When Jesus heard Yang Rui's words, he was silent for a moment, and when he raised his head, his eyes were bright, and he could not see the slightest fear, Yang Rui nodded with satisfaction and said, "It seems that I am not looking for the wrong person." ”

The next day, Jesus was once again brought before Pilate, the Roman governor, this time not in his private office, but in a square outside the Doge's Palace, where a large crowd of Jewish nobles, Jewish priests, and citizens of Jerusalem gathered. Behind them gathered a large number of followers of Jesus from all over the world.

Pilate sensed the gravity of the situation, and he smelled blood in the air like an old wolf, so today he sent two legions of 10,000 heavily armed Roman soldiers into the city to maintain normal order in Jerusalem. Especially in his Doge's Palace, it was surrounded by a Roman red, and the short swords of the Roman soldiers were all held in their hands, and the sharp tips of the swords were coldly pointed at the people.

When the sun rose overhead, Pilate came out of the inner court with his fat body swaying, and the attendant had prepared a seat for him, and he sat on it, and adjusted his position to sit more comfortably, and only after all this had stopped, he glanced at Jesus, who was not far from him.

When he saw this resolute shepherd, the affection for him came again, and all the strength he had accumulated last night to judge Jesus collapsed in an instant.

The appearance of the Roman governor made the place very quiet, and everyone was paying attention to the supreme governor of the place, expecting him to give orders.

Pilate cleared his throat and said to Jesus, "Young man, you are a law-abiding citizen, but you have angered your synagogue by spreading unpopular teachings, and the church has entrusted me with a judgment against you, do you have anything to say?" ”

Jesus immediately said, "If you look at the number of my followers about a doctrine that is not popular, you will know whether it is popular or not." ”

Pilate had to admit this, and when Jesus was arrested, thousands of followers of Jesus poured into Jerusalem, and it was only then that he learned how powerful this weak young man was.

Pilate was a little timid in the face of the thousands of believers on the periphery, he was afraid that there would be chaos today, so he changed his mind and said: "Jesus, the mercy of Rome will favor you, and as long as you claim here that you renounce your faith and continue to be a shepherd who keeps to yourself, I will forgive you from your sins, and acquit you, and you will return to your hometown to live a life of comfort, and I swear that I will never reverse my decision." ”

When Pilate said this, the whole audience was in an uproar, and the faces of the Jewish nobles were full of anger, but they did not dare to make a mistake in the face of the short swords of the Roman soldiers, and the believers behind them also sighed, and their eyes were fixed on their pope.

Yang Rui was standing next to Pilate, he did not dispute Pilate's verdict, this is normal, Pilate's behavior is understandable, why not do it? Anyone in his position would do so.

And this judgment is also a test for Jesus, if Jesus agrees to Pilate's request, Yang Rui will also accept it, and he will be a human being, although he has received his own grace, but he is always a mortal, the temptation to survive is more direct than how gold, silver and jewelry, in such a moment of life hanging by a thread, the judge's sudden mercy, mortals will definitely accept it with weeping and thanksgiving.

However, Jesus flatly refused, and he cried out: "If I want to give up my faith, it is better to call me to die at once, so that they may awaken the foolishness of the world and make them feel the mercy of the Father, I am ready to die, so thank you for your kindness, but I will never give up the faith in my heart." ”

Pilate was in an awkward situation when two voices erupted in the crowd, one of Jewish rage and the other of the cheers of the congregation, and Pilate was in a very awkward situation, and he was somewhat annoyed by Jesus' impersonalness and turned a blind eye to his own kindness.

He raised his voice and said: "Jesus, this is your last chance, my patience has a limit, I will not raise my hands and surrender because of your insistence, you must not forget that this is the territory of the Roman Empire, the Roman Empire has destroyed countless countries, and for a person who preaches paganism, it can be easily destroyed." ”

Jesus said, "You can destroy my body, but the will of God cannot destroy it, and he will remain on earth forever, forever." ”

"Shut up!" Pilate stood up, and because his fat body was trembling with anger, he commanded his men: "Whip him hard!" ”

Two Roman soldiers approached, raised their whips, and whipped them mercilessly at Jesus. When the first crisp whip sounded, and then the picture of the flesh unfolding, the congregation all fell to their knees and prayed incessantly, while the Jewish nobles cheered.

Jesus straightened for a while, his body was straight, the bursting of flesh made him feel pain, his mouth was open, his expression was so distorted that it seemed that he was almost suffocating, but he still did not cry out because of the pain.

The whip was whipped on his body, the red blood splattered out, the scars of the whipping on his body were vivid, Jesus fell to the ground, and he was weak and weak, and his mouth moaned softly, but he still did not cry out.

It was the first time Pilate saw such a strong man, and in the face of the merciless whipping of the leather whip, he actually did not say a word, his emotions calmed down a lot, and then he wiped a handful of sweat and said to the Jewish nobles: "I have punished him, and now I declare the release of Jesus!" ”

"Never! Don't let him go! Kill him! The Jewish nobles roared, their fists nearly flooding the sky.

The congregation knelt on the ground and prayed, and the sound of pious chanting almost drowned out the roars of the nobles. Pilate seemed at a loss as to what to do.

At this time, Yang Rui leaned over and said, "Believe me, those sect members are just poor people, and your soldiers can deal with them." And those nobles must not be offended, do as was planned last night, or you will get out of Jerusalem tomorrow. ”

When Pilate heard Yang Rui's suggestion, he suddenly breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Then how will I transform this contradiction into these nobles?" ”

"It's easy!" After saying that, Yang Rui turned around and returned to the inner court, and in a short time he brought out a golden basin of water, which was filled with water, and he came to the center of the crowd and said in a loud voice: "The governor of Pilate ordered the execution of Jesus according to the demands of the Jewish nobles and the clergy, but he is deeply sorry for his actions, and he will use this basin of water to wash away his sins and ask for God's forgiveness." ”

Pilate walked down the steps and washed his hands in the golden basin of water according to Yang Rui's wishes, and suddenly the basin of water turned blood-red, startling everyone.

Yang Rui wasted no time in announcing: "Look at the miracle, God forgave Pilate." ”

Pilate was in a much better mood and feeling relieved, he returned to his seat and said to the soldiers, "Take the crown of thorns and put it on the head of Jesus." ”

The crown of thorns is a means of punishing a prisoner, and once it is worn, the spikes on the thorns can cause pain to the prisoner.

In a short time, Jesus, who had fallen in a pool of blood, was erected and a Roman soldier put a crown of thorns on his head, and it was so tightly clamped that Jesus trembled in pain, and his teeth bit his lips tightly, and he was bleeding.

Pilate looked at Jesus, who was almost half-naked, and was extremely weak, he swallowed and spat at the mouth, and was silent for a long time before he announced in a loud voice: "I condemn Jesus to the guilt of the Roman Empire as the governor of Judea, and I cannot be pardoned, and I will send him to the top of the mountain today and be crucified." ”

The shouts of the Jewish nobles rang out, while the congregation burst into tears. Yang Rui saw all this, a smile appeared on the corner of his mouth, he stared at Jesus, and his eyes seemed to say, you can give up now, you will not be executed.

Although Jesus squinted his eyes, the brilliance released from his eyes told Yang Rui that he would never give up! (To be continued.) )