STORY OF JESUS -6 Before Herod
Herod had never met Jesus, but he had long desired to see Him, and to
witness His marvelous power. As the Saviour was brought before him, the rabble
surged and pressed about, some crying one thing, and some another. Herod
commanded silence, for he wished to question the prisoner.
He looked with curiosity and pity upon the pale face of Christ. He saw
there the marks of deep wisdom and purity. He was satisfied, as Pilate had been,
that malice and envy alone had caused the Jews to accuse the Saviour.
Herod urged Christ to perform one of His wonderful miracles before him.
He promised to release Him if He would do so. By his direction, crippled and
deformed persons were brought in, and he commanded Jesus to heal them. But the
Saviour stood before Herod as one who neither saw nor heard.
The Son of God had taken upon Himself man's nature. He must do as man
must do in similar circumstances. Therefore He would not work a miracle to
gratify curiosity, or to save Himself from the pain and humiliation that man
must endure when placed in a similar position.
His accusers were terrified when Herod demanded of Christ a miracle. Of
all things they dreaded most an exhibition of His divine power. Such a
manifestation would be a death blow to their plans, and would perhaps cost them
their lives. So they set up the cry that Jesus worked miracles through the power
given Him by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils.
Several years before this, Herod had listened to the teaching of John the
Baptist. He had been deeply impressed, but he had not forsaken his life of
intemperance and sin. So his heart grew harder, and at last in a drunken revel
he had commanded that John should be slain to please the wicked Herodias.
Now he had become still more hardened. He could not bear the silence of
Jesus. His face grew dark with passion, and he angrily threatened the Saviour,
who still remained unmoved and silent.
Christ had come into the world to heal the broken-hearted. Could He have
spoken any word to heal the bruises of sin-sick souls, He would not have kept
silent. But He had no words for those who would but trample the truth under
their unholy feet.
The Saviour might have spoken to Herod words that would have pierced the
ears of the hardened king. He might 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 Christ's silence was the severest rebuke that He could
have given.
That ear which had ever been open to the cry of human woe, had no place
for the command of Herod. That heart, ever touched by the plea of even the worst
sinners, was closed to the haughty king who felt no need of a Saviour.
In anger, Herod turned to the multitude, and denounced Jesus as an
imposter. But the accusers of the Saviour knew that He was no imposter. They had
seen too many of His mighty works to believe this charge.
Then the king began to shamefully abuse and ridicule the Son of God.
"And Herod with his men of war set Him at naught, and mocked Him, and
arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe." Luke 23:11.
As the wicked king saw Jesus accepting all this indignity in silence, he
was moved with a sudden fear that this was no common man before him. He was
perplexed with the thought that this prisoner might be a heavenly being come
down to the earth. Herod dared not ratify the condemnation of Jesus. He wished to relieve himself of the terrible responsibility, and so sent the Saviour back to Pilate.
Condemned by Pilate
When the Jews returned from Herod, bringing the Saviour again to Pilate,
he was very much displeased, and asked what they would have him do. He reminded
them that he had examined Jesus, and had found no fault in Him. He told them
that they had brought complaints against Him, but that they had not been able to
prove a single charge.
As stated in the preceding chapter, they had taken Him to Herod, who was
a Jew, like themselves, and he had found in Him nothing worthy of death. But to
pacify the accusers, Pilate said:
"I will therefore chastise Him, and release Him." Luke 23:16.
Here Pilate showed his weakness. He had acknowledged that Christ was
innocent; then why should he punish Him? It was a compromise with wrong. The
Jews never forgot this through all the trial. They had intimidated the Roman
governor, and now pressed their advantage until they secured the condemnation of
Jesus.
The multitude clamored more loudly for the life of the prisoner.
While Pilate was hesitating as to what he should do, there was brought to
him a letter from his wife, which read:
"Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered
many things this day in a dream because of Him." Matthew 27:19.
Pilate turned pale at this message; but the mob became more urgent as
they saw his indecision.
Pilate saw that something must be done. It was customary at the feast of
the Passover to set at liberty one prisoner, whom the people might choose. The
Roman soldiers had recently captured a noted robber, named Barabbas. He was a
degraded ruffian and a murderer. So Pilate turned to the crowd, and said with
great earnestness:
"Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is
called Christ?" Matthew 27:17.
They replied, "Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas."
Luke 23:18.
Pilate was dumb with surprise and disappointment. By yielding his own
judgment and appealing to the people, he had lost his dignity and the control of
the crowd. After that, he was only the tool of the mob. They swayed him at their
will. He then asked:
"What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?"
With one accord they cried, "Let Him be crucified.
"And the governor said, Why, what evil hath He done?
"But they cried out the more, saying, Let Him be crucified."
Matthew 27:22, 23.
Pilate's cheek paled as he heard the terrible cry, "Let Him be
crucified." He had not thought it would come to that. He had repeatedly
pronounced Jesus innocent, and yet the people were determined that He should
suffer this most terrible and dreaded death. Again he asked the question:
"Why, what evil hath He done?"
And again was set up the awful cry, "Crucify Him, crucify Him."
Pilate made one last effort to touch their sympathies. Jesus was taken,
faint with weariness and covered with wounds, and scourged in the sight of His
accusers.
"And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head,
and they put on Him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! And they
smote Him with their hands." John 19:2, 3.
They spit upon Him, and some wicked hand snatched the reed that had been
placed in His hand, and struck the crown upon His brow, forcing the thorns into
His temples, and sending the blood trickling down His face and beard.
Satan led the cruel soldiery in their abuse of the Saviour. It was his
purpose to provoke Him to retaliation, if possible, or to drive Him to perform a
miracle to release Himself, and thus break up the plan of salvation. One stain
upon His human life, one failure of His humanity to bear the terrible test, and
the Lamb of God would have been an imperfect offering, and the redemption of man
a failure.
But He who could command the heavenly host, 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 with dignified composure to the coarsest insult
and outrage.
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
humanity, and prove His kinship to God.
Pilate was deeply moved by the uncomplaining patience of the Saviour. He
sent for Barabbas to be brought into the court; then he presented the two
prisoners side by side. Pointing to the Saviour, he said in a voice of solemn
entreaty, "Behold the man." "I bring Him forth to you, that ye
may know that I find no fault in Him." John 19:5, 4.
There stood the Son of God, wearing the robe of mockery and the crown of
thorns. Stripped to the waist, His back showed the long, cruel stripes from
which the blood flowed freely. His face was stained with blood, and bore the
marks of exhaustion and pain; but never had it appeared more beautiful. Every
feature expressed gentleness and resignation, and the tenderest pity for His
cruel foes.
In striking contrast was the prisoner at His side. Every line of the
countenance of Barabbas showed him to be the hardened ruffian that he was.
Among the beholders there were some who sympathized with Jesus. Even the
priests and rulers were convicted that He was what He claimed to be. But they
would not yield. They had moved the mob to a mad fury, and again priests,
rulers, and people raised the cry:
"Crucify Him, crucify Him!"
At last, losing all patience with their unreasonable, vengeful cruelty,
Pilate said to them:
"Take ye Him, and crucify Him: for I find no fault in Him."
John 19:6.
Pilate tried hard to release the Saviour; but the Jews cried out:
"If thou let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend: whosoever
maketh himself a king speaketh against Caesar." John 19:12.
This was touching Pilate in a weak place. He was already under suspicion
by the Roman government, and he knew that a report of this kind would be his
ruin.
"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."
Matthew 27:24.
In vain Pilate tried to free himself from the guilt of condemning Jesus.
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 ruin. He saw that he could not
release Jesus, and yet retain his own position and honor.
Rather than lose his worldly power, he chose to sacrifice an innocent
life. Yielding to the demands of the mob, he again scourged Jesus, and delivered
Him to be crucified.
But in spite of his precautions, the very thing he dreaded afterward came
upon him. His honors were stripped from him, he was cast down from his high
office, and, stung by remorse and wounded pride, not long after the crucifixion
he ended his own life.
So all who compromise with sin will gain only sorrow and ruin.
"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the
ways of death." Proverbs 14:12.
When Pilate declared himself innocent of the blood of Christ, Caiaphas
answered defiantly, "His blood be on us, and on our children." Matthew
27:25.
And the awful words were echoed by the priests, and re-echoed by the
people.
It was a terrible sentence to pass upon themselves. It was an awful
heritage to hand down to their posterity.
Literally was this fulfilled upon themselves in the fearful scenes of the
destruction of Jerusalem, about forty years later.
Literally has it been fulfilled in the scattered, despised, and oppressed
condition of their descendants since that day.
Doubly literal will be the fulfillment when the final accounting shall
come. The scene will then be changed, and "this same Jesus" will come,
"in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God." Acts
1:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:8.
Then they will pray to the rocks and mountains:
"Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the
throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of His wrath is
come." Revelation 6:16, 17. Calvary
Jesus was hurried to Calvary amid the shouts and jeers of the crowd. As
He passed the gate of Pilate's court, the heavy cross which had been prepared
for Barabbas was laid upon His bruised and bleeding shoulders. Crosses were
placed also upon two thieves, who were to suffer death at the same time with
Jesus.
The load was too heavy for the Saviour in His weary, suffering
condition. He had gone but a few rods when He fell fainting beneath the cross.
When He revived, the cross was again placed upon His shoulders. He
staggered on a few steps, and again fell to the ground as one lifeless. His
persecutors now realized that it was impossible for Him to go farther with His
burden, and they were puzzled to find someone who would carry the humiliating
load.
Just then they were met by Simon a Cyrenian, coming from the opposite
direction. Him they seized and compelled to carry the cross to Calvary.
The sons of Simon were disciples of Jesus, but he himself had not
accepted the Saviour. Simon was ever after grateful for the privilege of bearing
the cross of the Redeemer. The burden he was thus forced to carry became the
means of his conversion. The events of Calvary and the words uttered by Jesus
led Simon to accept Him as the Son of God.
Arriving at the place of crucifixion, the condemned were bound to the
instruments of torture. The two thieves wrestled in the hands of those who
stretched them upon the cross; but the Saviour made no resistance.
The mother of Jesus had followed Him on that awful journey to Calvary.
She longed to minister to Him as He sank exhausted under His burden, but she was
not allowed this privilege.
At every step of that wearisome way she had looked for Him to manifest
His God-given power, and release Himself from the murderous throng. And now that
the final scene was reached, and she saw the thieves bound to the cross, what an
agony of suspense she endured!
Would He who had given life to the dead suffer Himself to be crucified?
Would the Son of God suffer Himself to be thus cruelly slain? Must she give up
her faith that He was the Messiah?
She saw His hands stretched upon the cross--those hands that had ever
been reached out to bless the suffering. The hammer and the nails were brought,
and as the spikes were driven through the tender flesh, the heart-broken
disciples bore from the cruel scene the fainting form of the mother of Jesus.
The Saviour made no murmur of complaint; His face remained pale and
serene, but great drops of sweat stood on His brow. His disciples had fled from
the dreadful scene. He was treading the winepress alone; and of the people there
were none with Him. (Isaiah 63:3.)
As the soldiers were doing their work, the mind of Jesus passed from His
own sufferings to the terrible retribution that His persecutors must one day
meet. He pitied them in their ignorance, and prayed:
"Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."
Christ was earning the right to become the advocate for men in the
Father's presence. That prayer for His enemies embraced the world. It took in
every sinner who had lived or should live, from the beginning of the world to
the end of time.
Whenever we sin, Christ is wounded afresh. For us He lifts His pierced
hands before the Father's throne, and says, "Forgive them; for they know
not what they do."
As soon as Christ was nailed to the cross, it was lifted by strong men,
and with great violence thrust into the place prepared for it. This caused
intense suffering to the Son of God.
Pilate then wrote an inscription in Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and placed
it upon the cross, above the head of Jesus, where all might see it. It read:
"Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews."
The Jews requested that this might be changed. The chief priests said:
"Write not, The King of the Jews; but that He said, I am King of the
Jews."
But Pilate was angry with himself because of his former weakness. He also
thoroughly despised the jealous and wicked rulers. So he answered:
"What I have written I have written." John 19:22.
The soldiers divided the clothing of Jesus among themselves. One garment
was woven without seam, and about this there was a contention. They finally
settled the matter by casting lots. God's prophet had foretold that they would
do this. He wrote:
"Dogs have compassed Me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed
Me: they pierced My hands and My feet. . . . They part My garments among them,
and cast lots upon My vesture." Psalms 22:16, 18.
As soon as Jesus was lifted up on the cross, a terrible scene took place.
Priests, rulers, and scribes joined with the rabble in mocking and jeering the
dying Son of God, saying:
"If Thou be the King of the Jews, save Thyself." Luke 23:37.
"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." Matthew 27:42, 43.
"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." Mark 15:29, 30.
Christ could have come down from the cross. But if He had done this, we
could never have been saved. For our sake He was willing to die. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5.
Death of Christ
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