Justice Mob Style

If you are arrested, you must be guilty.

Then they took Jesus from Caiaphas to Pilate's headquarters. It was early in the morning. They themselves did not enter the headquarters, so as to avoid ritual defilement and to be able to eat the Passover. So Pilate went out to them and said, "What accusation do you bring against this man?" They answered, "If this man were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them, "Take him yourselves and judge him according to your law." The Jews replied, "We are not permitted to put anyone to death." (This was to fulfill what Jesus had said when he indicated the kind of death he was to die.) Then Pilate entered the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered, "Do you ask this on your own, or did others tell you about me?" Pilate replied, "I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests have handed you over to me. What have you done?" Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my kingdom were from this world, my followers would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not from here." Pilate asked him, "So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice." Pilate asked him, "What is truth?" After he had said this, he went out to the Jews again and told them, "I find no case against him. - John 18:28-38

Jesus, it could be said, was his own worst enemy, in a way.

He said things that got people upset, and those people had the power to do something about it.

They were so determined to bring Jesus to justice, according to their law, that when he was found innocent by Caiaphas, they took him to another court.

And when Pilate could find nothing to charge him with, what then?

We know how the story ends.

They would build a case against him and get the crowd to back them, so those in charge would be afraid to let Jesus go.

Is there a better example of corruption in power?  

This almost foretold what our world be like today, where the court of public opinion not only accuses but also convicts without a fair trial.

The question Pilate asks is a good one.  What is truth?

Does truth matter today?  Or are we like the lynch mobs of The South, wanting our own form of justice?

You could argue that Jesus did get his day in court, but did it matter?  In the end, it was the mob that Pilate feared.  The mob got the justice they wanted.

If we can learn one thing from this, and we revisit it every year during Lent, it should be that justice is precious and needs to be held holy and sacred.

People need a fair chance to defend themselves.

How hard is that when everything is caught on camera?

More to come...