Station I: Jesus is Condemned to Death

First Station: Jesus is Condemned to Death
Image from catholic.org

Pilate knew deep in his heart that Jesus did not deserve the death sentence. He wanted to release Him - even ordering Him to be flogged hoping that it would be enough for the Jewish leaders. But the Jewish leaders did not want to stop right there, they already had the upper hand and they must not give an opportunity for Jesus to get away from this situation. They don't want Him to be freed for they know that whatever happens to Him as long as He stays alive He would never stop preaching about them.

So they did everything possible to ensure that Pilate would never release Jesus even if their accusations against Him were not worth the Roman death sentence. And what else would help them get Pilate's approval of their cry for the crucifixion of Jesus? Pilate was a political appointee and he was assigned to a place that is known for rebellions. Pilate was not the first governor to administer Judea and his predecessors were ousted because of their inability to sustain the peace in the land. So they made hostage Pilate's precarious situation: if a rebellion under his administration would ensue he would be recalled to Rome and possibly get a bad reputation. And the Jewish leaders knew very well how they could make Pilate understand what would probably happen if he fails to give in to their demand. 

They told Pilate that Jesus claimed to be king and reminded him that anyone who claims to be king is an enemy of the emperor. This argument was beyond Pilate's capacity to turn around especially since Jesus Himself told him that He really is king even if His kingdom is not earthly in nature. Pilate could still release Jesus because he doesn't see him as an immediate danger to the empire. But the problem was that the Jewish leaders have already incited the people to demand for the crucifixion of Jesus and they were already becoming uncontrollable. Pilate was therefore faced with the problem of doing something that he believes is right and the possibility of incurring the ire of Rome if a rebellion takes place in Judea if he does not give in to the demands of the Jewish leaders.

And so even if he believes in the innocence of Jesus, he did what he personally did not want to do: give the order for the crucifixion of Jesus. In an attempt to manifest his freedom from guilt for such an action, he washed his hands which meant that he was assuming no responsibility for the action even if it was finally a decision that he made. For this reason, the Jewish leaders readily owned the responsibility for the blood of Jesus. 

Many times in our lives we face the same problem: of standing up for the truth, for goodness and for what is right against the possibility of losing earthly treasures, honor and influence. Many times we try to reason out and justify our actions even if these are clearly against what we believe is true, good or right. We try to find ways of going around simple arguments through technicalities in order to provide an explanation for a stand that is in conflict with what the Church teaches us. It's like washing our hands of the responsibility and the consequence of our actions and decisions that are inconsistent with our faith. We give in to the demands of the world and disregard the standard of God. We think first of our earthly needs and push the demands of religion, morality and spirituality to oblivion. 

This Lenten Season, we are given the opportunity to meditate on making God our priority in life. True faith requires that we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness before we demand from Him the things that we would need in our daily existence. We are being invited to reflect on the proper place of God, religion, spirituality and morality in our lives and how they should take precedence over and above the worldly, the mundane and the profane. 

Station II: Jesus carries His cross.  --->