and visible one. So had He told His followers only a few weeks before (Luke xvii. 21).

Again Pilate asked, "Art Thou a King?" and our Lord replied, "Thou sayest," meaning, thou sayest truly. And verily Pilate seems to have felt the Majesty of Him Who stood before him, adding that He had come into the world for the truth's sake. He is King of Truth, and His Kingdom is of those who hear and accept the truth.

Now Pilate was one of the Romans who learnt, for fashion's sake, the philosophies in which the old Greeks strained in earnest after the truth, each thinking he had it almost within his grasp. The Romans, coming afterwards on the worn-out systems, toyed with all and believed in none; and so Pilate only answered, "What is truth?" So say in weariness and sadness those who tamper with their faith, till they have learnt to believe that nothing is sure.

But, convinced apparently that the Prisoner was perfectly innocent of state crimes, and only what he would have called a harmless fanatic, he pronounced His acquittal in these full terms, "I find no fault in Him." It is a most important sentence, as showing that by the universal law of justice, the Great Sacrifice was of One perfectly innocent and blameless, with not a shadow of sin of His Own to expiate, and therefore able to atone for the sins of others.

LESSON XXVI.

THE TRIAL BEFORE HEROD.

FRIDAY, A.D. 30.-LUKE xxiii. 4—12.

And they were the more fierce, saying, He stirreth up the people, teaching throughout all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.

When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a Galilæan.

And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that time.

And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad : for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.

Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.

And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.

And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.

And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before they were at enmity between themselves.

COMMENT.-Pilate returned from within the Prætorium to the top of the steps to announce to the priests and scribes that he found no fault in the Prisoner, whereupon there was a great outcry of fury, declaring-" He stirreth up all the people, beginning from Galilee even unto Jewry."

The mention of Galilee seemed to Pilate to show him a way out of his difficulty. The tetrarchy of Galilee was held by Herod Antipas, with whom there could not fail to be constant jealousies as to the bounds of the authority of the rulers of these divisions, so that Pilate and Herod were at enmity; and as it was the present Roman policy to be on good terms with the petty princes that were for a time allowed to hold sway, the Procurator was glad at once to show deference to the so-called king, by not trenching on his authority; and at the same time to avoid offending the Jewish priests by acquitting One Who in his eyes was innocent, but Whom they accused of crimes he did not understand. So, as the Apostles afterwards observed (Acts iv. 25—28) was fulfilled the prophecy in the second Psalm (Ps. ii. 2.) :—

The kings of the earth stand up,

And the rulers take counsel together

Against the Lord, and against His Anointed.

The unnatural banding together of such foes as Pharisees and Sadducees, Priests, Pilate, and Herod, to take the life of JESUS, is just what has happened ever since; for however the wicked ones of this world may hate each other, they will always unite to persecute and ill-use His members.

Herod professed to be a Jew, but in an easy, careless way, like the Sadducees. From his court at Tiberias he had heard of the Great Prophet of Nazareth, and thought Him another like John the Baptist, to whom he had listened, till his own selfish lusts were crossed, and then had given up to the will of a wicked woman. He knew there was no danger to his throne from One Who had sent the multitudes away, and retired into desert places when they wanted to make Him a King, and he also knew of His miracles; for had

he not heard of his courtier's son healed of his fever, and was not the wife of his steward one of the Prophet's constant followers? So Herod's was the vulgar curiosity of a man who wanted to see one of the remarkable people of the time, and hoped to see a miracle worked by Him for his amusement. In this idle, insolent temper, he asked many questions, which therefore the Prisoner would not answer; and in the meantime the vehement accusations of the chief priests and scribes confuted themselves, and fell to the ground. So again doth He say of Himself in prophecy, "I became dumb, and opened not my mouth" (Ps. xxxix. 13.) The absence of all defence brought out more fully His entire innocence. He treated Herod differently from Pilate, we may suppose, because the Roman, though weak, was honest, and wished to find out the truth and justice; whereas Herod merely wanted to see a sign or wonder, a curiosity our Lord would never gratify in the faithless.

To Herod, the wonder-working Prophet seemed a failure, as He stood silent before him, worn out with the evening's agony, the night of arrest, the brutality of the servants of the priests, and the four examinations He had undergone. That disfigurement had begun of which Isaiah had long ago told (Is. lii. 14):—

His Visage was so marred, more than any man,
And his Form more than the sons of men.

The Roman had thought Him a harmless dreamer. Herod and his men of war deemed Him a madman, but treated Him with cruel ridicule, not pity. So they made Him their sport, and fixing on His having been called a King, they arrayed Him in a gorgeous robe. The word used means a white robe, such as Eastern kings wore, and very remarkable was the choice made in mockery. For it was a white robe in which the High Priest began his work of sacrifice on the Day of Atonement (Lev. xvi. 4). And in His own glory in Heaven, He weareth the long White Garment of the Eternal Priesthood. Whatever they did only marked His innocence. Yet, though thus twice acquitted by both the lawful authorities of Judæa and Galilee, He was not released. He was taken from prison and from judgment (Is. liii. 8), and was dragged back again to Pilate.

LESSON XXVII.

THE CHOICE OF BARABBAS.

FRIDAY, A.D. 30.-MATT. xxvii.; LUKE xxii. (collated).

Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would.

And there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection.

And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the rulers and the people,

Said unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having examined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those things whereof ye accuse him : No, nor yet Herod : for I sent you to him: and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him.

I will therefore chastise him, and release him.

(For of necessity he must release one unto them at the feast.)

And they cried out all at once, saying, Away with this man, and release unto us Barabbas :

Therefore when they were gathered Whom will ye that I release unto you? Christ?

together, Pilate said unto them, Barabbas, or Jesus, which is called

For he knew that for envy they had delivered him.

When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.

But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus.

The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas.

Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus, which is called Christ? They all say unto him, 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.

And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.

And they were instant with loud voices, requiring that he might be crucified. And the voices of them and of the chief priests prevailed.

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.

Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children.

COMMENT.-Pilate soon saw that his hope of freeing himself from the difficulty had failed, and that Herod was returning the Prisoner to him, unconvicted. If he had been a truly just and fearless man, such as some who were to be found among his nation, even as heathens, he would have braved the chief priests, and released the guiltless on his own responsibility. But he thought of another expedient. It was expected of the Roman governor every Passover to set free one prisoner, whomsoever the people should ask, and he thought of making our Lord this released prisoner. He proposed it to the chief priests, again declaring the prisoner's entire innocence, but trying to satisfy their malice by promising to have Him chastised, that is, scourged with rods by his lictors, a shameful act towards an innocent man, but one too commonly done to the down-trodden subjects of the Romans.

This, however, met with no favour from the chief priests, and they were prepared with a fellow whose life to demand, one Barabbas, a robber, who had risen against government, and had committed murders in the course of it, but had been taken, and was lying in prison probably with two of his gang. This wretch the priests resolved to demand rather than Him Who had gone about doing good.

But Pilate still had a hope. He saw the personal enmity of the Priests, and he must by this time have known how the populace had received our Lord five days before, so he resolved to appeal to the people, whom he fully expected would call for JESUS to be set free.

He therefore went out to the tribunal on the top of the steps again, the chair, namely, placed on a pavement. This pavement was the appointed place whence Roman judgments were delivered, and was always laid down even in a camp. He was strengthened in his desire to release the innocent Prisoner by his wife's message respecting her dream. It is remarkable that till this very reign of Tiberius, governors had not been allowed to bring their wives with them.

All this time the chief priests had been going about among the people, raising a mob of the worst and lowest, whose cries were sure to be in favour of the rebel robber, and who would keep back the frightened men who had indeed cried Hosanna, but who had no