with him patiently and warned him lovingly, had washed his feet and given him His own Body and Blood to be his Food; and yet he repaid his Master’s love with the basest treachery, placed himself at the head of His enemies, feigned friendship for Him, called Him Master, and betrayed Him with a kiss! But Christians behave quite as basely and ungratefully when they make an unworthy Communion!
Application. When we contemplate Jesus, bound and taken prisoner, we feel as if we could cry out to these Jews: “Hold! How can you bind the Hands of Him Who has shed such blessings on you! Unbind Him, for He is your God Who delivered you from the bondage of Egypt, Who went before you in a pillar of cloud, and led you into the Promised Land. Woe to you if you lay a hand on Him!” Thus would we fain cry out, but faith says to us: “Spare your indignation! The Jewish servants and pagan soldiers could not have held and bound Jesus if it had not been for your sins! Be not angry with those men, for they knew not what they did; but rather be angry with yourself and your sins, and bear in mind that, each time you sin, you are forging new bonds to bind Jesus and lead Him away to death!”
You are quite right to detest the black ingratitude of Judas; but remember how often you too have been ungrateful to your Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier. Bear in mind, especially, that every mortal sin is a shameful act of ingratitude towards God, your Father, and a dark act of treachery towards Jesus, your Redeemer.
Chapter LXXI.
JESUS BEFORE ANNAS AND CAIPHAS.
[Mat. 26, 57. Mark 14, 53. Luke 22, 54. John 18, 13.]
THE troop of soldiers and servants first led Him bound[1] before Annas[2], a former High Priest, and the father-in-law of
- ↑ Led Him bound. What a tale of ignominy and ill-treatment is contained in these few words! Both the soldiers and the chief priests’ servants knew how intensely their employers hated Jesus, and that the best way to gain favour with them was to maltreat our Blessed Lord. They bound His Hands together tightly and cruelly, and having put a rope round His neck dragged Him by it into the city, abusing and maltreating Him all the way. The road to Annas' house took about half an hour to traverse, and during that half-hour our Lord, according to tradition, fell to the ground seven times in consequence of the inhuman treatment to which He was subjected.
- ↑ Annas. The Romans were in the habit of setting up and deposing the High Priests in the most arbitrary manner. At the time of our Lord’s Death there were therefore several High Priests, for even those who were deposed kept the title. Caiphas was the fourth High Priest since Annas’ deposition, but Annas still exercised great influence, for Caiphas had married his daughter, and Caiphas himself had no strength of character. Annas and Caiphas both lived on Mount Sion, about a hundred and seventy yards apart. To reach the house of Caiphas they had to pass that of Annas, so the troop led Jesus there on the way, both to curry favour with him, and because the Sanhedrin had not yet had time to assemble at the High Priest’s house.
