1 And straightway in the morning the Chief Priests held a consultation with the elders and Scribes and the whole council, and bound Jesus, and carried him away, and delivered him to Pilate.
2 And Pilate asked him, Art thou the king of the Jews ? And he answer-- iug said unto him, Thou say est it.
3 And the Chief Priests accused him of many things : but he answered nothing.
4 And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing ? be- hold how many things they witness against thee.
5 But Jesus yet answered nothing ; so that Pilate marvelled.
6 Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired.
7 And there was one named Barab- bas, which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insur- rection.
8 And the multitude crying aloud began to desire him to do as ne had ever done unto them.
9 But Pilate answered them, say- ing, Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews %
10 For he knew that the Chief Priests had delivered him for envy.
11 But the Chief Priests moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them.
12 And Pilate answered and said again unto them, What will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the King of the Jews ?
13 And they cried out again, Cru- cify him.
i4 Then Pilate said unto them, Why, what evil hath he done ? And they cried out the more exceedingly, Crucify him.
15 And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged hitn, to be crucified.
These verses begin the chapter in which St. Mark de- scribes the slaying of " the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." It is a part of the G-ospel history which should always be read with peculiar reve- rence. We should call to mind, that Christ was cut off, not for Himself, but for us. (Dan. ix. 26.) We should remember that His death is the life of our souls, and that unless His \iood had been shed, we must have perished miserably in our sins.