Trial and Condemnation of Jesus as a Legal Question. 451 any answer which Jesus might make some thing would appear upon which he could lay hold, as he could not upon anything the witnesses had said. In this Jesus disap pointed him, and he was driven to take an other course. "And he said unto him, 'I adjure thee by the Living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.' Jesus saith unto him, ' Thou hast said it; nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven.' Then the High Priest rent his clothes saying, ' He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold now ye have heard his blasphemy, what think ye?' They answered and said, ' He is guilty of death.' . . . When the morn ing was come, all the Chief Priests and elders of the people took counsel against Jesus, to put him to death." Luke's account is somewhat different. He makes no mention of their calling wit nesses, and also states that, " As soon as it was day,,the elders of the people, and the Chief Priests, and the Scribes came together, and led him in to their coun cil, saying, 'Art thou the Christ? Tell us.' And he said unto them, ' If I tell you, ye will not believe. And if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go. Here after shall the Son of Man sit on the right hand of the power of God.' Then said they all, ' Art thou then the Son of God? ' And he said unto them, ' Ye say that I am.' And they said, ' What need we any further wit nesses? For we ourselves have heard of his own mouth.'" John omits all account of what was done before Caiaphas and Annas, except that Jesus had been sent bound by Annas to Caiaphas, and " The High Priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, ' I spake openly to the world. I ever taught in the Synagogue and in the Temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? Ask them which
heard me what I have said unto them. Behold, they know what I said.' And when he had thus spoken one of the officers which stood by, struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, ' Answerest thou the High Priest so? ' Jesus answered him : ' If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well, why smitest thou me? ' ' We have been thus particular to quote all, that the points of difference might clearly ap pear. Applying to these narratives the test of judicial observation, their differences fur nish very high evidence of the truthfulness of the essential fact in the narration, and the truthfulness of the witnesses; for universal experience has taught that witnesses always vary in their statement of facts from a vari ety of causes, like the lack of the same power in expression, the failure to fix the mind upon detail alike, the retention of one fact and the loss of another, imperfection in hearing or seeing, the position from which observation was made at the time of the transaction. The description of an elephant by seven blind men, as related by Saxe, the poet, is a very terse illustration of this fact. The narratives do not, as we shall see, differ in any essential particular save one, and that relates to time. Matthew and Mark relate that the trial took place in the night, and that Jesus was immediately condemned. If this be so, then the direct command of the Jewish law was violated in three particulars. First, they were commanded not to hold such a trial in the night-time; second, they could only acquit upon the same day of the trial, not condemn; and in the latter case, they must consult, abstain from drinking wine, eat little meat, and defer judgment un til the next day; third, the judgment was pronounced summarily, which was not author ized by law. Luke says that as soon as it was day the Council assembled. If this be so, then they are relieved so far as holding it in the night was concerned; but it is worthy of attention that Luke does not men tion the formal condemnation, while Mark and Matthew each mention an assembling in
