(John) the Sinfulness of Man — Willie Mullan

The Jewish Trial of Jesus in John 18

John, chapter 18, and we're going right through from verse 12 tonight, right through to verse 32. You'll notice that there are at least eight facts and features that I want to underline for you this evening, but I've lined them up in two, not because that they're very intimately connected, but because they stand together in the chapter.

And although they stand together, these facts and features, yet in reality they are pulled apart. You see, in our very first verse tonight, verse 12, we'll be looking up the sinfulness of man again, and yet at the same time we shall see the submissiveness of the master.

And, of course, the sinfulness of man and the submissiveness of the master, they are indeed pulled apart, but they're standing together in the verse and in the portion this evening. Then we'll go on from there to look up the wickedness of Annas.

This was one of the high priests in Israel, and I think I can underline for you his wickedness. And standing side by side with that, we have the wickedness of the apostle. How Peter failed in that last dark dread hour, we'll have to look up in the chapter of this evening.

Then we shall go on to look up the crookedness of Caiaphas. And I honestly believe that there was no more crooked person in Israel at the time than Caiaphas. What a character is before us in this very page of this evening.

Then we shall look at the calmness of Christ. Then we shall finish the portion tonight by having a good look up the blindness of the priests, and then we shall finish with the bluntness of Pilate, just as the Roman trial is about to start.

You see, our Lord Jesus Christ had to go through what we might call the ecclesiastrical trial. That is, he's being tried by the priests of his own nation. Some of the scholars have called it the Hebrew trial of Christ.

But afterwards, he had to go through the Roman trial under conscious Pilate, the Roman governor. Tonight we shall only be dealing, of course, with the ecclesiastrical, the Jewish or the Hebrew trial, and then next week we shall go in through the Roman trial of the Savior under Pilate.

John’s Gospel and the Glory of Christ

Now, last week when we were dealing with John's gospel, in the first eleven verses, I pointed out to the class that John does not touch the agony of Christ in the garden. That's something I think that any of you who missed last week through the frost should get into your mind, that John did not touch the agony of Christ in the garden.

John doesn't talk about the blood-like sweat. John doesn't take us to the spot where Christ fell on the ground and cried again and again and again to his Father, if it be possible, let this stop fast for me.

John doesn't touch the agony. And really, that's a wonder, isn't it? Because of all the writers of the Gospels, John was nearer to that agony than any other one. You see, Matthew was left away at the gate, Luke wasn't there, nor Mark, but Peter and James and John had been taken right into the outgroves by the Master, and there they were within sight of the awful agony of the earth.

And yet, John doesn't touch the agony. But what John does, John touches the glory of the Lord. It's not the agony of the Master that's brought before us in John's Gospel in the garden, it's the glory of the Lord.

Of course, that just fits in with what John was sent to do. He was writing a Gospel that was bringing forth continually the glory and beauty and wonder and majesty of our wonderful Lord, and he keeps out that even in the garden.

I pointed out to the folks last week that we see the fearlessness of Christ. When the great crowd marched down the road with torches and weapons in that midnight hour to the garden, Christ came out of the outgroves and faced the crowd and said, Whom seek ye?

Absolutely fear. And then when he looked at the whole crowd and said, I am, just who were, John tells us that the crowd fell backwards to the ground. Christ was just displaying his power, his almighty power, letting the few disciples beside him see again the wonder of his power, making this crowd that had come to arrest him understand that he was still in command of the situation.

Yes, John brought before us the glory of the Lord. Now, although the Lord displayed his power wonderfully in the garden, Peter, when he drew his sword, look at verse 10, just to get the proper connection.

Christ’s Submission and the Sinfulness of Man

Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and smote the high priest's servant and cut off his ear. The servant's name was Malcolm. Then said Jesus unto Peter, Put up thy sword into the sheath, the cup which my father hath given me, shall I not drink it?

And the moment that the crowd saw that the master wasn't going to struggle, and the moment that they saw that he wasn't going to fight, the next word that we begin with tonight is then. Then the band, and the captain, and officers of the Jews took.

Now, the word in the Greek is a very strong word. Actually, I read five or six commentaries today, and they all have this word. Then the band, and the captain, and officers of the Jews seized Jesus. They made a ground for him.

You know, I want you to try to get this into your mind. I want you to see the wickedness. Although the master has just a moment before displayed his power and showed them his grace, put up your sword.

Although the glory of the Lord is shining, yet man, it's a commentary on the heart of man. It's wicked beyond all knowing. My, the whole band, I wish I could paint this for you. Then he stands calmly.

Yes, put up your sword. And yet the band rushes, grabs him, puts his hands behind him, and they bound him. The scriptures say, bound him. I believe they put chains round his arms and round his wrists.

They have them now. Takes him back, and it makes us think about the ram caught in the thicket by the horn. The psalm that was to save the promised child. Takes us back, and it makes us think about the ark of the Lord, a perfect type of Christ.

It makes us think about the ark of the Lord in the hands of the Philistine. It makes us think about the twenty-second psalm, because the sufferer in the psalm says, the bulls who bashen have done it on me.

They gift upon me with their mouth, like a ravening and a roaring lion. But we remind ourselves tonight that the one who was in the thicket was able to deliver, and the one who was typified by the ark of the covenant, the ark, why the ark broke to pieces, the enemy's gods.

And the man who is suffering in the twenty-second psalm, he finishes the psalm in triumph. It appears it's all re-empted right here. He's caught now and seized by the cross. It shows you the wickedness of man.

You would hardly believe it if our Lord Jesus Christ came to Oregon, that in the park some night, a crowd from our own town could feed them, bind them with chains, and lead them away to crucify them. Could you?

Well, I'm telling you they could. That heart is still in the human breast tonight, the wickedness of man. Well, side by side with that, watch the whole verse now. Verse 12, then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him and led him away.

I want you to get that bit, you know, they led him away. He was led away. They didn't need to drag him. It wasn't a scene like last Saturday, you know, with the 101 committee or the hundred committee.

There was no trouble. They grabbed him, there was no fight. There was absolutely no resistance. He was led to the slaughter. You see, right beside the wickedness of man, you've got the submissiveness of the sages or the masters.

Tremendous thing, you know, when you really think that a moment before he displayed his power, it would have been ten times easier for Christ with the chains on his arms to burst them asunder than it was for Samson to burst his band.

All power was his, you know, but he's going submissively down the road. Led as a lamb to the slaughter. You ever preach in the Jets, you can teach on it this way, the submissiveness of the Saviour, led.

Led as a lamb, the uniqueness of the Saviour. Led as a lamb to the slaughter, the awfulness of the death of the Saviour. What a tremendous thought to see. Now, that's quickly, that little bit, the submissiveness and the sinfulness.

Annas and the Confusion of the Jewish Priesthood

Now, let's get the hold of this. Read it over again. Then the band and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him and led him away to Annas first. Now, why the first? Are they something else in their mind?

Indeed they have. Indeed they have. Now, why the Annas first? First of all, I think we shall need to face the great fact that the whole Jewish nation was in confusion at this very moment. There were two high priests in the land, a thing that ought not to have been.

According to the old Jewish law, there could only be, and there should only be, one high priest in the nation. But at this moment there were two high priests in the land. You know, this is something that Jews don't like you to point out.

I remember arguing with an old Jewish rabbi one evening on the Antrim roads, and when I pointed out the confusion that was in the nation at this time, he said, not at all. He said, there was only one high priest, it was Cleopas.

And he said, you fellows are very quick in saying that the Spirit speaks through Cleopas when he said that one man shall die for the nation. And if the Spirit speaks through him, he was the recognized high priest, and recognized from heaven.

I said, you know, God can choose to speak through whomsoever he will. On one occasion he chooses Balaam's donkey, and on several occasions he chooses Balaam. And I don't know which one was the darkest.

Just because the Spirit speaks through Cleopas proves nothing. But here's what does prove something. And when I turned him back here, he was staggered. Have a look at Luke's Gospel, chapter 3. And you younger students, just mark it for some time again.

Luke's Gospel, chapter 3. And there's a prime factor given here that you would need to take notice of if you're ever in an argument. Chapter 3, verse 1. Now, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, that's giving you the actual date, and you can go on from there and make the other dates yourself, even though you're not a chronological scholar.

Now, in that very year, see verse 2, and Cleopas being the high priest, and there's an acid priest. That was too bad for him, you see. When he went into the New Testament to argue, you have to take the rest of it.

You see, there were two high priests in the land, and that shows us the confusion that the Jewish nation was in. But I don't believe that that's why the scriptures say they led him away to Annas first.

Of course, I don't believe any thing like that. I believe that it was a plan. That's where he was to go first. You see, I believe this. The high priest and the Sanhedrin of the Jews—and I'll show you this in a moment from the scriptures—they had already made up their minds long before this that they would put Christ to death.

They had their minds made up, and they longed for the time when they could seize him. And, in fact, they were prepared to give anyone a reward who could lead them to him at a spot where they could easily arrest them.

Judas and the Planned Arrest of Jesus

And, of course, that's where Judas came in, and he was prepared to betray the Savior. And he took his chance on that night when he knew the master would leave the upper room and go to the garden. That's what we went through last week.

Judas knew the place. The master went to the very place where they could get him. Oh, he didn't run away, you know. He pointed out to the crowd last week that Jerusalem was full of people, all dressed the same as the Savior.

Oh, thousands came from Galilee, dressed in Galilean robes, Galilean peasants. The master, you know, had no pontifical role. Nobody went before him with a maid. They had him chained round his neck, hope his nonsense wasn't praised in the gospel.

He got a beard and a robe like all the rest of the Galileans, and you would have had trouble picking him out that night in Jerusalem. It was packed with people, and the Jewish priests needed somebody to lead them to him.

And there somebody was Judas, vile wretch I love he was. But they had a plan, that if Judas can lead the crowd to him, let them bring him to Annas first. You see, the two high priests brought in the palace in Jerusalem, one of them at one wing of the palace and the other at the other wing.

And the idea is this, let them bring him to Annas first, so that Caiaphas can get the whole Jewish Sanhedrin gathered together in the middle of the night. I'll hold them as a minor court, just like the Majestic holds the prisoner, and then send them forward to the higher court.

I'll hold them till you get the whole Jewish Sanhedrin together. But the thing that's vile is this, the Jewish law on that occasion, and still on this occasion, was that they could not try or question any prisoner in the middle of the night.

And they break their own law. They had no right to try a prisoner, and in this land of ours, they have no right to try a prisoner. You can't try the while the world sleeps, you know. You can't do this thing in a corner.

Acts 4 and the Priests’ Double Standard

I show you a spot where they kept their law. Have a look with me, it's Acts chapter 4. It's the same crowd, and the same palace, but what's the difference? Acts chapter 4, verse 1, to get the proper connection.

And as they speak unto the people, who's the they? Peter and John. If you look at chapter before, you'll find Peter and John preaching in the porch of Solomon. And as they speak unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees came upon them, being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead.

And they laid hands on them, and put them in home, in prison, in the common prison, the proper interpretation, in the common prison, unto the next day. For, for, for, it was now even time. Oh yes, they've got to lock them up all night.

They're not allowed to do it. But they break the law. When they tried our Savior, they break their own law, and I shall prove tonight, without any hesitation, they break a few of them. My, I tell you, the way they treated my master was awful.

And on us, started the course in the middle of the night, I believe it was almost midnight, when they arrested the Lord Jesus in Gethsemane, and took him to Annas first. And he had no right, no right to try the Savior in the middle of the night.

Annas Interrogates Jesus Unlawfully

But let's get down to this now, come back to chapter 18, and you'll find this. Verse 13, And led him away to Annas first, for he was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.

But remember that both of them are recognized as high priests. Now, there is some argument as to whether, in verse 19, the high priest is asking the question to Jesus, whether it's Annas, or whether it's Caiaphas.

Now, with many of the other scholars, I'm absolutely persuaded that it's Annas. I'll tell you for why. After the interrogation, and this course is over, in verse 24 it says, No, Annas. And several scholars say that the word should not be there.

Bullens are absolutely dead on on this. Now, Annas sent Christ down unto Caiaphas, the high priest. So that I believe that the interrogation that's here before us comes from Annas. And when it got to a certain spot, we have the emphasis on the word, No.

No. Just when it came to that spot, No. Annas sent the Saviour to Caiaphas. Now, what I want you to notice in this trial here before Annas is this. Look at verse 19. The high priest then asked Jesus of his disciples and of his doctrine.

Now, he had no right to do that. That, again, is wicked. You see, if you arrest a man, and I believe that they needed a warrant for his arrest, and I believe that the high priest had the right to write the warrant, I believe that when Paul went down to Damascus to arrest some of the believers, he had letters from the high priest, except for nine facts.

He had actually warrants from the warrants. You've got to charge him, to charge him with the offense, thank God, that when they arrest you and charge you with the offense, you can sit still and never speak, let alone prove it.

He had no right to put the prisoner in the dock, immediately in the witness box, and ask him questions. If he had arrested him and charged him, the onus is on him to prove the offense. He had no right to ask questions.

You see, the fact spurs you in the face that he had no charge to make, and he's going to interrogate the prisoner to see if he'll blunder in speaking and say something that will condemn him. And you can't arrest a man and then look through him for the offense.

I hope you see that, because that's law, and it's law today. Policemen here ought to know all about that. But our Lord Jesus Christ knew, and watch his answer. You see, they immediately arrested him and took him to onus, and he asked the question about his disciples and his doctrine.

Verse 20, Jesus answered him, I speak openly to the world. I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple where the Jews always resort, and in secret have I said nothing. Now, watch this question. Why askest thou me, them which heard me, what I have said unto them?

Behold, they know what I say. You see, the Lord Jesus knew what he was about. Do you see what he's doing? He's telling the man on the bench how to run the business. That's what he's doing. You've no right to ask me.

If you have arrested me and you're going to accuse me, then put the man in the dust that knew what I've done. You have no right. For use of asking me questions, do you want me to come here and say something that will condemn myself?

And even if the Lord Jesus had said something to condemn himself, they couldn't have tried him, for they can't try a man on his own words. It was a muddle. Let me say this carefully. The Jewish nation is showing more grace, and more understanding, and more wisdom to every man than they did to Christ.

And don't ever forget it. There's a man in the dust these days, without a doubt, who's guilty of a million lives. And the Jewish nation will show pity and grace and everything they can show, which they never give to Christ.

Condemned by the very trial that's going on now. But the Lord's putting the man on the bench in the tight spots. He had no right to ask him questions. And the Lord knew that. Now, what will happen now?

My priest then asked Jesus of his disciples and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I speak openly to the world. I have a talk in the synagogue and in the temple, whether the Jews always resort, and in secret.

Have I said nothing? You know, that's a great rebid for all believers here. I hope you don't belong to some secret society, where you plan things in the dark. Because if you do, you're not following your master.

For I've said nothing. You must be following him. Don't forget that. If you're a follower, you'll follow closely. Not only we, but we have to run past them. Verse 21, Why askest thou me? Ask them which have me.

What I have said unto them, behold, they know what I have said. And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by, struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, answereth thou the high priest.

So, Jesus answered him, if I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil. But if well, why smitest thou me? You know, I want you to get the hold of this. I want you to see the wickedness of Anna. You see, he knew right well, deep down in his own heart, that he had no right to set up this court in the middle of the night.

He had no right. He knew that only too well. And secondly, he knew he had absolutely no right to question the prisoner before charging them. Not at all. And what is more, he had no right to sit there and let somebody strike him before he fell down.

You can't let the policeman batter the fellow in the dock, you know, before the case is over. It was dead. But can't you see, our Lord Jesus, knowing all that lies before him, standing calmly before this wicked man in the middle of the night, I hope you can hear the ring of the smack in the face that he got.

Mind you, he went through a lot to be our saviour. Some officer came over, smacked him across the face, and he had no right to do it. So you see the wickedness of Anna. Now, let's turn at the same moment and try to see the wickedness of Peter.

Peter’s Failure to Follow Jesus

You see, Peter, when our Lord Jesus Christ was arrested here in the garden, and they led him away, do you see verse 15? Simon Peter followed Jesus. My friend, I'm going to say something that will shock you now.

It's a great pity he did. Great pity he did. You say, aren't we supposed to follow Jesus? You're supposed to do as you're told. You know, there are three pities here, and I would like you to get them.

And the first one is this, that when our Lord Jesus was arrested in the garden, it's a great pity, it's a great pity that Peter did not remember the word of warning. Just a few moments before that, the Lord warned, this night, before the cock crowed twice, thou shalt deny me sight.

It's a great pity he didn't remember the warning. But it's a great pity he didn't remember the words. What did the Lord say to him? Now, you watch it again and see if you can guess. We're in the same chapter, and we're back at verse 10.

We're back at verse, a bit before that, verse 7. The Lord's coming out of the shadows to the clouds. Then asking them again, Whom seek ye? And the cloud said, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he, therefore ye seek me.

Now, watch this, read that. Let these go their way. See what he's doing. He's putting his wings of love. He's acting as a shepherd of the sheep. He's shielding these few sheep. He's shielding. He says, all right, take me.

Take me if you want me. But let these go their way, or we still have gone. Sometimes the Lord guides you, you know, by a wee short phrase. If you had only caught your spiritual ears. Some of us never hear, you know.

Let these go. Man, he was looking sideways and saying, go, go. Well, Peter didn't go, although he followed on. Great pity he did. Pity he didn't obey the words. But there's another pity here that's a terrible one.

Now, watch this, verse 15. Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. That disciple was known unto the high priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the high priest. That's what I told you, the high priest dwelt in the palace.

But Peter stood up the door without him. The door was shut in his face, you know. The notion of letting him in. And you know, it's a great pity that he didn't see the way was called. It's a great pity he didn't heed the word of warning.

It's a great pity he didn't keep the words of Christ unspoken. It's a great pity he didn't see the way was called. Might would have saved him a lot of trouble. If he had heeded the warning, and obeyed the word, and when the door was shut in his face, if he'd gone away, he'd still have been all right.

But he didn't, you know. And there's a whole lot of Christ followers just like him. They don't heed the word of warning, and they don't listen to the word. And when the door's shut in their faces, my, they'll try and open it.

God pity you if you do, you know. Because God may allow you to. You'll find out that you're going to get yourself into trouble. You know, I never read this portion, but I think of a young woman that I knew when I was just a young believer.

A Warning Against Ignoring Spiritual Counsel

I'm thinking back now, I'm thinking back 23 years. I was just a young believer then, and in our meeting at home, there was a lovely young girl in the meeting who could sing like nobody I've ever heard.

She really sang for the Lord. And you know, she was an inspiration to the whole crowd of us. She would go to the open air with us, and she would bear the open air through for us. But you know, she got her eye on a man who was a real wretch.

He was no good. And while I was just like some of the young fellows here, and she was like some of the young girls here, I could go to her, and I said to her, I said, you know, Maisie, you're going after a fellow that's no good, and he wrecked your life.

That fellow's no use. Just the way a young fellow would talk, you know. I didn't know much, but I knew that much. It was the word of one. She was a nice girl, took it very gently from me. And two or three days later, she came and she said, you know, the Lord has spoken to me.

I shouldn't be connected with him at all. I said, I'm glad to hear you saying that, so you get clear. But she didn't. She never heeded the word of warning, nor the words. And then something happened. It came out into the open, that he destroyed several girl's lives.

And you know, the door was shut in her face. Oh, but she didn't run away, you know. She went through the door, and she married him. I can hardly tell you this, you know, because I could weep at this. I never go to Newton and put a cologne and give her a pour or two.

She's sitting at this very moment, without a fire in the graves, with five or six wee children around her, naked. She's sitting yonder without a penny, a broken-hearted rock, her life is wrecked. You young woman, listen, will you?

Dare you heed the warning voice. And if God speaks to you, obey it. And if the door is shut in your face, go away from it. The Lord will open another one for you. Don't stand there till you get through.

It's a pity, you know, that he didn't heed the word of warning. It's a pity he didn't heed the word. It's a pity he didn't see the way shut. They got in, you know. Just watch twice in the chapter. I must be quick.

You see this? You see Peter, verse 16? He's standing at the door, but Peter stood at the door. I'll go to paint that picture for you sometime. But here's a worse one, verse 18. And the servants and officers stood there, who had made a fire of gold, for it was cold, and they warned themselves, and Peter stood with them.

It was dreadful to see him standing outside at the door, but it's horrible to see him standing inside at the world's fire. Trying to warn themselves that the world's fire, it's the world's fire. All around that fire were enemies of the Lord.

Pity any believer that gets there. What a crowd, and what a coward among them. And you know what happened? My poor Peter failed, and denied his Lord, and stood and looked into the cold, and cried and said, I don't believe he ever lifted his head.

I think he just looked at the coals in the fire. I don't know. I don't know. I don't know. When the Lord was bringing him back to his senses, he made a fire of coals. And I believe when he looked in again, he remembered it.

And maybe till his dying day, every time he saw a fire of coals, he remembered it. But yes, I will not go on with the weakness of Peter. But let's get down to this bit. Now we come to another character in this little portion tonight, and his name is Caiaphas.

Caiaphas and the Crooked Trial

Do you see verse 12 over again, where we started? Then the bond and the captain and officers of the Jews took Jesus and bound him, led him away to Annas first. He was father-in-law to Caiaphas, which was the high priest that same year.

Now, Caiaphas was he which gave counsel to the Jews that it was expedient that one man should die for the people. Remember that. I think you should look at it again. It's in John 11. Just have a wee look at it, because it will refresh your memory.

It's John 11, and that's the chapter where our Lord Jesus called Lazarus from the grave. What a wonderful moment that was, when he called him out from the grave. John chapter 11, and look at verse 45.

Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees and told them what things Jesus had done. Then governed the chief priests and the Pharisees a council.

That was the old son he drew, and said, What do we? For this man doeth many miracles. If we let him us alone, all men will believe on him, and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.

Well, they were afraid of the Romans taking away the temple, and the nation that they thought was really their own, our place and our nation. And one of them named Caiaphas, being the high priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing at all, nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation shall die for him.

This speak he not of himself, but being high priest that year, he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation. You see, he said this, and it just shows you how a man can plan something, and even come out and say something.

And yet, you know, the Holy Ghost had another meaning in it altogether. For he didn't know the depths of what he was saying, you know. He was only wanting rid of Christ. But the Holy Ghost was making a prophecy, even through the man as he'd talked through the donkey long ago.

And watch what happened. See verse fifty-three? Then from that day forth they took counsel together, for to put him to death. See, I want you to get that. Because, you see, Annas, Annas only held the Savior in the middle of the night, until that counsel had got done.

Well, I have to go around Jerusalem and get some of them out and plan something, and even come out and say something. And yet, you know, the Holy Ghost had another meaning in it altogether. For he didn't know the depths of what he was saying, you know.

He was only wanting rid of Christ. But the Holy Ghost was making a prophecy, even through the man as he'd talked through the donkey long ago. And watch what happened. See verse fifty-three? Then from that day forth they took counsel together, for to put him to death.

See, I want you to get that. Because, you see, Annas, Annas only held the Savior in the middle of the night, until that counsel had got done. Well, I have to go around Jerusalem and get some of them out of bed, and here and there, and get the whole counsel set.

And in the early hours of the morning, they slipped them over from that part of the palace, across the yard to that part of the palace, and the whole counsel is there. And before he comes in, you know, now their minds made up, the very first thought of a prisoner is put in the dark.

Determined to kill him. You can see, you can see how crooked this is. But I want you to get into the depths of this. Now, go back with me to Matthew's gospel for a moment, and it's twenty-six, Matthew twenty-six.

And I think you'll get the whole thing from here without going through all the other passages. It's clearer here to me. Matthew twenty-six, fifty-seven. And they that had laid hold in Jesus, led him away to Caiaphas, the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

That's what I'm telling you. But Peter followed him afar off onto the high priest's palace, and went in and sat with the servants to see the end. Now, the chief priests and elders, and all the counsel, sought false witness against Jesus to put him to death.

And see, the whole court seeking false witnesses to put him to death. But found none. Yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, and said, this fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days.

The high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? Here's a lovely wee phrase, But, but Jesus held his peace. The high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God.

And that was an old phrase in Israel, and that just simply means that I'm putting you on your oath. When a prisoner was so spoken to and put on his oath, he was compelled to answer, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.