63. Bearing the Cross

The people answered Pilate's question about what to do with Jesus. They wanted him killed. But Pilate knew that because it was PassoVer, he could let one prisoner go free.

"I am letting Jesus go. He has done nothing that he should be put to death for," Pilate said.

"Do away with him," the people yelled. "Free Barabbas!"

Barabbas was another prisoner being held on a murder charge.

"But if I give you Barabbas, what will I do with Jesus?" Pilate asked.

"Crucify him! Crucify him!" the people shouted.

What the people said saddened Pilate. Still, he had to do what the people wanted or else they might start a riot in protest. He asked that a bowl of water be brought to him. With all the people watching, Pilate rinsed his hands.

"I am washing the innocent blood of Jesus from my hands," he said. "I'll not be responsible for what happens to him now."

The soldiers quickly carried out the order given to them. They took Jesus away, stripped off his clothes, and beat him. Then they threw a purple robe over his shoulders. One soldier twisted a thorny vine into a crown shape and put it on Jesus' head.

"Hail to the King of the Jews!" they shouted.

Some took reeds and hit Jesus' head. They kneeled down before him, spitting on him while others stood by and laughed.

Once they finished with their cruel jokes, the soldiers pulled the robe away and gave Jesus back his clothes. They brought out the wooden cross on which Jesus would be crucified. Jesus was too weak to carry the cross himself, so they made a man traveling on the road carry it for him.

The man's name was Simon. He was a Jew from another country. Simon walked with the group, carrying Jesus' cross up to a place called Golgotha, or "place of the skull."

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