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The Story of Jesus
and the control of the crowd. After that, he was only the tool of the
mob. They swayed him at their will. He then asked:
“What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ?”
With one accord they cried, “Let Him be crucified.
“And the governor said, Why, what evil hath He done?
“But they cried out the more, saying, Let Him be crucified.”
Matthew 27:22, 23
.
Pilate’s cheek paled as he heard the terrible cry, “Let Him be
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crucified.” He had not thought it would come to that. He had repeatedly
pronounced Jesus innocent, and yet the people were determined that
He should suffer this most terrible and dreaded death. Again he asked
the question:
“Why, what evil hath He done?”
And again was set up the awful cry, “Crucify Him, crucify Him.”
Pilate made one last effort to touch their sympathies. Jesus was
taken, faint with weariness and covered with wounds, and scourged in
the sight of His accusers.
“And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on His head,
and they put on Him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews!
And they smote Him with their hands.”
John 19:2, 3
.
They spit upon Him, and some wicked hand snatched the reed that
had been placed in His hand, and struck the crown upon His brow,
forcing the thorns into His temples, and sending the blood trickling
down His face and beard.
Satan led the cruel soldiery in their abuse of the Saviour. It was his
purpose to provoke Him to retaliation, if possible, or to drive Him to
perform a miracle to release Himself, and thus break up the plan of
salvation. One stain upon His human life, one failure of His humanity
to bear the terrible test, and the Lamb of God would have been an
imperfect offering, and the redemption of man a failure.
But He who could command the heavenly host, and in an instant
call to His aid legions of holy angels, one of whom could have immedi-
ately overpowered that cruel mob—He who could have stricken down
His tormentors by the flashing forth of His divine majesty—submitted
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with dignified composure to the coarsest insult and outrage.
As the acts of His torturers degraded them below humanity, into
the likeness of Satan, so did the meekness and patience of Jesus exalt
Him above humanity, and prove His kinship to God.