The mangled-looking Man barely stands, a sobering symbol of Rome’s power to destroy. Pilate, wanting to leave it all behind and confident the brutal beating will satisfy the crowd’s call for justice, asks once again: “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called the Christ?”

Before the words are out of his mouth, a loud cry ensues: “Crucify Him! You crucify Him!”

“Me? But I believe He’s innocent. Tell me—what evil has He done? Take Him yourselves and crucify Him—I find no guilt in Him.”

Pilate knows his offer is an empty one, for the power to execute lies with him alone. Try as he might, he cannot extricate himself from this Man’s future.

Jesus struggles to keep His balance. He has lost so much blood, His head at times seems to float above Him. Standing here, He is the Only who really knows the details of how this drama will end. Does He wish He could just speak and be on His way to Golgotha? If this entire mob suddenly stopped to listen to Him, what would He say?

A high priest makes his voice heard above the crowd: “He says He is the Son of God, and by our laws, for this He must die.”

Superstitious fear grips Pilate upon hearing these words. Son of God? He hasn’t heard this charge before. Is this why his wife warned him to steer clear of this Man? Does He have mystical powers? Looking at the broken body beside him, it seems nothing could be farther from the truth.

Turning quickly, Pilate motions for them to bring Jesus back into the palace. He must get to the bottom of this.

“Where do you come from?” Knowing the answer already, Pilate gives Jesus a chance to deny the charges of a claim to Deity.

Jesus looks at him but says nothing.

“Why won’t You talk to me?” Pilate pleads, baffled again by His lack of self-defense. It is unheard of—truly the Man must be crazy.

“Don’t You understand that I have the power here, that with a word I can release You or crucify You?”

Staring off as if in a trance, Jesus smiles slightly. Is He moving through the caverns of His memory to a timE before the foundation of the world? Does He envision the moment before His incarnation when He stepped down from heaven to redeem humankind? Does He recall His agony of a few hours past when He made the choice to drink this very cup? What thoughts drive Him to finally respond to Pilate?

“You have no power over Me, except that which is given to you from above. The one who turned me over to you has the greater sin here.”

Pilate bristles at the affront to his authority, but senses a strange relief. He has done all he can do. He looks once more into the eyes of the Christ, frustrated at his failure to figure this odd fellow out. Shaking his head, he walks back onto the platform, leaving the prisoner behind with the guards.

Distant cries for execution tick like a time bomb in Jesus’ ears. But perhaps He garners a measure of strength in the words of truth He has just spoken. For though He feels His wounds with every excruciating move of His body, no one can take His life from Him—He alone has the power to lay it down.

Faces flash across his mind—fishermen, priests, prostitutes, mothers, children, tax collectors, doctors, friends, and enemies. In every countenance He sees a desperate need for a Redeemer. For these He came . . . for these He presses on.

Respond

Consider the weariness Jesus must have felt as He was constantly passed from one person to another. He allowed Himself to be completely at their mercy. Physically He must have been in torment. Take a few minutes to contemplate the physical and emotional state of Jesus at this time.

On many previous occasions, Jesus could have been arrested or killed, but He escaped (see John 8:59; 10:39). Reflect on the reality that every part of this story is preordained by the Father and chosen by the Son.

Earlier Jesus had prayed: “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You, even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life” (John 17:1–2 NASB).

To glorify means to confer honor, to praise, to magnify. Jesus seems to be saying that the Cross is an honor to Him and that through His death, the Father will glorify Him. Ponder this in light of His suffering. Consider this in light of His desire in verse 2—to give you eternal life. Write a prayer in which you glorify Christ—give Him the honor, praise, and worship due Him as He faces the Cross.

A Prayer

Do You call this glory, my Lord? I will never comprehend this thing—that You considered the Cross an honor when You could have commanded all heaven and earth to bow down before You. But though You despised the shame, this death You will soon embrace exalted You to heights I may never completely fathom. Let me see this, my Lord, that I might love Your glory as never before . . . the gruesome glory of redeeming love.

Reprinted by permission. Contemplating the Cross: a Forty Day Pilgrimage of Prayer, Tricia McCary Rhodes, 2004, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Copying or using this material without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited and in direct violation of copyright law.

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