A third time he said to them, "Why, what evil has he done? I have found in him no ground for the sentence of death; I will therefore have him flogged and then release him." But they kept urgently demanding with loud shouts that he should be crucified; and their voices prevailed.
Luke 23:22-23
Jesus had been brought to Pontius Pilate, the Roman-appointed governor of Judea. by the council of elders of the people, saying that Jesus had been subverting the nation. Pilate said that he had nothing against this man. When he found out that Jesus was a Galilean, he decided to send him to Herod who had jurisdiction over him. Herod happened to be in Jerusalem for the Passover, and had wanted to see Jesus. After Jesus would do no miracles for him, he had Jesus dressed in a fancy robe and sent him back to Pilate.
Pilate said he could find no wrong in him. Therefore he wanted to have him scourged and released. Because this was the Passover time of the year, one of the criminals to be crucified could be let go. The crowd demanded that it not be Jesus, but a criminal known as Barabbas.
Even when Jesus had been mocked and beaten, he had the confidence that he would be set down at the right hand of God and that his triumph was sure. He never for a moment believed that men in the end would defeat the purposes of God.
There are still those who, have come to the conclusion that Jesus does not matter. To the Christian, so far from being of no importance, Jesus is the most important person in the universe.
Priscilla Hardesty
