Our plan worked. Pilate released Jesus to the crowd. He was taken by Roman soldiers to the place of the skull, where they crucified Him as a common criminal. We felt a sense of accomplishment. Then something happened. Pilate wrote a sign to place on the cross above the head of Jesus. The governor wrote it in Aramaic, Latin and Greek so everyone could read it. The sign said, "Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews."
We immediately objected. "Don't write, 'the King of the Jews.' Write instead that He said, 'I am King of the Jews.'" But Pilate stiffened his resolve and he refused... We got Jesus to the cross, but somehow I sensed that He had beaten us. We were gleeful; He was genuine. We were horrible; He was honorable. We were vicious; He was victorious. When we lifted Him up, we put ourselves down. There were many voices raised in Jerusalem that infamous day, but none so deceptive as ours. Sometimes I hate being a chief priest."
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