"It Is Finished!" Words that will echo from Calvary Hill today — Good Friday.

One of my fascinations with the events of Holy Week as it pertains to human nature on this Good Friday has to do with Pontius Pilate — the man who adjudicates the trial of Christ and signs the death warrant. Here is a guy who was what they called "The Prefect" (the Romans equivalent to a Governor) of Judaea, who hated his assignment and wanted to be sent elsewhere, but Tiberius the Emperor of Rome for whatever reason kept Pilate overseeing the Jews. A troubled population in an outpost prone to riots and protests, especially when conflicts arose over Jewish religious customs and the behavior of Roman soldiers ruling over them. Pilate had been at that post longer than any of his predecessors — some theologians and scholars say as long as 10 years when 1 to 3 years was the norm.  Needless to say, he was not a happy camper and felt trapped in a job he supposedly hated.  Some say perhaps this is why he was so brutal!

So when this matter of a certain man, that followers were claiming to be the "Messiah" and thereby stirring up serious claims of 'Blasphemy' with the Pharisees (Holy Men) in the Temple arose, Pilate knew he had to prevent things from escalating since the Emperor was unhappy with the constant bad news coming out of Judaea.  But he, Pilate, was deeply conflicted by his own conscience.

At the so-called trial which was hurriedly put together, Pilate did not want to have Jesus killed despite the demands from the angry crowd calling for crucifixion. Pilate went as far as having Jesus severely flogged by soldiers just to satisfy that angry mob, but the flogging was not good enough for the mob chanting death!  Pilate would go further, offering the crowd two other hardened criminals to execute as opposed to the man from Nazareth, in whom he saw no fault. Even Pilate's own wife (who today is a Saint of the Greek Orthodox Church) tried to convince her husband that Jesus' life should be spared. The crowd was adamant!  Pilate even tried to put the problem off to someone else, sending Jesus to King Herod of Judea since Jesus was a Galilean and under Herod's jurisdiction. Herod sent Jesus right back to Pilate. Herod was essentially a "token King" as the real power was with the Roman Emperor-- Pilate's boss.  So Jesus was Pilate's problem as far as Herod was concerned.

So when the Holy Men switched from focusing on Blasphemy and instead argued that charges of Sedition/Treason against the Roman Emperor was more appropriate, since Christ was being called by His followers "King of the Jews", Pilate was left with no choice but to go with the demands of the crowd who began to equate Pilate's actions as a testament of his own loyalty to the Emperor-- putting Pilate in a bit of a serious mess. So, as conflicted as he was, he eventually stood before the crowd and literally washed his hands and told the crowd that "this man's blood is on your hands" .

Not too long after that on this Good Friday, it was finished!