"Crucify him!"
Herod was greatly pleased that Jesus was finally standing before him, ragged though he looked. Herod hoped that Jesus would perform some wild miracle in his presence; word was out about all the people he had healed! Plying Jesus with many questions to get him going, he gave no answer, even though the chief priests and the teachers of the law were vehemently accusing him. Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked Jesus--even dressing our Lord in an elegant robe before they sent him back to Pilate. Herod and Pilate were both in town to watch over the throngs of Passover pilgrims; before this, they had been enemies, but now they found themselves sharing common feelings.
While Pilate was sitting on the judge's seat, his wife sent him this message: "Don't have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him."
Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined him in your presence and have found no basis for your charges against him. Neither has Herod, for he sent him back to us; as you can see, he has done nothing to deserve death. Therefore, I will punish him and release him."
Just who was Pilate? History remembers Pontius Pilate either very negatively, as a cruel man who hated the Jews, or more sympathetically as a governor who had a very difficult job ruling a province with a very unruly population, which easily took offense to his actions. Ordinarily he resided in Caesarea, but was in town to keep Jewish Passover fervor in check. When the Sanhedrin brought Jesus to him, Pilate heard their charges against him, but declared Jesus innocent three times. It is possible to see a progression in Pilate's attitude toward Jesus, moving from contempt at the beginning, cynicism when he asked "What is truth?" to awe, when Jesus spoke his greater authority.* Pilate could not find Jesus guilty of the charges against him, and so told the people that he would punish and then release him.
'Punish Jesus?? Hoping a flogging would placate the Jews, Pilate thought there would be no further talk of execution. Indeed, the flogging 'took place, it would appear, on the platform where the trial had been held, with everyone watching. Jesus was stripped and stretched against a pillar, or bent over a low post, his hands tied, so that he had no means of defending himself. The instrument of torture was a sort of cat-o'-nine-tails, with bits of iron and bone attached to the ends of the thongs. Not only did the blows cut the skin and draw blood, but in these sort of floggings, the victim frequently died in the midst of the operation. Out of consideration for Jesus, Pilate may have moderated either the number or the severity of the strokes; but, he could not, as his plan of releasing him depended on his being able to show the Jews that Jesus had suffered severely.'
So Jesus was mercilessly flogged while the crowd watched? Who could stand and watch the brutal torture of a helpless much less, innocent man? How could they bear seeing the rabbi who had taught and loved like no other violently scourged?
Hmmm . . . I can't help but wonder what faces could be found in that crowd.
~>Was the blind man who had sat by the gate of Jericho, given sight by Jesus just days before? ~>Where was Zacchaeus, whose life had been irrevocably changed by Jesus of Nazareth?
~>How about his disciples-where were his closest friends in the world? ~>And Lazarus, who he had raised from the dead?
~>Where was the wedding host who Jesus saved from shame when he ran out of wine? Do you remember how Jesus turned the water into fine wine?
Did they ALMOST stand up for Jesus? Did they ALMOST step forward? I wonder if I would have yelled, 'Stop!' at my own peril, but because it was the right thing to do. Hmmm . . . Would you have come to the defense of Jesus?
Instead, the people all cried out together, "Away with this Man, and release to us Barabbas," a man who had been thrown into prison for an insurrection and murder. Pilate addressed them once more, desiring to release Jesus, but they kept shouting, "Crucify, crucify him!" A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no guilt deserving death. I will therefore punish and release him." But they urgently demanded that Jesus should be crucified. And their voices prevailed. Pilate released the man who had been thrown into prison for insurrection and murder, for whom the people asked-- 'he delivered Jesus over to their will.'
And so the procession toward the crucifixion, the grueling trek toward Golgotha began. Weak as he was, Jesus buckled under the weight of the cross, so the soldiers grabbed one Simon of Cyrene to carry it for him, and he fell in step with the crowd, deafened by the sound of weeping, wailing women. Can you just imagine it? Our Lord suffered voluntarily for you and for me.
Christine
Pastorwoman.com
The biblical accounts from Luke 23 and Matthew 27.
The Words and Works of Jesus Christ, Pentecost
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