It was early Friday morning in Jerusalem. Jesus stood in the judgement hall of the Roman governor. During the past three years he had walked the roads from town to town doing good. Speaking kindly. Healing people. Loving them. Teaching them.
No one had ever heard him speak in harsh tones. They had never seen cruel anger on his face. This morning there were soldiers around him and a crowd of curious onlookers. Outside the entrance was a group of angry priests and other officials and beyond them a mob of people in the courtyard. They were not there to ask jesus to heal them. They were not there even to thank him for the ones he had healed.
The problem was that most of these people had been listening to satan. Satan had put it into their hearts to listen to the angry leaders who accused jesus and demanded that the governor put him to death. They hated jesus or feared him because they felt guilty when they saw him doing good and being kind.
They could have chosen to ask him to help them to do good and be kind. But instead they listened to Satan. And satan makes people choose the selfish way. Satan was very angry with jesus. He had tried to kill him away back when he was a baby. But an angel of God haf brought the message to Joseph to take the baby and his mother to Egypt. That time jesus' life was spared.
Later Satan had tried to overcome jesus in the wilderness after his baptism. Day after day he followed him. Hoping ever hoping to make him sin. During all jesus' life on earth, Satan had tried to kill him. Now he put it into the hearts of these angry priests and rulers to accuse him of things he never did. Satan hoped that this would make jesus angry so that he would say mean things to the people.
If he could make jesus angry just once. Then Jesus would not have a perfect life to credit to us when we needed forgiveness. And we could excuse our anger and say that we have been that way. Then Satan would say. God cannot expect you to he always kind and never angry because he is not even that way himself.
But jesus prayed to his father. God in heaven. For power to resist Satan. The governor knew that jesus had done no wrong but he was afraid of the people. So he suggested that the soldiers whip him and let him go. But the angry leaders urged the mob to demand Jesus' Death. The mob cried. Crucify him. Crucify him. Kill him on the cross. At last the governor gave them what they wanted.
He sent jesus to be nailed to the cross by the Roman soldiers. Jesus had already suffered from the taunts and violence of the cruel soldiers. They put an old purple robe on him and mockingly called him king. They made a crown of thorns and pressed it on his head until blood ran down his face. They whipped him terribly with a kind of whip that had several leather thongs with sharp metal or bone points fastened to them.
Blood covered his back where the thongs cut his flesh. He was very weak because he had no sleep. The night before the soldiers had led him from one government office to another for trial. He was tired and hungry besides. And he hurt. Oh. So much. Satan was there stirring up cruel men to do more and more to him. If only we could force him to say one unkind word. To become angry just once. Thought satan.
He was so angry with jesus he didn't know what to do. But jesus' face showed gentleness and tender pity for his enemies. He was not being weak like a coward. Instead he was being strong to do right no matter how difficult it seemed. As some of the people looked at jesus. They thought. How different this man is. We have never seen one like him before. Others whom jesus had helped were there.
They cried in their hearts and in their eyes because they remembered that this was the man who had made their blind eyes to see. Their deaf ears to hear. Their lame feet to walk. They hoped that jesus would deliver himself from his enemies. How Satan and his angels watched every move. If only they could force jesus to do wrong. Finally some rough. Cruel soldiers brought a big. Ugly wooden cross. As they went out the gate of their court toward Golgotha. They put the cross on the back of jesus and told him to carry it.
