JOHN 19: 10 โDo you not know that I have the power to release you, and the power to crucify you?โ Pilate was desperate. He did not want to put Jesus to death because in his heart he knew Jesus was innocent, but at the same time he did not want a Jewish uprising. That would look bad on his resume. So, he implored Jesus to give him something that he could use to let Jesus go. Once gain Pilate talked about the power he had but what Pilate did not realize was that his power when compared to Godโs plan was totally ineffective. Pilate did not realize that even before the world was created; while the world was still an idea, this moment was already planned. There was no power on the earth, or above the earth, or under the earth that was going to stop Christโs death on the cross. The cross was reckoning. The cross was an intersection. At that intersection sin and death met loving sacrifice. This reckoning had to happen if mankind was to spared eternal separation from God. Thank God almighty for this reckoning. Amen.