SECOND READING.
"He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter."—Isaiah 53:7.
AS soon as it was light, all the chief men of the Jews met in the council chamber in the Temple, and had our Lord brought before them. But no one could prove that He had broken the law; and whenever a story was brought against Him, it turned out not to be true.
At last the high priest stood up and commanded Him to say whether He were the Christ or not. He answered, "Thou hast said: nevertheless, I say unto you, hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven."
PETER DENYING JESUS.—Luke 22:60, 61.
At this answer, Caiaphas and all the other enemies made a great outcry, as if they were very much shocked, at His speaking of Himself as the great Judge of all—namely, as God.
They all cried, "He is guilty of death;" and they began to beat Him and strike Him; and they blindfolded Him, and struck Him on the face, and bade Him say whose blow it was. And all the time He stood gentle and patient, and said not one word of complaint or anger.
Since the reign of the great wicked Herod, the Romans had not allowed the Jews to put anybody to death without their leave; so the chief priests were obliged to take Jesus before the Roman governor, Pontius Pilate. But it was not possible to find anything that a Roman would think He deserved to be put to death for.