The Irony of Good Friday

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Jesus Before Pilate

15 Very early in the morning, the chief priests, with the elders, the teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, made their plans. So they bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. 2 “Are you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. 3 The chief priests accused him of many things. 4 So again Pilate asked him, “Aren’t you going to answer? See how many things they are accusing you of.” 5 But Jesus still made no reply, and Pilate was amazed. 6 Now it was the custom at the festival to release a prisoner whom the people requested. 7 A man called Barabbas was in prison with the insurrectionists who had committed murder in the uprising. 8 The crowd came up and asked Pilate to do for them what he usually did. 9 “Do you want me to release to you the king of the Jews?” asked Pilate,10 knowing it was out of self-interest that the chief priests had handed Jesus over to him. 11 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have Pilate release Barabbas instead. 12 “What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. 13 “Crucify him!” they shouted. 14 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!” 15 Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
There is a lot of irony in this passage.  
1. Pilate the cruel and ruthless ruler wants to pardon Jesus, but the people want to crucify him. 
2. The Jewish leaders wanted to crucify Jesus who is innocent, and pardon a known murderer.
3. Jesus told the people to pay their taxes to Caesar. 
4. Barabbas led an insurrection overthrow Caesar. 
Barabbas was set free and Jesus was crucified.  
Importantly Jesus did not say a word to stop it.  Although the ultimate injustice was being done to the sinless Son of God, he made no reply.  Jesus allowed the two powers of the day, the religious power of the Jewish leaders, and the political power of the Romans to come to a mutual agreement to crucify the Son of Man.  And I'm sure there was another power, a dark spiritual power, that thought it had finally won the day.  For a moment it seemed that everything and everyone had turned on Jesus. Even his disciples were nowhere to be found.  And he said nothing.  
Jesus chooses not to defend himself and be sentenced to crucifixion.  I don't know about you, but I like to defend myself whenever I feel slighted in the least bit. Not the Son of Man.  He uttered not a word.  I think this moment is one of Jesus' great moments of showing his true character.  And because of it we, like Barabbas, are the guilty ones who have been set free!   

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