Read John 19: 1-17
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?”
Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”
From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.”
When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.
“Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.
But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”
“Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.
“We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.
Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. carrying His own cross, He went out to the place of the skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha).
Question: How can you rest in God’s redemption for you through Jesus today?
The Cash Clan 
The capriciousness of the masses has always mystified me. On the Sunday that Jesus made his triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the people chanted together, ““Hosanna! Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest!” (Mark 11: 9-10) Aside from Matthew, Mark, and John’s rendering of Palm Sunday, the only other time the Hebrew word “Hosanna” is used in all of Scripture is in Psalm 118:25, “Save us, we beseech Thee!” So when the people welcomed Jesus to Jerusalem that day, they were beseeching Him to deliver them; they had heard about this Jesus and they hoped that He was the Messiah they’d been waiting for. But they were expecting a warrior-king like David, not a man meek and gentle. They were expecting a lion, not a lamb. By Friday, these same people were singing quite a different song, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” The “masses” very rarely get it right.
I am also struck by Pilate’s obvious fear throughout Friday’s trial. He could see that Jesus had done no wrong. And he seemed to have intuition that this man just might be Who He said He was. But the Chief Priests were clever and knew how to manipulate him. Rightly so, Pilate experienced the fear of God that day, but he was just a pawn in the God’s sovereign checkmate move. He thought he had power over Jesus’ life or death, but he did not. Jesus made that so clear.
I find such comfort that God was using even such imbeciles to accomplish His plan. He WILL accomplish His plan, and WE cannot screw it up! I can rest in His sovereignty and goodness because it is so clear from Scripture that He WILL accomplish His plan, despite me or anyone else, though me or anyone else. It’s all irrelevant and that takes such an enormous weight off my shoulders when I let that sink in. I don’t have to labor or toil or spin to make sure God’s plans are moving along! He has always worked diligently in my life to align my heart and my obedience with His plans. That is such wonderful news!!! I can rest because HE IS GOD.