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Numbers 25: v. 1 to 8. (38) Mark 15: v. 7 to 12. Luke 23: v. 2 to 23. (39) Deut. 21, v. 22. 26o A QUESTION OF MIRACLES nailed him up between two thieves, and even one of these insulted him while on the cross. (40) But the other repented, and, if the record be true, he is now in the heavenly kingdom, while the impenitent one is roasting in the furnace. The Jews, even while Jesus was groaning on the tree, would not let him die without taunts and jeers. They marched past him and railed at him, wagging their heads, saying : "Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself and come down now from the cross," and the priests and Scribes added their jeers: "He saved others, himself he cannot save." (41) Pilate, who despised the Jews, wrote in bitter irony this superscription, which he caused to be nailed above Jesus' head : "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews." The priests, when they saw this, rushed ofY to Pi- late and besought him to write — "He said he was the King of the Jews." Pilate replied : "What I have written, I have written," and he refused to change a word. (42) Meanwhile four soldiers were on guard at the foot of the cross, and one of them, on hearing him say, "Eloi, Eloi, lama, sabachthani," thought he was call- ing Elias, and ran and filled a sponge with vinegar (40) Matt. 27: v. 44, says: "The thieves," meaning both, but Luke 23: v. 42 and 43, states that one thief repented. John, who says he was present, was not inspired on that point and tajs nothing. Mark 15: v. 32, does not agree with Luk. (41) Mark 15: v. 28 to 31. (42) John 9: v. 21 and 22. A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 261 and gave him to drink, saying, "Let us see if Elias will come to take him down." (43) Directly after this, Jesus swooned away. He had been on the cross only about three hours, and it was now three o'clock in the afternoon, Friday (Nisan), our April 3. Section 7. There was an old custom among the Jews, that the body of one who had died on the cross should be buried that day, lest the land be defiled. (44) Moreover, the next day being the Jewish Sabbath, the Jews besought Pilate that the legs of the crucified might be broken and the bodies taken away. They broke the legs of the others, but when they came to Jesus they found him "dead already," and did not break his legs; but a soldier, it is said, pierced his side with a spear, and blood and water came forth. John is the only one who mentions this incident of the spear, and John is very iinreliahle. It must be noticed here that Jesus was on the cross only three hours. A young man in good health could endure the agony of the cross for two days, and some- times for three days, and even longer. The two thieves were killed by breaking their legs, but Jesus, we are told, was dead before the spear touched him. This looks strange: he probably had swooned, only swooned. (43) Matt. 27: v. 46 to 49. Mark 15: v. 34 to 36. John 13: V. 23 and 24. It was not a strong, stupefying drink. Matt. 27: V. 34, says gall and vinegar. The drink was to lessen pain, aad gall and vinegar would not. (44) Deut. 21, v. 23. CHAPTER XXII Contradictory Testimony Concerning the Crucifixion. There are cases where men of great physical vigor have hung upon the cross four days, and then only died of starvation. ( i ) There are cases where, after a considerable period on :he cross, they have been taken down and restored to health. (2) Jesus was not an invalid ; he was able to cry with a loud voice just before he "expired," and "he cried agaiji with a loud voice." (3) He was also able to talk to his mother, and his aunt, and Mary Magdalene and others, just before he swooned. No doubt he had only swooned. (4) Jesus' last words were : "Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit;" and, after crying with a loud voice, it is said he gave up the ghost. (5) There was no sudden rupture of any vein or blood vessel, or some mention would have been made of it. Such (1) Eusebius, His. Eccl. VIII, 8. (2) Josephus, 75, vita, mentions a case where three of his friends were hung on the cross, and, being taken down, one of them recovered. (3) Mark 15: v. 33 and 37. Matt. 27: v. 46 to 50. Luke 23: V. 46. (4) John 19: v. 25 to 30, is the only one of the four canonical writers who mentions this incident of the spear. The three others seem to know nothing about it. (5) Matt. 27: v. 50. Luke 23: v. 46. 262 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 263 a rupture would at that instant have caused the blood to gush from his nose and mouth. Moreover, it must not be overlooked that John is the only one of the four New Testament writers who makes any mention of the supposed incident that a spear was thrust into Jesus' side, and that is a very important circumstance in this world-renowned event. This alleged sudden death of a young man thirty- two or thirty-three years of age, after only three hours on the cross, when taken in connection with his al- leged appearance a few hours afterwards, when he was traveling about the country and ate a broiled fish and a piece of honey comb, compels me to question his absolute decease. Moreover, when Joseph of Ari- mathea visited Pilate and begged the body of Jesus, it is no wonder that Pilate marveled that Jesus was already dead, and he sent the captain of the guard to inquire about it. (6) Joseph, having obtained leave, took the body, wrapped it in linen cloth and laid it in a new sepulchre. But Nicodemus, as we shall see directly, did not bring, as John states, any aloes ; neither did he assist in put- ting Jesus' body into that sepulchre. Now, as to that spear-thrust. Neither Luke nor Matthew nor Mark seem ever to have heard anything about it. Yet they each wrote a history of the cruci- fixion, but as to the supposed spear incident they are absolutely silent. And when we examine all the records and find that John of the Fourth Gospel is the only (6) Mark 15: v. 44 and 45. 264 A QUESTION OF MIRACLES person of the four who tells us that story of the spear, we trace his record back and find that he is always an extremist and an uncertain guide. For he auda- ciously says Jesus made the world (7), and (8) tells us that Jesus was God. There are some other things to be noticed just here. Matthew says Joseph of Arimathea took Jesus' body down from the cross and laid it in his own new tomb, etc. (9), but he makes no mention whatever of Nico- demus being present at the crucifixion, or of any spear having been thrust into Jesus' side. Mark tells us (10) that the veil of the temple was rent from top to bottom, but he does not mention Nicodemus as being present either at the crucifixion, or the placing of the body in the tomb. Moreover, Mark is as silent as a dead man about the thrusting of that spear. He seems never to have heard a word about it. Luke (11) says Joseph went to Pilate and begged the body of Jesus, and took it and wrapped it in linen, etc., but he is silent about any spear having been thrust into Jesus' side. He makes no mention of it. Nor does he men- tion that Nicodemus was present at the crucifixion. Not only was Nicodemus not present at the cruci- fixion, but we shall see (12) that he believed Jesus had escaped into the woods. In fact, Jesus was able to (7) John 1, V. 10. (8) John 14, V. 9. (9) Matt. 27, V. 58 to 60. (10) Ch. 15, V. 38-46. (11) Ch. 23, V. 50 to 56. (12) Ch. 31, V. 83. A QUESTION OF MIRACLES 265 travel about the country as early as Sunday morning. (13) Mark also confirms this. (14) Matthew tells us that Jesus was able to travel about sixty miles to Galilee within two days after being nailed to the cross. (15) The reader must be warned that John of the Fourth Gospel is very careless about the truth, for he says: 'They took Jesus and led. him away. He, bear- ing his cross, went forth," etc. (16) Matthew con- tradicts John here, for he says they compelled a man of Gyrene, Simon by name, to bear the cross. (17) Mark also contradicts John and agrees with Mat- thew that they compelled Simon to bear the cross. (18) Luke (19) likewise contradicts John and agrees with Matthew and Mark that Simon bore the cross. There is no certain proof that John's Gospel was in existence before A. D. 140. Nor is there any cer- tain proof that John, the son of Zebedee, ever wrote it.