The trial and the scourging

by Jack
(Manila, Philippines)

After Jesus' arrest, He was first taken to Annas, and then was interrogated by Caiaphas. The Sanhedrin prejudiced false witnesses against Him but even they did not agree. Then Caiaphas asked whether or not He was the Son of God. Jesus affirms this and the Sanhedrin held Him guilty. He received blows, spits and mockery in the night. Afterwards, He was taken to Pilate on charges of sedition. Pilate questioned Jesus if He was the King of the Jews. Jesus affirmed it, its just that, their notion of His Kingship was dead wrong. His Kingdom, is not of this world and He came to bear witness to the truth. Pilate said, "What is truth?". But knowing from the Pharisees that He came from Galilee, he sent Jesus to Herod Antipas. Herod only questioned Jesus about His miracles to which He did not consent. After mocking Him and dressing Him in an elegant robe, He was sent to Pilate. Pilate remembered the Passover amnesty and he thought this could be a perfect opportunity to release Jesus because he was holding captive a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. Little did he realize that the Pharisees and the scribes are stirring up the crowd to release Barabbas over Jesus. They even screamed His death before Pilate. Pilate released Barabbas and in order to save Jesus, he ordered Him scourged. The whips that the Romans use against Him was the flagrum, otherwise known as the cat of nine tails. They whipped Jesus until He could hardly look human, thus fulfilling Isaiah's prophecy.

Are we like Caiaphas seeing evil and jealousy to others around us? Are we also like Pilate driven to fear that we will lose our reputation? Are we also like Herod who only takes God for granted? Are we also like the soldiers who disrespect human dignity when they scourged Jesus?

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