Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led Him away and handed Him over to Pilate.
“Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate.
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
The chief priests accused Him of many things. So again Pilate asked Him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed.
Now it was the custom of the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did.
“Do you want for me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate, knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead.
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them.
“Crucify Him!” they shouted.
“Why? What crime has He committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify Him!”
Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
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Pilate knew Jesus was innocent. He knew that Jesus had done nothing, and scripture said he was aware that the chief priests had handed him over in self-interest. And yet, he handed him over to be crucified. The comfort of satisfying the crowd was too enticing for him. How about you and I? Are there moments where the comfort of the people or our surroundings causes us to bite our tongues instead of speaking about Jesus? He was flogged…severely…for a crime He didn’t commit. Why? For you…and for me. This makes it no longer about comfort. It makes it about a soul-saving Savior who deserves our praise in every area of life…not just when it’s comfortable to do so. He was chained and flogged for you. It’s time we surrender all to Him.
A Journey With Jesus 