classes of people flocked to the scene of outrage, and Jerusalem was left almost empty. Nicodemus, and Joseph of Arimathea, had not been summoned to the Sanhedrim council, and their voices had nothing to do with condemning Jesus. They were present at his crucifixion, but unable to change or modify his terrible sentence.?{5Red 69.1}[158]

The disciples and believers from the region round about joined the throng that followed Jesus to Calvary. The mother of Jesus was also there, supported by John, the beloved disciple. Her heart was stricken with unutterable anguish; yet she, with the disciples, hoped that the painful scene would change, and Jesus would assert his power, and appear before his enemies as the Son of God. Then again her mother’s heart would sink as she remembered words in which he had briefly referred to the things which were that day being enacted.?{5Red 69.2}[159]

Jesus had scarcely passed the gate of Pilate’s house when the cross which had been prepared for Barabbas was brought out and laid upon his bruised and bleeding shoulders. Crosses were also placed upon the companions of Barabbas, who were to suffer death at the same time with Jesus. The Saviour had borne his burden but a?few rods, when, from loss of blood and excessive weariness and pain, he fell fainting to the ground. As he lay beneath the heavy burden of the cross, how the heart of the mother of Christ longed to place a supporting hand beneath his wounded head, and bathe that brow that had once been pillowed upon her bosom. But, alas, that mournful privilege was denied her.?{5Red 69.3}[160]

When Jesus revived, the cross was again placed upon his shoulders and he was forced forward. He staggered on for a few steps, bearing his heavy load, then fell as one lifeless to the ground. He was at first pronounced to be dead, but finally he again revived. The priests and rulers felt no compassion for their suffering victim; but they saw that it was impossible for him to carry the instrument of torture farther. They were puzzled to find any one who would humiliate himself to bear the cross to the place of execution. The Jews could not do it because of defilement, and their consequent inability to keep the coming passover festival.?{5Red 70.1}[161]

While they were considering what to do, Simon, a Cyrenian, coming from an opposite direction, met the crowd, was seized at the instigation of the priests, and compelled to carry the cross of Christ. The sons of Simon were disciples of Jesus, but he himself had never been connected with him. This occasion was a profitable one for him. The cross he was forced to bear became the means of his conversion. His sympathies were deeply stirred in favor of Jesus; and the events of Calvary, and the words uttered by Jesus, caused him to acknowledge that he was the Son of God. Simon ever after felt grateful to God for the singular providence which placed?him in a position to receive evidence for himself that Jesus was the world’s Redeemer.?{5Red 70.2}[162]

When Jesus was thought to be dying beneath the burden of the cross, many women, who, though not believers in Christ, were touched with pity for his sufferings, broke forth into a mournful wailing. When Jesus revived, he looked upon them with tender compassion. He knew they were not lamenting him because he was a teacher sent from God, but from motives of common humanity. He looked upon the weeping women and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but for yourselves, and for your children.”?{5Red 71.1}[163]

Jesus did not despise their tears, but the sympathy which they expressed wakened a deeper chord of sympathy in his own heart for them. He forgot his own grief in contemplating the future fate of Jerusalem. Only a short time ago the people had cried out, “His blood be on us and on our children.” How blindly had they invoked the doom they were soon to realize! Many of the very women who were weeping about Jesus were to perish with their children in the siege of Jerusalem.?{5Red 71.2}[164]

Jesus referred not only to the destruction of Jerusalem, but to the end of the world. Said he, “Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” The innocent were represented by the green tree. If God suffered his wrath because of the sins of the world to fall upon the Redeemer, in that he was permitted to suffer death by crucifixion, what might be expected to come upon the impenitent and unbelieving, who had slighted the mercies of God,purchased for them by the death of his Son? The mind of Jesus wandered from the destruction of Jerusalem to a wider judgment, when all the impenitent would suffer condemnation for their sins; when the Son of man should come, attended not by a murderous mob, but by the mighty hosts of God.?{5Red 71.3}[165]

A great multitude followed the Saviour to Calvary, many mocking and deriding; but some were weeping and recounting his praise. Those whom he had healed of various infirmities, and those whom he had raised from the dead, declared his marvelous works with earnest voice, and demanded to know what Jesus had done that he should be treated as a malefactor. Only a few days before, they had attended him with joyful hosannas, and the waving of palm-branches, as he rode triumphantly to Jerusalem. But many who had then shouted his praise because it was popular to do so, now swelled the cry of “Crucify him! Crucify him!”?{5Red 72.1}[166]

Upon the occasion of Christ riding into Jerusalem, the disciples had been raised to the highest pitch of expectation. They had pressed close about their Master, and had felt that they were highly honored to be connected with him. Now they followed him in his humiliation at a distance. They were filled with inexpressible grief, and disappointed hopes. How were the words of Jesus verified: “All ye will be offended because of me this night; for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.” Yet the disciples still had faint hope that their Master would manifest his power at the last moment, and deliver himself from his enemies.?{5Red 72.2}[167]

Upon arriving at the place of execution, the condemned were bound to the instruments of torture. While the two thieves wrestled in the hands of those who stretched them upon the cross, Jesus made no resistance. The mother of Jesus looked on with agonizing suspense, hoping that he would work a miracle to save himself. Surely He who had given life to the dead would not suffer himself to be crucified. What torture must this woman have endured as she witnessed the shame and suffering of her son, yet was not able to minister to him in his distress! Bitter grief and disappointment filled her heart. Must she give up her faith that he was the true Messiah? Would the Son of God allow himself to be thus cruelly slain? She saw his hands stretched upon the cross—those dear hands that had ever dispensed blessings, and had been reached forth so many times to heal the suffering. And now the hammer and nails were brought, and as the spikes were driven through the tender flesh and fastened to the cross, the heart-stricken disciples bore away from the cruel scene the fainting form of the mother of Christ.?{5Red 73.1}[168]

Jesus made no murmur of complaint; his face remained pale and serene, but great drops of sweat stood upon his brow. There was no pitying hand to wipe the death-dew from his face, nor words of sympathy and unchanging fidelity to stay his human heart. He was treading the wine-press all alone; and of all the people there was none with him. While the soldiers were doing their fearful work, and he was enduring the most acute agony, Jesus prayed for his enemies—“Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” His mind was borne from his?own suffering to the crime of his persecutors, and the terrible but just retribution that would be theirs. He pitied them in their ignorance and guilt. No curses were called down upon the soldiers who were handling him so roughly, no vengeance was invoked upon the priests and rulers who were the cause of all his suffering, and were then gloating over the accomplishment of their purpose, but only a plea for their forgiveness—“for they know not what they do.”?{5Red 73.2}[169]

Had they known that they were putting to exquisite torture one who had come to save the sinful race from eternal ruin, they would have been seized with horror and remorse. But their ignorance did not remove their guilt; for it was their privilege to know and accept Jesus as their Saviour. They rejected all evidence, and not only sinned against Heaven in crucifying the King of Glory, but against the commonest feelings of humanity in putting to a torturous death an innocent man. Jesus was earning the right to become the Advocate for man in the Father’s presence. That prayer of Christ for his enemies embraced the world, taking in every sinner who should live, until the end of time.?{5Red 74.1}[170]

After Jesus was nailed to the cross, it was lifted by several powerful men, and thrust with great violence into the place prepared for it, causing the most excruciating agony to the Son of God. Pilate then wrote an inscription in three different languages and placed it upon the cross, above the head of Jesus. It ran thus: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” This inscription, placed so conspicuously upon the cross, irritated the Jews. In Pilate’s court they had cried, Crucify him! We have no king but Caesar!?They declared that whoever claimed other than Caesar for a king was a traitor. But they had overreached themselves in disclaiming any desire to have a king of their own nation. Pilate, in his inscription, wrote out the sentiments which they had expressed. It was a virtual declaration, and so understood by all, that the Jews acknowledged that on account of their allegiance to the Roman power, any man who aspired to be king of the Jews, however innocent in other respects, should be judged by them worthy of death. There was no other offense named in the inscription; it simply stated that Jesus was the king of the Jews.{5Red 74.2}[171]

The Jews saw this, and asked Pilate to change the inscription. Said the chief priests, “Write not, The King of the Jews; but that he said, I am King of the Jews.” But Pilate, angry with himself because of his former weakness, and thoroughly despising the jealous and artful priests and rulers, coldly replied, “What I have written I have written.”?{5Red 75.1}[172]

And now a terrible scene was enacted. Priests, rulers, and scribes forgot the dignity of their sacred offices, and joined with the rabble in mocking and jeering the dying Son of God, saying, “If thou be the King of the Jews, save thyself.” And some deridingly repeated among themselves: “He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him; for he said, I am the Son of God.” “And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest?the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself, and come down from the cross.”?{5Red 75.2}[173]

These men, who professed to be the expounders of prophecy, were themselves repeating the very words which inspiration had foretold they would utter upon this occasion; yet, in their blindness, they did not perceive that they were fulfilling prophecy. The dignitaries of the temple, the hardened soldiers, the vile thief upon the cross, and the base and cruel among the multitude, all united in their abuse of Christ.?{5Red 76.1}[174]

The thieves who were crucified with Jesus suffered like physical torture with him; but one was only hardened and rendered desperate and defiant by his pain. He took up the mocking of the priests, and railed upon Jesus, saying, “If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.” The other malefactor was not a hardened criminal; his morals had been corrupted by association with the base, but his crimes were not so great as were those of many who stood beneath the cross reviling the Saviour.?{5Red 76.2}[175]

In common with the rest of the Jews, he had believed that Messiah was soon to come. He had heard Jesus, and been convicted by his teachings; but through the influence of the priests and rulers he had turned away from him. He had sought to drown his convictions in the fascinations of pleasure. Corrupt associations had led him farther and farther into wickedness, until he was arrested for open crime and condemned to die upon the cross. During that day of trial he had been in company with Jesus in the judgment hall and on the way to Calvary. He had heard Pilate declare him to be a just man; he had marked his Godlike deportment?and his pitying forgiveness of his tormentors. In his heart he acknowledged Jesus to be the Son of God.?{5Red 76.3}[176]

When he heard the sneering words of his companion in crime, he “rebuked him, saying, Dost thou not fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this man hath done nothing amiss.” Then, as his heart went out to Christ, heavenly illumination flooded his mind. In Jesus, bruised, mocked, and hanging upon the cross, he saw his Redeemer, his only hope, and appealed to him in humble faith: “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom! And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee today, [By placing the comma after the word?today, instead of after the word?thee, as in the common versions, the true meaning of the text is more apparent.] shalt thou be with me in Paradise.”?{5Red 77.1}[177]

Jesus did not promise the penitent thief that he should go with him, upon the day of their crucifixion, to Paradise; for he himself did not ascend to his Father until three days afterward. See?John 20:17. But he declared unto him, “I say unto thee?today—” meaning to impress the fact upon his mind, that at?that time, while enduring ignominy and persecution, he had the power to save sinners. He was man’s Advocate with the Father, having the same power as when he healed the sick and raised the dead to life; it was his divine right to promise?that day?to the repentant, believing malefactor, “Thou shalt be with me in Paradise.”?{5Red 77.2}[178]

The criminal upon the cross, notwithstanding?his physical suffering, felt in his soul the peace and comfort of acceptance with God. The Saviour, lifted upon the cross, enduring pain and mockery, rejected by the priests and elders, is sought by a guilty, dying soul with a faith discerning the world’s Redeemer in Him who is crucified like a malefactor. For such an object did the Son of God leave Heaven, to save lost and perishing sinners. While the priests and rulers, in their self-righteous scorn, fail to see his divine character, he reveals himself to the penitent thief as the sinner’s Friend and Saviour. He thus teaches that the vilest sinner may find pardon and salvation through the merits of the blood of Christ.?{5Red 77.3}[179]

The Spirit of God illuminated the mind of this criminal, who took hold of Christ by faith, and, link after link, the chain of evidence that Jesus was the Messiah was joined together, until the suffering victim, in like condemnation with himself, stood forth before him as the Son of God. While the leading Jews deny him, and even the disciples doubt his divinity, the poor thief, upon the brink of eternity, at the close of his probation, calls Jesus his Lord! Many were ready to call him Lord when he wrought miracles, and also after he had risen from the grave; but none called him Lord as he hung dying upon the cross, save the penitent thief, who was saved at the eleventh hour.?{5Red 78.1}[180]

This was a genuine conversion under peculiar circumstances, for a special and peculiar purpose. It testified to all beholders that Jesus was not an impostor, but sustained his character, and carried out his mission to the closing scene of his earthly life. Never in his entire ministry were words?more grateful to his ears than the utterance of faith from the lips of the dying thief, amid the blasphemy and taunts of the mob. But let no one neglect present opportunities and delay repentance, presuming on the eleventh-hour conversion of the thief, and trusting to a death-bed repentance. Every ray of light neglected leaves the sinner in greater darkness than before, till some fearful deception may take possession of his mind, and his case may become hopeless. Yet there are instances, like that of the poor thief, where enlightenment comes at the last moment, and is accepted with an intelligent faith. Such penitents find favor with Christ.?{5Red 78.2}[181]

With amazement the angels beheld the infinite love of Jesus, who, suffering the most excruciating agony of mind and body, thought only of others, and encouraged the penitent soul to believe. While pouring out his life in death, he exercised a love for man stronger than death. In Christ’s humiliation, he, as a prophet, had addressed the daughters of Jerusalem; as priest and Advocate, he had pleaded with the Father to forgive the sins of his destroyers; as a loving Saviour, he had forgiven the iniquity of the penitent thief who called upon him. Many who witnessed those scenes upon Calvary were afterward established by them in the faith of Christ.?{5Red 79.1}[182]

The serpent lifted up in the wilderness represented the Son of man lifted upon the cross. Christ said to Nicodemus, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life.” In the wilderness all who looked upon the elevated brazen serpent lived, while those who?refused to look died. The two thieves upon the cross represent the two great classes of mankind. All have felt the poison of sin, represented by the sting of the fiery serpent in the wilderness. Those who look upon and believe in Jesus Christ, as the thief looked upon him when lifted upon the cross, shall live forever; but those who refuse to look upon him and believe in him, as the hardened thief refused to look upon and believe in the crucified Redeemer, shall die without hope.?{5Red 79.2}[183]

The enemies of Jesus now awaited his death with impatient hope. That event they imagined would forever hush the rumors of his divine power, and the wonders of his miracles. They flattered themselves that they should then no longer tremble because of his influence. The unfeeling soldiers who had stretched the body of Jesus upon the cross, divided his clothing among themselves, contending over one garment, which was woven without seam. They finally decided the matter by casting lots for it. The pen of inspiration had accurately described this scene hundreds of years before it took place: “For dogs have compassed me; the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.” “They parted my raiment among them, and for my vesture they did cast lots.”?{5Red 80.1}[184]

The eyes of Jesus wandered over the multitude that had collected together to witness his death, and he saw at the foot of the cross John supporting Mary, the mother of Christ. She had returned to the terrible scene, not being able to longer remain away from her son. The last lesson of Jesus was one of filial love. He looked upon the grief-stricken face of his mother, and?then upon John; said he, addressing the former: “Woman, behold thy son.” Then, to the disciple: “Behold thy mother.” John well understood the words of Jesus, and the sacred trust which was committed to him. He immediately removed the mother of Christ from the fearful scene of Calvary. From that hour he cared for her as would a dutiful son, taking her to his own home. O pitiful, loving Saviour! Amid all his physical pain, and mental anguish, he had a tender, thoughtful care for the mother who had borne him. He had no money to leave her, by which to insure her future comfort, but he was enshrined in the heart of John, and he gave his mother unto the beloved disciple as a sacred legacy. This trust was to prove a great blessing to John, a constant reminder of his beloved Master.?{5Red 80.2}[185]

The perfect example of Christ’s filial love shines forth with undimmed luster from the mist of ages. While enduring the keenest torture, he was not forgetful of his mother, but made all provision necessary for her future. The followers of Christ should feel that it is a part of their religion to respect and provide for their parents. No pretext of religious devotion can excuse a son or daughter from fulfilling the obligations due to a parent.?{5Red 81.1}[186]

The mission of Christ’s earthly life was now nearly accomplished. His tongue was parched, and he said, “I thirst.” They saturated a sponge with vinegar and gall and offered it him to drink; and when he had tasted it, he refused it. And now the Lord of life and glory was dying, a ransom for the race. It was the sense of sin, bringing?the Father’s wrath upon him as man’s substitute, that made the cup he drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God. Death is not to be regarded as an angel of mercy. Nature recoils from the thought of dissolution, which is the consequence of sin.?{5Red 81.2}[187]

But it was not the dread of death which caused the inexpressible agony of Jesus. To believe this would be to place him beneath the martyrs in courage and endurance; for many of those who have died for their faith, yielded to torture and death, rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer for Christ’s sake. Christ was the prince of sufferers; but it was not bodily anguish that filled him with horror and despair; it was a sense of the malignity of sin, a knowledge that man had become so familiar with sin that he did not realize its enormity, that it was so deeply rooted in the human heart as to be difficult to eradicate.?{5Red 82.1}[188]

As man’s substitute and surety, the iniquity of men was laid upon Christ; he was counted a transgressor that he might redeem them from the curse of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam of every age was pressing upon his heart; and the wrath of God, and the terrible manifestation of his displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of his Son with consternation. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Saviour, in this hour of supreme anguish, pierced his heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. Every pang endured by the Son of God upon the cross, the blood drops that flowed from his head, his hands, and feet, the convulsions of agony which racked his frame, and the unutterable anguish that filled his soul at the hiding of his Father’s face from?him, speak to man, saying, It is for love of thee that the Son of God consents to have these heinous crimes laid upon him; for thee he spoils the domain of death, and opens the gates of Paradise and immortal life. He who stilled the angry waves by his word, and walked the foam-capped billows, who made devils tremble, and disease flee from his touch, who raised the dead to life and opened the eyes of the blind,—offers himself upon the cross as the last sacrifice for man. He, the sin-bearer, endures judicial punishment for iniquity, and becomes sin itself for man.?{5Red 82.2}[189]

Satan, with his fierce temptations, wrung the heart of Jesus. Sin, so hateful to his sight, was heaped upon him till he groaned beneath its weight. No wonder that his humanity trembled in that fearful hour. Angels witnessed with amazement the despairing agony of the Son of God, so much greater than his physical pain that the latter was hardly felt by him. The hosts of Heaven veiled their faces from the fearful sight.?{5Red 83.1}[190]

Inanimate nature expressed a sympathy with its insulted and dying Author. The sun refused to look upon the awful scene. Its full, bright rays were illuminating the earth at midday, when suddenly it seemed to be blotted out. Complete darkness enveloped the cross, and all the vicinity about, like a funeral pall. There was no eclipse or other natural cause for this darkness, which was deep as midnight without moon or stars. The dense blackness was an emblem of the soul-agony and horror that encompassed the Son of God. He had felt it in the garden of Gethsemane, when from his pores were forced drops of blood, and where he would have died had not an angel been sent from the courts of Heaven?to invigorate the divine sufferer, that he might tread his blood-stained path to Calvary.?{5Red 83.2}[191]

The darkness lasted three full hours. No eye could pierce the gloom that enshrouded the cross, and none could penetrate the deeper gloom that flooded the suffering soul of Christ. A nameless terror took possession of all who were collected about the cross. The silence of the grave seemed to have fallen upon Calvary. The cursing and reviling ceased in the midst of half-uttered sentences. Men, women, and children prostrated themselves upon the earth in abject terror. Vivid lightnings, unaccompanied by thunder, occasionally flashed forth from the cloud, and revealed the cross and the crucified Redeemer.?{5Red 84.1}[192]

Priests, rulers, scribes, executioners, and the mob, all thought their time of retribution had come. After a while, some whispered to others that Jesus would now come down from the cross. Some attempted to grope their way back to the city, beating their breasts and wailing in fear.?{5Red 84.2}[193]

At the ninth hour the terrible darkness lifted from the people, but still wrapt the Saviour as in a mantle. The angry lightnings seemed to be hurled at him as he hung upon the cross. Then “Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” As the outer gloom settled about Christ, many voices exclaimed, The vengeance of God is upon him! The bolts of God’s wrath are hurled upon him because he claimed to be the Son of God! When the Saviour’s despairing cry rang out, many who had believed on him were filled with terror; hope left them; if God had forsaken Jesus, what was?to become of his followers, and the doctrine they had cherished??{5Red 84.3}[194]

The darkness now lifted itself from the oppressed spirit of Christ, and he revived to a sense of physical suffering, and said, “I thirst.” Here was a last opportunity for his persecutors to sympathize with and relieve him; but when the gloom was removed, their terror abated, and the old dread returned that Jesus might even yet escape them, “and one ran and filled a sponge full of vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying, Let alone; let us see whether Elias will come to take him down.”?{5Red 85.1}[195]

In yielding up his precious life, Christ was not cheered by triumphant joy; all was oppressive gloom. There hung upon the cross the spotless Lamb of God, his flesh lacerated with stripes and wounds; those precious hands, that had ever been ready to relieve the oppressed and suffering, extended upon the cross, and fastened by the cruel nails; those patient feet, that had traversed weary leagues in the dispensing of blessings and in teaching the doctrine of salvation to the world, bruised and spiked to the cross; his royal head wounded by a crown of thorns; those pale and quivering lips, that had ever been ready to respond to the plea of suffering humanity, shaped to the mournful words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?”?{5Red 85.2}[196]

In silence the people watch for the end of this fearful scene. Again the sun shines forth; but the cross is enveloped in darkness. Priests and rulers look toward Jerusalem; and lo, the dense cloud has settled upon the city, and over Judah’s plains, and the fierce lightnings of God’s wrath are directed against the fated city. Suddenly?the gloom is lifted from the cross, and in clear trumpet tones, that seem to resound throughout creation, Jesus cries, “It is finished;” “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” A light encircled the cross, and the face of the Saviour shone with a glory like unto the sun. He then bowed his head upon his breast, and died.?{5Red 85.3}[197]

All the spectators stood paralyzed, and with bated breath gazed upon the Saviour. Again darkness settled upon the face of the earth, and a hoarse rumbling like heavy thunder was heard. This was accompanied by a violent trembling of the earth. The multitude were shaken together in heaps, and the wildest confusion and consternation ensued. In the surrounding mountains, rocks burst asunder with loud crashing, and many of them came tumbling down the heights to the plains below. The sepulchers were broken open, and the dead were cast out of their tombs. Creation seemed to be shivering to atoms. Priests, rulers, soldiers, and executioners were mute with terror, and prostrate upon the ground.?{5Red 86.1}[198]

The darkness was again lifted from Calvary, and hung like a pall over Jerusalem. At the moment in which Christ died, there were priests ministering in the temple before the vail which separated the holy from the most holy place. Suddenly they felt the earth tremble beneath them, and the vail of the temple, a strong, rich drapery that had been renewed yearly, was rent in twain from top to bottom by the same bloodless hand that wrote the words of doom upon the walls of Belshazzar’s palace. The most holy place, that had been sacredly entered by human feet only once a year, was revealed to the common gaze.?God had ever before protected his temple in a wonderful manner; but now its sacred mysteries were exposed to curious eyes. No longer would the presence of God overshadow the earthly mercy-seat. No longer would the light of his glory flash forth upon, nor the cloud of his disapproval shadow, the precious stones in the breast-plate of the high priest.?{5Red 86.2}[199]

When Christ died upon the cross of Calvary, a new and living way was opened to both Jew and Gentile. The Saviour was henceforth to officiate as Priest and Advocate in the Heaven of heavens. From henceforth the blood of beasts offered for sin was valueless; for the Lamb of God had died for the sins of the world. The darkness upon the face of nature expressed her sympathy with Christ in his expiring agony. It evidenced to humanity that the Sun of Righteousness, the Light of the world, was withdrawing his beams from the once favored city of Jerusalem, and from the world. It was a miraculous testimony given of God, that the faith of after generations might be confirmed.?{5Red 87.1}[200]

Jesus did not yield up his life till he had accomplished the work which he came to do; and he exclaimed with his parting breath, “It is finished!” Angels rejoiced as the words were uttered; for the great plan of redemption was being triumphantly carried out. There was joy in Heaven that the sons of Adam could now, through a life of obedience, be exalted finally to the presence of God. Satan was defeated, and knew that his kingdom was lost.?{5Red 87.2}[201]

When the Christian fully comprehends the magnitude of the great sacrifice made by the Majesty of Heaven, then will the plan of salvation?be magnified before him, and to meditate upon Calvary will awaken the deepest and most sacred emotions of his heart. Contemplation of the Saviour’s matchless love should absorb the mind, touch and melt the heart, refine and elevate the affections, and completely transform the whole character. The language of the apostle is, “I determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” And we may look toward Calvary and exclaim, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”?{5Red 87.3}[202]

With the death of Christ the hopes of his disciples seemed to perish. They looked upon his closed eyelids and drooping head, his hair matted with blood, his pierced hands and feet, and their anguish was indescribable. They had not believed until the last that he would die, and they could hardly credit their senses that he was really dead. The Majesty of Heaven had yielded up his life, forsaken of the believers, unattended by one act of relief or word of sympathy; for even the pitying angels had not been permitted to minister to their beloved Commander.?{5Red 88.1}[203]

Evening drew on, and an unearthly stillness hung over Calvary. The crowd dispersed, and many returned to Jerusalem greatly changed in spirit from what they had been in the morning. Many of them had then collected at the crucifixion from curiosity, and not from hatred toward Christ. Still they accepted the fabricated reports of the priests concerning him, and looked upon him as a malefactor. At the execution they had imbibed the spirit of the leading Jews,?and, under an unnatural excitement, had united with the mob in mocking and railing against him.?{5Red 88.2}[204]

But when the earth was draped with blackness, and they stood accused by their own consciences, reason again resumed her sway, and they felt guilty of doing a great wrong. No jest nor mocking laughter was heard in the midst of that fearful gloom; and when it was lifted, they solemnly made their way to their homes, awestruck and conscience-smitten. They were convinced that the accusations of the priests were false, that Jesus was no pretender; and a few weeks later they were among the thousands who became thorough converts to Christ, when Peter preached upon the day of Pentecost, and the great mystery of the cross was explained with other mysteries in regard to Messiah.?{5Red 89.1}[205]

The Roman officers in charge were standing about the cross when Jesus cried out, “It is finished,” in a voice of startling power, and then instantly died with that cry of victory upon his lips. They had never before witnessed a death like that upon the cross. It was an unheard-of thing for one to die thus within six hours after crucifixion. Death by crucifixion was a slow and lingering process; nature became more and more exhausted until it was difficult to determine when life had become extinct. But for a man dying thus to summon such power of voice and clearness of utterance as Jesus had done, immediately before his death, was such an astonishing event that the Roman officers, experienced in such scenes, marveled greatly; and the centurion who commanded the detachment of soldiers on duty there, immediately declared, “Truly this was the Son of God.” Thus three men, differing?widely from one another, openly declared their belief in Christ upon the very day of his death—he who commanded the Roman guard, he who bore the cross of his Saviour, and he who died upon the cross by his side.?{5Red 89.2}[206]

The spectators, and the soldiers who guarded the cross, were convinced, so far as their minds were capable of grasping the idea, that Jesus was the Redeemer for whom Israel had so long looked. But the darkness that mantled the earth could not be more dense than that which enveloped the minds of the priests and rulers. They were unchanged by the events they had witnessed, and their hatred of Jesus had not abated with his death.?{5Red 90.1}[207]

At his birth the angel star in the heavens had known Christ, and had conducted the seers to the manger where he lay. The heavenly hosts had known him, and sung his praise over the plains of Bethlehem. The sea had acknowledged his voice, and was obedient to his command. Disease and death had recognized his authority, and yielded their prey to his demand. The sun had known him, and hidden its face of light from the sight of his dying anguish. The rocks had known him, and shivered into fragments at his dying cry. Although inanimate nature recognized, and bore testimony of Christ, that he was the Son of God, yet the priests and rulers knew not the Saviour, rejected the evidence of his divinity, and steeled their hearts against his truths. They were not so susceptible as the granite rocks of the mountains.?{5Red 90.2}[208]

The Jews were unwilling that the bodies of those who had been executed should remain that night upon the cross. They dreaded to have?the attention of the people directed any farther to the events attending the death of Jesus. They feared the results of that day’s work upon the minds of the public. So, under pretext that they did not wish the sanctity of the Sabbath to be defiled by the bodies remaining upon the cross during that holy day, which was the one following the crucifixion, the leading Jews sent a request to Pilate that he would permit them to hasten the death of the victims, so that their bodies might be removed before the setting of the sun.?{5Red 90.3}[209]

Pilate was unwilling as they were that the spectacle of Jesus upon the cross should remain a moment longer than was necessary. The consent of the governor having been obtained, the legs of the two that were crucified with Jesus were broken to hasten their death; but Jesus was already dead, and they broke not his legs. The rude soldiers, who had witnessed the looks and words of Jesus upon his way to Calvary, and while dying upon the cross, were softened by what they had witnessed, and were restrained from marring him by breaking his limbs. Thus was prophecy fulfilled, which declared that a bone of him should not be broken; and the law of the passover, requiring the sacrifice to be perfect and whole, was also fulfilled in the offering of the Lamb of God. “They shall leave none of it unto the morning, nor break any bone of it; according to all the ordinances of the passover they shall keep it.”?{5Red 91.1}[210]

A soldier, at the suggestion of the priests who wished to make the death of Jesus sure, thrust his spear into the Saviour’s side, inflicting a wound which would have caused instant death?if he had not already been dead. From the wide incision made by the spear there flowed two copious and distinct streams, one of blood, the other of water. This remarkable fact was noted by all the beholders, and John states the occurrence very definitely; he says: “One of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true; and he knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe. For these things were done that the scripture should be fulfilled. A bone of him shall not be broken. And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.”?{5Red 91.2}[211]

After the resurrection, the priests and rulers caused the report to be circulated that Jesus did not die upon the cross, that he merely fainted and was afterward resuscitated. Another lying report affirmed that it was not a real body of flesh and bone but the likeness of a body that was laid in the tomb. But the testimony of John concerning the pierced side of the Saviour, and the blood and water that flowed from the wound, refutes these falsehoods that were brought into existence by the unscrupulous Jews.?{5Red 92.1}[212]

【At the Sepulcher】

Treason against the Roman government was the alleged crime for which Jesus was executed, and persons put to death for this offense were taken down by the common soldiers and consigned to a burial ground reserved exclusively for that class of criminals who had suffered the extreme penalty of the law.?{5Red 92.2}[213]

John was at a loss to know what measures he should take in regard to the body of his beloved Master. He shuddered at the thought of its being handled by rough and unfeeling soldiers, and placed in a dishonored burial place. He knew he could obtain no favors from the Jewish authorities, and he could hope little from Pilate. But Joseph and Nicodemus came to the front in this emergency. Both of these men were members of the Sanhedrim, and acquainted with Pilate. Both were men of wealth and influence. They were determined that the body of Jesus should have an honorable burial.?{5Red 93.1}[214]

Joseph went boldly to Pilate, and begged from him the body of Jesus for burial. His prayer was speedily granted by Pilate, who firmly believed Jesus to have been innocent. Pilate now for the first time heard from Joseph that Jesus was really dead. The knowledge had been purposely kept from him, although various conflicting reports had reached his ears concerning the strange events attending the crucifixion. Now he learned that the Saviour died at the very moment when the mysterious darkness that enshrouded the earth had passed away. Pilate was surprised that Jesus had died so soon; for those who were crucified frequently lingered days upon the cross. The account which Pilate now received of the death of Jesus caused him more firmly to believe that he was no ordinary man. The Roman governor was strangely agitated, and regretted most keenly the part he had taken in the condemnation of the Saviour.?{5Red 93.2}[215]

The priests and rulers had charged Pilate and his officers to guard against any deception which the disciples of Jesus might attempt to?practice upon them in regard to the body of their Master. Pilate, therefore, before granting the request of Joseph, sent for the centurion who was in command of the soldiers at the cross, and heard for a certainty from his lips that Jesus was dead; and in compliance with Pilate’s earnest request he recounted the fearful scenes of Calvary, corroborating the testimony of Joseph.?{5Red 93.3}[216]

Pilate then gave an official order that the body of Jesus should be given to Joseph. While the disciple John was anxious and troubled about the sacred remains of his beloved Master, Joseph of Arimathea returned with the commission from the governor; and Nicodemus, anticipating the result of Joseph’s interview with Pilate, came with a costly mixture of myrrh and aloes of about one hundred pounds’ weight. The most honored in all Jerusalem could not have been shown more respect in death.?{5Red 94.1}[217]

The women of Galilee had remained with the disciple John to see what disposition would be made of the body of Jesus, which was very precious to them, although their faith in him as the promised Messiah had perished with him. The disciples were plunged in sorrow; they were so overwhelmed by the events which had transpired that they were unable to recall the words of Jesus stating that just such things would take place concerning him. The women were astonished to see Joseph and Nicodemus, both honored and wealthy councilors, as anxious and interested as themselves for the proper disposal of the body of Jesus.?{5Red 94.2}[218]

Neither of these men had openly attached himself to the Saviour while he was living, although both believed on him. They knew?that if they declared their faith they would be excluded from the Sanhedrim council, on account of the prejudice of the priests and elders toward Jesus. This would have cut them off from all power to aid or protect him by using their influence in the council. Several times they had shown the fallacy of the grounds of his condemnation, and protested against his arrest, and the council had broken up without accomplishing that for which it had been called together; for it was impossible to procure the condemnation of Jesus without the unanimous consent of the Sanhedrim. The object of the priests had finally been obtained by calling a secret council, to which Joseph and Nicodemus were not summoned.?{5Red 94.3}[219]

The two councilors now came boldly forth to the aid of the disciples. The help of these rich and honored men was greatly needed at that time. They could do for the slain Saviour what it was impossible for the poorer disciples to do; and their influential positions protected them, in a great measure, from censure and remonstrance. While the acknowledged disciples of Christ were too thoroughly disheartened and intimidated to show themselves openly to be his followers, these men came boldly to the front and acted their noble part.?{5Red 95.1}[220]

Gently and reverently they removed with their own hands the body of Jesus from the instrument of torture, their sympathetic tears falling fast as they looked upon his bruised and lacerated form, which they carefully bathed and cleansed from the stain of blood. Joseph owned a new tomb, hewn from stone, which he was reserving for himself; it was near Calvary, and he now?prepared this sepulcher for Jesus. The body, together with the spices brought by Nicodemus, was carefully wrapped in a linen sheet, and the three disciples bore their precious burden to the new sepulcher, wherein man had never before lain. There they straightened those mangled limbs, and folded the bruised hands upon the pulseless breast. The Galilean women drew near, to see that all had been done that could be done for the lifeless form of their beloved Teacher. Then they saw the heavy stone rolled against the entrance of the sepulcher, and the Son of God was left at rest. The women were last at the cross, and last at the tomb of Christ. While the evening shades were gathering, Mary Magdalene and the other Marys lingered about the sacred resting-place of their Lord, shedding tears of sorrow over the fate of Him whom they loved.?{5Red 95.2}[221]

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