Page:Lazarus, a tale of the world's great miracle.djvu/212

200 High Priestship. "His mumbling words reach not the people's ears," Pilate had said in rough jocoseness to Tiberius; and so Annas had been deposed, and, to blunt the edge of his disappointment, his kinsman appointed in his place.

The two hurried along the street to the council chamber, already packed with all the rulers of the Synagogue, and all the chief priests and high officials.

While the two were walking through the crowd, the people pointed and hooted at them, and hoarse cries of: "Lazarus, Lazarus!" continually reached their ears.

Pontius Pilate, contrary, to his usual custom, was not present, a fact that gave great satisfaction to Caiaphas. A heated discussion at once began. It was evident that, in the face of such a miracle, two courses alone were open. One, the impossible one to the law-eaten, power-seeking Pharisees, that of acknowledging the God-given power of a good man, if not the divinity of the Son of God; the other, to lose no further time in putting Him to death. Nay, more, the Sadducees went so far as to say that Lazarus must also be destroyed.

"He is a living witness of this thing," said one; and Caiaphas shrugged his shoulders in impatience.

"Ye do speak as if this were indeed a miracle and Lazarus had been dead," he said.

"Nevertheless, this Man doeth many miracles."

"What shall we do?" said another.

Then Nicodemus, resolving to make one last attempt to use his high position for the service of the Lord, rose up and said: "Surely ye would not slay