The Prince of the House of David

by J. H. Ingraham

"Nothing but the ferocious madness of the chief priests and Jews," added John, "could have prevented them from being awed by the majesty of his presence. And, besides, there sat upon his brow heroic courage, with a certain divine humility and resignation. Not the rough hands of the barbaric soldiers, nor the indignity of being stripped before the eyes of thousands, not the sight of the cross, nor of the thieves, nailed and writhing on theirs, moved him to depart, by look or bearing, from that celestial dignity which, through all, had never left him.

"He made no resistance," continued John, who told me what follows, "when bound upon the cross, but resigned himself passively into the hands of his executioners, like a lamb receiving its death. 'Father,' he said, raising his holy eyes to heaven, 'forgive them, for they know not what they do.'

"Great drops of sweat, when they nailed his feet to the wood, stood upon his forehead," added John, who remained near to see his Master die, and to comfort and strengthen him; "and when the four men raised him and the cross together from the earth and let the end into a hole a foot deep, the shock, bringing his whole weight upon the nails in his hands, tore and lacerated them, nearly dislocating the shoulders at the same time, while every sinew and muscle of his arms and chest was drawn out like cords to sustain this unwonted weight upon them. The first thief fainted from pain, at the shock caused by the setting of his own cross; and the second, cool and defiant as he had been, uttered a loud outcry of agony. But Jesus made no moan, though the unearthly pallor of his countenance showed how inexpressible was his torture."

Ah, my dear father, I would draw a veil over this scene—for it is too painful for me to dwell upon. To the last John believed his Master would not die—that he would not suffer! But when he saw how that pain and anguish seized heavily upon him, and how that he suffered like other men, without power to prevent it, he greatly wondered, and began to believe that all the miracles that he had seen him perform must have been illusions. He could not reconcile the calmness and dignity, the heroic composure and air of innocence with which he came to the cross, with imposture; yet his death would assuredly seal as imposture all his previous career.

With his mother we all drew as near the cross as we were permitted to come. Jesus then turned his head towards his mother, and, looking down with the profoundest tenderness and love upon her, committed her to the filial care of the weeping John, who stood supporting her.

There we waited, in expectation of seeing him do some mighty miracle from the cross and descend unharmed, showing to the world thereby his title to be the Messias of God.

The centurion, having placed a guard about the crosses, to keep the friends of the crucified from attempting their rescue, stood watching them. The soldiers who had nailed Jesus to the tree now began to divide, with noisy oaths, his garments among themselves, as well as those of the two thieves, these being by the Roman law the fee of the executioner. This division being made after some time, but not without high talking and drawing of their long Syrian knives upon each other, they were at a loss what to do with the large mantle without seam, which the sisters of Lazarus had woven for the friend of their once dead brother. A group of the Roman guard being seated near, astride upon the four arms of a fallen cross, playing at dice, suggested that the Parthians should decide by lot whose it should be. This the latter consented to and, taking the dice-box in their bloody hands, each of them threw the dice. The highest number fell to the most ferocious of the four fellows, who proposed to sell the cloak, which John joyfully purchased of him at a great price, by means of the jewels of several of the women, who gladly took rings from their ears and bracelets from their arms, I giving, dear father, the emerald which you bought for me at Cairo. But I could not see the robe which Jesus had worn thus desecrated.

After Jesus had hung about an hour upon the cross, Æmilius came from Pilate, and bore the inscription, which it is usual to place above the heads of malefactors, showing their name, and the crime for which they are crucified.

Above the head of Jesus, by means of a small ladder, was placed this inscription, in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew:

THIS IS JESUS,
THE KING OF THE JEWS.