Preparatory Prayer: Lord, help me to understand the depth of the love you showed for me by dying on the cross for my sins. Open my heart to allow your love to come in and guide all of the actions of my life. 

Petition: Lord, give me the strength to carry the difficulties and sufferings of my life as you carried the cross. May the love you showed for me by dying on the cross bear fruit in my life through my love and acts of charity towards all those you died for. 

Gospel Passage: Jn 19:6-16 

And [Pilate] said to them, "Behold, the man!" When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, "Crucify him, crucify him!" Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him. "The Jews answered, "We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God." Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, "Where are you from?" Jesus did not answer him. So Pilate said to him, "Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that 1 have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?" Jesus answered him, "You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin." Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, "If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar." When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge's bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, "Behold, your king!" They cried out, "Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!" Then he handed him over to them. to be crucified. 

1. The Judgment 

The whole event before Pilate was the greatest drama the world has ever known. The leaders of the Jews were demanding Jesus' condemnation and eventually obtained it. In fact, Jesus was crowned king (the crowning with thorns) and seated on the chair of judgment, while the Jewish leaders pronounced their own condemnation by denying that Yahweh was their king. 

However, who really was guilty of a crime that Friday afternoon in Palestine when Jesus was condemned to die by Pontius Pilate? It wasn't Jesus. He hadn't done anything. He offered himself up to be crucified even though he easily could have escaped death. Pilate was doing everything possible to free him. He didn't want to condemn Christ, but he needed some help, some support from Jesus. The Pharisees and their minions were powerful and were getting the crowds stirred up but Pilate could have dealt with that. He had once quelled an uprising by crucifying 1000 men. He could take care of the crowd later if they caused too much trouble. Besides that, what was one more miserable Jew? He could have just sent him off to be executed, gone back into his palace, and taken the rest of the day easy; but this wasn't just one more miserable Jew. There was something much, much greater here that he couldn't grasp and he was afraid. Jesus had already declared that he was a king but with a kingdom beyond Pilate's comprehension and now Pilate was afraid of the Pharisees, he was afraid of the crowds, and he was afraid of Jesus. He wanted to free Jesus but he didn't know why. His will was wavering. If in that moment Jesus had said anything, "Release me!", "Free me!", anything, it could have been enough to convince Pilate to set him free. Not to mention the 'legions of angels' he could have asked his heavenly Father to send to protect him. Nevertheless, Jesus did nothing to save himself and Pilate capitulated to the Jewish leaders. He sent the King of kings to die on a cross, and the King condescended. 

Jesus had reached the end of his earthly mission. He had almost fulfilled his Father's plan and had assured that it would be fulfilled to the last. He had been condemned to death and die on a cross. Why? 

Why had Christ even become man? Why had he left the Father's side in heaven where he was in complete and utter happiness and joy, to come down to earth, endure all of the human sufferings and die in terrible torment on a cross? 

2. I was the criminal 

Jesus came to the world to save each one of us. Each and every one of us, I myself, have offended my Lord and Creator. God is great, he is infinite good and love and that is what makes any offense against him immeasurable. How could any of us repair the damage, especially since we are so weak and slow to love? God created me out of love. He gave me life, an eternal soul, the opportunity to be happy with him forever. Nevertheless, my nature is weak and I have turned my back on him so many times. At times I do what is bad, at times I don't do what is good. On my own I can't fix the situation, I can't love God as he deserves and as he meant me to. 

Humanly speaking, there is no way I can meet the standards and earn the life that God has prepared for me. The alternative is death, spiritual death. That would be just, in human terms and in human reckoning. 

Fortunately for us, divine Justice is not human justice because divine Justice is saving justice. We are saved by the justice of God. God's justice is salvation, it is love, it is faithfulness. "Sing to the Lord a new song, for he had done wondrous deeds; his right hand has won victory for him, his holy arm. The Lord has made his salvation known: in the sight of the nations he has revealed his justice. He has remembered his kindness and his faithfulness toward the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation by our God." (Ps 98:1-3) 

Christ took upon himself the condemnation that I deserved, he paid the price for my sins. When his Son offered himself up on the cross I receive the possibility of eternal life. Since only he is capable of pardoning, God reveals his justice when he pardons my sin. When the sinner repents and recognizes his sin, God, because he is just, pardons him. I recognize my sin because God is just, that is, he can pardon my sin. "For in [the power of God] is revealed the saving justice of God: a justice based on faith and addressed to faith. As it says in scripture, 'Anyone who is upright through faith will live.'" (Rm 1:17) 

We need to contemplate that fact and let it sink in, what a difference it would make if instead of condemning others we spent our lives trying to make them better. That is the way God loved us. This was the whole purpose of life for Jesus. He came not to be served but to serve, so that we could have life. God is Love, he is Just, and he died on the cross to save me, and because he did this, I have received the possibility of eternal life. 

Questionnaire: To help you to examine your life, in the light of what God has put in your heart in these moments you gave him in prayer. 

1. Do I recognize the great evil that sin must be, to cause Jesus' death? 

2. Do I have complete faith that Jesus has pardoned my sins when I confess them?  

3. Am I afraid of God's justice, or do I consider his love and pardon? 

4. What am I willing to do to bring others to Christ's salvation?