ALTHOUGH the high council of the Jews had given sentence upon Jesus that
he should be put to death, they could not kill him without the consent
of the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate; for long before this the Romans
had taken away from the Jews the right to put any man to death. So, very
early in the morning, before sunrise, the chief priests and rulers
brought Jesus to the castle where the governor was staying. His home was
in the city of Cæsarea, nearly sixty miles away, on the sea-coast; but
at the time of the Passover, when the city was crowded with people from
every part of the land, he usually came to Jerusalem to see that it was
kept quiet and in order; and at this time he stayed in a castle north of
the Temple, called "The Castle of Antonia."
The Jews had condemned Jesus to die, because, as they claimed, he had
said that he was the Son of God; and that claim according to their laws
was a high crime, deserving of death. Jesus _was_ the Son of God, and as
God's Son they should have honored him and obeyed his teachings. But
they knew very well that Pilate would not care for their law, and would
not order Jesus put to death merely because Jesus had said that he was
the Son of God. So they undertook to find something against Jesus which
was contrary to the laws of the Romans; and the charge which they
resolved to make was that Jesus had spoken against the Roman rule, and
had declared that he himself was the King of the Jews. He was, indeed, a
king, but not such a king as would be against the Romans or their
government.
The Jews came to the castle, and standing outside, called for Pilate to
come from the room where he was sleeping, and give judgment upon a
law-breaker whom they had brought to him. They hoped that Pilate would
do as they wished, without looking closely into the matter. He came
down, and sat upon his throne as a judge, and said:
"What is the charge which you bring against this man?"
"If he were not a wicked man, one who has broken the laws, we would not
have brought him to you," they answered.
"Well," said Pilate, "if he has broken the laws of the land, take him to
your own court and punish him."
"We found this man," said the Jewish rulers, "everywhere leading the
people away from their rulers. He forbids them to pay the tax to the
Roman emperor, Cæsar, telling the people that he is Christ, the King of
the Jews. He ought to be put to death for stirring the people up against
the government, and we ask you to give sentence against him."
Pilate began at once to be very suspicious of these Jewish rulers. He
knew that they themselves hated the Roman power, and that they would
never wish to have anybody punished for opposing it. He looked at Jesus,
standing bound and helpless among them, and he thought that this man
could not be a dangerous enemy. Pilate said to them:
"Bring this man to me. I wish to speak with him."
Jesus was led up to the foot of the steps to Pilate's judgment throne;
and Pilate asked him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?"
Jesus answered the governor, "Do you ask this of your own accord, or did
others tell you that I am a king?"
[Illustration: Jesus was led to Pilate, who questioned him privately:
"Are you the King of the Jews?"]
"Do you take me for a Jew?" asked Pilate. "Your own people and the
priests have brought you before me, saying that you have claimed to be a
king. Now tell me, what have you done?"
"My rule as a king does not belong to this world," said Jesus. "If my
kingdom were of this world, my men would fight to keep me from being
given up to the Jews; but my kingdom is not here on the earth."
"Then you are a king!" said Pilate.
"You speak the truth, I am a king," said Jesus. "I was born for this: I
came into the world for this, that I should speak in behalf of the
truth. Every one who is on the side of truth listens to my words."
"Truth! What is truth?" said Pilate. Then he went out of the hall and
spoke to the Jewish rulers:
"I do not find anything wrong in this man."
This decision of Pilate made the Jews very angry, for they had hoped
that he would approve their sentence without asking many questions; and
now they found that he was willing to set Jesus free. Pilate thought
that Jesus was a harmless man, perhaps not quite right in his mind in
believing that he was a king.
But the rulers would not cease their charges against Jesus. They said to
Pilate, "This man stirs up the people everywhere, and makes trouble. He
began in Galilee; and now he has come here."
"What," said Pilate, "does this man come from Galilee? Then he belongs
to the rule of King Herod; and Herod is now here in Jerusalem. Take him
to Herod, and let Herod decide his case."
This Pilate said merely because he wished to avoid deciding it himself.
He knew that Jesus had broken no law, and should be set free; but he did
not wish to displease the Jewish rulers, and he thought to rid himself
of the matter by sending Jesus to be tried before Herod, the ruler of
Galilee.
Jesus Before Herod