Matt. v. Christ with our hearts, we must remember his patience, when he was falsely accused and reviled for our sakes; and so with stopped ears ought we to let all sharp words pass, yea, to pray for them that speak evil of, or to us. When our good works and meanings are taken in evil part, our enterprise resisted, our words rejected and refused of every man, we ought patiently to suffer it. For far inferiors are we unto Christ our Lord; over whom goeth so horrible and wicked a cry, "Crucify him, Crucify him." Hereof should all faithful believers be admonished, yea assured, if they mind to live godly in Christ Jesu, that they must suffer much persecution, and that if they will walk and go forward in the way of God, they must bear many hurtful and noisome things; for no man can please God, that for his sake is not exercised in much adversity. Therefore saith he unto his dear friends: "Blessed are ye when men revile you, and persecute you, and shall falsely speak all manner of evil against you for my sake. Rejoice and be glad for great is your reward in heaven." Wherefore, dear children, let us follow our innocent Lord Jesus; who being refused of wicked men upon earth, but chosen of God the Father, is crowned with eternal glory and godly honour in heaven. No evil saying or curse ought to overcome us, considering that for the same there is so exceeding joy prepared for us of God. [John xix. 1-12.] THEN Pilate took Jesus therefore, and scourged him: and the soldiers wound a crown of thorns, and put it on his head. And they did on him a purple garment, and came unto him, and said, Hail, King of the Jews; and they smote him on the face. Pilate went forth again, and said unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that you may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing a crown of thorn, and a robe of purple. And he saith unto them, Behold the man. When the high priests therefore and ministers saw him, they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them: Take ye him, and crucify him; for I find no cause in him. The Jews answered and said unto him: We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. he was the more afraid; When Pilate heard that saying, and went again into the judg ment-hall, and saith unto Jesus: Whence art thou? But Then said Pilate unto him, Jesus gave him no answer. Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to let thee loose? Jesus answered: Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above. Therefore he that delivereth me unto thee hath the more sin. And from henceforth sought Pilate means to loose him. But the Jews cried, saying: If thou let him go, thou art not the emperor's friend: for whosoever maketh himself king, is against the emperor. DOCTRINE AND FRUIT. HERE in Pilate we learn, how hurtful it is, when every one in his office and vocation looketh not diligently about him, but slenderly letteth the thing slip and pass, that he earnestly ought to bring to effect. Pilate was the deputy of a country, and knew that Christ had wrong; whereof he himself also many times beareth him witness with his own mouth. Seeing then that he was a judge, it appertaineth to his office to judge right, and not to suffer the innocent to die. For though Pilate doth, as if he would discharge Christ, yet he mindeth it not earnestly. He goeth about to let Christ loose: nevertheless so far as he displease not the Jews and the emperor, so far as he lose not the favour and friendship of men. While Pilate now fainteth in the righteousness that he knoweth and is sure of, and holdeth not on stoutly, as he should, to deliver Christ, God suffereth him still to fall, till he come to this point, that he condemneth the innocent to death against his own conscience. Thus goeth [COVERDALE.] 19 it with all those, that for the grace of God lent unto them are unthankful and unfaithful in the little. It is the part of a righteous judge to maintain justice, and to defend the innocent, though it should cost him body, honour, and goods. The pride also of Pilate, that presumed by reason of his authority, is brought down with the words of the Lord: "There is no power but from above," and therefore should it be godly used; the higher powers are God's ministers. In the which words of Christ the faithful believers that be in adversity are comforted; knowing that no man hath authority nor power over them, except it be given him of God. Christ is bound, to deliver us from the bands of our sins, and to place us in eternal freedom. He is scourged, to take from us the stripes that we should suffer by reason of our sins; yea, to heal our wounds, is he sore wounded himself. Altogether suffereth he for our sakes; through his stripes are we made whole. "His back," as Esay saith, Isai. 1., "offereth he to the smiters, and his cheeks to the nippers," to purge us from all filthiness of sin. He became without beauty, as a leper despised, spitted upon, and mocked, to deliver us from eternal shame and punishment. We had deserved all this, he did nothing worthy thereof; we are the cause of his martyrdom. Oh the great burden of our sins, that the Son of the eternal God must suffer so sore stripes and cruel pains for us, to reconcile us with his Father! Oh the exceeding great love which he declareth unto us, in that he taketh all rebuke upon himself for us! Oh that we considered this with true devotion; so that we might say with Christ and David: "I am ready to be scourged, and my plague is always before me." O Jesu, kindle us with the fire of thy exceeding love, which thou in so much adversity hast well tried towards us. Grant us the help of thy grace, to the strengthening of our weakness, when the heavy burdens of adversities fall upon us; that through the terrible overcharge of them we be not opprest and thrown down. Give us grace, so to chasten and subdue our body and flesh, that it may be subject unto the Spirit, and obedient unto thy will in all things. [John xix. 13-16. Matt. xxvii. 12—26. Luke xxiii. 13-25.] Mark XV. 3-15. WHEN Pilate heard that saying, he brought forth Jesus, and sat down to give sentence in the place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew tongue Gabatha. It was the preparing of the Easter, about the sixth hour. And he saith unto the Jews, Behold your king! him, away with him! Crucify him. They cried: Away with Shall I crucify your king? The high priests answered, We have no king but the emperor. And the high priests with the elders of the people accused him in many things, but he gave no answer. Pilate asked him further, and said: Makest thou no answer? Seest thou not, in how many and great things they accuse thee? But Jesus moreover gave no answer, so that the deputy marvelled sore at it. At the feast he had a custom, to let one unto them loose, whom they would desire. Now while the people pressed on, Pilate began to ask them, as he always did, and said: Whom will ye that I let loose unto you? Barrabas, or Jesus who is called Christ? While Pilate sat in judgment, his wife sent to him, and said: Have thou nothing to do with that just man; for this night in sleep have I suffered much for him. But the high priests and the elders persuaded the people, and enticed them, that they should ask Barrabas, and require Jesus unto death. Then answered Pilate, and said unto them: Whom will ye of these two that I shall let go loose unto you? They said, Barrabas. Then said Pilate unto them: What shall I then do with Jesus, who is called Christ? Then said they all, Let him be crucified. The deputy said: What evil then hath he done? Nevertheless they cried yet more, Let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he profited nothing, but that the uproar was greater, he took water and washed his hands before the people, and said: I am unguilty from the blood of this just man; look ye to it. Then answered all the people, and said: His blood be upon us, and upon our children. So Pilate, according to their desire, let Barrabas loose unto them: and Jesus, whom he scourged, gave he over unto them to be crucified. DOCTRINE AND FRUIT. PILATE feareth men more than God: therefore doth he against God, and condemneth the innocent, although he thinketh to be unguilty of his blood. The evangelist maketh mention of the feast of Easter or Passah, to the intent we should consider, that Christ, the true right Paschal Lamb, was put to death and slain for us. Here we learn what the judgment of the world is righteousness is refused and condemned; wickedness, ungraciousness, and murder, is delivered and quit. O how lamentably perisheth the righteous, and no man there is that considereth it, or that goeth about to deliver him! The true is given over to the liars; the innocent to the guilty; the godly to the ungracious: the murderer is chosen before Jesus the anointed Son of God: here the wicked is preferred before the just, death before life, night and darkness before the light. This now in all our troubles, when we are oppressed and false ycondemned, shall comfort and strengthen us, if we set before our eyes the blessed example of Jesus the innocent, who for us was condemned as an evil doer. For we servants are not above our Lord. If the Judge of the quick and dead be wrongfully condemned, how much more convenient is it, that we poor guilty should suffer, when we are judged, whether it be done justly or unjustly! Christ for our sake was falsely condemned, to take from us the just judgment of eternal damnation, which was gone out upon us for our sins. Grant unto us, O Lord Jesu, that neither threatening nor slander drive us away from the contemned cross, but that with our whole powers we may gladly follow thee. O give us grace, to fasten our flesh with the temptations thereof, unto the cross; that we, bewailing our former sins, may with |