In
their wrath the Jews were anxious to dispose Pilate favourably toward their
project and they wished him to pronounce the sentence of death against Jesus
without the least delay. After long false accusations against Him, Pilate asked
the Lord: “What dost Thou answer to the
accusations which they bring against Thee?” But the Saviour answered not
one word in the presence of his accusers, causing much wonder in Pilate at such
silence and patience. But, desiring to inquire more closely, whether Jesus was
truly a King, he withdrew from the clamouring Jews and brought Jesus into the Pretorium.
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| Jesus before Pilate |
There he asked Him face to face: “Tell
me, can it be that Thou art a King of the Jews?” Our Saviour answered him: “Sayst thou this thing of thyself, or have
others told it thee of Me?” (John 18,34). Pilate replied:
“Am I a Jew? Thy own nation and the chief
priests have delivered Thee up to me. What hast Thou done?” Jesus answered:
“My kingdom is not of this world. If my
kingdom were of this world, my servants would certainly strive that I be not
delivered to the Jews: but now my kingdom is not from hence.” The judge
partly believed this assertion of Jesus and therefore answered: “Art Thou a king then?” Jesus answered:
“Thou sayest that I am a king. For this
I was born and for this I came into the world. Every one that is of the Truth,
heareth my voice.” Pilate wondered at this answer and asked: “What is truth?” But without waiting
for an answer, he left Him in the pretorium, and said to the Jews: “I find no cause in Him. But you have a
custom, that I should release one unto you at the Pasch: will you, therefore,
that I release unto you the King of the Jews, or Barabbas?” This Barabbas
was a thief and murderer, who had killed someone in a quarrel. All the people
raised their voice and said: “We desire
that you release Barabbas, and crucify Jesus.” In this demand they
persisted until it was granted.” |
| Jesus or Barabbas? |
Pilate
was much disturbed by the answers of Jesus and the obstinacy of the Jews. For
on the one hand, seeing that they were so determined on the death of Jesus, he
well knew, that it would be difficult to satisfy them without consenting to
their demands; and on the other hand, he clearly saw that they persecuted Him
out of mortal envy and that their accusations about his disturbing the people,
were false and ridiculous. By the light and grace which Pilate received, he
became fully convinced that Jesus was truly innocent, although he never pierced
the mystery of his Divinity and the greatness of this innocence. The living
words of Christ created an exalted idea of Him in his mind and made him think
that some great mystery was connected with Him; therefore he desired to free
Him and finally determined to send Him to Herod. Pilate then sent the Jews
with Jesus to Herod; Herod treated Jesus with contempt and sent Him back to
Pilate.
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| Jesus before Herod |
On
this way from Herod to Pilate it happened, that on account of the crush of the
people and on account of the haste, they tripped Him up and threw Him on the
ground several times. By their cruel pulling at the ropes with which He was
bound, they caused the blood to flow from his sacred veins. His hands being
tied, He could not easily help Himself to rise from his falls. Therefore the
multitudes of the people, treading Him under foot and kicking Him.
At
the sight of such unmeasured cruelty, the most sorrowful and loving Mother was
moved to deepest compassion, and turning to her holy angels She commanded them
to gather up the divine blood in order that it might not be trodden upon and dishonoured
by the feet of sinners. This the heavenly servants willingly fulfilled. She
commanded also, that if her divine Son should again fall to the earth, they
hasten to his assistance and prevent these evildoers from injuring and stepping
on his most sacred body. But She was the most prudent of all mortals, She did
not wish them to execute her command, unless it met the approval of the Lord;
and therefore She urged them to make this proposal and present it to the Lord
Christ in her name.
Our Saviour Jesus yielded to the desire and
petitions of his most blessed Mother and gave the angels permission to execute
her requests as her ministers. During the rest of the passage to the house of
Pilate they would not permit the Lord to be tripped or cast to the ground, or
to be stepped upon by the crowd as had happened before. But in regard to other
injuries, He allowed the stupid wrath and blind malice of the servants of the
law and of the populace to vent themselves freely and fully upon his divine
Person.
His most holy Mother heard and saw all with an unconquered but lacerated
heart.
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| The sorrow of Blessed Mary |
Pilate
was again confronted with Jesus in his palace and was bestormed anew by the
Jews to condemn Him to death of the cross. He sought to placate the Jews in
different ways. The proposal to choose between freeing either Barabbas or Jesus
was made to the Jews, not only once, but two or three times. But the multitude
of the Jews, thus informed how much Pilate desired to set Jesus free, shouted
with one voice: “Enough, enough, not
Christ, but Barabbas deliver unto us.”
While
Pilate was thus disputing with the Jews in the pretorium, his wife, Procula,
happened to hear of his doings and she sent him a message telling him: “What
hast thou to do with this Man? Let him go free; for I warn thee that I have had
this very day some visions in regard to Him!” This warning of Procula
originated through the activity of Lucifer and his demons. For they, observing
all that was happening in regard to the person of Christ and the unchangeable
patience with which He bore all injuries, were more and more confused and
staggered in their rabid fury. Although the swollen pride of Lucifer could not
explain how his Divinity could ever subject Itself to such great insults, nor
how He could permit his body to suffer such ill-treatment, and although he
could not come to any certain conviction, whether this Jesus was a Godman or
not; yet the dragon was persuaded, that some great mystery was here transpiring
among men which would be the cause of great damage and defeat to him and his
malice if he did not succeed in arresting its progress in the world. Having
come to this conclusion with his demons, he many times suggested to the
pharisees the propriety of ceasing their persecutions of Christ. These
suggestions, however, since they originated from malice and were void of any
power for good, failed to move the obstinate and perverted hearts of the Jews.
Despairing of success the demons betook themselves to the wife of Pilate and
spoke to her in dreams, representing to her that this Man was just and without
guilt, that if her husband should sentence Him he would be deprived of his rank
and she herself would meet with great adversity. They urged her to advise
Pilate to release Jesus and punish Barabbas, if she did not wish to draw
misfortune upon their house and their persons.
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| Pilate's wife, Procula warning him |
Procula was filled with great fear and terror at these visions, and as soon as
she heard what was passing between the Jews and her husband, she sent him the
message mentioned by saint Matthew, not to meddle with this Man nor condemn One
to death, whom she held to be just. The demon also injected similar misgivings
into the mind of Pilate and these warnings of his wife only increased them.
Yet, as all his considerations rested upon worldly policy, and as he had not
cooperated with the true helps given him by the Saviour, all these fears
retarded his unjust proceedings only so long as no other more powerful
consideration arose, as will be seen in effect. But just now he began for the
third time to argue (as saint Luke tells us), insisting upon the innocence of
Christ our Lord and that he found no crime in Him nor any guilt worthy of
death, and therefore he would punish and then dismiss Him (Luke 23, 22). As we
shall see in the next chapter, he did really punish Christ in order to see
whether the Jews would be satisfied. But the Jews, on the contrary, demanded
that Christ be crucified. Thereupon Pilate asked for water and released
Barabbas. Then he washed his hands in the presence of all the people, saying: “I have no share in the death of this just
Man, whom you condemn. Look to yourselves in what you are doing, for I wash my
hands in order that you may understand they are not sullied in the blood of the
Innocent.”
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| Pilate wash es his hand |
Pilate thought that by this ceremony he could excuse himself
entirely and that he thereby could put its blame upon the princes of the Jews
and upon the people who demanded it. The wrath of the Jews was so blind and
foolish that for the satisfaction of seeing Jesus crucified, they entered upon
this agreement with Pilate and took upon themselves and upon their children the
responsibility for this crime. Loudly proclaiming this terrible sentence and
curse, they exclaimed: “His blood come
upon us and upon our children” (Matth. 27, 25).
Pilate
was not conscious of the absurdity of his pretence, that to have washed his
hands and to have charged the Jews with the blood of Christ, was sufficient to
clear him before his conscience and before men; for by this ceremony, so full
of hypocrisy and deceit, he tried to satisfy both. It is true that the Jews
were the principal actors and guiltier in the condemnation of the innocent
Godman, and that they themselves expressly charged themselves with its guilt.
But Pilate was not on that account free from it; since, knowing the innocence
of Christ our Lord, he should not have allowed a thief and robber to be
preferred before Christ; neither should he have chastised, nor pretended to
correct Him, who showed nothing that could be corrected or amended (Luke 23,
25). Much less should he have condemned and delivered Him over to his mortal
enemies, whose envy and cruelty was so evident. He is not a just judge who is
aware of the truth and justice and places it in the balance with his own human
respect and his own personal interest; for such a course drags down the right
reason of men who are so cowardly of heart.
But
though Pilate for these and other reasons was a most wicked and unjust judge in
thus condemning Christ, whom he held to be a mere man, though good and
innocent; yet his (Pilate) crime was much smaller than that of the priests and
the Pharisees.
