THE MEN who took Jesus as their prisoner were the policemen of the Temple, led by their chief. With them were some of the priests and officers, and a crowd of the lowest people, who had been gathered from the streets by the rulers. All these formed together a noisy and disorderly mob, dragging Jesus out of the Garden of Gethsemane and into the city on Mount Zion. Two of the disciples, Peter and John, followed, keeping close to the crowd, but outside of it, their hearts filled with alarm for their Master.
The Temple policemen brought Jesus, all tied with ropes and chains, to the house on Mount Zion, inside the wall of the city, where lived one of the chief priests named Annas. Annas had once been the high priest, that is, the great priest at the head of all the priests; but the Roman rulers of the land had taken his office away from him, and made Caiaphas, whose wife was the daughter of Annas, high priest in his place. Many of the people believed that the Romans had no right to take his office away from Annas, and still looked upon him as the true and rightful high priest. Annas was a man of great power, feared by many; and therefore the men who had seized Jesus brought him first to the house of Annas. In the house were met a number of the chief rulers and members of the great council of the Jews. Jesus was brought in before them all. Annas asked Jesus to tell him what he had taught, and who were his disciples. Jesus answered him:
"My teachings have never been in secret; I have always been open and public in my words. I spoke everywhere in the churches and in the Temple, where the people go to worship. Why do you ask me what I have said? Ask the people who heard me; they know what I said."
[Ill.u.s.tration: Priests and officers taking Jesus from the Garden of Gethsemane]
As Jesus spoke these words, one of the police officers standing by struck Jesus a hard blow with his hand, saying:
"Is that the way that you answer the high priest?"
Jesus answered him calmly, "If I have said anything that is not true, prove it; but if I have spoken the truth, why do you strike me?"
When Jesus was taken into the house of Annas, John followed the crowd inside, for John knew the high priest, and he was not afraid to go into his house. But Peter stood outside in the street. Then John spoke to the woman who had charge of the door, and asked her to let in the man standing outside, and she opened the door for Peter. The rooms of the house stood around an open court, and Peter stood in the court among the servants and policemen. It was cold, and they had made a charcoal fire in a brazier--that is an iron pan standing upon either three or four legs. Around this fire the people gathered; and Peter stood in the court among them, holding his hands over the fire to warm them. The woman who kept the door looked sharply at Peter, and said:
"Are you not one of this man"s disciples?"
Peter was alone among the enemies of Jesus, for John had gone into the room where Jesus was standing before Annas and the other rulers. Peter felt a sudden fear come over him, and to this woman"s question, he answered:
"No, I am not!"
Poor Peter! Already he had begun to deny his Lord!
Annas knew that he had no right to act as judge upon Jesus. All that he could do was to examine Jesus, listen to what he might say, and try to find in his words some ground for his enemies to bring charges against him. So after a little, Annas sent Jesus, all bound as he was, to Caiaphas, who was the high priest by law.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Jesus brought for trial before Caiaphas, who in anger tore his clothes and flung up his arms, denouncing Jesus because he declared himself to be the son of G.o.d.]
Jesus Before Caiaphas
CHAPTER 91
THE HIGH PRIEST Caiaphas, before whom Jesus was now brought for a regular trial, had been in office many years. He was a shrewd, sharp man, caring very little about right or wrong, but always ready to do whatever would please the Jewish leaders, without giving offence to the Roman rulers.
You remember that after Jesus raised Lazarus to life, and many people were believing in Jesus, it was this Caiaphas who said, "No matter whether Jesus is innocent or guilty, whether he is good or bad, the easiest way for us to avoid trouble is to kill him; and that we must do." That showed the spirit of Caiaphas the high priest.
The houses of Annas and Caiaphas were not far apart, and may have been in the same group of buildings on Mount Zion. The officers and policemen took Jesus into the large hall in the high priest"s house where all the members of the Jewish council that could be brought together so suddenly were gathered. It was a little after midnight when Jesus was made prisoner in the garden, and it must have been between four and five o"clock on Friday morning when Jesus stood before Caiaphas and the council.
Peter had come with the crowd, and was in the court of the high priest"s house. John was not there, but had gone to the house in Jerusalem, where Mary the mother of Jesus was staying, to bring to her the terrible news that her Son was in the hands of his enemies, and to try to give her comfort. So again Peter was left alone in the midst of a throng opposed to Jesus.
By the law of the Jews, no one could be put to death unless two persons could be found to tell of a wicked act that they had seen him do, or wicked words that they had heard him speak; and also, the accounts of these two witnesses must agree. The rulers looked for witnesses to come and speak against Jesus of what they had seen and heard. They did not care whether these witnesses speaking against Jesus spoke the truth or spoke lies; all they wanted was to have them agree in their words. There were many who spoke falsely against Jesus, but what they said did not agree. After a time two men stood up, and said:
"We ourselves heard this man say in the Temple, "I will destroy this Temple made by the hands of men, and in three days I will build another made without hands.""
But even those witnesses did not agree in their account of what Jesus had said. You remember, that three years before, in the Temple, Jesus had said, "Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up."
But he was speaking not of the Temple of the Jews, but of himself as the temple of the Lord, and of his own death and rising from the tomb. You see how these men changed the words of Jesus in the telling of them.
Now, the Jews had agreed that for any man to speak of destroying the house of G.o.d was very wicked; and that whoever should speak of such a thing must be put to death. So in the words of these two men, even though they did not agree, and were false, Caiaphas and the council saw a chance to carry out their purpose of putting Jesus to death.
The high priest Caiaphas stood up, and said to Jesus in a very loud and fierce manner:
"What have you to say of the things spoken by these witnesses? Have you no answer to give?"
But Jesus stood silent and would not speak a word. He knew that speaking would not help him, for their minds were made up to kill him, whatever he might say. After a moment of waiting Caiaphas spoke again.
[Ill.u.s.tration: Judas filled with remorse returns the thirty pieces of silver]
"Are you the Christ," he asked, "the Son of that Blessed One?"
Then Jesus spoke out, once for all:
"I am," he answered, "and what is more, you will all see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of Almighty G.o.d, and coming in the clouds of heaven!"
At this the high priest became furious. In his anger he tore his clothes, and flung up his arms and cried:
"What awful, awful words!" shouted the high priest. "Why this man makes himself equal to Almighty G.o.d! We need no more witnesses; he has spoken his own doom. What shall be done to a man who calls himself G.o.d?"
Then with one voice all the council said, "He deserves to die," and the sentence of death upon Jesus was given.
Then they began to spit in his face and to strike him. They threw a covering over his face, and after striking him, would say, "Are you a prophet? then tell who it was that struck you!"
[Ill.u.s.tration: The potter"s field]
All this time Peter was in the court of the building, and through the open door he could see Jesus standing in the inner room. One of the young women servants looked closely at Peter, and finally said:
"You were one of those with Jesus, the Nazarene!"
"I don"t know what you are talking about," said Peter in answer; and he went away from the group into the hall outside. Just then the c.o.c.k crew, and Peter heard it.
[Ill.u.s.tration: As Peter was speaking, which was his third denial of his Master, the c.o.c.k crew for the second time. At that moment Jesus turned and looked on Peter, who instantly repented and went out and wept bitter tears.]
Again the woman who had noticed him began to tell those standing near, "That fellow is one of them!" But he denied it again. After a little another man said to Peter:
"You surely are one of this fellow"s men! Why, your very accent shows that you come from Galilee! You speak your words like a Galilean!"
Then Peter began to curse and to swear; and he said, "I don"t know the man you are talking about, and have never seen him!"
As Peter was speaking, the c.o.c.k crew for the second time. And at that moment the Lord Jesus in the inner room turned and looked on Peter, standing outside the open door. Then all at once flashed upon Peter"s mind what his Lord had said on the evening before, "Before the c.o.c.k crows twice tomorrow morning you will three times deny that you have ever known me." And Peter went away, and as he thought upon it all, he was full of sorrow and wept bitter tears.
But Simon Peter was not the only man in trouble that morning. There was one whose trouble was far deeper. That man was Judas Iscariot, who had sold his Lord for money. When he found that the chief priests and the council had given sentence of death upon Jesus, Judas saw how wicked he had been, and that through his guilty act, Jesus was to be slain. He brought back to the Temple the thirty pieces of silver that had been given him, and threw them down upon the floor, saying:
"I have done wrong in betraying an innocent man! Take back your money!"
"What difference is that to us?" answered the priests. "That is your affair, not ours."