As others saw Him/chapter 15
XV.
THE EXAMINATION BEFORE THE SANHEDRIM.
XV.
Then from the lower end of the hall entered Jesus the Nazarene, with his arms bound with withes behind his back, and he was led by the captain of the guard up to the centre of the table opposite Caiaphas the High Priest. Then Caiaphas rose, and, looking at a paper in his hand which Hanan had given him, said unto Jesus, "Jesus of Nazara, thou art accused before us of blasphemy, and of leading the people of Israel astray: what sayest thou thereto?" Jesus gazed haughtily at him, and answered, "I spake openly to all the world, I have taught in the synagogue and in the Temple, and in secret I have said nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them which heard me what I have said unto them. Behold, they know what I have said." Then one of the men who had led Jesus in struck him with the palm of his hand, and said, "Answerest thou the High Priest so?" But Jesus turned, and said to him in a milder voice, "If I have said aught that is evil, bear witness thereof; but if well, why smitest thou me?" And Caiaphas the High Priest bade the man begone and bring in the witnesses. Then one man came forward and said he had heard Jesus call himself the Son of God. And another, that he had spoken of himself as if he were very God, and could do all that the Holy One, blessed be He, can perform. And yet another came forward and said he had heard Jesus speak of himself as Son of Man, and had thereby, as he thought, claimed to do what the Son of Man is said to do in the Prophets Daniel and Enoch. But no two of these witnesses agreed as to time and seasons, as is required by our Law. At last, however, two of them declared that on the preceding day in the Temple they had heard him say, "I will destroy this Temple that is made with hands, and in three days I will build another without hands." Now, during all this time Jesus had said naught, but looked before him with that rapt expression that I had seen upon him on the second occasion when I had heard him preach in the synagogue of the Galilæans. So Caiaphas the High Priest spake to him, saying, "Answerest thou naught to what these men witness against thee?" And Jesus made as if he heard not.
Then Hanan the High Priest leaned over to Caiaphas his son-in-law and spake some words to him. Then Caiaphas, rising, spake thus to Jesus: "Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Holy One, blessed be He?" Then Jesus raised his head, and gazing fixedly at the High Priest, said in a loud voice, "Thou hast said. And hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming on the clouds of heaven." Then Hanan the High Priest rose and rent his clothes, as is our wont in time of mourning or when blasphemy is heard, and he called out in his keen, shrill voice, "What need we any further witnesses? Ye have heard the blasphemy; what think ye?" And he waved his hand to the captain of the guard, who removed the prisoner.
When the door was closed behind him, Hanan said, "What need we of further words? let us proceed to the judgment." And glancing over to Chananyah ben Nedebai, he said, "Chananyah, thou art the youngest; it is thine to pronounce judgment first. Is not this man guilty of death for his manifest blasphemy here before us?" And Chananyah said, "Yea." And so said all till Hanan had called upon thirteen to give judgment. Then said Hanan, "This man is for certain condemned to death, or at least to be handed over to the Roman Procurator: for already a majority of two have declared his death, even if all the rest were for an acquittal, as I cannot think possible. The Court will rise and reassemble at the time of the saying of the morning prayer, in order to confirm this judgment. Ye will not have long to wait, for even now I heard the crowing of the cock, and the dawn cannot be far off."
Then the Court broke up, and many of the younger members met together and discussed the case. And I was somewhat surprised to find that very few words of compassion were raised for Jesus. The stubborn conduct of the prisoner had set them against him in the first place, and his wild outburst had confirmed their ill thoughts of him. But most of all they were influenced by the thought that this was but a preliminary trial, and could only result in handing him over to the Roman Procurator, with whom the last word would be. None of them had seen aught of Jesus but during the last few days in the Temple, when he had interfered with their order and prerogatives. I cannot say I was convinced, either by Hanan's harangue at first, or by these men's arguments afterwards. But I was somewhat perplexed, feeling myself in some wise an intruder in their midst, not being of the priestly order. And as is my custom in such cases, I went out into the open air down the steps into the atrium.
There I found a great fire had been lit in the court, for the night was chilly. Near the fire Jesus was seated, with the High Priest's guard around him. As I came near, behold, one of the guard threw part of his mantle across the face of Jesus so as to blindfold him, and then struck him, saying, "Thou art a Prophet; prophesy who hath struck thee." And all the soldiers laughed and jeered. Then sought I the captain of the guard and told him this, and he said, "They mean naught of ill—they be rude fellows; howbeit, I will stop them." And he went up to them and reproved them. And I paced up and down the courtyard, with the silent stars above and the glowing fire beneath, till an apparitor of the High Priest summoned me, saying, "It beginneth to dawn at the back of the house; the Council will resume its sitting."
When I entered the council-chamber, I found all seated as before, but in the midst was a smaller table, at which was seated a scribe, with a roll in front of him. Then Hanan the High Priest came in, and said, "Ye have all had the time of deliberation prescribed by our sages in capital cases, or at least as much time as the urgency of the matter permits. We must proceed to the formal ratification of this man's sentence, for I cannot doubt that ye will see fit to confirm the righteous judgment which your zeal for the Lord caused you to pass just now upon this man. And again I would bid you remember you are voting, not so much for this man's death, as whether he is to be delivered to the Romans. Scribe, read the roll." And with that the scribe began to read our names, and we all answered to them. Then said Hanan, "We will now proceed to the voting," and called upon Chananyah ben Nedebai to record his vote. And he voted as before, for death. Then each in his turn, and all voted as before. And when my name was called upon I arose and hesitated, and Hanan looked over to me and said, "Thou speakest here by our courtesy, Meshullam ben Zadok; if thou disagree with the unanimous opinion of thy colleagues, thou hadst best instruct us in thy reasons. What sayest thou? Is not he guilty of death who is guilty of blasphemy against the Most High?" "Yea," said I. "And was not this man Jesus manifestly guilty of blasphemy before us?" "Yea," said I. Then said Hanan swiftly to the scribe, "He voteth for death," and waved me down to my seat. And thereafter all the remaining members of the Council voted for death, finishing with Hanan as the oldest, who merely gave a grim nod to the scribe.
By this time it was quite light, and all the Council and many of Hanan's household joined together to say the morning prayers. After prayers most of the Council, with Hanan and Caiaphas at our head, followed the soldiers who guarded Jesus down from the Mount of Olives. As we came near the Brook Kidron, behold, a man with haggard face darted out from the shrubs by the wayside, and rushing up to Hanan the High Priest, dashed down at his feet a bag which chinked, and then disappeared into the wayside again. But Hanan only motioned with his finger to the bag at his feet, and the captain of his guard lifted it up and poured out its contents into his hand, and, behold, it was a number of new shekels from the Temple treasury. Then Hanan smiled grimly, and bade the captain put them aside. Thereupon we resumed our march, and soon came to the Aldgate. There we inquired where the Procurator was, and learnt that he had taken up his dwelling at the Palace of Herod, so that he might be in Jerusalem during the Passover, as was his wont, for fear of a rising at that time. Then we marched across and halted in front of the palace. And on our way the rumor spread throughout the city that Jesus the Nazarene was being carried before the Procurator, and soon our procession was joined by all who were free from household duties. I have explained to thee, have I not, how that for those of the older opinion this sixth day of the week was the day on which the Paschal lamb was to be sacrificed, and for all good Jews the morning would be devoted to the final search after the leaven. That morning, therefore, all the householders of Jerusalem and all the heads of families were occupied in the search after leaven, or in preparation for the Paschal sacrifice, and it was only the younger men, and those who cared not for acts of piety, who followed our procession on the way to Herod's Palace.
Now, all those of the Council were of the older opinion as to the Paschal sacrifice, and were about to perform it on the evening of that day. Wherefore it behoved them not to enter the dwellings of the heathen during that day, since it is their custom to bury the bodies of men in their gardens or in their houses, which render them a defilement to us Jews. Therefore on the day of a sacrifice no Jew may enter a heathen's house, above all the High Priest, upon whose sanctity the holiness of the nation depends. When, therefore, we came within twenty paces of the Procurator's dwelling, Hanan caused our procession to halt, and a summons to be sounded upon the trumpet. Thereat a lictor appeared, who asked our business, and to him Hanan gave a message to the Procurator. And here for the first time since he had been arrested I could see the countenance of Jesus near me, and it surprised me much to observe that all traces of anxiety and weariness had disappeared from it. He seemed relieved and resigned, and paid no heed to what was passing around him, seeming only to commune with himself, or perhaps, I should say, with some inward friend and comforter.
Then Pontius Pilate came forward and spake to Joseph Caiaphas the High Priest, and asked him what he would with him. And Caiaphas answered and said, pointing to Jesus, "This man have we captured and brought unto thee, finding that he was perverting the people, and declaring that he was the Anointed One of Israel, and therefore the rightful King of the Jews. Him therefore have we brought to thee, seeing it is a matter which toucheth our master the Emperor." Thereupon Pontius Pilate turned round, and said something in the barbarian tongue, and the guard of Roman soldiers came forward and took Jesus from the High Priest's guard, and took him with them up the steps of the palace. Then Pilate courteously invited the High Priests to enter the judgment-hall with him; but they, in answer, pointed out that on that holy day they dared not enter to any house but their own and the house of God. Then Pilate turned his back with scanter courtesy, and reëntered the palace, and we and the common people remained outside waiting.