By now a large crowd had gathered to watch the trial. Many of the people in it had been Jesus' followers, but they followed him no longer. When they saw Jesus being tried like a criminal they decided that their priests and rulers had been right all along. They began to talk against Jesus, among themselves. Pilate wondered how he could let Jesus go. Suddenly he remembered a Jewish custom: every Passover a prisoner was set free. [Illustration] Pilate said: "Every year at this time I set a prisoner free. Now you can have your choice. You know we have a man named Barabbas in jail--he's the fellow that started a rebellion a little while ago. We were going to crucify him. And now here is Jesus. Which one shall I let go? Barabbas the murderer or Jesus who is called the Christ?" A great shout went up, "Barabbas!" Pilate did not know what to do now. He spoke again to the crowd, "Well, what shall I do to Jesus who is called the Christ?" Again there was a great shout: "Crucify him! Hang him up on a cross till he is dead!" Everyone seemed to be against Jesus now. However, Pilate tried once more. "But," he protested, "I can't find that he has been guilty of any crime!" The Jewish rulers replied, "We have a law which says he ought to die because he pretends to be the Son of God." Pilate was worried now. He spoke to Jesus again, and again Jesus did not answer. "Aren't you going to speak to me?" Pilate asked. "Don't you know that I can crucify you or let you go?" Jesus answered, "You wouldn't have any power over me unless God had given it to you." Pilate, when he heard this, tried once more to save Jesus. But the crowd was bigger, and louder, and more bloodthirsty than ever. Everyone was shouting: "Crucify! Crucify!" "Shall I crucify your king?" asked Pilate. The chief priests of the Jews, who hated Caesar, answered, "We have no king except Caesar!" Pilate was too weak to hold out any longer. He was beginning to wonder what Caesar would say if he heard that Pilate refused to crucify a man who claimed to be king of the Jews. "Take him," Pilate said. "Take him, and crucify him." But before the crucifixion came the scourging. Jesus was bound and beaten with long leather thongs which had cruel pieces of glass and lead fastened to them so that they would hurt all the more. When that was over, and his back was covered with cuts and bruises, the Roman soldiers who had scourged him wanted some more sport. They dressed Jesus in a purple robe. They made a wreath, like the one that the Roman emperor wore--only this one was made of thorns, which stuck into Jesus' head so that the blood ran down his face. Some of the soldiers spat on him; others made fun of him, bowing down and saying, "Hail, king of the Jews!"