erodias, and of his
having given orders for the execution of St. John the Baptist. Annas
and Caiphas, seeing how indignant Herod was at the silence of Jesus,
immediately endeavoured to take advantage of his feelings of wrath, and
recommenced their accusations, saying that he had called Herod himself
a fox; that his great aim for many years had been the overthrow of
Herod's family; that he was endeavouring to establish a new religion, and
had celebrated the Pasch on the previous day. Although Herod was
extremely enraged at the conduct of Jesus, he did not lose sight of the
political ends which he wished to forward. He was determined not to
condemn our Lord, both because he experienced a secret and indefinable
sensation of terror in his presence, and because he still felt remorse
at the thought of having put John the Baptist to death, besides which
he detested the High Priests for not having allowed him to take part in
the sacrifices on account of his adulterous connection with Herodias.

But his principal reason for determining not to condemn Jesus was,
that he wished to make some return to Pilate for his courtesy, and he
thought the best return would be the compliment of showing deference to
his decision and agreeing with him in opinion. But he spoke in the most
contemptuous manner to Jesus, and turning to the guards and servants
who surrounded him, and who were about two hundred in number, said: 'Take
away this fool, and pay him that homage which is his due; he is mad,
rather than guilty of any crime.'

Our Lord was immediately taken into a large court, where every
possible insult and indignity was heaped upon him. This court was
between the two wings of the palace, and Herod stood a spectator on a
platform for some time. Annas and Caiphas were by his side,
endeavouring to persuade him to condemn our Saviour. But their efforts
were fruitless, and Herod answered in a tone loud enough to be heard by
the Roman soldiers: 'No, I should act quite wrongly if I condemned him.'
His meaning was, that it would be wrong to condemn as guilty one whom
Pilate had pronounced innocent, although he had been so courteous as to
defer the final judgment to him.

When the High Priests and the other enemies of Jesus perceived that
Herod was determined no to give in to their wishes, they dispatched
emissaries to that division of the city called Acre, which was chiefly
inhabited by Pharisees, to let them know that they must assemble in the