| |
Back and forth between Pilate and Herod was Jesus taken, as the leaders of the Jews tried to get their judgment confirmed. It was the custom at the time of the Passover to pardon one prisoner, and Pilate wished to release Jesus, but the priests insisted that he release a robber named Barabbas instead.
"What shall I do with this man Jesus? Pilate asked them.
"Crucify Him!" came the terrible cry. "Crucify
Him!"
"But I do not find Him guilty of any of any offense,"
Pilate answered.
"I will have Him whipped to satisfy you, and let Him go."
But the priests and the angry mob would not hear of this. They told Pilate that if he let the Man go, he would be false to his Emperor. And Pilate brought Jesus before the multitude, saying: "Behold the man. Behold your king!" Jesus stood before them, shoulders bowed, but with an inexpressible divinity shining on His face,
drawn though it was with pain and lack of sleep. On His noble head His tormentors had thrust a mock crown, woven of the branches of a thorn tree, until the thorns had pricked His skin and made the blood run. On His bare back were the cruel welts caused by the flogging He had already received at their unthinking hands.
"He is not our king!-"' the maddened people cried. "We know no king but the Emperor. Crucify the Nazarene!"
The mob went wild. They madly cried for the death of Jesus. They no longer could think clearly. As always with people in crowds, they were like wolves in their madness. And Pilate saw that he could do nothing against them, much as he would have liked to free the Nazarene.
