varying degrees by
many around them.

I.

Look, first, at the group nearest the cross--that of the Roman soldiers.

In the Roman army it seems to have been a rule that, when executions
were carried out by soldiers, the effects of the criminals fell as
perquisites to those who did the work. Though many more soldiers were
probably present on this occasion, the actual details of fixing the
beam, handling the hammer and nails, hoisting the apparatus, and so
forth, in the case of Jesus, fell to a quaternion of them. To these
four, therefore, belonged all that was on Him; and they could at once
proceed to divide the spoil, because in crucifixion the victim was
stripped before being affixed to the cross--a trait of revolting
shame.[2] A large, loose upper garment, a head-dress perhaps, a girdle
and a pair of sandals, and, last of all, an under garment, such as
Galilean peasants were wont to wear, which was all of a piece and had
perhaps been knitted for Him by the loving fingers of His mother--these
articles became the booty of the soldiers. They formed the entire
property which Jesus had to leave, and the four soldiers were His
heirs. Yet this was He who bequeathed the vastest legacy that ever has
been left by any human being--a legacy ample enough to enrich the whole
world. Only it was a spiritual legacy--of wisdom, of influence, of
example.

The soldiers, their ghastly task over, sat down at the foot of the
cross to divide their booty. They obtained from it not only profit but
amusement; for, after dividing the articles as well as they could, they
had to cast lots about the last, which they could not divide. One of
them fetched some dice out of his pocket--gambling was a favourite
pastime of Roman soldiers--and they settled the difficulty by a game.
Look at them--chaffering, chattering, laughing; and, above their heads,
not a yard away, that Figure. What a picture! The Son of God atoning
for the sins of the world, whilst angels and glorified spirits crowd
the walls of the celestial city to look down at the spectacle; and,
within a yard of His sacred Person, the soldiers, in absolute apathy,
gambling for these poor shreds of clothing! So much, and no more, did
they perceive of the stupendous drama they were within touch of. For
it is not only necessary to have a great sight to make an impression;
quite as necessary is the seeing eye. There are those to whom this
earth is sacred because Jesus Christ has t