Herod continued to question Jesus in this rapid manner; but our Lord did not vouchsafe a reply.  I was shown (as indeed I already knew) that Jesus was thus silent because Herod was in a state of excommunication, both on account of his adulterous marriage with Herodias, and of his having given orders for the execution of St. John the Baptist.  Annas and Caiphas, seeing how indignant Herod was at the silence of Jesus, immediately endeavoured to take advantage of his feelings of wrath, and recommenced their accusations, saying that he had called Herod himself a fox; that his great aim for many years had been the overthrow of Herod’s family; that he was endeavouring to establish a new religion, and had celebrated the Pasch on the previous day.  Although Herod was extremely enraged at the conduct of Jesus, he did not lose sight of the political ends which he wished to forward.  He was determined not to condemn our Lord, both because he experienced a secret and indefinable sensation of terror in his presence, and because he still felt remorse at the thought of having put John the Baptist to death, besides which he detested the High Priests for not having allowed him to take part in the sacrifices on account of his adulterous connection with Herodias.

But his principal reason for determining not to condemn Jesus was, that he wished to make some return to Pilate for his courtesy, and he thought the best return would be the compliment of showing deference to his decision and agreeing with him in opinion.  But he spoke in the most contemptuous manner to Jesus, and turning to the guards and servants who surrounded him, and who were about two hundred in number, said:  ’Take away this fool, and pay him that homage which is his due; he is mad, rather than guilty of any crime.’

Our Lord was immediately taken into a large court, where every possible insult and indignity was heaped upon him.  This court was between the two wings of the palace, and Herod stood a spectator on a platform for some time.  Annas and Caiphas were by his side, endeavouring to persuade him to condemn our Saviour.  But their efforts were fruitless, and Herod answered in a tone loud enough to be heard by the Roman soldiers:  ‘No, I should act quite wrongly if I condemned him.’  His meaning was, that it would be wrong to condemn as guilty one whom Pilate had pronounced innocent, although he had been so courteous as to defer the final judgment to him.

When the High Priests and the other enemies of Jesus perceived that Herod was determined no to give in to their wishes, they dispatched emissaries to that division of the city called Acre, which was chiefly inhabited by Pharisees, to let them know that they must assemble in the neighbourhood of Pilate’s palace, gather together the rabble, and bribe them to make a tumult, and demand the condemnation of our Lord.  They likewise sent forth secret agents to alarm the people by threats of the divine vengeance if they did not insist on the execution of Jesus, whom