As we’ve looked at Jesus’ relationship

with crowds over the past few weeks, we

can’t help but wonder how things could turn

so fast from cheers on Palm Sunday to

cries for His execution on Good Friday.

“It has all come down to this one fateful day.

All the secrecy, the careful planning, the baited trap,

the suppressed fury— as well as the disorientation caused by this

man’s scandalous restraint and equally scandalous aggression.

The dissonance has proved to be too much: astonishing

compassion counterweighted

with unexpected intolerance; dizzying inclusivity matched with

the most shocking exclusion; categorical imperatives that no one

has the right to make coming from the most gracious person

anyone has ever known. All these have stretched emotions to a

razor’s wire. Hopes have been excited and crushed so many

times that taut nerves are about to snap, long-suffering patience

is ready to give way to lethal violence.”

In their “secret trial” in the late hours on

Thursday night/Friday morning; the Sanhedrin

found Jesus guilty of blasphemy since he

(correctly) claimed to be God. But they still

needed Roman help to be able execute him.

Pilate interrogates Jesus, at the request of

the Jewish leaders; since they claim

he is guilty of sedition and opposes paying taxes to Rome. Since Jesus claims his Kingdom is “not from this place”, Pilate finds

no basis for their charges.

Which of these 2 Do You Want?

Jesus Christ or Barabbas

“While Pilate waits for the crowd to make its decision, the chief priests and elders insinuate themselves among the people, persuading the arrivals to ‘ask

for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed’ (Matt. 27:20, Mark 15:11). This proves

to be much easier than expected. Their pageantry of exposure has worked

better than they could have hoped…

“…They play on the crushing heartbreak of centuries of disillusionment by

pointing up to their bloodied hero. His hands are tied, His eyes and cheekbones are bruised, and rivulets of blood have dried along the sides of His mouth. The

cloak provides a brutal parody of His Messianic claims. With their own eyes

they can see that Jesus was playing them for fools.” – Timothy Stoner

“With one voice” the crowd insistently calls for Jesus’ execution and the

release of Barabbas.

Attempting to find a middle ground to satisfy them, Pilate sends Jesus

away to be flogged as “punishment,” hoping to release him afterwards.

In John 19: 1-16, we see the flogging of Jesus and the aftermath of Pilate

presenting Jesus to the crowd.Their venom at seeing their “King”

mocked in such a way raises their fury even more, until finally Pilate feels forced

to consent to Jesus being crucified.

As Isaiah 53:6 states, every one of us are

accountable for our sins that required the death

of Jesus on the cross.

If we’re honest, it would have been easy to have gotten swept up in the “dark” mob mentality

of Good Friday.

Matthew 27: 24-2524 When Pilate saw that he was getting

nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed

his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,”

he said. “It is your responsibility!”25 All the people answered, “Let his

blood be on us and on our children!”

Ephesians 1:7“In [Jesus Christ] we have redemption

through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches

of God’s grace”