The Jews were not ignorant of this; for when they went before Pilate, to ask of him the condemnation of Jesus, they themselves declared, that it was not permitted to them to put any person to death: "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death." John xviii. 31.

Here I am happy to be able to support myself by the opinion of a very respectable authority, the celebrated Loiseau, in his treatise on Seigneuries, in the chapter on the administration of justice belonging to cities. "In truth," says he, there is some evidence, that the police, in which the people had the sole interest, was administered by officers of the people; but I know not upon what were founded the concessions of power to some cities of France to exercise criminal jurisdiction; nor why the Ordinance of Moulins left that to them rather than civil cases; for the criminal jurisdiction is the right of the

sword, the merum imperium, or absolute sovereignty. Accordingly, by the Roman law, the administration of justice was so far prohibited to the officers of cities, that they could not punish even by a simple fine. Thus it is doubtless that we must understand that passage of the Gospel, where the Jews say to Pilate, It is not lawful for us to put any man to death; for, after they were subjected to the Romans, they had not jurisdiction of crimes."

Let us now follow Jesus to the presence of Pilate.

SECTION IX.

THE ACCUSATION MADE BEFORE PILATE.

At this point I must entreat the particular attention of the reader. The irregu

larities and acts of violence, which I have hitherto remarked upon, are nothing in comparison with the unbridled fury, which is about to display itself before the Roman Judge, in order to extort from him, against his own conviction, a sentence of death.

"And straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders, and scribes, and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate." Mark xv.

1.

As soon as the morning was come; for, as I have observed already, every thing which had been done thus far against Jesus, was done during the night.

They then led Jesus from Caiaphas unto the Hall of Judgment of Pilate.* It was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be de

*"To carry one from Caiaphas to Pilate " has since become a proverb.

filed ; but that they might eat the passover. John xviii. 28.

Singular scrupulousness! and truly worthy of the Pharisees! They were afraid of defiling themselves on the day of the passover by entering the house of a heathen! And yet, the same day, only some hours before presenting themselves to Pilate, they had, in contempt of their own law, committed the outrage of holding a council and deliberating upon an accusation of a capital crime.

As they would not enter, "Pilate went out to them." John xviii. 29. Now observe his language. He did not say to them, Where is the sentence you have passed; as he must have done, if he was only to give them his simple exequatur, or permission to execute the sentence; but he takes up the matter from the beginning, as would be done by one who had plenary jurisdiction; and he says to them: What accusation bring ye against this man? Ib.

They answered, with their accustomed haughtiness: If he were not a malefactor we would not have delivered him up to thee. John xviii. 30. They wished to have it understood, that, being a question of blasphemy, it was the cause of their religion, which they could appreciate better than any others could. Pilate, then, would have been under the necessity of believing them on their word. But this Roman, indignant at their proposed course of proceeding, which would have restricted his jurisdiction by making him the passive instrument of the wishes of the Jews, answered them in an ironical manner : Well, since you say he has sinned against your law, take him yourselves and judge him according to your law. John xviii. 31. This was an absolute mystification to them, for they knew their own want of power to condemn him to death. But they were obliged to yield the point, and to submit