#HolyWeek2021 – Good Friday Reflection 4: Jesus Stands Before Herod and Pilate

Our Good Friday reflections continue. My name is John, and we return to the Gospel according to Luke, chapter 22, as Jesus stands before Pilate and Herod, in a mock trial:

⁶⁶At daybreak the council of the elders of the people, both the chief priests and the teachers of the law, met together, and Jesus was led before them. ⁶⁷‘If you are the Messiah,’ they said, ‘tell us.’

Jesus answered, ‘If I tell you, you will not believe me, ⁶⁸and if I asked you, you would not answer. ⁶⁹But from now on, the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the mighty God.’

⁷⁰They all asked, ‘Are you then the Son of God?’

He replied, ‘You say that I am.’

⁷¹Then they said, ‘Why do we need any more testimony? We have heard it from his own lips.’

¹Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. ²And 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.’

³So Pilate asked Jesus, ‘Are you the king of the Jews?’

‘You have said so,’ Jesus replied.

⁴Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, ‘I find no basis for a charge against this man.’

⁵But they insisted, ‘He stirs up the people all over Judea by his teaching. He started in Galilee and has come all the way here.’

⁶On hearing this, Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean. ⁷When he learned that Jesus was under Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent him to Herod, who was also in Jerusalem at that time.

⁸When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform a sign of some sort. ⁹He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰The chief priests and the teachers of the law were standing there, vehemently accusing him. ¹¹Then Herod and his soldiers ridiculed and mocked him. Dressing him in an elegant robe, they sent him back to Pilate. ¹²That day Herod and Pilate became friends – before this they had been enemies.

Take a moment, and reflect: How would you feel if someone washed their hands of you? How would it feel to have no one on your side? Place yourself in Jesus’ position. Imagine the heartache. Imagine the feeling of abandonment. Jesus had done nothing wrong, yet they still cried, “Crucify him!” And Pilate literally washed his hands of Jesus. We are responsible for the blood that was spilled. We are responsible for crucifying Jesus. Meditate on this in prayer.

Our next reflection is available from: 4pm.