The Story of the Bible

Pilate said to the Jews, "You have brought this man to me as one who is leading the people to evil; and I have seen that there is no evil in him, nor has Herod; now I will order that he be beaten with rods, and then set free. For you know that it is the custom to set a prisoner free at the time of the feast."

They set some prisoner free, as a sign of the joy at the feast. And at that time there was in the prison a man named Barabbas, who was a robber and a murderer. Pilate said to the people, "Shall I set free Jesus, who is called the King of the Jews?"

But the rulers went among the people and urged them to ask for Barabbas to be set free.

And the crowd cried out, "Not this man, but Barabbas!"

Then Pilate said, "What, then, shall I do with Jesus?"

And they all cried out, "Crucify him! Let him die on the cross!"

Pilate wished greatly to spare the life of Jesus. To show how he felt, he sent for water, and he washed his hands before all the people, saying, "My hands are clean from the blood of this good man!"

And they cried out, "Let his blood be on us, and on our children after us! Crucify him! Send him to the cross!"

Then Pilate, to please the people, gave them what they asked. He set free Barabbas, the man of their choice, though he was a robber and a murderer; but before giving way to the cry that he should send Jesus to the cross, he tried once more to save his life. He caused Jesus to be beaten until the blood came upon him, hoping that this might satisfy the people. As Jesus was spoken of as a king, the soldiers who beat Jesus made a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, such as was worn by kings, and bowing down before him they called out to him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

Then, hoping to awaken some pity for Jesus, Pilate brought him out to the people, with the crown of thorns and the purple robe upon him, and Pilate said, "Look on this man!"

But again the cry arose, "Crucify him! Send him to the cross!"

And at last Pilate yielded to the voice of the people. He sat down on the judgment-seat, and gave commands that Jesus, whom he knew to be a good man, one who had done nothing evil, should be put to death upon the cross.

\LOOK ON THIS MAN."

The Darkest Day of All the World

Matthew xxvii: 31 to 66; Mark xv: 20 to 47; Luke xxiii: 26 to 56; John xix: 16 to 42.

And so Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor, gave order that Jesus should die by the cross. The Roman soldiers then took Jesus and beat him again most cruelly; and then led him out of the city to the place of death. This was a place called "Golgotha" in the Jewish language, "Calvary" in that of the Romans; both words meaning "The Skull Place."

JESUS LED AWAY TO THE CROSS

With the soldiers went out of the city a great crowd of people, some of them enemies of Jesus, glad to see him suffer; others of them friends of Jesus, and the women who had helped him, now weeping as they saw him, all covered with his blood, and going out to die. But Jesus turned to them, and said:

"Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For the days are coming when they shall count those happy who have no little ones to be slain; when they shall wish that the mountains might fall on them, and the hills might cover them, and hide them from their enemies!"

They had tried to make Jesus bear his own cross, but soon found that he was too weak from his sufferings, and could not carry it. They seized a man who was coming out of the country into the city, a man named Simon; and they made him carry the cross to its place at Calvary.

It was a custom among the Jews, to give to men about to die by the cross some medicine to deaden their feelings, so that they would not suffer so greatly. They offered this to Jesus, but when he had tasted it, and found what it was, he would not take it. He knew that he would die, but he wished to have his mind clear, and to understand what was done and what was said, even though his sufferings might be greater.

At the place Calvary they laid the cross down, and stretched Jesus upon it, and drove nails through his hands and feet to fasten him to the cross; and then they stood it upright with Jesus upon it. While the soldiers were doing this dreadful work, Jesus prayed for them to God, saying, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they are doing."