in the manner the Evangelists describe it_. All that can be
saved of the whole story is, that after Jesus had answered the first
question before Pilate, viz., "Art thou the King of the Jews?" which it
is natural to suppose he was asked, and also this can be supposed only,
he was given over to the Roman soldiers to be disposed of as soon as
possible, before his admirers and followers could come to his rescue, or
any demonstration in his favor be made. He was captured in the night, as
quietly as possible, and guarded in some place, probably in the
high-priest's court, completely secluded from the eyes of the populace;
and early in the morning he was brought before Pilate as cautiously and
quietly as it could be done, and at _his_ command, disposed of by the
soldiers as quickly as practicable, and in a manner not known to the
mass of the people. All this was done, most likely, while the multitude
worshiped on Mount Moriah, and nobody had an intimation of the tragical
end of the Man of Nazareth.

The bitter cry of Jesus, as he hung on the tree, "My God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me?" disclosed the hope of deliverance that till the
last moment sustained his heart, and betrayed the anguish felt when the
hope was blighted; the sneers and hooting of the Roman soldiers
expressed their conviction that he had pretended to be what he was not.

The miracles ascribed to him, and the moral precepts put into his mouth,
in after years, are what might be expected; history was simply repeating
itself; the same thing had been done for others. "The preacher of the
Mount, the prophet of the Beatitudes, does but repeat, with persuasive
lips, what the law-givers of his race proclaimed in mighty tones of
command."[527:1]

The martyrdom of Jesus of Nazareth has been gratefully acknowledged by
his disciples, whose lives he saved by the sacrifice of his own, and by
their friends, who would have fallen by the score had he not prevented
the rebellion ripe at Jerusalem.[527:2] Posterity, infatuated with Pagan
apotheoses, made of that simple martyrdom an interesting legend, colored
with the myths of resurrection and ascension to that very heaven which
the telescope has put out of man's way. It is a novel myth, made to suit
the gross conceptions of ex-heathens. Modern theology, understanding
well enough that the myth cannot be saved, seeks refuge in the greatness
and self-denial of the man who died for an idea, as though Jesus had
been the only