“Pilate said to the crowd, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” THEY ALL SAID to him, “LET HIM BE CRUCIFIED!” (Matt. 27:22)
Just a few days earlier, “a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of Jesus and those that followed SHOUTED, “HOSANNA TO THE SON OF DAVID!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “HOSANNA in the highest heaven!” (Matt. 21:8-9) hōsanna: A transliteration of two Hebrew words- יָשַׁע- “yasha” which means “to save or deliver” and אָנּאָ – “anna” which means “please, I beseech.” PLEASE SAVE US NOW!
So with all this support, how did they get Jesus crucified? “they led Jesus from Caiaphas to the Praetorium, and it was EARLY MORNING.” (John 18:28) It was after midnight when Jesus was arrested and taken before Annas, and then Caiaphas. It is now EARLY IN THE MORNING as they bring Jesus to Pilate. The trial before Pilate will take some time, but by NINE IN THE MORNING Jesus will be hanging on the cross. This crowd Pilate had around him was Sadducees, Pharisees and other religious leaders who were threatened by the teachings of Christ. So, before the “Hosana” Crowd knew it, Jesus was nailed to the cross.
THIS IS WHAT WE MUST ASK OURSELVES, WHAT CROWD ARE WE WITH? ARE WE WITH THE “HOSANA” GROUP OR THE “CRUCIFY” GROUP? IT DEPENDS ON HOW WE ARE LIVING OUR LIVES!!!
-Bill Stockham