The Roman ritual of condemnation was fixed and even with our modern ideas of the subconscious we can see how effective they were at destroying the person not just physically, but mentally, emotionally and spiritually too. No wonder that the man Jesus cried out: ''My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?'' All Jesus could see was black-in His heart and with His physical eyes. Who would really have thought that a man who had done no wrong whatsoever could die in such a terrible way? The Judge condemned Jesus and then called on the soldiers to prepare the cross. He was now in their hands and they could do what they liked with Him. These were battle-hardened veterans who would have enjoyed the sport of being let lose on this innocent victim. We may think that, besides the cruel hatred of the Jews-the religious leaders and the mob- and the cowardly indecisiveness of Pilate that this would have been the least of Jesus's issues, but that human beings, who had no personal issue with Him, could treat Him in such a horrific way must have torn to shreds any ideas of the essential civilised nature of people. Please recognise that others are capable of doing terrible things today and that we are capable too, especially by behaving like Pilate and turning a blind eye to injustices!
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See AllIt is important to note that Mark's Gospel originally ended at verse eight of the sixteenth chapter, the other verses do not appear in any of the manuscripts discovered and are a later addition whic
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Personally, I find it hard to read passages narrating Jesus' death. The language is used sparingly in each of the Gospel accounts, but it still makes for a tough read if the reader has any imaginati
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This passage reminds us of the power of the Roman state. They could do whatever they liked in Judea. Yes, there were rules to enable a smooth governance, but when things needed to happen they exerte
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