Me? Amen, amen I say to thee, the cock shall not crow till thou deny Me thrice.

Then Jesus taught to His beloved disciples more clearly than He had hitherto done, all the great blessings they would enjoy through His death and passion; He prepared them for the events that were about to come; and prayed for them to the Eternal Father that they might persevere to the end.

CHAP. XXXIX. The Agony in the Garden. Peter denies

Christ.

AND when they had sung a hymn they went out to Mount Olivet, and came to a place called Gethsemani, where was a garden, and Jesus said to His disciples: Sit you here till I go yonder, and pray. And taking with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, He began to grow sorrowful, and to be sad. Then He saith to them: My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with Me. And going a little farther, He fell upon His face, praying and saying: O My Father, if it is possible, let this chalice pass from Me. Nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. And He cometh to His disciples, and findeth them asleep: and He saith to Peter: What! could you not watch one hour with Me? Watch ye, and pray, that ye enter not into temptation. The spirit, indeed, is willing, but the flesh weak. Again He went the second time, and prayed, saying: O My Father, if this chalice cannot pass away except I drink it, Thy will be done. And He cometh again, and findeth them asleep for their eyes were heavy. And leaving them, He went away again: and He prayed the third time, saying the same words. Then He cometh to His disciples, and saith to them: Sleep on now, and take your rest; behold, the hour is at hand: and the Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise, let us go behold, he is at hand that will betray Me.

As He yet spoke, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and

clubs, sent from the chief priests and ancients of the people.

Judas, therefore, having received a band of men and servants from the chief priests and the Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that were to come upon Him, went forward, and said to them: Whom seek ye? They answered Him: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus saith to them: I am He. And Judas also, who betrayed Him, stood with them. As soon then as He had said to them: I am He: they went backward, and fell to the ground. Again, therefore, He asked them: Whom seek ye? And they said: Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus answered, I have told you, that I am He: if, therefore, you seek Me, let these go their way: That the word might be fulfilled which He said: Of them whom Thou hast given Me, I have not lost any one. Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it; and struck the servant of the high-priest; and cut off his right ear. And the name of the servant was Malchus. Then Jesus said to Peter: Put up thy sword into the scabbard. The chalice which My Father hath given Me, shall I not drink it? Then the disciples forsook Him and fled.

And they took Jesus, and bound Him, and led Him away to Annas first: for he was father-in-law to Caiphas, who was the high-priest of that year. Now Caiphas was he who had given the counsel to the Jews, that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.

And Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. And that disciple was known to the highpriest, and went in with Jesus into the court of the highpriest. But Peter stood at the door without. Then the other disciple who was known to the high-priest, went out, and spoke to the portress, and brought in Peter.

And there came to him a servant-maid, saying: Thou also wast with Jesus the Galilean. But he denied before them all, saying: I know not what thou sayest. And as he went out of the gate, another maid saw him; and she saith to them that were there: This man also was with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he said, with

an oath: I do not know the man. And after a little while they that stood by came, and said to Peter: Surely thou also art one of them: for even thy speech doth discover thee. Then he began to curse, and to swear that he knew not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And the Lord turned and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus which He had said: Before the cock crow, thou wilt deny Me thrice. And going forth, he wept bitterly.

And the chief priests and the whole council sought false witness against Jesus, that they might put Him to death and they found not, though many false witnesses had come in. And last of all there came in two false witnesses. And they said: This Man said: I am able to destroy the temple of God, and in three days to rebuild it. And the high-priest rising up, said to Him: Answerest Thou nothing to the things which these witness against Thee? But Jesus held His peace. And the high-priest said to Him: I adjure Thee by the living God, that Thou tell us if Thou be the Christ the Son of God. Jesus saith to him: Thou hast said it. Never

theless I say to you, Hereafter you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high-priest rent his garments, crying: He hath blasphemed: what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy: what think you? But they answering, said: He is guilty of death. Then they did spit in His face, and buffeted Him: and others struck His face with the palms of their hands, saying: Prophesy unto us, O Christ; who is he that struck Thee?

CHAP. XL. Christ before Herod and Pilate. The Scourging and Crucifixion.

As soon as it was day, the chief priests and ancients of the people held a council against Jesus, to put Him to death. And they brought Him bound, and delivered Him to Pontius Pilate the governor. And Jesus stood

before the governor. And the governor asked Him, saying: Art Thou the king of the Jews? Jesus saith to him: Thou sayest it. And when He was accused by the chief priests and ancients, He answered nothing. Then Pilate saith to Him: Dost not Thou hear how great testimonies they allege against Thee? And He answered him not to any word: so that the governor wondered exceedingly.

Then Pilate, hearing that Jesus was of Galilee, sent Him to king Herod; as Galilee was under Herod's jurisdiction. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad; for he was desirous of a long time to see Him, because he had heard many things of Him: and he hoped to see some miracle wrought by Him. And he questioned Him with many words. But He answered him nothing. And the chief priests and scribes stood by, earnestly accusing Him. And Herod with his soldiers despised Him, and mocked Him, putting on Him a white garment; and sent Him back to Pilate. And Herod and Pilate were made friends together that same day: for before they were enemies one to another.

Now upon the solemn day the governor was accustomed to release to the people one prisoner, whom they would. And he had then a notorious prisoner that was called Barabbas. They therefore being gathered together, Pilate said: Whom will you that I release to you, Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ? For he knew that through envy they had delivered Him up. And as he was sitting on the judgment-seat, his wife sent to him, saying: Have thou nothing to do with that just Man. For I have suffered many things this day in a dream on account of Him. But the chief priests and ancients persuaded the people, that they should ask Barabbas, and make Jesus away. And the governor answering, said to them: Which will you have of the two to be released unto you? But they said, Barabbas. Pilate saith to them: What shall I do, then, with Jesus that is called Christ? They all say: Let Him be crucified. The governor said to them: Why, what evil hath He done? But they cried out the more, saying: Let

Him be crucified. And Pilate seeing that he prevailed nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, having taken water, washed his hands before the people, saying: I am innocent of the blood of this just Man: look you to it. And all the people answering, said: His blood be upon us, and upon our children. Then he released to them Barabbas; and having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to them to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor taking Jesus into the hall, gathered together unto Him the whole band: and stripping Him, they put a scarlet cloak about Him. And platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand. And bowing the knee before Him, they mocked Him, saying: Hail, king of the Jews. And spitting upon Him, they took the reed, and struck His head.

Pilate then went forth again to the multitude of the people without, and said to them: Behold, I bring Him forth to you, that you may know that I find no cause in Him. (So Jesus came forth, bearing the crown of thorns, and the purple garment.) And he saith to them: Behold the man. When the chief priests, therefore, and the officers had seen Him, they cried out, saying: Crucify Him, crucify Him. Pilate saith to them: Take Him you, and crucify Him: for I find no cause in Him. The Jews answered him: We have a law; and according to the law He ought to die; because He made Himself the Son of God. When Pilate, therefore, had heard this saying, he feared the more. And he entered into the hall again and he said to Jesus: Whence art Thou? But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore saith to Him: Speakest Thou not to me? knowest Thou not that I have power to crucify Thee, and I have power to release Thee. Jesus answered: Thou shouldst not have any power against Me, unless it were given thee from above. Therefore, he that hath delivered Me to thee hath the greater sin. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release Him. But the Jews cried out, saying: If thou release this Man, thou art not Cæsar's friend: for whosoever maketh himself a king, speaketh against