LESSON XXXVII.
PONTIUS PILATE.
John, xviii. 22 to end. Matthew, xxvi. 67, 68.
John, xix. 1-16.
All night long, Jesus stood in the great room; he heard all Peter said, and that must have grieved him. The wicked people were like lions and tigers, and Jesus like a lamb. They looked at him as if they hated him.
Once when he spoke, a servant slapped his face; but he bore this meekly.
The judge was not up yet, for it was night; so the wicked people were forced to wait till the morning.
That night the servants came round Jesus and beat him, and pushed him, and laughed at him, and even spat in his face.
When the morning came, the wicked people said, Now we will bring him to the judge.
So they went out of their fine house and took Jesus with them.
The judge sat upon a high seat in the hall. His name was Pontius Pilate. The judge did not know Jesus. The judge said, What has he done?
The wicked people said, He calls himself a king.
Then Pilate said to Jesus, Are you a king? And Jesus said, Yes, I am. But Pilate thought that he looked very good, and he did not want to punish him.
Then the wicked men made a great noise, and said, You must crucify him.
Pilate said, No, I will beat him, and that will be enough. So Pilate gave Jesus to some soldiers, who took him into a house and beat him with knotted ropes, (this way of beating is called scourging,) and all the blood ran down his back. Then the cruel soldiers laughed at him because he said he was a king. They took off his own clothes, and put some fine clothes on him such as kings wear, purple and red.
Then they said, We must put a crown on his head. So they took prickly thorns, sharp like pins, and twisted them together, and made a crown, and put it on his head.
They said He must have a scepter, (for kings hold something called a scepter in their hands), so they put a reed in his hand for a scepter; then they took it from him, and beat him on the head: and they knelt down to him laughing, and said, O king! O king!
Pilate saw the soldiers tormenting him, and he brought Jesus into the street, where the wicked people were, and he showed Jesus to them, and said, Look at your king.
Pilate hoped they would be sorry to see him so ill-used; blood upon his forehead from the thorns, and his back scourged, and dressed in fine clothes to mock him: but the wicked people were cruel like tigers.
Said they, Crucify him! Crucify him! All the people cried out, Crucify him! though Jesus had always been so kind to them.
Will you crucify your king? said Pilate.
He shall not be our king, the people said. There was a very great noise in the street, from the people all speaking at once.
Then Pilate thought he would please the wicked people, and he said, Take him and crucify him. Then the people were glad. But first the soldiers took the fine clothes off Jesus, and put his own clothes on him again.
How wicked it was of Pilate to let him be crucified! Pilate thought Jesus was good, yet he let him be killed to please the people.