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The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerich195sent him word, ‘that he could find no cause in the man,’ he concluded that these words were intendedas a hint that he (Pilate) wished the accusers to be treated with contempt and mistrust. He, therefore,addressed them in the most haughty distant manner possible, and thereby increased their rage andanger indescribably.They all began at once to vociferate their accusations, to which Herod hardly listened, being intentsolely on gratifying his curiosity by a close examination of Jesus, whom he had so often wished tosee. But when he beheld him stripped of all clothing save the remnant of a mantle, scarcely able tostand, and his countenance totally disfigured from the blows he had received, and from the mudand missiles which the rabble had flung at his head, the luxurious and effeminate prince turnedaway in disgust, uttered the name of God, and said to the priests in a tone of mingled pity andcontempt, ‘Take him hence, and bring him not back into my presence in such a deplorable state.’The guards took Jesus into the outer court, and procured some water in a basin, with which theycleansed his soiled garments and disfigured countenance; but they could not restrain their brutalityeven while doing this, and paid no regard to the wounds with which he was covered.Herod meantime accosted the priests in much the same Strain as Pilate had done. ‘Your behaviourvastly resembles that of butchers,’ he said, ‘and you commence your immolations pretty early inthe morning.’ The Chief Priests produced their accusations at once. Herod, when Jesus was againbrought into his presence, pretended to feel some compassion, and offered him a glass of wine torecruit his strength; but Jesus turned his head away and refused this alleviation.196Herod then began to expatiate with great volubility on all he had heard concerning our Lord. Heasked a thousand questions, and exhorted him to work a miracle in his presence; but Jesus answerednot a word, and stood before him with his eyes cast down, which conduct both irritated anddisconcerted Herod, although he endeavoured to conceal his anger, and continued his interrogations.He at first expressed surprise, and made use of persuasive words. ‘Is it possible, Jesus of Nazareth,’he exclaimed, ‘that it is thou thyself that appearest before me as a criminal? I have heard thy actionsso much spoken of. Thou art not perhaps aware that thou didst offend me grievously by setting freethe prisoners whom I had confined at Thirza, but possibly thy intentions were good. The Romangovernor has now sent thee to me to be judged; what answer canst thou give to all these accusations?Thou art silent? I have heard much concerning thy wisdom, and the religion thou teachest, let mehear thee answer and confound thy enemies. Art thou the king of the Jews? Art thou the Son ofGod? Who art thou? Thou art said to have performed wonderful miracles; work one now in mypresence. I have the power to release thee. Is it true that thou hast restored sight to the blind, raisedup Lazarus from the dead, and fed two or three thousand persons with a few loaves? Why dost thounot answer? I recommend thee to work a miracle quickly before me; perhaps thou mayest rejoiceafterwards at having complied with my wishes.’Jesus still kept silence, and Herod continued to question him with even more volubility.‘Who art thou?’ said he. ‘From whence hast thou thy power? How is it that thou dost no longerpossess it? Art thou he whose birth was foretold in such a wonderful manner? Kings from the Eastcame to my father to see a newly-born king of the Jews: is it true that thou wast that child? Didstthou escape when so many children were massacred, and how was thy escape managed? Why hast112
The Dolorous Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ.Anne Catherine Emmerichthou been for so many years unknown? Answer my questions? Art thou a king? Thy appearancecertainly is not regal. I have been told that thou wast conducted to the Temple in triumph a shorttime ago. What was the meaning of such an exhibition?—speak out at once!—Answer me!’197Herod continued to question Jesus in this rapid manner; but our Lord did not vouchsafe a reply. Iwas shown (as indeed I already knew) that Jesus was thus silent because Herod was in a state ofexcommunication, both on account of his adulterous marriage with Herodias, and of his havinggiven orders for the execution of St. John the Baptist. Annas and Caiphas, seeing how indignantHerod was at the silence of Jesus, immediately endeavoured to take advantage of his feelings ofwrath, and recommenced their accusations, saying that he had called Herod himself a fox; that hisgreat aim for many years had been the overthrow of Herod’s family; that he was endeavouring toestablish a new religion, and had celebrated the Pasch on the previous day. Although Herod wasextremely enraged at the conduct of Jesus, he did not lose sight of the political ends which he wishedto forward. He was determined not to condemn our Lord, both because he experienced a secret andindefinable sensation of terror in his presence, and because he still felt remorse at the thought ofhaving put John the Baptist to death, besides which he detested the High Priests for not havingallowed 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 somereturn to Pilate for his courtesy, and he thought the best return would be the compliment of showingdeference to his decision and agreeing with him in opinion. But he spoke in the most contemptuousmanner to Jesus, and turning to the guards and servants who surrounded him, and who were abouttwo hundred in number, said: ‘Take away this fool, and pay him that homage which is his due; heis mad, rather than guilty of any crime.’198Our Lord was immediately taken into a large court, where every possible insult and indignity washeaped upon him. This court was between the two wings of the palace, and Herod stood a spectatoron a platform for some time. Annas and Caiphas wore by his side, endeavouring to persuade himto condemn our Saviour. But their efforts were fruitless, and Herod answered in a tone loud enoughto be heard by the Roman soldiers: ‘No, I should act quite wrongly if I condemned him.’ Hismeaning was, that it would be wrong to condemn as guilty one whom Pilate had pronouncedinnocent, 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 not togive in to their wishes, they dispatched emissaries to that division of the city called Acre, whichwas chiefly inhabited by Pharisees, to let them know that they must assemble in the neighbourhoodof Pilate’s palace, gather together the rabble, and bribe them to make a tumult, and demand thecondemnation of our Lord. They likewise sent forth secret agents to alarm the people by threats ofthe divine vengeance if they did not insist on the execution of Jesus, whom they termed a sacrilegiousblasphemer. These agents were ordered likewise to alarm them by intimating that if Jesus were notput to death, he would go over to the Romans, and assist in the extermination of the Jewish nation,for that it was to this he referred when he spoke of his future kingdom They endeavoured to spreada report in other parts of the city, that Herod had condemned him, but still that it was necessary forthe people likewise to express their wishes, as his partisans were to be feared; for that if he werereleased he would join the Romans, make a disturbance on the festival day, and take the most113
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