1: Jesus is condemned to death

"Pilate again said to [The Crowd] in reply, 'Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the king of the Jews?' They shouted again, 'Crucify him.' Pilate said to them, 'Why? What evil has he done?' They only shouted the louder, 'Crucify him.' So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified. " - Mark 15:12-15

Pilate is in a tough spot. The chief priests have the crowd all riled up - and Pilate knows if he doesn't acquiesce to their demands, he may have a full riot on his hands. But in the canon of the passion, he's the lucky one to be the final word on the status of Jesus's execution. And it's not a good decision for Jesus.

And he decides as any governor of the time would have - one man's life to save that of many more. Should there have been a riot, no doubt many would have been killed - many by Pilate's hands. And while I'm sure Jesus's human side was quietly hoping for a decision favoring both he and Barabbas, he too must have known the stakes. And in a very real, but often forgotten way, the decision to execute Jesus resulted in many lives saved. Only, in this case, it's in a physical sense.

Later on that day, our spirits would be saved - once and for all.


*Special Note: For many Christians, this is the start of Holy Week, a week that is spent reflecting on Jesus's sacrifice for all. I will be publishing Lectio Divinas based on Jesus's road to the cross, using the modern "Stations of the Cross" as a guide. The images come from the GNU-licensed images of the Stations on display at Church of Notre-Dame-des-Champs. The full set (along with the license) can be viewed on Wikipedia here. I will do my best to publish all 14 during this year's Holy Week.