Jesus is taken before Pilate.
The malicious enemies of our Saviour led him through the most public
part of the town to take him before Pilate. The procession wended its
way slowly down the north side of the mountain of Sion, then passed
through that section on the eastern side of the Temple, called Acre,
towards the palace and tribunal of Pilate, which were seated on the
north-west side of the Temple, facing a large square. Caiphas, Annas,
and many others of the Chief Council, walked first in festival attire;
they were followed by a multitude of scribes and many other Jews, among
whom were the false witnesses, and the wicked Pharisees who had taken
the most prominent part in accusing Jesus. Our Lord followed at a short
distance; he was surrounded by a band of soldiers, and led by the
archers. The multitude thronged on all sides and followed the
procession, thundering forth the most fearful oaths and imprecations,
while groups of persons were hurrying to and fro, pushing and jostling
one another. Jesus was stripped of all save his under garment, which
was stained and soiled by the filth which had been flung upon it; a
long chain was hanging round his neck, which struck his knees as he
walked; his hands were pinioned as on the previous day, and the archers
dragged him by the ropes which were fastened round his waist. He
tottered rather than walked, and was almost unrecognisable from the
effects of his sufferings during the night;--he was colourless, haggard,
his face swollen and even bleeding, and his merciless persecutors
continued to torment him each moment more and more. They had gathered
together a large body of the dregs of the people, in order to make his
present disgraceful entrance into the city a parody on his triumphal
entrance on Palm Sunday. They mocked, and with derisive gestures called
him king, and tossed in his path stones, bits of wood; and filthy rags;
they made game of, and by a thousand taunting speeches mocked him,
during this pretended triumphal entry.
In the corner of a building, not far from the house of Caiphas, the
afflicted Mother of Jesus, with John and Magdalen, stood watching for
him. Her soul was ever united to his; but propelled by her love, she
left no means untried which could enable her really to approach him.
She remained at the Cenacle for some time after her midnight visit to
the tribunal of Caiphas, powerless and speechless from grief; but when
Jesus was dragged forth from his prison, to be again brought before his
judges, she arose, cast her veil and cloak about her, and said to
Magdalen and John: 'Let us follow my Son to Pilate's court; I must again
look upon him.' They went to a place through which the procession must
pass, and waited for it. The Mother of Jesus knew that her Son was
suffering dreadfully, but never could she have conceived the
deplorable, the heartrending condition to which he was reduced by the
brutality of his enemies. Her imagination had depicted him to her as
suffering fearfully, but yet supported and illuminated by sanctity,
love, and patience. Now, however, the sad reality burst upon her. First
in the procession appeared the priests, those most bitter enemies of
her Divine Son. They were decked in flowing robes; but at, terrible to
say, instead of appearing resplendent in their character of priests of
the Most High, they were transformed into priests of Satan, for no one
could look upon their wicked countenances without beholding there,
portrayed in vivid colours, the evil passions with which their souls
were filled--deceit, infernal cunning, and a raging anxiety to carry out
that most tremendous of crimes, the death of their Lord and Saviour,
the only Son of God. Next followed the false witnesses, his perfidious
accusers, surrounded by the vociferating populace; and last of
all--himself--her Son--Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of Man, loaded with
chains, scarcely able to support himself, but pitilessly dragged on by
his infernal enemies, receiving blows from some, buffets from others,
and from the whole assembled rabble curses, abuse, and the most
scurrilous language. He would have been perfectly unrecognisable even
to her maternal eyes, stripped as he was of all save a torn remnant of
his garment, had she not instantly marked the contrast between his
behaviour and that of his vile tormentors. He alone in the midst of
persecution and suffering looked calm and resigned, and far from
returning blow for blow, never raised his hands but in acts of
supplication to his Eternal Father for the pardon of his enemies. As he
approached, she was unable to restrain herself any longer, but
exclaimed in thrilling accents: 'Alas! is that my Son? Ah, yes! I see
that it is my beloved Son. O, Jesus, my Jesus!' When the procession was
almost opposite, Jesus looked upon her with an expression of the
greatest love and compassion; this look was too much for the
heartbroken mother: she became for the moment totally unconscious, and
John and Magdalen endeavoured to carry her home, but she quickly roused
herself, and accompanied the beloved disciple to Pilate's house.
The inhabitants of the town of Ophel were all gathered together in
an open space to meet Jesus, but far from administering comfort, they
added a fresh ingredient to his cup of sorrow; they inflicted upon him
that sharp pang which must ever be felt by those who see their friends
abandon them in the hour of adversity. Jesus had done much for the
inhabitants of Ophel, but no sooner did they see him reduced to such a
state of misery and degradation, than their faith was shaken; they
could no longer believe him to be a king, a prophet, the Messiah, and
the Son of God. The Pharisees jeered and made game of them, on account
of the admiration they had formerly expressed for Jesus. 'Look at your
king now,' they exclaimed; 'do homage to him; have you no congratulations
to offer him now that he is about to be crowned , and seated on his
throne? All his boasted miracles are at an end; the High Priest has put
an end to his tricks and witchcraft.'
Notwithstanding the remembrance which these poor people had of the
miracles and wonderful cures which had been performed under their very
eyes by Jesus; notwithstanding the great benefits he had bestowed upon
them, their faith was shaken by beholding him thus derided and pointed
out as an object of contempt by the High Priest and the members of the
Sanhedrin, who were regarded in Jerusalem with the greatest veneration.
Some went away doubting, while others remained and endeavoured to join
the rabble, but they were prevented by the guards, who had been sent by
the Pharisees, to prevent riots and confusion.