Mark 15:12-15
And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Crucify him." And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified."
Under pressure Pilate caved into the demands of the crowd. Under Pilates authority Jesus was judged by the Jews to have committed crimes against God and his law, and against Rome. The primary charge was a crime against the Roman emperor. They said he was a tax cheat. They said he was assuming the position of king. Jesus was being treated like an insurrectionist. They scourged Jesus to get him to confess these crimes. He did not say a word. They accused him of many things, and he never said a word.
Luke 23:7
"And when he [Pilate] learned that he [Jesus] belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time."
And Herod tested Jesus. Accused him of the false rumors that were circulating about Jerusalem. And he directly asked Jesus to perform miracles for him. And again, Jesus did not respond. Herod, a horrible human being, was judging Jesus. He was afraid that John the Baptist had come back from the dead in the form of Jesus. So, Jesus disappoints Herod. In response Herod dresses Jesus in very fine robes and treats him like a joke. He sends him back to Pilate because he's judged Jesus to be of no consequence. He sees Jesus as ridiculous. He ridiculed him and sent him away.
Again Jesus faces Pilate to be judged guilty. Pilate had tried to rid himself of this situation. Pilate washes his hands of this judgment and allows the Jews to have Jesus executed.
The Jews judged Jesus guilty.
Matthew 27:25
And all the [Jewish] people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!"
The Roman soldiers mocked him, beat his head and crowned him with a horrible crown of thorns.
Do you think Jesus was thinking about the curse that God had condemned mankind with for their sin in the garden? Cursing the ground and saying they will sweat and toil in the earth and thorns will be their reward for their work. Now Jesus wears that curse on his head. And soon he'll bear the curse in his cross.
"For he that is hanged on a tree is accursed of God" (Deuteronomy 21:22-23)
Jesus is condemned by all these people. He's been judged both innocent by Pilate, and guilty by the rest. And every day since then, for more than two thousand years now, he's been judged. You. Me. Everyone born into this world since that crucifixion is making a judgement in regard to Jesus. They are judging who he truly is, and to what extent he is of concern to them.
The soldiers led him away for you and me. They clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him for you and me. They mocked him, hailing him as the king of the Jews for you and me. And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him for you and me. They brought him to the place called Golgotha for you and me. And there they crucified him for you and me.
And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And he died there on that tree for you and me.
The veil in the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. The Jews are now judged guilty by God. The Spirit of God left them in that hour. The covenant was broken in that hour. They had murdered the Son of God.
Though it was still daytime there was darkness over the whole land.
Mark 15:39
And when the Centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!"
Another judgement.
Do you agree with the Centurion? Do you trust his eyewitness testimony?
How could this happen?
Who's to blame?
You decide.
You be the judge.
But understand this. Jesus has already judged the world. So, no matter what you conclude, nothing you say, in objection or affirmation, has any bearing on his decision. His determination for the future of all mankind is finished. Now it is only a judgment you make for yourself. You can't make it for anyone else. You are your own judge. It is on you.
What will you decide?
No pressure.