THE CRUCIFIXION.
Ye pious souls rise up and go,
With grateful penitence aglow
With me to Golgotha, and see
What shall be done your souls to free
See how the Mediator dies
The atoning death of sacrifice.
O, who can know the love that lives
In this heart now laid bare,
That kindness back for hatred gives
And saves us from despair?
Offer this love of His
Your heart's best impulses,
His cross before,
For evermore.
Thus they took Jesus and led him away, and a great multitude followed
him. And when Jesus, bearing the cross, with the thieves also bearing
their cross, was entering the street of Annas, Mary, the mother of
Jesus, with Mary Magdalene and John and Joseph of Arimathea, came down
the street by Pilate's house.
And Mary said to John, "O beloved disciple, how will it have gone with
Jesus since thou didst last see him in the house of Caiaphas?"
Then answered John, "If the priests could do as they wish, then sure
enough he would be already among the dead. But they could not carry
out the sentence without permission of the governor. But Pilate, I
hope, will not condemn him, as he has never done anything bad, but only
what is good."
Then prayed Mary Magdalene, "O Almighty God, incline the ruler's heart
to justice, that he may protect the innocent against the wiles of the
wicked."
Then said Mary, the mother of Jesus, "Whither shall we go, O friends,
oh, whither, that I may but once more see my beloved son? I must see
him, but where can I find him? Perhaps, O perhaps, he lies buried in
the deepest dungeon."
Mary Magdalene said, "Alas! the most loving of teachers in prison!"
Joseph answered, "There is one to be seen from whom we can inquire."
John said, "The best thing will be to go to Nicodemus; he surely knows
what is happening to our dear Master."
"Yes, let us go," said Mary. "Every moment increases my grief in this
uncertainty about the fate of my son."
"Be strong in faith, dear mother," said John. "Whatever happens it is
God's will." Suddenly a horrible noise of confused voices and tramping
feet was heard in the distance. From the tumult could be heard the
words: "On, on with him!" Mary started and they all stood listening
while the noise came nearer and nearer.
"What terrible noise is that?" said Joseph. Then stood they all still
listening to hear what it might signify.
Salome said, "As if of a thousand voices. What can it be?"
As they listened the procession to Golgotha was already half way down
the street of Annas. In front marched the centurion holding in one
hand the staff of authority, followed by Jesus, staggering painfully
under the burden of his cross. Around Jesus stood four executioners
who brutally goaded him forward. Behind Jesus came the thieves, each
bearing his own cross. Behind them came soldiers carrying spears, in
the midst of whom on a white horse rode a horseman carrying the Roman
banner on which were the letters S. P. Q. R. By the side of the
soldiery walked Annas and Caiaphas followed by all the council of the
Sanhedrin. All around crowded a numerous multitude, whose shouts were
heard almost without intermission. "Let him die!" they cried, "and all
who hold with him." Jesus, who had already fallen under the cross,
walked slowly and with difficulty.
One of the executioners said unto him, "Is the burden already too
heavy?" and the people shouted, "Drive him with violence, that we may
get to Golgotha."
The second executioner cried, "Take care, or he will be down."
The progress was so slow that not even the head of the procession could
be seen from where the two Marys and John were standing, wondering what
the noise might mean.
Joseph said, "What shall we do? In this commotion we cannot venture
into the city."
But Mary said, "What may this noise signify? Surely it does not
concern my son."
As the noise waxed ever louder, Joseph said, "It seems as if an
insurrection had broken out."
Then said John, "We had better stop here till the storm passes over."
While they stood waiting and wondering Simon of Cyrene came hastily
into the street that lay between those of Pilate and Annas. He carried
a basket, and looking anxiously around him, said, "I must hasten in
order to get into the city. The eve of the feast is coming, and I have
only a short time left in which to make my purchases and get everything
ready, so that I may get home in time." Hardly had he said this than
he heard the sound of a great outcry, and amidst which he could only
distinguish the words, "Let him not rest! Urge him on with blows!"
Said Simon, "I hear a tumult--an outcry of a crowd--what has happened
in the city? I will keep quiet a little--perhaps my ears have deceived
me." Jesus had fallen faint and had staggered against the house of
Ahasverus and was there endeavoring to support himself.
The third executioner said to him roughly, "It is no use thy fainting.
Thou must keep on to Golgotha."
Then Ahasverus came out of his house and said, "Be off from my house;
here is no place for resting." Simon, who was listening without being
able to see the cause of the commotion, said, "The noise waxes louder.
I must hasten to see what it is. What comes there? Ah, I cannot get
in here. I will wait and see what happens."
Then, as the procession turned the corner of Annas' street, Joseph of
Arimathea, listening, said, "I think the crowd is coming out of the
city gates," and John, seeing the cross said, "It appears that someone
is being led out to Golgotha for execution."
Mary, the mother of Jesus, saw him and cried out with a piercing wail,
"It is he. Oh God! it is my son."
Jesus meanwhile staggered under the cross, but was forced forward by
the executioners grumbling as they did so, "He will drop on the road."
[Illustration: "Jesus staggered under the cross."]
The centurion, seeing that Jesus from sheer exhaustion had again
fallen, reached him a bottle, saying, "Here, strengthen thyself."
Jesus took it, but did not drink of it.
Mary cried, weeping, "Ah, there, I see him led to death even as a
malefactor!"
Then said John, as he tenderly supported her, "Mother, it is the hour
of which he has told us before. Such is the will of the Father."
Then said the centurion to Jesus, "Wilt thou not drink? Then you must
go on!"
Then one of the executioners shook him, saying, "Rouse thyself, lazy
king of the Jews!"
Another of the executioners said, "Forward! Pull thyself together!"
The third said, "Do not act thus weakly; we must get on."
Then Mary cried as she looked on the scene, "Oh where is any sorrow
like unto my sorrow?"
The third executioner, seeing that all the efforts to compel Jesus to
move forward had failed, said, "He is too much exhausted; someone must
help him, otherwise--"
Then the rabbi, seeing Simon of Cyrene, pointed him out, saying, "Here,
this stranger--"
The Pharisees said, "Just seize him!"
Then said the centurion, "Come hither, thou hast broad shoulders that
can carry something."
Simon, protesting, said, "I must--"
"Truly you must," said one of the executioners, "otherwise there will
be blows."
Simon began again, "I do not know," but the centurion interrupted him,
saying, "You will find out soon enough--do not refuse."
"Flog him if he refuses to go!" said the Pharisee.
Simon struggled crying, "Indeed I am innocent; I have committed no
crime."
"Silence!" said the centurion.
Simon replied, "Only not by force like this," and then beholding Christ
he said, "What is this I see? This is the holy man from Nazareth."
"Place thy shoulders here," said an executioner.
Then said Simon, "For the love of thee I will carry it. O, could I
thereby make myself useful to thee."
Christ, who stood exhausted on one side, looked upon Simon and said,
"God's blessing be upon thee and thine!"
"Now, forward," said the centurion; "follow thou with the beam of the
cross!"
The first priest advancing, said, "Thou canst come quickly enough now."
The third executioner, seeing that Jesus still stood unable to move,
seized him by the neck and shook him saying, "See with what
consideration we treat thee; even the cross has been taken from thee."
"Dost thou need anything else?" said another of the men.
"Let him be," said the centurion. "We will now halt a little that he
may recover before we ascend the hill."
While the procession halted Veronica and the women of Jerusalem
approached. Caiaphas meanwhile, chafing with vexation at the delay,
exclaimed, "What! Still another stoppage! When shall we come to
Calvary?"
Veronica, coming up to Christ, kneeled before him, and offering him her
handkerchief, said, "O Lord, how is thy face covered with blood and
sweat. Wilt thou not wipe it off?"
Jesus took the handkerchief and wiped his face and gave it back to her,
saying, "Compassionate soul, the Father will reward thee for this."
Then spoke the women of Jerusalem, who drew near to the Lord with their
little ones, "Thou good teacher; never to be forgotten benefactor;
noblest friend of men, thus art thou rewarded. How we pity thee!"
Then they wept.
Christ looking upon them in their tears said: "Daughters of Jerusalem,
weep not for me, but for yourselves and your children. For behold the
days are coming in which they shall say 'Blessed are the barren and the
wombs that never bare, and the paps that never gave suck.' Then shall
they call to the mountains, fall on us and to the hills, cover us. For
if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the
dry?"
The women answered, "Alas, how will it be in the future for us and our
children?"
By this time the patience of the centurion was exhausted, and he cried
out, "Clear out now, these womenfolk."
The third executioner, pushing them roughly away, said, "What use are
your women's tears? Back!" While the other executioners cried as they
pushed Jesus forward, "On with thee to the hill of death!"
The crowd took up the cry and said, "Quick; forward to Calvary!"
"Are we really going forward again?" said the rabbi, and Nathanael
said, shrugging his shoulders, "The centurion is far too mild."
"Do not spare him so much," said a priest.
The long procession was once more in motion when there appeared a
servant from Pilate. The man cried, "Halt!" and the procession
stopped. "By command of the governor the centurion must appear before
him as quickly as possible and receive further orders."
Caiaphas exclaimed, "What does this mean? What new orders are
required? The death sentence is pronounced and must be carried out
without delay."
Then said the centurion bluntly, "No, this will not happen until I have
received the further orders of my lord." Then turning to the soldiers
he said, "Keep watch meanwhile and go with the condemned to Golgotha.
Then dismiss this man (Simon) and await my arrival." The centurion
then went with the servant to Pilate and the procession set forth again.
The people cried wildly, "Up to Golgotha, to the cross with him. Hail
to Israel. The enemy is vanquished. We are free. Long live the
Sanhedrin."
Jesus looked upon his mother as the procession passed the corner of
Annas' street, but spoke not.
Then said John, when the dolorous procession had passed, "Mother, shall
we not go back to Bethany? Thou wilt not be able to bear the sight?"
But Mary answered, "How can a mother leave her child in the last and
bitterest need?"
Cleophas objected, "But evil might befall thee, if they recognized thee
as his mother."
Mary replied, "I will suffer with him, bear scorn and shame with him;
die with him."
"Only," said John, "if the strength of thy body does not give way."
"Fear not," said Mary. "I have asked strength of God and he has heard
me. Let us go after them."
All answered, "Best of mothers, we follow thee," and they slowly
followed the procession to Calvary.
* * * * * *
And when they reached Golgotha, which is by interpretation the place of
a skull, they crucified him there. But first they hanged the two
thieves on the crosses, the one on the left, the other on the right.
Their arms were tied over the cross at the wrists, and their feet were
tied with cord to the beam. But Jesus was nailed to the central cross
while it yet lay with the head slightly raised upon the ground. One
nail was driven through the palms of each hand, and one through the two
feet, which were placed the one above the other. Jesus lay silent
without moving. On his head was the crown of thorns, from which a
little blood trickled over his brow. His hands and his feet bled a
little, but the rest of his body was pale and colorless, a light cloth
only being cast around his loins.
The centurion who had returned from Pilate, stood on the right of the
cross giving orders. The lictor, mounted on a white horse, stood near
the soldiers, who held on high the Roman standard with the letters S.
P. Q. R. Caiaphas, Annas and all the members of the Sanhedrin stood on
the left exulting. A great crowd of sightseers thronged the place.
Among them, coming from behind the centurion, were the holy women from
Bethany, with Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John, and Joseph of
Arimathea and Nicodemus.
Then said the executioners to the centurion, "We have finished with
these," pointing to the thieves, "Now must the king of Jews be exalted
upon his throne."
Which, hearing, the priests cried angrily, "Not king! Deceiver,
traitor!"
The centurion, who held in his hand a scroll or escutcheon, said,
"First, by command of the governor, this writing must be fastened to
the cross. Faustus," he added, turning to one of the hangmen named
Faustus, "make fast this title over the cross." Faustus took the
scroll from the centurion, and going to the cross, nailed it with one
hammer stroke over the head of Jesus, saying, "Ah, an escutcheon
displayed; this is right royal!" When this was done according to the
command of the governor, the centurion said to the executioners, "Now,
up with the cross! Not carelessly, but lay hold firmly." Then two
hangmen, taking the cross by the arms, lifted it up so that its foot
fell into the hole prepared for it. But as the cross bearing the body
of Jesus was heavy, the third hangman placed his back under it near to
the feet of Jesus, saying, "Come, now, all together," and so helping
raised it on high. The fourth then filled in the hole at the foot
saying when he finished, "All right, the cross stands firm."
Then said the centurion, addressing the chief priests, "The execution
is accomplished."
"Quite admirably so," said Caiaphas with a radiant face. "Thanks and
applause from us all!" "Yea, thanks, and applause from us all," echoed
the Pharisees, looking up at the cross.
Caiaphas then declared, "This shall be a feast day forever."
And the Pharisees said, "Yes, for all time to come it shall be kept
every year with grateful jubilation."
"And now," said the aged Annas, "now gladly will I go down to my
fathers since I have lived to have the joy of seeing this wretch on the
cross." And as he gazed long as if exultingly drinking in the pleasure
of satisfied vengeance, he saw for the first time the writing on the
cross, but his old eyes could not decipher the words. Turning to
Caiaphas he said, "The superscription seems to be very short." Then
the Jews drew nearer to see what was written. The hangmen seated
themselves on the ground at the foot of the cross and looked up at
Jesus.
Then the rabbi, reading the words written by Pilate exclaimed, "That is
an insult, an outrage upon the people and the Sanhedrin!"
Caiaphas, hearing him, asked, "What is written?"
Annas, who had also looked at the inscription, said, "The rabbi is
right. The Sanhedrin cannot allow this to pass."
Then said the rabbi, "It is written, 'Jesus of Nazareth, king of the
Jews!'"
Caiaphas as if incredulous, approached the cross and reading it
himself, started back with indignation. "Verily," he cried, "that is
an affront upon the honor of our nation."
"Down with it at once," cried the priest.
But Caiaphas said, "We dare not touch it ourselves, but do you two,"
addressing the rabbi and Saras, "hasten at once to the governor to
demand from him, in the name of the Sanhedrin and the assembled people
that the superscription shall be altered. Say to him, 'Write not the
king of the Jews, but that he said, I am king of the Jews?'"
"We are off at once," said the rabbi and Saras.
"Stay," said Caiaphas, "also request from the governor that he may
order the bones of the crucified to be broken and their bodies taken
down from the cross before the eve of the Passover."
When the rabbi and Saras departed on their mission, the hangmen, who
had been sitting at the foot of the cross, bethought themselves, and
the first, who was named Agrippa, standing up, said, "Now, comrades,
let us divide our share." Taking the mantle of Jesus, they seized each
one corner, and then pulling all together, rent it into four parts.
The coat remained. Agrippa held it up, "The mantle has made just four
pieces; shall we rip up the coat also? See, it is without seam."
"No," said Faustus, who had fastened the superscription over the head
of Jesus, "it would be better to cast lots for it."
"Look," said Agrippa, as he went to the foot of the cross and took up
the basket, "see, here are dice." Then the four hangmen, standing at
the feet of Jesus threw the dice, Agrippa threw them first, saying, "I
will try my luck first. Alas, that is too little," he added, as he
counted up the result of his throw, "I have lost."
Catiline, the third hangman, as he rattled the dice in his hand, looked
up at Jesus and said, "Hi! you up there, if you can still work miracles
on the cross, give me good luck." The others shrugged their shoulders
and said, "What does he care about us?" Catiline's throw was not high.
Then Nero said, "I ought to have had better luck," and throwing the
dice he counted fifteen. "Nearly enough; now, Faustus, it is your
turn."
Faustus threw the dice, saying, "I ought to get it." They all bent
over to see the result.
"Eighteen!" cried Catiline; "that is the best yet."
Then said Agrippa, "Take it," handing him the mantle, "it is thine;
take it away."
And Nero consoled himself by saying, "You are not to be envied."
Faustus gathered up the coat, and folding it up put it away.
By this time the rabbi and Saras returned from Pilate, and coming back
to Caiaphas they said, "Our mission was in vain. The governor would
not listen to us."
Caiaphas indignantly asked, while the priests and Pharisees crowded
around, "Did he give you no answer at all?"
"This only," said the rabbi. "What I have written I have written."
"Intolerable," said Annas.
Caiaphas also was much perturbed. But collecting himself he asked,
"What did he order about the breaking of the bones?"
"About this matter he said he would give his orders to the centurion,"
answered the rabbi.
Then seeing that no more could be done, the Jews began to revile Jesus,
going up to the cross and wagging their heads and scoffing at him.
Josue, the priest, went up first and said, "So then it remains written,
king of the Jews. Behold, if thou art king of Israel, come down now
from the cross, that we may see and believe." And all the Jews laughed
together.
Then said Eliezer, "Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it
again in three days, save thyself!"
And Caiaphas said, "Ha! thou that savest others, thyself thou canst not
save."
"Come down," cried one of the witnesses, "Art thou not the Son of God?"
And Annas said, "He trusted in God; let him deliver him now if he will
have him."
Then cried the hangmen, "What! Don't you hear? Show thy power, mighty
king of the Jews," and so the sport went on.
Then Jesus, who all this time had hung motionless and silent, raised
slowly and with pain, his head, which had been bowed down, and said,
"Father, forgive them, they know not what they do!"
Hearing Jesus speak, the thief who was crucified on his left said unto
him, "Hearest thou? If thou be Christ save thyself and us."
But the other thief who was crucified on the right, answered and said,
"Dost thou not fear God, seeing that 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 turning to Jesus he said,
"Lord remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom?"
Then Jesus looked upon him and said, "Verily, I say unto thee, today
shalt thou be with me in Paradise."
"Listen to that," said Caiaphas scornfully, "he speaks as if he had
power over the gates of Paradise."
"What," said the rabbi. "Have not his pride and presumption deserted
him even as he hangs helpless on the cross?" And they were wroth with
Jesus.
During all this time Mary, the mother of Jesus, and John had been
slowly approaching the cross, and now they stood immediately below
Jesus, Mary on the right, John on the left. Then Jesus beholding them,
said to Mary, "Mother, behold thy son." And slowly and with difficulty
turning his head to see John, Jesus added, "Son, behold thy mother."
Then Mary cried in ecstacy of love and adoration, "Even in dying thou
carest still for thy mother."
And John tenderly supporting Mary, but looking above to Jesus,
exclaimed, "Thy last request is sacred to me."
And then to Mary he said, "Thou my mother, I thy son."
Then Jesus in a hollow voice, cried hoarsely, "I thirst."
The centurion hearing him said, "He thirsts and calls for drink."
"Then," said Faustus, "I will reach him some at once." Then taking the
reed with the sponge, he filled it with vinegar and passed it to the
centurion, who, taking a small phial from his dress, poured hyssop on
the sponge. Faustus then reached the sponge up to the lips of Jesus.
But Jesus turned away his head and would not drink. "Here, drink,"
said Faustus. "What, wilt thou not?" and seeing that Jesus would not
touch the sponge he took it away.
Then Jesus cried in agony, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani!"
But those hearing him did not understand, but imagined he cried for
Elias.
"Hark!" said they. "He cried for Elias."
Then Caiaphas laughed and said, "Let be; let us see whether Elias will
come to save him."
Then Jesus raising his head with a great effort to heaven, and
breathing heavily cried with a loud voice and said, "It is finished.
Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit!" And as Jesus spoke these
words his head fell forward on his breast and he gave up the ghost.
Then suddenly the earth rocked and shook violently--thunder
pealed--fierce lightnings flashed--darkness fell like a pall over the
scene--the people stood trembling with fear.
[Illustration: "It is finished."]
The priests and the people cried out in terror, saying: "What a
dreadful earthquake! Do you hear the crash of falling rocks? Woe, woe
be to us!"
But the centurion said, "Certainly, this was a righteous man."
Another soldier replied, "God himself bears witness by these
convulsions of nature."
The centurion said, "Oh, his patience in the worst agony, his noble
calm, this last loud cry to heaven at the moment before death, all
betoken his divine origin. Verily, he is a Son of God!"
"Come neighbors," said Oziel, "I will remain no longer in this terrible
place."
"Yes," cried Helen, "let us go home and may God have mercy on us."
And others smiting their breasts cried, "Almighty God, we have sinned!
Forgive us."
And so it came to pass that no one remained round the cross but the
holy women and John, and the friends of Jesus with the hangmen.
The chief priests and the rulers still stood together marveling near
the cross of the repentant thief, when suddenly a temple servant came
rushing into their midst, breathless with haste.
"High priests and assembled council!" he exclaimed, "a fearful thing
has occurred in the holy place. I tremble in every limb."
"What is it?" cried Caiaphas in alarm. "Not the temple?"
"Has it fallen?" said Annas.
"No," said the servant, "not that, but the veil of the temple has been
rent in twain from the top to the bottom. I hastened hither with
staggering feet, and feared the whole world was bursting asunder with
the shock!"
"Dreadful!" exclaimed the priests and Pharisees, throwing up their
hands.
But Caiaphas said, "It is that wretch who has done this by his magic
arts. What a blessing it is that he is out of the world! Otherwise he
would bring all the elements into disorder."
Then all the priests and Pharisees raised up their voices and cried,
shaking their fists against Jesus, "Cursed be the ally of Beelzebub!"
"Now," said Caiaphas, "let us hurry home and see what has happened;
then we will come back at once. For I cannot rest until I have seen
this fellow's bones broken and the corpse flung into the grave of the
transgressors."
When Caiaphas and Annas and all the rulers of the Jews had departed,
Nicodemus said to Joseph of Arimathea, having overheard the parting
word-of Caiaphas, "Shall the holy body of the Son of God be delivered
over to such dishonor as to be flung into the grave of the evil-doers?"
"Listen, friends," said Joseph, "what I have decided to do. I will go
straightway to Pilate, and will implore him to give me the body of
Jesus. He can hardly refuse me this favor."
"Do so, by all means," said Nicodemus. "Hasten hither, and I will
bring the spices for him." They having departed, the holy women
tremblingly drew round the cross.
"Fear not, good women," said the centurion, "no harm shall happen to
you."
Then Mary Magdalene clasped the cross with both her arms, pressed it to
her breast and cried through her tears as she looked up at the silent
and lifeless form above, "O dearest Master, my heart hangs with thee on
the cross!"
Then entered a servant of Pilate, and addressing the centurion, said
unto him, "This is the command of my lord: Break the legs of the
crucified and take down their bodies. Everything must be over before
the eve of the Passover begins."
The centurion said: "It shall be done at once. Men, first break the
legs of these two."
Catiline said, "Come, let us put this business through without more
delay." Then all the hangmen took ladders and placed them against the
crosses of the thieves. Catiline, seizing a strong club, then mounted
the ladder against the cross on the right hand.
"Strike," said Faustus, "so as to kill him." Then Catiline smote the
penitent thief heavily over each of the thighs and then across the
shoulder bone. As the blow fell the man's head fell forward and he
gave up the ghost.
"There," said Catiline, "he wakes no more."
In like manner did Nero to the thief on the left hand, saying, "I will
hasten the other out of the world."
When the blows were falling upon the body of the thief, Mary, the
mother of Jesus, who had watched with terror the blows of the hangman,
cried out, shuddering, "O my Son, they will surely not deal so cruelly
with thy holy body!"
Nero called out to the thief, "Movest thou no more? No, thou hast had
enough. I have given thee thy wages." Then coming down from the
ladder they made ready to break the legs of Jesus.
But as the hangman approached the foot of the cross with the ladder and
the club, Mary Magdalene sprang before him, and thrusting him back with
her slender arm, cried piteously, "Oh, spare him, spare him!"
Then Catiline looking up at Jesus said, "Behold, he is already dead.
There is no need therefore to break his legs."
"But," said Faustus, "in order to make sure, I will pierce his heart
with a spear." Then grasping a lance he thrust it into the right side
of Jesus, and forthwith there spurted out blood and water. John, who
was looking up at the holy women, shuddered as the spear entered the
side of Jesus.
Mary Magdalene turning to Mary said, "Oh, mother, that thrust hast
pierced thy own heart also."
Then said the centurion, "Now, take down the bodies from the cross."
"Where," said one of the hangmen, "shall we put them?"
The centurion replied, "As ordered, into the grave of the malefactor."
Then said Mary, with a terrible sob: "What a word; it pierces my heart
anew."
"Ladders here," said the hangmen, "we shall soon have them down." Then
the hangmen unfastened the cords which bound the thieves to their
crosses, and mounting the ladder received their bodies in their arms
and bore them away.
While they were busy Mary Magdalene went out to the centurion and said
to him: "May we not even pay the last honors to our friend?"
"Alas," said the centurion, "it is not within my power to permit this."
Then came back Caiaphas and Annas and all the rulers of the Sanhedrin
from the temple to Golgotha. Caiaphas, speaking as they approached,
said, "It will be all the more delightful to see the body of this
evil-doer cast into the pit of shame, because we have witnessed the
destruction he has brought to pass within the temple."
Annas answered, "What joy it would be if my eyes could see him torn
limb from limb by wild beasts."
"Ha," said Caiaphas, as they saw the hangman bearing off the bodies of
the thieves, "they are already being taken down. Now we shall soon see
our ardent desires fulfilled."
Hardly had Caiaphas and the priests approached the cross when from the
other side there came Joseph of Arimathea and with him a servant of
Pilate. The servant said to the centurion, "The governor has sent me
to inquire of thee whether it can really be true that Jesus of Nazareth
is already dead as this man has informed me."
"It is so, indeed," replied the centurion, pointing to the cross.
"Look for yourself. Besides, for a complete certainty, his heart has
been thrust through with a lance."
Then said the servant, "I have orders to inform you that the body is to
be delivered over to this man as a gift from Pilate." And having said
this he departed.
"Oh, blessed tidings!" cried the holy women still gathered together
around the foot of the cross.
But the Jews hearing the message, waxed furious and the rabbi, speaking
of Jesus, said to the other priests and rulers, "The traitor of the
synagogue, he has fooled us again."
"And spoiled our triumph," said Annas.
But Caiaphas would not submit and said haughtily, "We shall not
tolerate it that his body be laid anywhere else than in the grave of
the transgressors."
The centurion replied, "As the body is given to this man, it is obvious
that he can bury it where and how he will. There is no disputing that."
Then he said to the soldiers and executioners, "Men, our work is done.
We will return."
Then the hangmen gathered up their basket and their cord, their dice
and the fragments of Christ's mantle and departed. With them went the
centurion and his band, leaving Caiaphas and the Jews face to face with
the holy women and their friends at the foot of the cross. The Jews
were exceedingly wroth and raged amongst themselves at the centurion.
Annas cried out to Joseph of Arimathea, "Dost thou still persist in thy
headstrong obstinacy? Art thou not ashamed to do honor to the very
corpse of an executed malefactor?"
Joseph replied, "I indeed honor this noblest of men, the teacher sent
from God, whom being innocent you have murdered."
And Nicodemus added, "Envy and pride were the motives of his
condemnation. The judge himself was forced to bear witness to his
innocence, and swore he would have no part in his death."
Then said Caiaphas furiously, "The curse of our law will destroy you,
ye enemies of our fathers."
The rabbi said, "Do not excite thyself about them, O, high priest; they
are smitten with blindness."
But Caiaphas, refusing to be silenced, cried, "Cursed are ye by the
holy council. Deprived of all your honors, never more shall ye dare to
take your seats in our midst."
"Neither do we desire to do so," said Nicodemus.
Then said Annas, "As the body is now in the hands of his friends, we
must be on our guard, for this deceiver, while he was yet alive said
that in three days he would rise again."
The rabbi said, "They could easily practice a new deception on the
people and make fresh trouble for us. His disciples might take his
body away secretly and then give out that he had risen from the dead."
"In that case," said Caiaphas, "the last error would be worse than the
first. Let us therefore go at once to Pilate and ask him for a guard
of soldiers to keep watch over the grave until the third day."
"A prudent thought," cried Annas, and the rabbi added, "Thus their
schemes will be foiled." Then they departed to go to Pilate.
His enemies having left his friends alone around the cross, Nicodemus
and Joseph set about taking down the body of Jesus. Bringing the
ladders Joseph mounted on the shorter one that was placed in front,
while Nicodemus ascended the longer one behind. Joseph had with him a
roll of linen so long that after putting it around the body of Jesus,
the ends hanging over the cross reached to the ground, where they were
held by Simon of Bethany and Lazarus. Then, after taking off the crown
of thorns Nicodemus took the pincers and began to pull out the nails
from the hands of Jesus and bent the stiffening arms lovingly away from
the cross. While they were thus engaged the Magdalen and Mary talked
together. "At last," said Mary Magdalene, "the madmen have departed.
Be comforted, beloved mother, now we are alone with our friends; the
mockery and blasphemy are past and a holy evening stillness surrounds
us."
Mary said, "O, my friends! What my Jesus suffered this mother's heart
suffered with him. Now he has finished his work and entered into the
rest of his Father. Peace also and trust from Heaven fills my soul."
Mary Magdalene comforted her, saying, "He is not taken from us forever;
that he promised."
"O, noble men," said Mary to Joseph and Nicodemus, "make haste and
bring me the body of my beloved son."
The Magdalene said, "Mother, wilt thou not rest a little here, while we
prepare his resting place?" Then seating herself on a stone a little
to the right of the cross, Mary waited while her friends made ready to
receive the body of Jesus.
"Come, my companions," said Salome, "and help me to prepare the winding
sheet to receive the body." They spread the linen on the ground at
Mary's feet, placing one end upon her lap.
By this time Nicodemus had extracted the second nail which was in his
left hand, and Joseph had taken the nail from the feet of Jesus. Then
Simon and Lazarus, holding the ends of the linen roll, slowly lowered
the body into the arms of Joseph of Arimathea.
"O, come," said Joseph, "thou sweet and holy burden; let me take thee
upon my shoulders." Then with the body of Jesus resting upon his
shoulders Joseph began to descend the ladder.
Nicodemus had already come down and awaited him at the foot of the
cross. Spreading out his arms to receive the body of Jesus, he said,
"Come thou holy body of my only friend, let me embrace thee." Then
they carried the body of Jesus and placed it on the linen winding sheet
that was prepared for it on his mother's lap. Nicodemus, looking at
his wounds sighed, "How the rage of thy enemies hath torn thy flesh."
"Now," said John, "the best of sons rests once more on the bosom of the
best of mothers."
Mary looked down upon the pale, blood-spotted face of Jesus, and then
sighing heavily she said, "O, my Son, how is thy body covered with
wounds!"
"Mother," said John, "from these wounds flowed salvation and blessing
for mankind."
"See, mother," said the Magdalene, who stood on her right hand, "how
the peace of heaven rests in death upon his face."
Then said Nicodemus who had brought some ointment, "Let us anoint him
and then wrap him in this new linen." He then poured the ointment into
all the wounds on the body of Jesus.
"He shall be laid," said Joseph of Arimathea, "in my new grave which I
have prepared in the rock in my garden."
But before they could wrap him in the winding sheets, Salome came near,
and kneeling, raised to her lips the pierced left hand of Jesus saying,
"O, best of Masters! One more loving tear upon thy lifeless body."
Then came the Magdalene on the right hand, and kneeling down, stooped
low and kissed the right hand, saying, "O, let me once more kiss the
hand which has so often blessed me."
Then said John, "We shall see him again."
"Help me," said Joseph to Nicodemus, "to bear him into the garden."
"Blessed am I," said Nicodemus, "that I may lay to rest the remains of
him who was sent from God." Then taking up the body they bore it away.
Then said John to Mary and the other woman, "Let us follow the dear,
the divine friend."
"It is the last honor," said Mary, "that I can do my Jesus."
* * * * * *
On the morning of the third day since Jesus had been crucified, before
the sun had arisen, the four soldiers who were appointed to watch the
grave sat outside the tomb where the body of Jesus had been laid. One
of them awaking, cried, "Brothers, is not the night nearly over?" Then
said Titus, "The sky is already reddening in the east; a beautiful
spring day is beginning to dawn."
Hardly had he said these words when there was a great earthquake.
Pedius springing up exclaimed, "Immortal Gods! What a fearful shock!"
"The earth is splitting," cried Rufus. Then there was a peal of
thunder. Titus called out, "Away from the rock; it is tottering; it is
falling!" and the stone which had been rolled up into the mouth of the
sepulcher fell down with a crash.
Jesus arose. For a moment he appeared at the mouth of the sepulchre,
radiant in white apparel, while the watch fell on their faces to the
ground crying out, "Ye gods, what do we see? A fire from heaven is
blinding our eyes!"
Jesus then passed out through the door of the sepulchre and went down
into the garden and out of sight.
After awhile the soldiers, who were lying prostrate on the ground said
to each other, "Brother, what has happened to us?" Then said one of
the soldiers, "I will not stop here another moment."
But Titus looking up said, "The apparition is vanished," and grasping
his spear he rose to his feet saying, "Brothers, take heart; we have
nothing to fear, as we have done no wrong." They then stood up and saw
the open door of the sepulchre from which the stone had fallen. Then
said Titus, "The stone is rolled away from the grave. The grave is
open."
"Yes," said another, "and the garden door is bolted." Then they went
with fear and trembling to the door of the sepulchre, and one looking
in, said, "I do not see the corpse."
Then another going farther inside said, "Here is the linen cloth lying
in which the body was wrapped. He has gone out of the grave."
Titus said, "He must have risen again, as no one came into the garden."
Then said the third soldier, "It has happened thus as the priests
feared."
And Titus answered, "He has fulfilled his word!" "Now, what shall we
do?" said the soldiers.
"There is nothing else to be done," said one, "excepting to hasten to
the Pharisees and tell them what has happened."
All replied at once, "That we will," and they hastened away.