When Jesus heard Yang Rui's words, he was silent for a moment. When he raised his head, his eyes were bright and there was no trace of fear. Yang Rui nodded with satisfaction and said, "It seems that I didn't find the wrong person."

The next day, Jesus was once again brought before the Roman governor Pilate, this time not in his private office, but in the square outside the governor's palace, where a large number of Jewish nobles, Jewish priests and Jerusalem officials gathered.

Citizens. Behind them gathered more followers of Jesus from all over the world.

Pilate was unaware of the seriousness of the situation. He smelled the smell of blood in the air like an old wolf, so today he dispatched two legions of 10,000 fully armed Roman soldiers into the city to maintain normal order in Jerusalem.

Especially in his governor's palace, it was surrounded by a Roman red. The Roman soldiers all held daggers in their hands, and the sharp sword tips were pointed coldly at the people.

When the sun rose above his head, Pilate swayed his fat body and walked out of the inner courtyard. The attendants had prepared a seat for him. He sat on it and adjusted his posture to make himself more comfortable.

, after everything was done, he glanced at Jesus who was not far away from him.

When he saw the resolute-looking shepherd, his good impression of him suddenly arose again. All the power he had accumulated last night to judge Jesus suddenly collapsed again.

The appearance of the Roman governor made the place very quiet. Everyone was paying attention to the highest official of the place, expecting him to issue orders.

Pilate cleared his throat and said to Jesus: "Young man, you are a law-abiding citizen, but you have angered your Jewish church by spreading unpopular teachings, and the church has entrusted me to judge you. What do you want?

Did you say that?"

Jesus immediately said: "What is an unpopular doctrine? You will know whether it is popular by the number of my followers."

Pilate had to admit this. When Jesus was arrested, thousands of Jesus followers poured into Jerusalem. Only then did he realize how powerful this frail young man was.

Facing thousands of believers outside, Pilate became a little timid. He was afraid that there would be trouble today, so he changed his mind and said: "Jesus, the mercy of Rome will take care of you, as long as you claim here

If you give up your faith and continue to be a law-abiding shepherd from now on, I will absolve you of your crime. I will acquit you and you can return to your hometown to live a comfortable life. I swear that I will never do anything to you.

I have no regrets about my decision."

After Pilate said this, the whole place was in an uproar. The faces of the Jewish nobles were full of anger, but they did not dare to make mistakes in the face of the Roman soldiers' daggers, and the believers behind them were also sighing.

Eyes fixed on their Pope.

Yang Rui was standing next to Pilate, and he did not express any objection to Pilate's judgment. This is normal, and Pilate's behavior is understandable. Why not do this? If it were anyone else in this situation,

This is what happens in his position.

And this judgment is also a test for Jesus. If Jesus agrees to Pilate's request, Yang Rui will accept it. He will definitely accept that Jesus is a human being. Although he has received his own grace, he is still a mortal. The temptation to survive is

More directly than gold, silver and jewelry, at such a moment when life hangs on a thread, the judge's sudden mercy will definitely be accepted by mortals with tears and flowing thanks.

However, Jesus flatly refused. He said loudly: "If you want me to give up my faith, it is better for me to die immediately to awaken the stupidity of the world and let them feel the kindness of the Father. I am already ready to die.

So thank you for your kindness, but I will never give up the faith in my heart."

Two voices broke out in the crowd, one was the roar of Jewish rules, and the other was the cheers of the congregation. Under the attack of these two voices, Pilate's situation seemed very embarrassing. He was a little angry with Jesus.

Inhumane and blind to his own kindness.

He raised his voice and said: "Jesus, this is your last chance. My patience has its limit. I will not surrender because of your persistence. Don't forget that this is the territory of the Roman Empire. The Roman Empire destroyed countless

A country can be easily destroyed for a person who preaches heresy."

Jesus said: "You can destroy my body, but God's will cannot be destroyed. He will remain in the world forever and be transmitted forever."

"Shut up!" Pilate stood up, his fat body trembling with anger, and he ordered his men to say: "Hit him hard with the whip!"

Two Roman soldiers came over, raised their whips, and whipped Jesus mercilessly. When the first crisp sound of the whips sounded, and the subsequent sight of the flesh spreading out, all the believers knelt down.

They kept praying, while the Jewish nobles cheered.

Jesus' whole body trembled for a while, and he straightened up. The bursting of his flesh made him feel unbearable pain. He opened his mouth and his expression was extremely distorted. It looked like he was almost suffocating, but he still did not cry out because of the pain.

The whip struck him again and again, and bright red blood spurted out. The scars of the whippings on his body were clearly visible. Jesus fell to the ground, weak and weak, and moaned softly, but he still did not cry out.

.

It was the first time that Pilate saw such a strong man. He remained silent in the face of the ruthless whipping. His mood calmed down a lot, and then he wiped his sweat and said to the Jewish nobles: "I have already punished him."

He, now I declare Jesus free!"

"Never! Don't let him go! Kill him!" the Jewish nobles roared, their fists almost filling the sky.

The congregants knelt on the ground to pray, and their pious chanting almost drowned out the roars of the nobles. Pilate seemed a little at a loss and didn't know what to do.

At this time, Yang Rui came over and said: "Believe me, those believers are just poor people, your soldiers can deal with them. But those nobles must not be offended, just follow the plan last night

, otherwise you will get out of Jerusalem tomorrow.”

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

"It's very simple!" After saying that, Yang Rui turned around and returned to the inner court. Not long after, he brought out a golden basin filled with clean water. He came to the center of the crowd and said loudly: "Governor Pilate followed the Jewish rules.

At the request of the nobles and clergy, Jesus was ordered to be executed, but he felt deeply sorry for his actions and would use this basin of water to wash away his sins and seek God's forgiveness."

Pilate walked down the steps and washed his hands in the golden basin according to Yang Rui's instructions. Suddenly the water in the basin turned blood red, which shocked everyone.

Yang Rui lost no time in announcing: "Look, there is a miracle. God has forgiven Pilate."

Pilate felt much better at this time and felt relieved. He returned to his seat and said to the soldiers: "Take the crown of thorns and put it on Jesus' head."

The crown of thorns is a means of punishing prisoners. Once worn, the sharp thorns on the thorns will make the prisoner miserable.

Not long after, Jesus, who was already lying in a pool of blood, was picked up. A Roman soldier put the crown of thorns on his head and tightened it tightly. Jesus was shaking with pain and biting his lips tightly with his teeth, causing bleeding.

Already.

Pilate looked at the almost half-naked Jesus who was extremely weak. He swallowed his saliva and was silent for a long time before loudly announcing: "With the fate of the governor of Judea in the Roman Empire, I declare that Jesus is guilty and cannot be forgiven. He will be sent to the top of the mountain today."

, crucified on the cross.”

The Jewish nobles suddenly cheered, but the congregants shed tears on the spot. Yang Rui saw all this, with a smile on his lips. He stared at Jesus, and his eyes seemed to say, you can still give up now, you

will not be executed.
Chapter completed!