Now Jesus stood before the governor; and the governor asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus said, "You say so." But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he did not answer. Then Pilate said to him, "Do you not hear how many accusations they make against you?" But he gave him no answer, not even to single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
Now at the festival the governor was accustomed to release a prisoner for the crowd, anyone whom they wanted. At that time they had a notorious prisoner, called Jesus Barabbas. So after they had gathered, Pilate said to them, "Whom do you want me to release for you, Jesus Barabbas or Jesus who is called the Messiah?" For he realized that it was out of jealousy that they had handed him over. While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for today I have suffered a great deal because of a dream about him."
Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus killed. The governor again said to them, "Which of the two do you want me to release for you?" And they said, "Barabbas." Pilate said to them, "Then what should I do with Jesus who is called the Messiah?" All of them said, "Let him be crucified!" Then he asked, "Why, what evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Let him be crucified!" So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." Then the people as a whole answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified.

The contrast between the two central characters of this drama could not be starker. One was a man of great power, at least on the surface. Pilate had the authority of the Roman emperor behind him as he governed the province of Palestine. Jesus, on the other hand, was a prisoner in chains at the mercy of the governor. His situation was one that suggested terrible weakness.

Realities are often different from appearances. Faced with the decision of whether to condemn Jesus to death, the powerful Pilate feared the ire of the religious leaders who were so adamant that Jesus should die. He knew that Jesus was innocent, but he turned to the crowd to make the hard decision for him. When they wanted Jesus crucified, Pilate was more than willing to absolve himself from any blame for a miscarriage of justice. They made him do it, you see.

Jesus stood there silently in this sad episode, only answering one question from Pilate. He could have torn the leaders' accusations to shreds, but he chose silence instead. He could have killed the whole lot of them with a word, but he remained quiet. Nothing would deter him from his mission. He came to die for us, and he would not shrink from the divine destiny that was his and his alone.

Jesus won this battle. Let us remain steadfast in the mission he has given his church just as he was steadfast in his mission on our behalf.