Jesus was tried in the court of a judge legally appointed by the Roman Empire. Israel was a more intelligent region than any other colony governed by Rome. For the same reason the rulers and governors sent there were intelligent men with a keen sense of justice. One such was Pilate. Five times he pronounced judgment : "I cannot see any guilt in this man." It is a fact of history that the one who challenged his hearers asking, "Who among you can accuse me of sin or prove it?" was declared innocent by the civil court. One fact is, therefore, clear. It was not Jesus’ wrongdoing that was the reason for being condemned to death. Rather, it was the sin of those who cried "Crucify him" without any reason, that motivated it.

Pilate made a last effort to free Jesus. He brought out a horrible bandit guilty of several crimes and asked "Which of the two do you want me to release for you? "(Mt 27-27). "Not this man, but Barabbas", cried the Jewish leaders, clamouring for the crucifixion of Jesus. If, instead, they had said: "We want Jesus," he would not have been crucified. Those who said, "Let him be crucified," are, therefore, responsible for his death. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, changeless, eternal, the Beginning and the End. Deciding to reject Jesus is, therefore, as relevant and significant today as it was two thousand years ago.

To reject Jesus is to accept Barabbas, "Do you not know that friendship with the world is enemity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God"(Jam 4:4). When do I reject Jesus? When I give priority to something of the world. When I quarrel or fight for temporal, material goods like food or drink, I join the ranks of those who cry out, "Release Barabbas". When I revel in matters that God has decreed and declared sinful, I adopt the attitude of rejecting Jesus. To opt for darkness is to dispel the light.

The one who procures something by telling a lie, rejects truth and achieves a temporary goal. Jesus is the truth. He who declared, "I am the truth", is truth itself. The one who forsakes truth for attaining something, is crucifying Jesus for gaining a trifle. Whether you tell a lie for one rupee or for a crore, it is equally serious, because in both cases you lose Jesus, who is the life of the soul. We ourselves are responsible for crucifying Jesus and for losing him. Those who are faithful in small things are also faithful in great things. Those who are unfaithful in small matters will be unfaithful in big matters as well. It is not possible to serve Jesus and the world at the same time. It is impossible to say we want Barabbas and Jesus. To want midnight and midday at the same time will be ridiculous. Those who give the first place to the world, do not give any importance to Jesus in this life. Jesus is God for us. Those who are not ready to accept the mentality, attitudes and line of thought of Jesus, hand him over to be crucified. When we keep complaining, criticising and lamenting for not getting the love and consideration of this world, we crucify Jesus. We thus lose our life! We do not realise that when we crucify Jesus, we are crucifying God himself. That is why Jesus prays: "Father, forgive them for they do not know what they do." Whether we lose something consciously or unconsciously, the loss is a loss indeed! It is the state of the soul without grace - the soul that is dead-that prompts one to sin.

If we are the ones responsible for crucifying Jesus, the forgiveness of the cross is also for us. That forgiveness justifies us, consoles us.