thee. Around thee, as an ensign lifted above our conflicts, will be fought the hottest battle. A thousand times more living, more beloved, since thy death than during the days of thy pilgrimage here below, thou wilt become so completely the corner-stone of humanity, that to tear thy name from the record of this world would be to disturb its very foundations. Henceforth men shall draw no boundary between thee and God. Do thou, who hast completely vanquished death, take possession of thy kingdom, whither, by the royal road thou hast pointed out, long generations of adorers shall follow thee! CHAPTER XXVI. THE SEPULCHRE. 3 It was about three in the afternoon, by our reckoning, when Jesus expired.' A Jewish law forbade a corpse to be left suspended "upon the tree" beyond the evening of the day of execution. It is hardly probable that in the executions performed by the Romans this rule was observed; but as the next day was the Sabbath, and a Sabbath of peculiar solemnity, the Jews expressed to the Roman authorities their desire that this holy day should not be profaned by such a spectacle. Their request was granted; orders were given to hasten the death of the three who had suffered, and to remove them from the cross. The soldiers executed this order by applying to the two thieves a second infliction much more speedy than that of the cross, breaking of the legs (crurifragium), a common punishment of slaves 5 and prisoners of war. As to Jesus, they found him 1 Matt. xxvii. 46; Mark xv. 37; Luke xxiii. 44: comp. John xix. 14. 2 Deut. xxi. 22, 23; Joshua viii. 29 and x. 26, 27: comp. Josephus, Wars, IV. v. 2; Mishna, Sanhedrin, vi. 5. 8 In the Fourth Gospel, "to Pilate; ;" but this cannot be, for Mark (xv. 44, 45) states that "when the even was come "Pilate was still ignorant of the death of Jesus. 4 Comp. Philo, In Flaccum, 10. There is no other example of crurifragium following crucifixion, though a "stroke of grace" was often given to shorten the suffering. See a passage translated from Ibn-Hischâm in the Zeitschr. für die Kunde des Morgenlandes, i. 99, 100. dead, and did not think it necessary to break his legs.1 But one of them, to remove all doubt as to the real death of the third victim, and to complete it if any breath remained in him, pierced his side with a spear.2 They thought they saw water and blood flow, which was regarded as a sign of the cessation of life. The fourth evangelist, who here represents the Apostle John as having been an eye-witness, insists strongly on this detail. It is evident, in fact, that doubts arose as to the reality of the death of Jesus. A few hours of suspension on the cross appeared to those accustomed to see crucifixions entirely insufficient to bring about such a result. They cited many instances of persons crucified, who had been removed in time, and brought to life again by energetic treatment.5 Origen, later on, thought it needful to invoke miracle in order to explain so sudden an end. The same surprise is discovered in the narrative of Mark. To speak truly, the best assurance the historian has upon a point of this nature is the suspicious hatred of the enemies of Jesus. It is very doubtful whether the Jews at that time felt any suspicion that Jesus might be thought to have revived; but, in any case, they must have made sure that he was really dead. However negligent the ancients may have been, at certain periods, in all that concerned 6 1 This is, possibly, an addition inserted to liken Jesus to the paschal lamb: Exodus xii. 46; Numbers ix. 12. 2 Perhaps a similar parallel with Zechariah xii. 10: comp. John xix. 37; Rev. i. 7. Here, again, we may suspect an a-priori symbolism: comp. 1 John v. 6-8; Apollinaris in the Chronique Pascale, p. 7. 4 John xix. 34, 35. 5 Herodotus, vii. 194; Josephus, Life, 75. • In Matt. Comment. series, 140. 7 Mark xv. 44, 45. legal precision and the strict conduct of affairs, we cannot but believe that for this once those interested had taken some precautions in this matter on a point. so important to them.1 According to the Roman custom, the body of Jesus should have remained suspended in order to become the prey of birds. According to the Jewish law, it would have been taken away by night and deposited in the place of infamy set apart for the burial of executed criminals. If his disciples had been only poor Galileans, timid and without influence, the second course would have been adopted; but we have seen that in spite of his small success at Jerusalem Jesus had gained the sympathy of some persons of consideration, who were looking for the kingdom of God, and without avowing themselves his disciples were deeply attached to him. One of these, Joseph, of the small town of Arimathea (Ha-ramathaïm), went in the evening to ask the body from the procurator.5 Joseph was a rich man, honourable, and a member of the Sanhedrim. Besides, the Roman law at this time required the delivering up of the body of an executed person to any who claimed it. Pilate, who was ignorant of the circumstance of the crurifragium, was astonished that Jesus was so soon 1 The exigencies of their argument led the Christians afterwards to exaggerate these precautions, especially when the Jews had adopted the course of insisting that the body of Jesus had been stolen. See Matt. xxvii. 62-66; xxviii. 11-15. 2 Horace, Ep. I. xvi. 48; Juvenal, xiv. 77; Lucan, vi. 544; Plautus, Miles, II. iv. 19; Artemidorus, Onir. ii. 53; Pliny, xxxvi. 24; Plutarch, Cleomenes, 39; Petronius, Sat. 111, 112. 8 Mishna, Sanhedrin, vi. 5, 6. * Probably the ancient Ramah of Samuel, in the tribe of Ephraim. 5 Matt. xxvii. 57, 58; Mark xv. 42-45; Luke xxiii. 50-53; John xix. 38. • Digest. xlviii. 24, De cadaveribus punitorum. dead, and summoned the centurion who had directed. the execution to know how this was. Having received his assurance, Pilate granted to Joseph the object of his request. The body probably had already been taken from the cross; it was now delivered to Joseph, that he might do with it as he pleased. Another secret friend, Nicodemus,' whom we have already seen employing his influence in favour of Jesus, came forward at this moment. He arrived, bearing an ample provision of materials required for the embalming. Joseph and Nicodemus buried Jesus according to the Jewish custom,- that is to say, they wrapped him in a sheet with myrrh and aloes. The Galilean women were present, and no doubt accompanied the scene with piercing cries and tears. It was late, and all this was done in great haste. The place had not yet been chosen where the body would be finally deposited. The conveying of it, besides, might have delayed them to a late hour, and thus involved a violation of the Sabbath; while the disciples still scrupulously observed the precepts of the Jewish law. Hence a temporary interment was decided upon.3 There was near at hand, in the garden, a tomb recently dug out in the rock,- belonging, probably, to one of the brotherhood, which had never been used. The funeral caves, when destined for a single body, were composed of a small cell, at the bottom of which the place for the body was marked by a trough (or bed) 1 John xix. 39-42. 4 2 Matt. xxvii. 61; Mark xv. 8 John xix. 41, 42. 47; 4 A tradition (Matt. xxvii. 60) denotes Joseph of Arimathea as himself the owner of the tomb. |