no wrong, yet he was afraid if he offended the Jews they would make a complaint against him and he would lose his position as governor.

Crucifixion was a most cruel and disgraceful punishment. The Romans before they crucified a man scourged him most terribly. The entire body was bared and the lashes given without number. The whips were leather thongs, with lead or bones fastened to them. The prisoner was bound to a post, so that he would have to bend over and keep the skin

of the back tightly stretched. The whips cut through the flesh, and the poor victims frequently fainted and sometimes died.

Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him, and afterwards delivered him up to the soldiers who were to guard him. The soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it upon his head, and, taking off his own garments, they put on him a scarlet robe, and for a mock sceptre they put a reed or stick in his right hand. Then they bowed down before him and

made sport of him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! and they spat on him, and struck him with their hands.

Pilate still hoped they would let him go, and brought the Holy One before them, saying, Behold, I bring him out to you that ye may know that I find no fault in him. But they cried out, Crucify him! Pilate said, Take him yourselves and crucify him, for I find no fault in him.

The Jews answered, We have a law, and by this law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.

When Pilate heard that he was the more afraid, and went again into the palace and said to Jesus, From whence dost thou come? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate said,

Wilt thou not speak to me? Knowest thou not that I have power to set thee free and power to crucify thee? Jesus said, Thou couldst have no power against me except it had been given thee from above, and for this cause he that delivered me unto thee hath greater sin.

From that time Pilate sought to release him. But the Jews cried out, saying, If thou let this man go thou art not Cæsar's friend, for every one that maketh himself a king speaketh against Cæsar.

Now Cæsar was the name of the Emperor of Rome, and Pilate feared to offend him. When, therefore, he heard these words he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judgmentseat at a place called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew it was called Gabbatha, and he said to the Jews, Behold your king! But they cried out, Crucify him! Pilate said, Shall I crucify your king? The chief priests answered, We have no king but Cæsar. Then Pilate gave the Holy One to them to be crucified.

When Judas Iscariot learned that Jesus was to be put to death he was in great terror, and he brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, I have sinned in betraying one who is innocent of any crime. They said, What is that to us? See thou to that. Then Judas threw down the thirty pieces of silver, and they said, It is not lawful to put the money into the treasury, since it was paid to put a man to death. So they bought with the money the Potter's field, where they buried strangers.

Judas, filled with remorse for his base treachery towards his Master, went off and hanged himself.

The sentence having been passed upon the Lord that he be crucified, the soldiers took charge of him and prepared to execute it.

They took off the scarlet robe which he was wearing and put on his own garments, and then led him out to the place

where he was to be crucified. Jesus bore his own cross, as was the custom, but under the burden he sank, he was so much exhausted by the great sufferings and loss of blood from the scourging which he had received.

A man named Simon, from northern Africa, met the procession when on its way to Calvary, and the soldiers compelled him to bear the cross, under which the Lord had fallen. And there followed a great multitude of women, who mourned and