It took all of these to be able to kill Jesus. Truth was not enough, courage was not enough, and decency was not enough.

First and foremost were the liars. They took Jesus to Pilate as they themselves were not allowed to bring the death penalty being Jews under Roman rule. So they made up something.

Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate.  And they began to accuse him, saying, “We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king.”

They say he opposed paying taxes to Caesar but this wasn’t the case. He had said, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s” when discussing taxes (Luke 20:20-26). It was plain and simple.

But the claim he was a king? There was some truth to it. But not a king that would lead a rebellion against Rome, but a king of the kingdom of heaven. But he was asked.

So Pilate asked Jesus, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

“You have said so,” Jesus replied.

After further investigation, Pilate could find no reason to bring the death penalty against Jesus. The only thing he could think of was to pass the responsibility on to Herod as Jesus would fall onto Herod’s jurisdiction. That’s when we see another lie come to the light.

The Pharisees had previously threatened Jesus to stop his activities saying Herod wanted to kill him. And now Jesus was going to stand before Herod.

Herod wanted entertainment. He wanted Jesus to do a miracle. Jesus kept quiet. Herod was irritated by this so he sent him back to Pilate.

Once again the chief priests, rulers and the people demanded Pilate crucify Jesus. Pilate again repeated he found no reason to crucify him.

But wanted to please the people and not cause trouble as that would make Rome mad, he gave in. He became a coward. He gave in to the people and released Barabbas, the murderer, and sent Jesus to be crucified.

So we see the liars in the Jewish people, and the coward among the leading Romans, but then there was the mockers. The reason people mock is that it’s the only way one can kill another. Mockery and murder go together.

This should give us some pause. There is a reason why both political parties are trying to mock the other. The results will not be good.

But among the liars, the cowards and mockers, there is light. And true courage.

Take for example Joseph, a member of the Jewish ruling Council. When everyone was fighting to convict Jesus, he stood his ground. He did not give in.

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man,  who had not consented to their decision and action.

We could also talk about the other guy on the cross who defended Jesus.

Or the Roman centurion who saw something different in Jesus.

And then there’s the women. They weren’t afraid of being associated with Jesus.

Jesus death was horrible. It was fulfilling prophecy. He knew it was coming. He was dying for our sins. But then he gives something disturbing.

A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.  Jesus turned and said to them, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the childless women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’  Then

“‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!”
    and to the hills, “Cover us!”’

For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

Jesus is predicting the Fall of Jerusalem where many would die. Women would lose their children and suffer agonizing grief. He says to them, in essence, if they did this to me, how much more will they do this to you? He has said these kinds of things before.

It’s a message to all followers of Christ.

Jesus was the one who led the way.