l sentence and its execution; but either
this was not intended for use in the provinces or Jesus was judged to
be outside the scope of its mercy, because He had made Himself a king.
At all events He was hurried straight from the judgment-seat to the
place of execution, without opportunity for preparation or farewells.

Of course the sentence was carried out by the soldiers of Pilate. St.
John, indeed, speaks as if Pilate had simply surrendered Him into the
hands of the Jews, and they had seen to the execution. But this only
means that the moral responsibility was theirs. They did everything in
their power to identify themselves with the deed. So intent were they
on the death of Jesus, that they could not leave the work to the proper
parties, but followed the executioners and superintended their
operations. The actual work, however, was performed by the hands of
Roman soldiers with a centurion at their head.

In this country executions are now carried out in private, inside the
walls of the prison in which the criminal has been confined. Not many
years ago, however, they took place in public; and not many generations
ago the procession of death made a tour of the public streets, that the
condemned man might come under the observation and maledictions of as
many of the public as possible. This also was the manner of Christ's
death. Both among the Jews and the Romans executions took place
outside the gate of the city. The traditional scene of Christ's death,
over which the Church of the Holy Sepulchre is built, is inside the
present walls, but those who believe in its authenticity maintain that
it was outside the wall of that date. This, however, is extremely
doubtful; and, indeed, it is quite uncertain outside which gate of the
city the execution took place. The name Calvary or Golgotha probably
indicates that the spot was a skull-like knoll; but there is no reason
to think that it was a hill of the size supposed by designating it
Mount Calvary. Indeed, there is no hill near any gate corresponding to
the image in the popular imagination. In modern Jerusalem there is a
street pointed out as the veritable _Via Dolorosa_ along which the
procession passed; but this also is more than doubtful. Like ancient
Rome, ancient Jerusalem is buried beneath the rubbish of centuries.[1]
From the scene of the trial to the supposed site of the execution is
nearly a mile. And it is quite possible that Jesus may have had to
t