Soldiers then violently grabbed the man who was condemned to death and led him away.  I pursued closely as we went into the commons, with soldiers gathered all around.  They beat the prisoner and put a purple robe around him and laughed as they said, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 

I grimaced as they then laid a crown made of thorns on top of his head.  What could anyone have done to deserve this? I thought.  They brought Jesus back out, and Pilate said, "Here he is, though I have found no fault in this man." 

Some of the Jews answered, "This guy has claimed to be the Son of God, and by our laws he must die." 

Pilate turned to the prisoner and asked where he was from.  The man stood silent.  "Are you not going to speak to me," Pilate said, "even though I have the power to execute you or let you go?" 

Jesus looked the governor in the eyes.  Pilate looked down.  Jesus said, "You could have no power against me unless it were given to you from above." 

Pilate turned to the crowd, trying one more time to persuade them to let this prisoner go free.  The Jews persisted that the man should not be allowed to live.  Pilate sighed again.  "Shall I crucify your King?" he asked them. 

"We have no king but Caesar," they answered, and that finalized the death sentence for the prisoner.

I followed closely the procession that took Jesus to Golgotha, which was to be the spot of his crucifixion.  A man named Simon carried the cross behind the prisoner when he became too weak and tired to carry it.  Quite a crowd had gathered behind us, though.  Tears streamed down the faces of those behind me.  Jesus remained composed, however, and he turned and comforted those who were weeping.  I must admit, even a tear fell from my face as I made eye contact with the convicted man. 

The group stopped on the hill, Jesus placed in the middle of two other prisoners who were to be crucified as well.  I managed a half-hearted wave to my colleagues who had been the assigned writing the stories for them.  My attention returned to the middle cross, though, as soldiers again began to mock the man who was being prepared to die.  Pilate made a sign that said JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS.  "If you are the king of the Jews," I heard someone say, "why don't you save yourself?"  Then the process began. 

I had witnessed a hundred crucifixions, so I thought I was fairly numb to the whole thing.  But as they placed the nail on Jesus' wrist, for some reason I felt like I wanted to jump up there and take his place.  From what I could tell, I had done more wrong in my life than he had.  Each pounding of the nails produced sharp jolts through my own body.  "Forgive them Father, for they know not what they do," the prisoner managed to say as the soldiers finished their work. 

"If you really are God's Son, come down and we'll believe it!"  The crowd continued with their jokes and jeers.  Hadn't the man been through enough already?

Minutes became years, and the pain showed on the man's face.  Still, a peace remained in his eyes that I'd never seen during a crucifixion.  I turned to the other crosses.  One of the criminals appeared angry, obviously feeling the pain of the nails in his arms and feet.  He joined the crowd in their accusations.  The other prisoner, though also showing pain in his face, had a bit of tranquility about him, just as Jesus did.  He turned to the middle cross and said, "Lord, remember me when you come to your kingdom." 

Jesus turned as far as he could.  I think I may have even saw him smile, as if a dying man's final wish had been granted.  "Believe me," he said, "today you will be with me in paradise." 

Then, if things weren't strange enough already, everything suddenly became dark.  I rubbed my eyes and looked around.  Darkness was everywhere for about three hours.  The crowd murmured occasionally, but for the most part things were quiet.  But then, the man on the middle cross looked to the sky and shouted, "Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit!" 

My heart began pouding rapidly.  I had never heard him raise his voice.  Then, he looked around at the group of accusers and mourners.  I shuddered when his eyes caught mine.  What could he be thinking?  Then I heard him say, "It is finished," and his body fell silent. 

The earth woke up, though, and it began to shake violently.  It was as if the land was weeping for this strange Nazarene carpenter.  I turned to the guard that was standing beside me.  I recognized him from earlier executions.  "Can you believe this?" I asked.  "Have you ever seen anything like this?" 

He turned to me and shook his head.  "No, I've never seen this before.  This really must have been the Son of God." 

"Maybe," I said.  "Maybe."