Page:Apocryphal Gospels and Other Documents Relating to the History of Christ.djvu/431

Rh the ground, and said to him, Lord, the procurator calleth for thee.

Now Pilate, summoning the messenger, said to him, Why hast thou done this, and honoured Jesus who is called Christ? The messenger said to him, When thou sentest me to Jerusalem to Alexander, I saw him sitting on an ass, and the children of the Hebrews broke off branches from the trees and strewed them in the way; and some held branches in their hands; and some strewed their garments in the way, crying and saying, Save, then, thou who art in the highest; blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

The Jews cried out and said against the messenger, The children of the Hebrews cried out in Hebrew; how is it for thee, a Gentile, to know this? The messenger said to them, I asked one of the Jews and said, What is that which they cry out in Hebrew? and he explained it to me. Pilate said to them, How did they cry out in Hebrew? The Jews said, Hosanna in the highest. Pilate saith to them, How is Hosanna in the highest interpreted? They say unto him, Save us, thou who art in the highest. Pilate saith to them, If ye confirm the words and sayings with which the children cried out, what sin hath the messenger committed? And they were silent. The procurator, therefore, said to the messenger, Go out and bring him in as thou wilt. And the