But Jesus interposed, and said to the men: "Have you come out, as if after a robber, with swords and clubs, to take me?

I have been among you day after day in the Temple Courts teaching, and yet you did not arrest me; but this is in fulfillment of the Scriptures."

Peter, who had followed Jesus at a distance into the court- yard of the High Priest, was sitting there among the police- officers, warming himself at the blaze of the fire.

For, though there were many who gave false evidence against him, yet their evidence did not agree.

Yet not even on that point did their evidence agree.

Then the High Priest stood forward, and questioned Jesus. "Have you no answer to make?" he asked. "What is this evidence which these men are giving against you?"

At this the High Priest tore his vestments. "Why do we want any more witnesses?" he exclaimed.

"You heard his blasphemy? What is your verdict?" They all condemned him, declaring that he deserved death.

Some of those present began to spit at him, and to blindfold his eyes, and strike him, saying, as they did so, "Now play the Prophet!" and even the police-officers received him with blows.

And, seeing Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him, and exclaimed: "Why, you were with Jesus, the Nazarene!"

But Peter denied it. "I do not know or understand what you mean," he replied. Then he went out into the porch;

But Peter again denied it. Soon afterwards the bystanders again said to him: "You certainly are one of them; why you are a Galilean!"

At that moment, for the second time, a cock crowed; and Peter remembered the words that Jesus had said to him-- 'Before a cock has crowed twice, you will disown me three times'; and, as he thought of it, he began to weep.

As soon as it was daylight, the Chief Priests, after holding a consultation with the Councillors and Teachers of the Law--that is to say, the whole High Council--put Jesus in chains, and took him away, and gave him up to Pilate.

"Are you the King of the Jews?" asked Pilate. "It is true," replied Jesus.

But Jesus still made no reply whatever; at which Pilate was astonished.

Now, at the Feast, Pilate used to grant the people the release of any one prisoner whom they might ask for.

For he was aware that it was out of jealousy that the Chief Priests had given Jesus up to him.

Pilate, however, spoke to them again: "What shall I do then with the man whom you call the 'King of the Jews'?"

"Why, what harm has he done?" Pilate kept saying to them. But they shouted furiously: "Crucify him!"

They dressed him in a purple robe, and, having twisted a crown of thorns, put it on him,

And they kept striking him on the head with a rod, spitting at him, and bowing to the ground before him--going down on their knees;

And they led Jesus out to crucify him; and they compelled a passer-by, Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them to carry his cross.

There they offered him drugged wine; but Jesus refused it.

Then they crucified him, and divided his clothes among them, casting lots for them, to settle what each should take.

It was nine in the morning when they crucified him.

The passers-by railed at him, shaking their heads, as they said: "Ah! you who 'destroy the Temple and build one in three days,

"He saved others, but he cannot save himself! Let the Christ, the 'King of Israel,' come down from the cross now, that we may see it and believe." Even the men who had been crucified with Jesus reviled him.

At midday, a darkness came over the whole country, lasting till three in the afternoon.

And, at three, Jesus called out loudly: ??Eloi, Eloi, lama sabacthani?'" which means 'My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?'

And a man ran, and, soaking a sponge in common wine, put it on the end of a rod, and offered it to him to drink, saying as he did so: "Wait and let us see if Elijah is coming to take him down."

The evening had already fallen, when, as it was the Preparation Day--the day before the Sabbath--

And, on learning from the Officer that it was so, he gave the corpse to Joseph.

Joseph, having bought a linen sheet, took Jesus down, and wound the sheet round him, and laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of the rock; and then rolled a stone up against the entrance of the tomb.

But, on looking up, they saw that the stone had already been rolled back; it was a very large one.

Going into the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on their right, in a white robe, and they were dismayed; But he said to them:

They went out, and fled from the tomb, for they were trembling and bewildered; and they did not say a word to any one, for they were frightened;

After his rising again, early on the first day of the week, Jesus appeared first of all to Mary of Magdala, from whom he had driven out seven demons.

Yet even they, when they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, did not believe it.

Later on, he made himself known to the Eleven themselves as they were at a meal, and reproached them with their want of faith and their stubbornness, because they did not believe those who had seen him after he had risen from the dead.

Moreover these signs shall attend those who believe. In my Name they shall drive out demons; they shall speak with 'tongues';

They shall take up serpents in their hands; and, if they drink any poison, it shall not hurt them; they will place their hands on sick people and they shall recover."

So the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into Heaven, and sat at the right hand of God.

But they set out, and made the proclamation everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Message by the signs which attended it.

It fell to him by lot, in accordance with the practice among the priests, to go into the Temple of the Lord and burn incense;

And, as it was the Hour of Incense, the people were all praying outside.

Zechariah was startled at the sight and was awe-struck.

And now you shall be silent and unable to speak until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I said, though my words will be fulfilled in due course."

Meanwhile the people were watching for Zechariah, wondering at his remaining so long in the Temple.

When he came out, he was unable to speak to them, and they perceived that he had seen a vision there. But Zechariah kept making signs to them, and remained dumb.

"This is what the Lord has done for me," she said, "now that he has deigned to take away the reproach under which I have been living."

Mary was much disturbed at his words, and was wondering to herself what such a greeting could mean,

And Elizabeth, your cousin, is herself also expecting a son in her old age; and it is now the sixth month with her, though she is called barren;

"I am the servant of the Lord," exclaimed Mary; "let it be with me as you have said." Then the angel left her.

Soon after this Mary set out, and made her way quickly into the hill-country, to a town in Judah;

He has stretched out his hand to his servant Israel, Ever mindful of his mercy

And they made signs to the child's father, to find out what he wished the child to be called.

All their neighbors were awe-struck at this; and throughout the hill-country of Judea the whole story was much talked about;

And all who heard it kept it in mind, asking one another-- "What can this child be destined to become?" For the Power of the Lord was with him.

In that same country-side were shepherds out in the open fields, watching their flocks that night,

Now, when the angels had left them and gone back to Heaven, the shepherds said to one another: "Let us go at once to Bethlehem, and see this thing that has happened, of which the Lord has told us."

And, when they saw it, they told of all that had been said to them about this child.

All who heard the shepherds were astonished at their story,

While Mary treasured up all that they said, and dwelt upon it in her thoughts.

And the shepherds went back, giving glory and praise to God for all that they had heard and seen, as it had been told them.

Eight days after the birth of the child, when it was time to circumcise him, he received the name Jesus--the name given him by the angel before his conception.

There was at that time in Jerusalem a man named Simeon, a righteous and devout man, who lived in constant expectation of the Consolation of Israel, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he should not die until he had seen the Lord's Christ.

Moved by the Spirit, Simeon came into the Temple Courts, and, when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the Law,

While the child's father and mother were wondering at what was said about him,

And then a widow, till she had reached the age of eighty-four. She never left the Temple Courts, but, fasting and praying, worshiped God night and day.

At that moment she came up, and began publicly to thank God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the deliverance of Jerusalem.

Every year the child's parents used to go to Jerusalem at the Passover Festival.

And had finished their visit; but, when they started to return, the boy Jesus remained behind in Jerusalem, without their knowing it.

It was not till the third day that they found him in the Temple Courts, sitting among the Teachers, now listening to them, now asking them questions.

All who listened to him marveled at his intelligence and his answers.

"What made you search for me?" he answered. "Did not you know that I must be in my Father's House?"

His parents did not understand what he meant.

This was in fulfillment of what is said in the writings of the Prophet Isaiah--'The voice of one crying aloud in the wilderness: "Make ready the way of the Lord, Make his paths straight.

Let your lives, then, prove your repentance; and do not begin to say among yourselves 'Abraham is our ancestor,' for I tell you that out of these very stones God is able to raise descendants for Abraham!

Already, indeed, the axe is lying at the root of the trees. Therefore every tree that fails to bear good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire."

"What are we to do then?" the people asked.

Even tax-gatherers came to be baptized, and said to John: "Teacher, what are we to do?"

And when some soldiers on active service asked "And we--what are we to do?" he said: "Never use violence, or exact anything by false accusation; and be content with your pay."

Melchiah, Addi, Cosam, Elmodam, Er,

All that time he ate nothing; and, when it was over, he became hungry.

And Jesus answered him: "Scripture says--'It is not on bread alone that man is to live.'"

"I will give you all this power, and the splendor of them; for it has been given into my hands and I give it to whom I wish.

If you, therefore, will do homage before me, it shall all be yours."

But Jesus answered him: "It is said--'Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.'"

The book given him was that of the Prophet Isaiah; and Jesus opened the book and found the place where it says--

'The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, For he has consecrated me to bring Good News to the poor, He has sent me to proclaim release to captives and restoration of sight to the blind, To set the oppressed at liberty,

Then, closing the book and returning it to the attendant, he sat down. The eyes of all in the Synagogue were fixed upon him,

All who were present spoke well of him, and were astonished at the beautiful words that fell from his lips. "Is not he Joseph's son?" they asked.

"Doubtless," said Jesus, "you will remind me of the saying-- 'Doctor, cure yourself;' and you will say 'Do here in your own country all that we have heard that has been done at Capernaum.'

And yet it was not to one of them that Elijah was sent, but to a widow at Zarephath in Sidonia.

And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the Prophet Elisha, yet it was not one of them who was made clean, but Naaman the Syrian."

Starting up, they drove Jesus out of the town, and led him to the brow of the hill on which their town stood, intending to hurl him down.

They were amazed at his teaching, because his words were spoken with authority.

In the Synagogue there was a man with the spirit of a foul demon in him, who called out loudly: