THE SEVENTEENTH CHAPTER.

Jesus is led to Caiaphas.

After this Annas sent Jesus bound to Caiaphas, who was the high-priest of that year. Here the chief priests and scribes and elders of the Jews had met together, for eagerly they thirsted to deliver Christ to death, and to shed His innocent Blood; and when they saw Him, they rejoiced like a lion that has caught its prey, and is ready to devour it. Now this was the second procession of our Saviour. Follow now thy Bridegroom, O my soul! Who, in order to espouse thee 135underwent all this labour and torment. Nor will He remain with thee for long. See, He is already given over into the hands of His cruel enemies, and of the Jews who are thirsting for His Blood, and who will not give over, until they shall fasten Him to the gibbet of the Cross.

Gaze now upon that fair face of His, and press it to thy heart, for yet a little while and there will be no more fairness in it at all, nor any beauty. Observe, I beg of thee, this sad procession, wherein these cruel dogs lead along the gentle Lamb, and this, we may firmly believe, they have done, as children of the devil, full of envy and madness, even as their father Satan hath suggested to them and persuaded them. And because they had remained quiet for a little while, in the house of Annas, and had recovered their strength, now they began anew to vex our Lord on the way, and to mock Him, and to spit upon Him, and to pull His venerable beard and hair, and to throw Him down, and to trample on Him with their feet, and then, when He had fallen upon the ground, to drag Him along; in a word, to heap upon Him all the reproaches, and mockery, and annoyance, and injury that they could think of. Let us here consider in our hearts the agony which our sweet Jesus suffered in His Heart, how weary was His Body, how sick and ill were all 136His members from this grievous cruelty, and the exceeding great haste with which the Jews hurried Him along. For in all this agony and distress not even a moment’s space was given Him, in which He could draw even one breath; yet was He ever the same innocent, patient Lamb, Who gave Himself wholly up to their fury. Whose is the heart that can keep from tears, when he seeth love, and lowliness, and patience such as this? Who would not be touched with compassion, and groan from his inmost heart, and proclaim himself guilty before high heaven, when he seeth that he is himself the cause of such exceeding cruel suffering to his Lord? Thus then they led our Lord Jesus with all cruelty to Caiaphas, at whose house the chief priests and elders of the Jews had hurried together, as children of the devil, at their father’s bidding. And because they had met in Satan’s name to shed Christ’s innocent Blood, therefore was that malignant one in the midst of them, inwardly spurring them on to all manner of cruelty and malice. See now, O my soul, how humbly the King of Glory stood there, His hands bound, His eyes cast down, His face pitiable and disfigured from the spittle and the blows, yet full of chaste shame, and loving thirst, and longing to drink the bitter chalice, and to accomplish His Father’s 137will; and how those raging and cruel dogs gnashed at Him with their teeth, and glared at Him exceeding fierce looks. This is that of which our Lord complained by the mouth of His prophet, when He said: “They have taken thought together against Me, and looked on Me with fearful eyes; they have gaped upon Me with their mouths like a ravening and a roaring lion; they have gnashed upon Me with their teeth; they have sharpened their tongues like serpents, that they might vomit upon Me this poison.” Ah! who can see without sorrow of heart this innocent and weak Lamb standing alone among so many savage wolves, and think that He Who is the Son of God, and Lord of lords, to Whom belongeth all judgment, is waiting for sentence of death to be passed upon Him by the vilest of His creatures, and wicked sinners? Oh! how their savage breasts burned with rage! How their souls overflowed with hatred, and their mouths with cursing and malice! How did envy darken their reason, spread thick clouds over their understanding, extinguish truth, keep down the judgment of their conscience, and all thoughts of religion! Oh! all the plots, and snares, and false-witness contrived against this guiltless Lamb, and drunk in by their cruel and poisoned thirst, in order that they might deliver over the Just One unto death! 138Yet our sweet Lord opened not His mouth, but gently and meekly bore for His Father’s honour all those wicked and foul lies, and blasphemies, and falsehoods, which they heaped upon Him. No excuse would He give, for He had taken upon Him all the sins of the world; and because it was His will to be crucified with the unjust, as an unjust man, it was also His will to be judged. Not even a word did He answer to all these false accusations, because out of His measureless love He thirsted with a burning thirst after man’s salvation, and the chalice which His Father had given Him to drink; for clearly in His inner man He felt His Father drawing and calling Him, that Father to Whom He could not go, save by the road of His Passion. Of a truth He had given and resigned Himself wholly up to His Father’s will, and He suffered Him to work in Him, offering Himself in all things as His instrument, and listening in silence to what He was saying to His soul. For in His humanity He proved Himself a most fitting instrument to accomplish His Father’s work, and all that He required of Him; even as He had taught His disciples not to fear, when they stood before kings and governors, nor to take thought what they should answer, but rather to wait for the Spirit of the Father, Who should teach them when and how to speak.

Then, when the false witnesses had been heard, and no cause of death found in our Lord, the wicked high-priest was troubled, and carried away by rage out of his seat, said unto our Lord: “I adjure Thee, by the living God, that Thou tell us whether Thou be Christ, the Son of God.” Now when our Lord heard Himself addressed by His own divine Name, out of reverence to His Father, and by the Spirit shining in Him, He answered: “Thou hast said that I am. Nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” Then the high-priest rent his clothes, and said: “He hath spoken blasphemy, what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard His blasphemy. What think ye?” Then all those mad men with one voice cried out, and said: “He is guilty of death.” And at the same time, running upon Him with one accord, as fierce lions upon some gentle lamb, they all loosened the reins of their envy, and vomited upon Him all their rage and hatred, without measure and without compassion. And one spat in His face, and another smote Him on the head, and another on the neck, while others again tore His hair and His beard. Some, moreover, out of inborn malice, cruelly wounded His fair face with their nails. This, too, He 140had testified of old by His prophet, saying: “I turned not away My face from them who reproached Me and spat upon Me.” And again, “I gave My cheeks to the pluckers.” Of a truth they did upon Him what they would, nor could they glut their cruel rage. Nay, had it been possible, in their mad fury they would have reduced Him to nothing. But His hour had not yet come.

It was a custom with the Jews, that when they wished to show contempt to a man, on account of his wickedness and guilt, they spat in his face, as if to avenge the wrong done to God. And this they too often did with intemperate cruelty, so as to take away the breath of not a few, and to suffocate them. Here, therefore, we are allowed to imagine, that this torment of our Lord was not less than death itself, and that in this grievous strait He would have been deprived of breath, had not His Godhead saved Him to suffer still greater punishments. For, as the Evangelist saith, they not only spat, but they spat out, that is, they fetched their foul spittle from the depths of their chest, and cast it into His face, yea, and even into His blessed and most gentle mouth. What greater contempt or contumely could they have shown the Lord of Glory? Never to any thief, or to any one condemned to death, had been shown such 141contempt, or derision, or shame, as was now shown to our Lord after His condemnation. With such indignities did they treat Him, that hardly the form of man remained to Him. And His fair face was so swollen from the blows, so beset with spittle, so crimsoned with blood, so torn by their nails, and likewise the blood and spittle were so mingled together, that our sweet Saviour’s face was pitiable to behold, and would have moved a heart of stone to pity and compassion. And because the grace of His face had been such as by its mere look to soften sinners, and draw them unto Him, so those wicked men put a veil upon Him, that they might not be moved by any kind or pitiful feeling, but might pour forth according to their desire all their rage and cruelty upon Him. Therefore without mercy they cruelly struck Him, and at the same time mocking Him, said: “Behold our Prophet! Prophesy unto us, O Christ, who it is that struck Thee?” Thus whatever annoyance, and insult, and cruelty, they could conceive in their devilish heart, this they did to our most patient Lord. Nor even yet was their thirst quenched. For after that they had vomited upon Him all the poison of their bitterness, and were themselves utterly tired and exhausted, they handed Him over to their servants, that they might spend the rest of the night in 142guarding Him, and annoying Him, while they betook themselves to rest. But to our exhausted, and wearied, and agonizing Lord was no rest given, nor even breathing-time, but He was handed over to their wicked followers, who all that night inhumanly troubled Him. It is indeed the opinion of S. Jerome, that those annoyances and punishments which they inflicted on our Lord on that night, will only be made known at the day of judgment. Wherefore the devout, who desire to meditate on our Lord’s Passion, ought to do something in honour of those secret sufferings of God, and to offer them to the Eternal Father, to Whom they are well known, in satisfaction for their own secret and unknown sins.

Now then, O my soul, and as many as love Jesus, let us go and behold with inward sorrow, in what distress and affliction our sweet Jesus, the joy of heaven, then was. Where is the heart that can refrain from tears, when he seeth the Lord of Glory, the King of Heaven, so basely treated? O beautiful in form above the sons of men, how art Thou deformed! Thou, Who art the mirror of eternal brightness, Whose beauty is the marvel of the elements, art led about covered with a vile and filthy linen cloth! Of a truth the prophet saw all this with great sorrow, when he said: “We have seen 143Him, and there was no beauty in Him. And we accounted Him as a leper, and as one smitten by God, and humbled.” Let these words cut into thine heart, O my soul, and set this exceedingly afflicted form or image before the eyes of thine heart, and understand that so pitiable is it, that the prophet, although enlightened by God, could find no words to express it; but compared Him to a leper, at the very sight of whom, every one shrinketh away. Yes! Christ’s loving face was so swollen with the blows, so veiled in blood, so full of spittle, so cut and wounded by their finger nails, that there remained to Him no more the form of man, nor the beauty.

Let this Passion pierce thine heart, O my soul, and be thou inflamed by the mighty love which worked all this. Be ashamed, O proud man, vile dung as thou art, who seemest to thyself to be somewhat forgetful all the while that thou art dust, and ashes, and dirt, and less than nothing. See how the Son of God was humbled for thy sins; how the glory of heaven, Whose majesty passeth all understanding, for thy sake was despised and set at nought. Observe, O thou dust of earth, so greedy of revenge, so unyielding, so cruel and impatient, how the Lord of lords most patiently bore all this grievous affliction, and this too, at the hands of vile wretches, and worthless slaves, and for thy 144sins. Of a certainty, in all this trouble and annoyance, thou wilt not find that even once He contracted His forehead into wrinkles, or opened His mouth to curse, or stretched forth His hands to defend Himself. And thou canst not suffer even one little word for God’s sake, without straightway showing thine anger by word, and deed, and sign, and gesture, and look. Thou confessest indeed thy sins to God, and He hath mercy upon thee, and taketh thee back into His grace, and layeth on thee some little punishment by way of satisfaction. He permitteth some cross to come to thee, and desireth that thou shouldst carry it for His sake in return for all the wrong thou hast done, and brought upon Him by thy sins. But straightway thou breakest forth into complaints, murmurings, impatience, and art unwilling to carry the cross which God hath laid upon thee; nay, thou thinkest that thou art wronged therein by God. What else is this, except, in reality and by thy acts to declare, and to say that thou wilt not perform the satisfaction laid on thee by God, that thou wilt rather after this life suffer punishment in flames of brimstone, than here undergo a little affliction? Thou hast desired fire; the fire shall come to thee; thou rejectest God’s mercy, thou shalt not be able to find it. Here thou despisest His grace, afterwards 145thou wilt feel His justice. For He saith: “What profiteth thee to ask for grace, saying: ‘Lord, Lord,’ when all the while thou doest not what I tell thee?” Of a truth thou wouldst desire that in all things God should suffer thee to do thine own will, to satisfy all thy sensuality and lust; that He should fulfil every desire of thine heart, and that not even one little harsh word should be spoken to thee, and yet that through His merits all thine iniquities should be forgiven, and that thou thyself should be raised without any punishment to His eternal glory, as if thou wert worthy thereof; nay, thou wouldst wish Him to submit Himself in all things to thee, and to become unjust for thy sake. But thou art deceived, utterly deceived. Not at so low a price doth He reckon His kingdom. It cost Him far too dear. It behoved Christ to suffer, and so to enter into His glory; if thou refusest to suffer, remain outside. He saith: “He who would come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Wherefore, if in a true spirit thou desirest the grace of God, confess to Him thy sins, hate and turn from thy sins, lay thyself wholly open to His correction, and offer thy whole self to Him, saying with the Prophet: “I am ready for scourges.” Throw thyself on Him, ready for everything, 146and cheerfully with thy own free will embrace the cross which He hath laid upon thee. Look not to its heaviness and trouble, but to Him, Who layeth it on thee; for of a truth our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Who hath gone before thee with His own cross, and to Whom thy weakness is well known, will lay no burden upon thee above thy strength. For His nature is goodness, and He will be with thee, and stand by thy side in all thine afflictions, as He hath done to all the saints. He will not be unmindful of His mercy, if only thou knowest how to lay aside thine own will, thy murmurings and complaints. Suffer Him therefore to do with thee as He willeth, that He may perfect His work in thee. And without doubt in this thy lowly subjection, He will show thee much mercy, and all the bowels of His compassion will be moved towards thee, and He will pardon all thy wanderings, and He will accept this thy resignation and good will, even as of old He accepted that of our Father Abraham, when he took his only son to offer him to God, and He will spare thee also, and show favour unto thee, even as He did unto Abraham’s son Isaac. For He desireth exceedingly to give thee His everlasting glory, yet it is His will that thou shouldst do somewhat thyself, that in justice this may be bestowed upon thee; and what 147He wisheth thee to do is this, to submit thyself to Him in obedience of heart, and to suffer Him to perfect His work in thee, and to keep His grace, lest it be frustrated in thee. It was thus that we read of all the saints, how they suffered numberless evils, and led a severe and austere life, that they might be worthy to be joint-heirs with Christ in His Father’s kingdom.

But now let us go back to our most loving Lord, from Whom for a little while we have wandered; and let the flood of our tears, which meanwhile hath been stayed, now again be allowed lovingly to flow. What, O my soul, I pray thee, wouldst thou have done, hadst thou been there, and hadst seen all that contempt and affliction cast upon thy Lord? Wouldst thou not have run forward to Him out of burning love, and embraced Him, and washed His disfigured face with thy tears, and lovingly lovingly kissed Him? Wouldst thou not have spoken to Him the kindliest and most friendly words that thou couldst think of, saying: “sweet Jesus, my Lord and God, my heart can no longer bear that these wicked men should thus persecute, and despise, and inhumanly treat Thee. For exceeding sorrow my heart will break, if any longer I shall see Thee in such woe. O Jesus, my hope, my comfort and my love, Whom my soul loveth, who will grant unto me, that I may suffer for Thee? It 148is not Thou Who hast sinned, but I. O fairest and most beautiful of the sons of men, how full of shame, and disfigured, and without beauty, Thou art become! Where hath Thy beauty gone to? Why art Thou humbled so? How hath all this mighty guilt been laid upon Thee, to which Thou art utterly a stranger, and of which Thou art wholly innocent? See! it is the blood of our sins that is sprinkled on Thy garments, and for us Thou Thyself hast been made the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people. Ah! who hath delivered Thee over to these wolves? O my soul, wilt thou not cleave to thy Lord by these words with thy whole body, wilt thou not take Him in thine arms and defend Him, wilt thou not rebuke those wicked men, and say: “Ah! do not rage, I beg of you, with such exceeding cruelty against the Son of God, and the Lord of us all. Seize hold of me rather, and do to me whatever pleaseth you. For this innocent Lamb hath not sinned. It is I who have sinned, and who am worthy of death. It is I whom ye should spit upon, it is I whom ye should mock, and strike, and persecute; on me glut your cruel thirst, on me quench your burning rage, on me accomplish all your hatred and poisonous malice, on me work out all your will,—only let my Lord Jesus go. For I cannot bear the contempt and wrong which 149ye cast upon Him.” Oh! how could the Eternal Father bear to see the wrong and the shame of His glorious Son? Did He not fearfully avenge His Prophet Eliseus, when he was mocked at by children, and this more from childish thoughtlessness than from malice? Yet His only and most dear Son He would not avenge, but gave Him wholly up to the rage and malice of the Jews. O most loving Father, what is man that Thou lovest him so; that Thou hast given over to these ravening dogs, so worshipful, and good and dear a Son, for the sake of a wicked and damnable sinner; that for the sins of Thy people Thou hast smitten Him so fearfully? Oh! how could Thy fatherly Heart suffer Thy most gracious Son, Who never did aught against Thy will, to lie under the weight of the sins and debts of all Thy people, and at the same time to drink to the dregs the chalice of bitterness and wrath, which our sins had mingled! How hast Thou left Him in all His affliction, and cast Him off as an exile and an enemy, that we who were Thine enemies and children of wrath, might be made Thy friends and children of adoption? How is Thine Heart so absorbed and drunk with love for man, that Thou seest not how much Thine only Son is suffering? Nothing moveth Thee, though Thou art lavishing a treasure beyond all price. Thou carest 150for no labour, no sorrow, no expense, if only man may be saved. Therefore it is that Thou hast exposed and wholly given over to the will of wicked men Thine only-begotten Son, just as if Thou hadst cast Him from Thee in indignation, and adopted man in His stead.

O sweet Father, I offer Thee the measureless resignation and obedience of Thy Son, Jesus Christ, and especially that immense love of His, whereby He willingly offered Himself to suffer all this intolerable affliction and torment; choosing to be forsaken by Thee, and chastised, and beaten, and inhumanly and cruelly chastised, in order that we might obtain mercy and peace. Likewise all those cruel blows, and mockings, and the spittle and derisions, and whatever Thy beloved Son underwent according to His Heart’s desire on that bitter night, I offer Thee for my sins. O Father of mercies, have mercy upon me for Thy dear Son’s sake! For although I have sinned through weakness, yet now out of His love hath Thy Son paid all my debt, for His goodness and love are stronger than all sin. Oh! if my sins were placed in one scale, and the merits of Thy Son in another, the latter would far outweigh the former. Wherefore, I beseech Thee, let His Passion be to my profit, since for my sake He suffered, and let His sacred wounds be a 151salve for my wounds. Let His most pure Blood wash away the filth of my heart; His humility blot out and excuse my pride; His obedience my disobedience, His patience my impatience. O Abyss, from which flow all good things, grant me, by the name of Thy dear Son, the grace to correct my evil life, and then to live according to Thy most gracious will. Enlighten my blind heart with the shining rays of Thy divine light, that I may know my sins, and frailty, and vileness, and that thus, knowing myself thoroughly, I may thoroughly humble, despise, and submit myself not only to Thee alone, but to all men for Thy sake, so that I may faithfully follow the footsteps of Thy dear Son’s humility and obedience. Grant unto me, O my God, that I may perfectly deny and forsake myself, and all things that are lower than Thou, so far as is pleasing unto Thee, and so far as such things may be an obstacle in the way of my obtaining a perfect love of Thee; that I may love Thee, and that in this love nothing may come between me and Thee, and that I may be so fastened to Thee by the nails of pure love, that neither adversity nor prosperity, no, nor any affliction may be able in any way to separate me from Thee. Amen.