Innocent of any crime

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"Pilate therefore said to Him, 'Are you a king then?' Jesus answered, 'You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth, hears My voice.' Pilate said to Him, 'What is truth?' And when he had said this he went out to the Jews and said to them. 'I find no fault in Him at all.' "  John 18:37-38  NKJV

Jesus knew His fate. He knew that He had been born to be crucified for the sin of the world. His disciples could not comprehend this. I suppose if we had been there at the time, we would have felt the same.

To celebrate the Passover, Jesus held the Last Supper in the upper room of a house in the city. During this time, they ate and prayed and Jesus washed their feet. This is the significance of Maundy Thursday - the ritual that some Christians hold, which involves the washing of people's feet. Others call Maundy Thursday - Holy Thursday. Whatever, it was a time where Jesus spent quality time with them and revealed that one of them, would betray Him. This obviously bothered them and they questioned each other about this.

After the meal, Jesus took them to The Garden of Gethsemane, where He left them for a short while while He poured out His heart to the Father. He became so full of anguish as He prayed, 'Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from me; nevertheless, not My will but Yours be done.' (Luke 22:42)

Jesus knew there was no other way. He would face what was expected of Him. The wrestle between His spiritual side and His human side must have been so stressful for Him.

Once he had settled this, He left the garden with His disciples but was approached by Judas Escariot, who kissed Him, which was a sign to the chief priests, the captains of the temple and the elders, that this was the man. He betrayed Jesus for a few pieces of silver.

Jesus was arrested and taken to the chief priests house where He had to undergo a trial where false accusations, lies and judgement were placed upon Him. After this ordeal He was handed over to Pontius Pilate, the Roman Governor of Judea for sentencing. The Jews could not put a man to death, but Pilate had the authority to have Jesus crucified. 

It was a complete shambles of a trial. Totally false and unfair. But Jesus hardly said a word in His defence. Pilate had found no fault in Him when He had spoken with Him. However, he recognised the pressure that was upon himself, so therefore, he washed his hands of it all, and gave the Jews their wishes. There really was nothing else to say; the chief priests and elders had decided they wanted Jesus executed and this was their opportunity to get Him out of the way.

Imagine how Jesus was feeling at the time - His humanity must have been tested so much. And what about the Father. It had to be done, Jesus had to pay the price of everyone's sin in order to give us freedom. However, this was the Father's only son. He must have been emotionally affected.

The disciples, apart from being bewildered by His arrest must have been desperate, wondering how this would all turn out. Peter, who had denied Jesus, as Jesus had predicted He would, must have felt awful, as the events of the evening and early morning unfolded. 
How would you have felt if you had been there. Can you picture yourself there at the time. Just for a few moments, try and meditate on what you would be seeing and how you would be feeling. It would have been a frightening time. Jesus had suffered a terrible ordeal at this false trial, but there was far more to come, as we will see tomorrow.

  Copyright 2019 Grahame Howard  

dailylifewithjesus@protonmail.com