When the chief priests and the officers saw Him, they cried out,
‘Crucify him, crucify him.’
Pilate said,
‘Take him and crucify him yourselves, for I can find no crime in him.’
The Jews answered him,
‘We have a law that he should die, because he made himself out to be the Son of God.’
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid and went into the Praetorium again, taking Jesus with him.
He questioned Jesus,
‘Where did you come from?’
But Jesus did not give him and answer.
Pilate said to Him,
‘I have the power to release you or have you crucified.’
Jesus answered,
“You would have no power against me, except it was given to you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me up to you has the greater sin.”
Hearing this Pilate sought even more to release Jesus.
But the Jews cried out saying,
‘If you release him then you are no friend of Caesar’s. Everyone who makes himself a king is in opposition to Caesar.’
When Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat Him down on the judgment seat at a place called The Pavement, (in Hebrew it was called, Gabbatha.)
It was the Preparation of the Passover, about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews,
‘Behold your King.’
They cried,
‘Away with him, away with him. Crucify him!’
Pilate asked,
‘Shall I crucify your King?’
The chief priests cried out,
‘We have no king but Caesar.’
Finally, Pilate gave up. The harder he tried to release Jesus the more agitated the crowd became in their determination to have Christ crucified.
Pilate took water and washed his hands before the people. He said,
‘I am innocent of the blood of this righteous man.’
And the people answered and said,
‘His blood be on us, and on our children.’
Pilate then released Barabbas and turned Jesus over to them, to be crucified.
The Roman soldiers under Pilates authority led Jesus away to the Praetorim court where they gathered other soldiers.
And when they had gathered a band of soldiers together, they stripped Jesus and clothed Him again in purple robes, and again they placed the crown of thorns on His head and began mocking Him.
They kneeled down to Him and saluted Him, saying,
‘Hail, King of the Jews!’
And they spat on Him and struck His head with a stick and bowed their knees as if they were worshipping Him.
