Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle/Chapter 25
CHAPTER XXV.
ONCE more Jerusalem was the scene of wild excitement, and once more Caiaphas and his colleagues were seized with the dread of whether, after all, power was not going to be wrenched from them. If, in truth, this was the Son of God, if really Lazarus had died and been restored to life, what was to prevent more miracles, and might it not be that Caiaphas would ultimately be torn to pieces by the followers of the Nazarene? These were the High Priest's inward thoughts; but, outwardly, he and his supporters admitted only that, if such trickery as the removal of the body of Lazarus could take place, there was no knowing what dupes might yet be made. At a private meeting of the heads of the Synagogue at the house of Caiaphas, a meeting from which all who did not share the High Priest's views had been excluded, they had come to the unanimous conclusion that the execution of the Nazarene, unless accompanied by that of Lazarus, would be useless bloodshed.
For Lazarus will be, to all intents, a second Galilean," said one, "and who knoweth but that, having been a ruler and one learned in the law of Moses, he will still more pervert the people by his wisdom, so that, perchance, even the rich will follow him? For this Nazarene hath that good in Him that He appealeth but to the sinners and the poor, so that His following is not a powerful one. But, in that He hath raised this Lazarus, it seemeth to me that the danger doth spread higher."
"Yet I know not how we shall take Him," said another; "for the people look upon Him as a God, and He hath ever people around Him."
" 'T will be difficult, but not impossible," said Caiaphas with his cruel, self-sufficient laugh. Had I but known last night that both sat in the house of Simon, he that is the leper, I would have caught the two birds with one net; but that dog, Iscariot, did not dare come till dark, and, when I sent to take them, the house and wayside were thronged with the multitude of perverted fools, and the soldiers feared that to capture them might cause disturbance; for naught desire we less than to fan this fanaticism into a civil war. This also know the Romans. Yet sometimes methinks that Pilate doth, for some purpose, assist the Nazarene to escape, that so a sedition may arise and the Romans may take away our country."
An indignant murmur ran through the little gathering of Pharisees.
"And I hear further from Rome," the High Priest continued pompously, anxious to impress his audience with his superior information and his intimacy with Tiberius, "that they are discussing before the Senate whether to add this Nazarene to their twelve gods and thus have thirteen."
A derisive laugh rose from the assembled council; laughter that might have been aimed either at the Nazarene's claim to be regarded as a God, or at the facile religion of the Romans, who could thus lightly add to their list of deities.
"Yet methinks," went on another, "that there must be sedition in the air; else why hath the Nazarene chosen this time of the Passover, when Jerusalem is full of all nations, Greeks and Gentiles, to come into the city and incite the people?"
"Thinkest thou that He will come?" asked the High Priest doubtfully. "Iscariot brought me word yesterday that the plot was known; yea, more, that Martha, the sister of Lazarus, had reviled him about the thirty pieces of silver. How thinkest thou they know? For even Pilate knew not of this thing."
"They have amongst themselves, I am told," said one, "some spirit of divination or sooth-saying, such as was used by Saul; for they all seem to know whatsoever every man doth think, and have Satan to assist them." Then, to himself, he muttered, "Nay, but He will not come, He dare not come to Jerusalem."
But, even while he spoke, there rose loud cries on the clear, cold air; shrieks that seemed to rend the skies and pierce to the very heart of Caiaphas. "Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord."
Like men possessed, drawn by some magnetic power they were unable to resist, the little gathering of Pharisees and scribes moved to the open windows and to the balconies and terraces. But Caiaphas seemed to shrink up in his seat, with lowered, scowling brow and clenched fists, which he beat every now and then against the couch with fury; and his countenance was filled with menace; while the cry, "King of Israel! King of Israel!" arose in one grand sound heavy with united voices.
"What meaneth this strange cry?" he asked, alarmed, and he turned his head towards the group of excited Pharisees.
"We can see naught yet," one made answer hurriedly; "only the people, who do cry furiously and throw branches and palms upon the ground."
Like one about to be seized with a fit, or one towards whom a stroke of paralysis is creeping stealthily, Caiaphas sat holding on to his seat, trying to assume indifference; but, all the while, every nerve and muscle was strained to hear whether that cry would come again: "King of Israel ! King of Israel!"
Presently, unable to contain himself, he bawled: "Can ye not speak, ye fools ? How cometh He?"
There was a moment's silence, while some strained their necks to see farther up the road. Then one turned to Caiaphas again: "He cometh, the Nazarene, and He rideth on an ass, yea, a small ass; it seemeth but a colt."
For a moment, blood seemed to surge into the very eyes of Caiaphas. He felt faint and dizzy; for one instant the roof of his house seemed torn away; for one instant, in the back chambers of his darkened brain and soul, there flashed the image of a cross; for one instant, Caiaphas, the proud High Priest, believed, and almost swooned from the believing.
"Thou liest," he said at last, in a voice thick and charged with the hoarseness caused by his emotions.
In surprise, the group looked back. What then had come to Caiaphas?
One young scribe even ran to him. "Art ill, most noble Caiaphas? Shall I bring thee water?"
"Nay, nay, leave me, thou fool," he said impatiently; and then, while the young man drew back terrified, he burst into a peal of horrible laughter, and all looked anxiously one at the other and whispered: "Methinks that Caiaphas hath gone mad from hatred of the Nazarene."
Then they returned to watch the gathering, pressing concourse, all crying, screaming, singing, shouting in honour of the Messiah.
" 'T was never so seen in Jerusalem," they murmured.
Then Caiaphas rose and went to the door and called his soldiers, to bid them close the windows and keep out the distracting noise. But in vain; they, too, had fled, and left the ante-chamber empty. But not for long. With loud-sounding, hasty step, the Procurator entered, a scornful smile upon his lips, a strange exultation in his eyes. Without a word, he seized the High Priest by the arm, and with sheer force, dragged him to the balcony.
"Dost remember thine own words?" he asked rapidly in a voice such as Caiaphas before had never heard. "Thou dost say it is written in Zechariah: 'Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a colt, the foal of an ass.' "
The rest kept silence while he spoke. Meantime Caiaphas was searching in the dark corners of his retentive brain for some subtle answer to this confounding verse; while they around who were versed in the prophets and the law threw back their memories till they remembered where indeed those words were written, and the circumstance that had inspired the prophet.
And while they all stood silent, the Nazarene passed by on His lowly steed, the embodiment of appealing meekness and submission, yet with a majesty that seemed to enfold in one the Past, the Present, and Eternity; and, as He passed, some strange thrill hushed the crowd, which prostrated itself to the earth in silent ecstasy of adoration. And, almost as if forced to the ground by some unseen compelling power, Pilate and the little group of Pharisees fell down upon their knees. Caiaphas alone remained erect, with lowering glance and folded hands, looking over the heads of that infatuated little gathering of great men, following with steely eyes, that shone with hellish light, the image of the Messiah, who passed by slowly, the colt's hoofs pattering on the cobble stones with short, sharp thuds.
His last chance had come and gone. The memory of his own prophecy had sought to probe his heart, to wrench away the thick coating of pride and unbelief in which it was enveloped. The Messiah had passed by, and Caiaphas had rejected Him; and Satan, scared from the streets of Jerusalem, had yet found shelter in one soul.
Still the populace cried out: "Hosanna! Hosanna! Blessed is the King of Israel."
And the Pharisees who had met that morning to sign the condemnation of the Nazarene and issue an order for Lazarus's capture, rose from their knees and shook their heads, and one to the other said: "Perceive ye how we prevail nothing? Behold the world is gone after Him."
Then, headed by Pontius Pilate, they filed out one by one, leaving Caiaphas still standing at the window, looking after the people that had deserted him, and turning over within his heart schemes for the achievement of his revenge; for vengeance would be to him henceforth the sole pursuit of his earthly life, and the basis of his life eternal. The sweetness of life to him now would be when the cry "Hosanna!" should be changed to that of Crucify!"