Part 6

The night of that same day an event occurred which roused the city of Jerusalem to a pitch of expectation such as I had never seen there. Two young Zealots, artisans, that were popular with their fellows for their kindness of heart and good humor, fell into an altercation with a Roman officer near the Sheep Gate, not far from Antonia, where all the Roman soldiers lie. Without a word of warning, the Roman officer drew his sword and killed one of these young men, and when his companion and the passers‐ by rebuked him, and would have seized him to take him before the procurator, he gave a signal, and a multitude of soldiers poured forth from Antonia and struck without mercy among the crowd. Five were killed and many were wounded, and the whole city was in an uproar at this proof of Roman insolence. “How long, O Lord?” the graybeards said, raising their hands to heaven. And the younger men said, “Let us but wait the coming of Jesus the Liberator; surely before the Passover he will free us from the rule of the _Goyim_.”

XIII. THE GREAT REFUSAL.

Thou canst imagine with what feelings of expectation all Jerusalem awaited the coming of Jesus next morning. Many of the Pharisees had come together the eve before, and spoken of the public insult Jesus had given to their sect on the preceding day. Hanan the High Priest, we heard, had quarrelled furiously with his son‐in‐law Joseph Caiaphas, for that he had not allowed him to summon his guard after the humiliation he had put upon them in the Temple. Yet neither the Pharisees nor the Sadducees who followed the High Priests dared lay hands upon this Jesus, because of the evident favor in which he was held by the common folk of Jerusalem, and above all by the many from country parts who had come up, like him, to spend the Passover in the Holy City. Among all these there was no talk but of Jesus the Liberator; nay! many spake of him as Jesus the Christ. And if he were indeed to be the Christ, the King of Israel, the Founder of the New Kingdom, it could not be that he would suffer longer the yoke of the Romans to lie upon the neck of Israel.

Yet there was one thing that perplexed many, and opinion went hither and thither among the minds of men concerning it. The Christ who was to deliver Israel and to rule over mankind, was he not to be the son of David? Yet this Jesus was of Galilee, where the admixture of blood had been greatest in all Israel. “There is no unleavened bread in all Galilee,” the scoffers used to say, meaning thereby that their genealogy was sprinkled with yeast, as we call foreign admixture. And for this man’s genealogy, who could declare it? Many, indeed, as I have told thee, thought him to have no right even to be called son of his father. A _mamzer_ shall not sit in the congregation of Israel. How, then, could one ascend Israel’s throne?

When, therefore, Jesus came next morning from his lodging in Bethany, all Jerusalem turned out to welcome him, for the Passover was coming anear, and if aught was to be done to clear the city of the Romans, it must be done quickly, must be done on that day. Never saw I the courts of the Temple so crowded as on that day when I came thither, and found Jesus standing in the Court of the Gentiles, with almost all the leading men of Jerusalem and many of the common folk surging about him. Scarce room was left for the Roman sentry to march his guard in front of the Beautiful Gate. Yet he took no heed of us barbarians, but with shield and spear shouldered his way backward and forward, backward and forward, a sign to all men that the house of God was in the hands of God’s enemies.

Never saw I the men of Jerusalem so exultant as on that morning. Wherever I looked, joy—a grim joy—was on every man’s countenance, and there was no man there but was armed, save only Jesus himself and some ten or a dozen men who had come with him from Bethany, and these, indeed, were the only men who had not shown joy. Never had I seen the Nazarene with a countenance so saddened and aweary. Yestermorn he had been flashing with anger and indignation as he spake his words against the Pharisees, but on this day his force seemed to be spent, and he appeared like one who had passed through a great agony.

Now, as they were standing there, I saw a man, one of the leaders of the Zealots, armed as if for battle, go up and lay a hand upon one of those with Jesus. He spake eagerly with him, and pointed with his thumb to the Roman soldier as he passed to and fro. But the other shook his head vehemently, and took his arm away from the grasp of the Zealot and turned his back upon him.

Now, at this moment certain of the Pharisees came through the crowd and advanced to Jesus. So great was the crowd that I heard not at first what they said unto him; but it must have been some question about the matter that was in all men’s minds, for I heard his reply, and that, as was his wont, was in the form of a counter‐question to their inquiry, for he said, “What think _ye_ of the Christ? Whose son is he?” And they, speaking with the thought of all Israel, said, “The Christ is the son of David.”

Then all men watched with expectancy to hear what the Nazarene would say to this; for if he agreed with them, then would he deny himself to be the Christ: for his genealogy had by no means been proven. But yet, how could he disprove the belief of all Israel, that the Christ was the Son of David? Yet that did he after the manner of our Sages, using words of Scripture as his confirmation; for he said unto them, “How then is it that David himself saith in the Book of Psalms, ‘The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool’? David therefore himself calleth the Christ Lord; how then can the Christ be his son?”

At this the Pharisees knew not what to say, for no man had hitherto used that _stichos_ of the Psalms, and they knew not what to reply. But the common folk were rejoiced exceedingly; joy spread on their faces, and I saw many a fist raised and shaken in exultant defiance at the Roman sentry, who walked hither and thither on his guard as if he were a living mass of steel.

Thereupon certain of the crowd who were known to be followers of Herod had speech with Jesus, and spake to him: “Master, we know that thou art true, and carest for no man; that thou regardest not the person of men, but teachest the way of God in all truth—tell us, therefore, what thinkest thou: is it lawful to give tribute to Cæsar or not? shall we give, or shall we not give?” All men were silent, and drew their breath to hear what Jesus might say to this. For if he claimed to be the Anointed One, to whom but to the King of Israel should Israel’s tribute be paid?

But he said unto them, “Why tempt ye me? Bring me a denarius, that I may see it.” And they brought one and put it into his hand. And he held it forth unto them, and said, “Whose is this image and superscription?” And they answered, “Cæsar’s.” And then Jesus said unto them, “Render to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” And these Herodians marvelled at the subtlety with which he had answered them, but the common folk were amazed and dumfounded at his answer. And soon I heard one say to another, “He denieth: he would pay tribute to Cæsar.” And gradually all the men drew away from him, leaving him alone with only the company with him from Bethany.

But he, seeing this, turned to one of those with him, and said, “Peter, of whom do the kings of the earth take custom? of their own children, or of the aliens?” And Peter answered and said, “Of the aliens.” Then Jesus said to him, “Then are the children free?” And Peter said to him, “Yes.” Then said Jesus unto him, “Then do thou also give, as being an alien to them.” The common folk heard this, indeed, but were in no wise satisfied. If they were to give tribute to the Romans for whatever cause, they were still to be under subjection to Rome, and then Jesus refused to be their Liberator; that had become clear to them of a sudden. And they drew still further away from him. And a deep silence of mortification fell upon all men there, so that thou couldst hear distinctly the tread of the Roman sentry as he moved on his march.

Amid the deep silence suddenly came a gentle tinkling, as of silver bells; it came nearer and nearer, and a crier called out, “Way for the High Priests!” Then Hanan the High Priest, with Caiaphas his son‐in‐law, and others of the priests accompanied by their guard, came down the steps from the Beautiful Gate. The Roman sentry stopped his march and stood upright, with spear on ground, and all made way as the procession of the High Priests passed through the court. All men were silent, and thou couldst hear the tinkling of the silver bells which were attached to the hems of the High Priests’ garments. Hanan walked at the head of the procession with his usual haughty gait, and had nearly passed through the court, when he saw Jesus and those with him. At once he halted, and summoned one of the crowd to him. Then we saw much eager talk between this man and the High Priest. And Hanan summoned the captain of his guard, who would have turned towards Jesus, but that Joseph Caiaphas stayed him and spake unto Hanan, pointing to the Roman sentry. After much talk between these, the High Priests resumed their march and left the Temple. And all the other men began to pass away from the court, leaving Jesus and his men alone with none to listen to him. For the word passed swiftly in the mouths of all the men of Jerusalem,—“He refuseth; he would have us be slaves of the Romans forever.”

XIV. THE MEETING OF THE HANANITES.

The next day being the fifth day of the week, and the thirteenth day of the month Nisan in that year, many rumors went about the city as to the man Jesus. There were who said that he had been seized by the guards of Hanan; others said that he had left the village of Bethany and gone no man knew whither. But for that day Jesus came not into Jerusalem, and men’s minds were occupied more with one of the difficulties of our Law which form the occupation and delight of our Sages. I must explain this unto thee, for upon it turn the events of the next day, so fateful for the man about whom thou art inquiring. Thou canst easily understand what I shall say, for thou hast, I know, a copy of the Scriptures in Greek, for did I not procure it for thee?

It is said in the Law, thou wilt find, that the Passover lamb is to be killed in the twilight between the fourteenth and the fifteenth of Nisan, and it is also said in our Law that the whole of the lamb must be consumed that evening. Now, in the years when the fifteenth of Nisan, which is the first day of the Passover, falleth upon the Sabbath, the killing and roasting of the lamb would take place on the Sabbath eve, when no killing must take place and no fire must be lit. Hence arises a conflict of the Law of the Passover with the Law of the Sabbath. Now, the older view was, that the Passover was superior to the Sabbath, and its law was to be followed in preference. This the priests held and followed, and in this they seemed to have the authority of the great Hillel, who also declared the Passover superior to the Sabbath.

But many among the Pharisees and the more pious preferred to slay the Passover lamb on the eve between the thirteenth and the fourteenth day of Nisan, and to eat it on the fourteenth day; that is, in those years when the Passover fell on the Sabbath, as was the case in the year of which I am now writing. It would appear that Jesus and his followers held with the latter opinion, for, as I have heard, on the eve of the fourteenth of Nisan he came stealthily into the city of Jerusalem, and ate the Passover lamb concealed in an upper chamber of one of his friends in the city. It showeth how earnest this man was in following the larger precepts of the Law, though in smaller matters he seemed to neglect it. For by this time he must have known that he was no longer safe in Jerusalem; and, indeed, he proved this by his secret entry into it. Yet in order to fulfil the Law, which saith, “The Passover lamb is to be eaten in Jerusalem,” he risked his own and his followers’ lives. Yet was he careful of them; for, as thou shalt soon hear, as soon as he had gone through the meal prescribed by the Law, he escaped out of Jerusalem.

Now, that night I was standing at the door of my house, looking upon the city bathed in the light of the moon, which was near its full, when suddenly a man seized me by the arm and said, “Thou art wanted.” I looked, and behold it was Simon Kantheros, my brother‐in‐law. And I said to him, “Who wants me? and wherefore?” And Simon answered me and said, “Hanan the High Priest has summoned suddenly a meeting of the Sanhedrim at his house on the Mount of Olives.” Then said I, “But if it be at his house, it can only be the Priestly Sanhedrim of Twenty‐Three that he summons.” “Nay, nay, man,” answered Simon, “the case is urgent. He saith, ‘any member of the Sanhedrim.’ Come, then, with me, and quickly.” So with that I seized my mantle and my staff, and went forth with him.

So we hurried across the market‐place towards the Fish Gate, and as we passed near the Tower Antonia, we saw the flashing of red lights, and heard hoarse cries of command, and knew not what was toward. But when we arrived at the Fish Gate, we found them changing the sentries of the first watch, and knew that the second watch had begun. At first the sentry would not let us through the gate; but the officer was called, and Simon showed him his badge as member of the Sanhedrim. But even this would not have sufficed, but that Simon then pointed to his toga and the purple stripe, which showed that he was a Roman citizen of rank. Thereat the officer spake to the sentry, and we passed through the gate, and turned sharply to the right, and went down the road which leads to the valley of the Kidron. And as we were passing the Brook Kidron, we looked and saw dots of red light moving up the hill from the Garden of Gethsemane. And as we advanced up the hill of the Mount of Olives, we could see from time to time these red sparks preceding us; and when we came within sight of the High Priest’s house, we saw them enter in and disappear.

Soon we ourselves had come up to the gate, and when we knocked, a wicket was opened, and a face peered out, and our names were asked. When we had told them, the gate was closed, and we had to wait some time. But at last the door was opened, and the captain of the guard received us. He took us through the passage which led into the open court, with the water‐basin in the centre, round which we skirted, and ascended the steps into the inner house. And again we stopped before the hall‐door while our names were asked, and again we had to wait till the door was at last opened. Then at last we entered the hall, and found Joseph Caiaphas the High Priest and many of his kinsmen seated round a long table. Caiaphas rose, and motioned us to two seats at the end of this table, and we seated ourselves.

When my eyes had become accustomed to the light, I looked round, and said the greeting of peace unto those I knew of the assembly. I can still remember many of their names. There was Ishmael ben Phabi, who had at first replaced Hanan as High Priest. There were also the four sons of Hanan—Eleazar, Jonathan, Theophilus, and Matthias. Then there were Kamithos the priest, and his two sons, Simon and Joseph. And beside these, I remember two men of my own generation—Elioni ben Kantheros and Chananyah ben Nedebai. Most of these men had been, or were afterwards, High Priests, and were all at this time members of the Priestly Sanhedrim. On the left of Caiaphas was a low stool, and, even as I looked, Hanan ben Seth the High Priest came in swiftly from a side door, and took a seat thereon. He glanced sharply round at each of us, counting our numbers, and we were exactly three and twenty. And when he saw me, he rose and spake somewhat harshly, “Meshullam ben Zadok, what dost thou here? This is a meeting of the Priestly Sanhedrim. Thou art a son of Israel.” And I answered and said, “Simon Kantheros here, my kinsman, summoned me to the meeting, saying that any member of the Sanhedrim could attend.” The High Priest thought for a moment—he seemed as if he were counting us again—then he said, “Be it so; thou art at least a true son of Israel, and this is not a formal meeting of the priests.” He sat him down again, and we waited. At last an attendant entered by the same door, and, going up to the High Priest, spake to him. He nodded quickly, and dismissed him with a wave of his hand. And when he had passed through the door, Hanan the High Priest rose, and spake to us these words:—

“Kinsmen and colleagues, ye have all heard, if ye have not witnessed, how Jesus of Nazara entered the Holy City on the first day of this week, amid the acclamations of his followers and many of the lower people, who even went so far as to hail him as the Deliverer. Now, to‐morrow, as ye know, is the Passover. Who knows, if the thoughts of deliverance from Egypt, which come at that time, may not cause this man, or, if not him, his followers, to attempt a rising against the Romans our masters? We know that any such attempt would be entirely futile, but the very attempt itself would be the ruin of the nation. Ye know the character of the man Pontius Pilate. ’Tis but a short time since he slew, of wanton cruelty, certain Galilæans, even while they were making sacrifices, and all for mere suspicion of disaffection. Ye cannot but remember the building of Solomon’s Aqueduct. Because money was taken from the Temple treasury for the building thereof, the people were inflamed, and would have risen against them. What did he but send his soldiers, disguised in civil garb and armed with clubs, among the people, when they came to make their protest? And without warning, and in mere wanton cruelty, did he give the signal for massacre. If he did this at a mere threat of a rising, what will happen should an actual rising take place to‐morrow? It is our duty to see that such a calamity fall not upon this nation because of the presence of this rude provincial in our midst. Better one man should die than the nation should suffer. No time was to be lost, and I therefore have had this Jesus arrested, and he now awaits our pleasure in the atrium.

“Before I summon him to our presence, I would briefly state to you what seems to me and some of our friends here the right course to be followed. We purpose to hand him over at dawn to Pontius Pilate, to deal with him as he will. For he, by his spies, and by the demonstration on the first day of the week, must be aware of the danger of a rising to‐morrow night, caused by this man’s presence in our city. Indeed, it is for the very purpose of preventing a rising that he cometh up each year about the Passover to Jerusalem. Let it, then, be his care to prevent it how he will; we shall have done our part, and he cannot punish the nation, or us its leaders.

“But some of you will say, Why should we deliver this man up to the Romans, perhaps, or even probably, to his death? I say, that even apart from the danger which he offers to the State, he is worthy of death for his manifest blasphemies. He speaketh of himself as very God, and claims to be the Anointed One, and puts aside the Law as it pleaseth him. I say naught of his insolence in the Temple cloisters, for this matter concerns us that be priests, and in the matter of judgment we must not take account of aught that deals with our private concerns; yet it is manifest that he hath no reverence for the Lord’s house: witnesses shall prove to you that he hath said he would sweep it away and build another. I wonder not that horror is expressed in your faces at this blasphemy.

“Yet, as ye know, our Law hath in mercy provided that none shall be condemned unless on the testimony of witnesses. The Law shall be fulfilled. Even now, as I speak, one of his followers, Judas, a man of Kerioth, is drawing forth from him his blasphemies before two witnesses, concealed, as is the custom. And even if he fail, I know this man Jesus; in his arrogance he will not scruple to repeat his blasphemies, even before us.

“Time presses, and I have but this to add before the prisoner is summoned: it is a wise provision of our Law, that in capital charges no final condemnation shall occur until the second day of the trial. The day before the Passover began this eve. If we keep to the Law, no condemnation can take place till after the first day of the Passover, by which time all the mischance may have come to pass. If the power of life and death were solely in our hands, I would not depart in aught from the wise provision of our forefathers; but, in truth, if this man be put to death, it will not be our doing, for his fate rests with Pilate. I would remind the younger members of the Sanhedrim that the final decision is not with us, and if they vote for this man’s death, as I cannot doubt they will, considering the pressing danger to our nation, they need not fear to be called members of a bloodthirsty Sanhedrim, since his death, if death he suffers, will be at the hands of the Roman Procurator. In this strait I propose, therefore, to examine this man at once, and if, as I doubt not, he avows his guilt, to wait till the morning for his final condemnation, and in this way fulfil the Law. Summon the prisoner to our presence.” Then, turning to Caiaphas, he said, “This is a matter between us and the Romans, for whom thou, Joseph, art the High Priest. Take thou, then, the interrogatory.”

XV. THE EXAMINATION BEFORE THE SANHEDRIM.

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.