and all manner of low
insults, the Master remained a Master. Perjured witnesses testified,
and all manner of crimes and heresies were charged against Him. Then
Caiaphas asked Him the all-important question, "Art thou the Christ?"
and Jesus broke His silence to answer positively, "I am!" Then the
High-priest cried out vehemently, rending His sacred robes in his
pious indignation, "He has blasphemed!"

From that moment there was no possible chance of escape for the
Master. He had virtually condemned Himself by His own words. There was
no retreat or reprieve. He was roughly pushed from the hall and like a
common criminal was turned over to the taunts and revilings of the
mob, which availed itself of its privileges to the full in this case.
Insults, curses, revilings, taunts, and even blows, came fast and
furiously upon Him. But He stood it all without a murmur. Already His
thoughts had left earthly things behind, and dwelt on planes of being
far above the wildest dreams of men. With His mind firmly fixed on the
Real, the Unreal vanished from His consciousness.

In the early part of the day following the night of His arrest, Jesus
was taken before Pontius Pilate, the Roman official, for His trial by
the civil authorities. Pilate, in his heart, was not disposed to
condemn Jesus, for he believed that the whole trouble consisted in
theological and ecclesiastical differences with which the civil law
should not concern itself. His wife had warned him against becoming
involved in the dispute, for she had a secret sympathy for the Master,
for some reason. But he found arrayed against him the solid influence
of the Jewish priesthood, whose power must not be opposed lightly,
according to the policy of Rome. Then the priests had made out a civil
case against Jesus, claiming that He had sought to incite a rebellion
and proclaim Himself King of the Jews; that He had created public
disorder; that He had urged the people to refuse to pay taxes to Rome.
The case against Him was weak, and Pilate was at a loss what to do.
Then some one of the priests suggested that as Jesus was a Galilean,
He be turned over for trial to Herod, in whose territory the principal
crimes were committed, and Pilate gladly availed himself of this
technical excuse to rid himself of responsibility in the matter. And
so the case was transferred to Herod, who happened to be in Jerusalem
at that time on a visit. To Herod's palace the captive was taken, and
after suf