Spin
Did they really say let his blood be on us and our children?
So when Pilate saw that he could do nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took some water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, "I am innocent of this man's blood; see to it yourselves." Then the people as a whole answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!" So he released Barabbas for them; and after flogging Jesus, he handed him over to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor's headquarters, and they gathered the whole cohort around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on his head. They put a reed in his right hand and knelt before him and mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head. After mocking him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. - Matt. 27:24-31
Sometimes I wonder how much of what the Gospel writers portray was added for effect.
We know no one was on the scene writing down what happened. Maybe they got what Jesus said and did correct because people were there and they told others what had happened.
But what about this crowd?
They were organized by the leaders who wanted Jesus killed. Did they do a good job reconstructing what happened?
Or were they reporting back to the folks who paid them to be there?
It's good P.R. to spread the word that the crucifixion was demanded by the people and those people knew what they were doing.
In other words,. don't look to me for guilt on this one. Those folks said it is on them.
Maybe Pilate spread that message as well. I'm not taking the blame for this. He had too many followers.
So, like today, politicians and rulers turn the other cheek and pass the blame to someone else when things go bad, and things went bad after the crucifixion.
That's when these stories were written, after all.
When word gets out that I played a role in this, I'm going to look bad, so let's tell it this way.
And we thought spin was something new.
More to come...