itness against him.

It was found to be utterly impossible to prove a single fact, and
the witnesses appeared to come forward for the sole purpose of
insulting Jesus, rather than to demonstrate the truth of their
statements. Whilst they were disputing with one another, Caiphas and
some of the other members of the Council employed themselves in
questioning Jesus, and turning his answers into derision. 'What species
of king art thou? Give proofs of thy power! Call the legions of angels
of whom thou didst speak in the Garden of Olives! What hast thou done
with the money given unto thee by the widows, and other simpletons whom
thou didst seduce by thy false doctrines? Answer at once: speak out,--art
thou dumb? Thou wouldst have been far wiser to have kept silence when
in the midst of the foolish mob: there thou didst speak far too much.'

All these questions were accompanied by blows from the
under-servants of the members of the tribunal, and had our Lord not
been supported from above, he could not have survived this treatment.
Some of the base witnesses endeavoured to prove that he was an
illegitimate son; but others declared that his mother was a pious
Virgin, belonging to the Temple, and that they afterwards saw her
betrothed to a man who feared God. The witnesses upbraided Jesus and
his disciples with not having offered sacrifice in the Temple. It is
true that I never did see either Jesus or his disciples offer any
sacrifice in the Temple, excepting the Paschal lamb; but Joseph and
Anna used frequently during their lifetime to offer sacrifice for the
Child Jesus. However, even this accusation was puerile, for the
Essenians never offered sacrifice, and no one thought the less well of
them for not doing so. The enemies of Jesus still continued to accuse
him of being a sorcerer, and Caiphas affirmed several times that the
confusion in the statements of the witnesses was caused solely by
witchcraft.

Some said that he had eaten the Paschal lamb on the previous day,
which was contrary to the law, and that the year before he had made
different alterations in the manner of celebrating this ceremony. But
the witnesses contradicted one another to such a degree that Caiphas
and his adherents found, to their very great annoyance and anger, that
not one accusation could be really proved. Nicodemus and Joseph of
Arimathea were called up, and being commanded to say how it happened
that they had allowed him to eat the Pasch on the