Station 5: Pilate Sentences Jesus
Scripture
Mark 15:6-15: Now it was the custom at 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 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.
Reflect
Jesus stands falsely accused by some of the same people with whom he walked, who likely witnessed his miracles and heard his teachings. These people now cry out and demand his death, for him to be crucified. Still, Jesus continues to say yes to God and trusts Him fully. What might it have been like for Jesus to have been condemned to such a horrible and humiliating death on a cross, while knowing that at any time he had the power to stop it all? Consider how Jesus was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, it was my sins that condemned you to the cross; and I ask you to assist my soul in its journey toward eternity. Never permit me to separate myself from you again, and help me to grow in my love of God the Father and appreciate your sacrifice for me.