SECTION XV.

The Crucifixion.

57.-NOW they who had apprehended Jesus, brought him to Caiaphas the high priest, with whom the scribes and the elders were assembled. But Peter followed him at a distance, to the court of the high priest's house, and having gone in, sat with the officers to see the issue.

59.-Meantime the chief priests, and the elders, and the whole Sanhedrim, sought out false evidence against Jesus, upon which they might condemn him to die. But though many false witnesses appeared, they found it not. At length two false witnesses came, who charged him with saying, I can demolish the temple of God, and rebuild it in three days. Then the high priest rising, said to him, Do you answer nothing to what these men testify against you. Jesus remaining silent, he added, On the part of the living God, I adjure you to tell us, whether you be the Messiah, the son of God. Jesus answered him, It is as you say: nay, be assur ed, that hereafter you shall see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Almighty, and coming on the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest, rending his clothes, said, he has uttered blasphemy. What further need have we of witnesses, now that you have heard him blaspheme? What think you? They answered, He deserves to die. Then they spit in his face. Some gave him blows on the head, and others struck him on the cheek, and said, Divine to us, Messiah, who it was that smote you.

63.-Now Peter was sitting without in the court, and a maid servant came to him, and said, You also were with Jesus, the Galilean. But he denied before them all, saying, I know nothing of the matter. And as he went out into the porch, another maid observing him, said to them, This man too was there with Jesus, the Nazarene. Again he denied, swearing that he knew him not. Soon after some of the bystanders said to Peter, You are certainly one of them, for your speech discovers you. Upon which, with execrations and oaths, he asserted that he did not know him; and immediately the cock crew. Then Peter remembered the word, which Jesus had said to him, Before the cock crow, you will thrice disown me. And he went out, and wept bitterly.

XXVII. When it was morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people having consulted against Jesus, how they might procure his death, conducted him bound to Pontius Pilate, the procurator, to whom they delivered him up.

3.-Then Judas, who had betrayed him, finding that he was condemned, repented; and returning the thirty shekels to the

chief priests and the elders, said, I have sinned, in that I have betrayed the innocent. They answered, What is that to us? See you to that. After which, having thrown down the money in the temple, he went away, and strangled himself. The chief priests taking the money, said, It is not lawful to put it into the sacred treasury, because it is the price of blood. But, after deliberating, they bought with it the potter's field, to be a burying place for strangers, for which reason that field is, to this day, called The Field of Blood. Then was the word of Jeremiah the Prophet verified, "The thirty shekels, the price at which he was valued, I took, as the Lord appointed me, from the sons of Israel, who gave them for the potter's field."

11.-Now Jesus appeared before the procurator, who questioned him, saying, You are the King of the Jews? He answered, You say right. But when he was arraigned by the chief priests and the elders, he made no reply. Then Pilate said to him, Do you not hear of how many crimes they accuse you? But he answered not one word, which surprised the procurator exceedingly.

15.-Now the procurator was accustomed to release, at the festival, any one of the prisoners, whom the multitude demanded. And they had then a famous prisoner named Barabbas. Therefore, when they were assembled, Pilate said to them, Whom shall I release to you? Barabbas, or Jesus, who is called Messiah? (For he perceived, that through envy they had delivered him up; besides, while he was sitting on the tribunal, his wife sent him this message, Have you nothing to do with that innocent person; for, to-day, I have suffered much in a dream, on his account.) But the chief priests and the elders instigated the populace to demand Barabbas, and cause Jesus to be executed. Therefore, when the procurator asked, which of the two he should release, they all answered, Barabbas. Pilate replied, What then shall I do with Jesus, whom they call Messiah? They all answered, Let him be crucified. The procurator said, Why? What evil has he done? But they cried the louder, saying, Let him be crucified. Pilate perceiving that he was so far from prevailing, that they grew more tumultuous, took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am guiltless of the blood of this innocent person. See you to it. And all the people answering, said, His blood be on us, and on our children. Then he released Barabbas to them, and having caused Jesus to be scourged, delivered him up to be crucified.

27. After this the procurator's soldiers took Jesus into the pretorium, where they gathered around him all the band. And having stripped him, they robed him in a scarlet cloak, and crowned him with a wreath of thorns, and put a rod in his right hand, and kneeling before him in mockery, cried, Hail, King of

the Jews! And spitting upon him, they took the rod, and struck him with it on the head. When they had mocked him, they disrobed him again, and having put his own raiment on him, led him away to crucify him.

32. As they went out of the city, they met one Simon, a Cyrenian, whom they constrained to carry the cross; and being arrived at a place called Golgotha, which signifies a Place of Skulls, they gave him to drink, vinegar mixed with wormwood, which, having tasted, he would not drink. After they had nailed him to the cross, they parted his garments by lot. And having sat down there, they guarded him. And over his head they placed this inscription, denoting the cause of his death: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers also were crucified with him, one at his right hand, and the other at his left.

39.-Meanwhile the passengers reviled him, shaking their heads, and saying, You who could demolish the temple, and rebuild it in three days; if you be God's Son, come down from the cross. The chief priests also, with the scribes and elders, deriding him, said, He saved others: can he not save himself? If he be King of Israel, let him now descend from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God. Let God deliver him now, if he regard him; for he called himself God's Son. The robbers too, his fellow-sufferers, upbraided him in the same

manner.

45.-Now from the sixth hour to the ninth, the whole land was in darkness. About the ninth hour, Jesus cried aloud, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani? that is, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Some of the bystanders hearing this, said, He calls Elijah. Instantly one of them ran, brought a sponge and soaked it in vinegar, and having fastened it to a stick, presented it to him to drink. The rest said, Forbear, we shall see whether Elijah will come to save him. Jesus having again. cried with a loud voice, resigned his spirit.

51. And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in two from top to bottom, the earth trembled, and the rocks split. Graves also burst open; and after his resurrection, the bodies of several saints who slept were raised, came out of the graves, went into the holy city, and were seen by many. Now the centurion, and they who, with him, guarded Jesus, observing the earthquake, and what passed, were exceedingly terrified, and said, This was certainly the son of a god.

55.-Several women also were there, looking on at a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, assisting him with their service. Among them were Mary the Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.

SECTION XVI.

The Resurrection.

57.-IN the evening a rich Arimathean named Joseph, who was himself a disciple of Jesus, went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus. Pilate having given orders to deliver it to Joseph, he took the body, wrapped it in clean linen, and deposited it in his own tomb, which he had newly caused to be hewn in the rock; and having rolled a great stone to the entrance, he went away. Now Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary were there, sitting over against the sepulchre.

62.-On the morrow, being the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees repaired in a body to Pilate, and said, My lord, we remember that this impostor, when alive, said, Within three days I shall be raised. Command, therefore, that the sepulchre be guarded till the third day, lest his disciples come and steal him, and say to the people, He is raised from the dead; for this last imposture would prove worse than the first. Pilate answered, You have a guard; make the sepulchre as secure as you can. Accordingly they went and secured it, sealing the stone, and posting guards.

XXVIII.-Sabbath being over, and the first day of the week beginning to dawn, Mary the Magdalene, and the other Mary, went to visit the sepulchre. Now there had been a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord had descended from heaven, who, having rolled the stone from the entrance, sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his apparel white as snow. Seeing him, the guards quaked with terror, and became as dead men. But the angel said to the women, Fear not; for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for he is risen, as he foretold. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, say to his disciples, He is risen from the dead; behold he goes before you to Galilee, where you shall see him. Take notice: I have told you.

8.-Instantly they went from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to inform his disciples. When they were gone, Jesus himself met them, saying, Rejoice. Upon which they prostrated themselves before him, and embraced his feet. Then Jesus said to them, Be not afraid: go, tell my brethren to repair to Galilee, and there they shall see me.

11. They were no sooner gone, than some of the guard went into the city, and informed the chief priests of all that had happened. These, after meeting and consulting with the elders, gave a large sum to the soldiers, with this injunction; Say, his disciples came by night, and stole him while we were asleep. And it this come to the procurator's ears, we will appease him,

and indemnify you. So they took the money, and acted agreeably to their instructions. Accordingly this report is current among the Jews to this day.

16. Now the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain whither Jesus had appointed them to repair. When they saw him, they threw themselves prostrate before him; yet some doubted. Jesus came near, and said to them, All authority is given to me in heaven and upon the earth; go, convert all the nations, immersing them into the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit; teaching them to observe all the things which I have commanded you: and behold! I am with you always, even to the conclusion of this state.

THE

TESTIMONY

OF

JOHN MARK,

THE EVANGELIST.

[FIRST PUBLISHED IN ROME, A. D. 64.]

MARK'S PREFACE.

The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Son of God.

SECTION.I.

The Entrance on the Ministry.

2.-AS it is written in Isaiah the Prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before thee, who shall prepare thy way:" "The voice of one proclaiming in the wilderness, Prepare a way for the Lord, make for him a straight passage:" thus came John immersing in the wilderness, and publishing the immersion of reformation for the remission of sins. And all the country of Judea, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem resorted to him, and were immersed by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. Now John's clothing was of camel's hair, tied round his waist with a leather girdle: and he lived upon locusts and wild honey. And he proclaimed, saying, One mightier than I comes after me,