TEE TRIAL OF JESUS CERIST. 



07 



they deny that the kingship of Jesus could be so 

 described. The most important commentary on 

 the words is of course the recent and famous 

 scene of the tribute-money, where Jesus being 

 demanded as a Jewish patriot and prophet, " Is 

 it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or no?" an- 

 swered, "Show me a penny," and, having asked 

 the significant question as to Caesar's image and 

 superscription engraved upon it, closed the dis- 

 cussion with the words, " Render therefore unto 

 Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and unto God 

 the things that are God's." The two incidents, 

 in common with the whole of the history, make 

 it certain that it was no part of his plan of king- 

 dom, as it was no part of the plan of Christianity 

 historically, to attack the Roman power. But 

 this critical utterance to Pilate (like that former 

 one) seems to go further. On the face of it, it 

 indicates that there was no necessary collision 

 between the kingdom which Jesus was prepared 

 to assert as his own and that great " kingdom 

 of this world " which his judge represented. An 

 actual collision there too probably might be. 

 But the words are meaningless unless they are 

 taken as asserting separate spheres within which 

 it was possible for each power to confine itself, 

 and by confining themselves within which it was 

 possible for them to escape collision. Only one 

 of these kingdoms is described, and it is defined 

 generally as "of this world," the definition being 

 illustrated by the suggestion that in every such 

 kingdom the monarch may suitably be defended 

 by the armed force of his subjects. The other 

 is as yet only defined by the negation of these 

 characteristics. Pilate, as the result indicates, 

 was already impressed by the statement, and 

 perhaps convinced by it of the innocence of the 

 accused of all conspiracy against Rome. And 

 yet Jesus still spoke of a kingdom — a kingdom 

 too in this world, though not of it ; l and his 

 words of renunciation were more royal than all 

 the Roman had ever listened to of greatness. 

 With true judicial tact, the governor lays his 

 finger on the exact point which required to be 

 brought from negative implication into express 

 statement. " Art thou a king then ? " he asked 

 the prisoner whose kingdom was not of this 

 world. And as before, to the adjuration of God's 

 High-Priest, so how, to the representative of all 

 the greatness of earth, the answer came back, 

 making a crisis in the world's history, "Thou 

 aayest it: I am a king." He who spoke so to a 

 Roman governor knew that he was offering him- 



1 " ; My kingdom is not of this icorld." 1 The word used 

 is kootios. not aiwi'. 



self to the cross, and that the next few hours 

 might close that fateful life. And the thought 

 was in his mind when he deliberately added, 

 "To this end was I born, and for this cause came 

 I into the world, that I might bear witness unto 

 the truth." Whatever else is included in words 

 so great, this " witness to the truth " certainly 

 embraces the testimony which a moment before 

 had been given by the speaker himself — by him 

 " who before Pontius Pilate witnessed the good 

 confession" — to the existence of a kingdom, true 

 and real, though not of this cosmos. But this 

 supreme utterance struck a deeper note than 

 even the assertion of a spiritual and separate 

 kingdom. It proclaimed that which is the basis 

 of all human veracity and virtue, but which in 

 those later ages was becoming strange to Roman 

 ears — the existence of an eternal world of truth 

 outside of man — a universal divine system of 

 things, high above all local or national tradition, 

 and indeed above all human beliefs and desires. 

 Over that objective truth men have no power : 

 their highest privilege is to recognize and to con- 

 fess it. And those do recognize it who have 

 already a certain kinship and relation to that 

 central truth — who are " of the truth." For the 

 last words of him who now claimed to be both 

 the witness and the king of that greater world 

 were, " He that is of the truth heareth my voice." 

 Pilate answered, " What is truth ? " The blank 

 response, half sarcastic, half despairing, wholly 

 skeptical, will claim notice at a later stage, hi 

 the mean time we follow the course of the judge, 1 

 who, thus waiving the personal question presented 

 to him, goes on to deal with the accusation and 

 the accused. The narratives all bear that Pilate 

 reached and expressed the conclusion that the 

 crime charged had not been proved — that indeed 

 he found in the accused "no fault at all." And 

 the last Gospel distinctly refers the first public 

 utterance of this conviction to the exact point in 

 the conversation and defense at which we have 

 now arrived. It was the only defense which the 

 accused is at any time stated to have offered ; 



1 The apocryphal "Acts of Pilate," after giving this 

 conversation with much accuracy, adds a few sentences 

 which, while they rather vulgarize the previous utter- 

 ances, indicate a special application of the words of Jesus 

 which may have occurred to the mind of the governor as 

 he passed from their higher suggestions to announce his 

 judgment in the cause : 



" Pilate saith unto him, What is truth ? Jesus said, 

 Truth is from heaven. Pilate said. Therefore truth is not 

 on earth. Jesus said to Pilate. Believe that truth is on 

 earth among those who. when they have the power of 

 judgment, are governed by truth and form right judg- 

 ment." 



