Twenty-eighth Day
Pilate must have witnessed much of this cruelty, as it was inflicted right in his court, with his consent, perhaps even by his orders. What a frightful spectacle it was to look upon this figure of a man, scourged almost beyond recognition, with a crown of thorns on His head, bound, and a cloak thrown over His shoulders. Pilate thought that this spectacle would render the Jews merciful, that the punishment had been sufficient. So he led Our Lord over an archway and placed Him in full view of the assembled multitude, saying: “Behold the man!” Yes, O Christian heart, look at the Lord exhausted after the scourging, the crown of thorns on His head, clotted blood in His face, burning with a fever heat, ready to die from loss of blood. O my Jesus, what sufferings didst Thou not endure to satisfy the cruelty of man! Thou hast become a spectacle before God and the world. But the Jews were hardened. The sight of Christ in this condition did not move them. They cried, “Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him.”
Prayer.
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.