The priests and officers of the temple beat Jesus before handing him over to Pilate (Mt 6:67-28). When the people insisted the Pilate crucify Jesus, Pilate had the Roman soldiers beat him. He brought him bloodied, and wearing a crown of thorns and a purple robe to show the people that he had tortured him and still was not able to find him at fault in anything (John 19:1-5). But the priests wanted him dead. His innocence or guilt was not the issue. Power was the issue (John 11:47-50).
It is a dangerous thing to be obsessed with power. It blinds us to kindness, to reason and worse, it blinds us to truth.
