Mark 15:1-5, 15

As soon as it was morning, having held a meeting with the elders, scribes, and the whole Sanhedrin, the chief priests tied Jesus up, led him away, and handed him over to Pilate.

So Pilate asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

He answered him, “You say so.”

And the chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate questioned him again, “Aren’t you going to answer? Look how many things they are accusing you of!” But Jesus still did not answer, and so Pilate was amazed…

Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them; and after having Jesus flogged, he handed him over to be crucified.

Jesus wholly surrendered Himself to God’s will, and did nothing to defend Himself before Pilate. In every sense, He gave His life away. We can see Jesus’s condemnation and Barabbas’s pardon as a microcosm of the redeeming work Jesus was about to accomplish through His death on the cross.

Jesus, you humbled yourself so fully, and made a way for us to be pardoned through your sacrifice. Help us to grasp the gravity of your self-surrender. We haven’t earned our pardon. Only you made the way. We thank you for this. Amen.

Think about someone you know that needs to know the truth about Jesus. Ask that God would show them his truth and that they would accept it.