wenty-ninth year. All his
sermons which are not mentioned by the Evangelists, but have been
preserved by the Buddhists, are remarkable for their character of divine
grandeur. The fame of the new prophet spread rapidly in the country, and
Jerusalem awaited with impatience his arrival. When he came near the
holy city, its inhabitants went out to meet him, and led him in triumph
to the temple; all of which is in agreement with Christian tradition.
The chiefs and elders who heard him were filled with admiration for his
sermons, and were happy to see the beneficent impression which his words
exercised upon the populace. All these remarkable sermons of Jesus are
full of sublime sentiments.

Pilate, the governor of the country, however, did not look upon the
matter in the same light. Eager agents notified him that Jesus announced
the near coming of a new kingdom, the reestablishment of the throne of
Israel, and that he suffered himself to be called the Son of God, sent
to bring back courage in Israel, for he, the King of Judea, would soon
ascend the throne of his ancestors.

I do not purpose attributing to Jesus the _role_ of a revolutionary, but
it seems to me very probable that Jesus wrought up the people with a
view to reestablish the throne to which he had a just claim. Divinely
inspired, and, at the same time, convinced of the legitimacy of his
pretentions, Jesus preached the spiritual union of the people in order
that a political union might result.

Pilate, who felt alarmed over these rumors, called together the priests
and the elders of the people and ordered them to interdict Jesus from
preaching in public, and even to condemn him in the temple under the
charge of apostasy. This was the best means for Pilate to rid himself of
a dangerous man, whose royal origin he knew and whose popularity was
constantly increasing.

It must be said in this connection that the Israelites, far from
persecuting Jesus, recognized in him the descendant of the illustrious
dynasty of David, and made him the object of their secret hopes, a fact
which is evident from the very Gospels which tell that Jesus preached
freely in the temple, in the presence of the elders, who could have
interdicted him not only the entrance to the temple, but also his
preachings.

Upon the order of Pilate the Sanhedrim met and cited Jesus to appear
before its tribunal. As the result of the inquiry, the members of the
Sanhedrim informed Pilate that his suspici