, which had for their object the betrayal of the Master
into the hands of the authorities, the reward to be immunity from
persecution for himself and a few pieces of silver for his pocket in
addition.

And so the time passed on, the nights being spent at Bethany and the
days at the Temple in the capital. Finally the priests made an
important move. They confronted Him in their official capacity and
demanded that He prove His ordination as a Jewish Rabbi and consequent
right to preach to the orthodox members of the church. Jesus answered
them by asking questions that they feared to answer. Then they began
to question Him, hoping to involve Him in ecclesiastical heresies
which would give them their excuse to arrest Him. But He evaded them
skilfully. They sought also to compel Him to state opinions contrary
to the Roman authority, but He likewise escaped this net.

Finally, however, they drew from Him a savage attack upon authority,
and He cried out in indignation:

"Woe unto you, ye generation of vipers! Ye serpents! Ye
hypocrites! Ye oppressors of the poor! Ye professed
shepherds, who are but as wolves in disguise, seeking but to
devour the sheep whom ye have in charge! Woe unto you, ye
Scribes, Hypocrites, Pharisees!"

Then He left the Temple and returned to Bethany to spend the night,
after foretelling the destruction of the Temple, when there should not
be left one of its stones upon another.

That night he had a heart-to-heart talk with the Twelve. He told them
that the end was in sight--that He was to die before many hours had
passed--that they, the Twelve, were to become wanderers on the face of
the earth--hunted and persecuted in His name and for His sake. A
terrible revelation to some among them who had dreamt of earthly
grandeur and high positions for themselves! And then Judas felt that
the time to act had come, and he stole away to meet the High-priest
and to close the frightful bargain with him which was to make his name
the synonym for treachery throughout the ages.

The next day, Wednesday, He rested in Bethany the whole twenty-four
hours, evidently gathering together his reserve forces to meet the
ordeal which He now knew was before Him. He kept apart from even His
disciples and spent the time in meditation. And likewise was passed
the early part of the following day, Thursday. But when the even time
had come, He sent for the Twelve and gathered them around Him for the
Pasch