It was early in the morning. The representatives of the Jewish people held an important meeting. They met to compose a charge on which they could have Jesus brought before the military governor. The military governor was a senior civil servant from Rome. He was called a procurator. In this case he was a hard man. He ruled by decree, a cruel decree if necessary, without consideration for the feelings of the local people. One Jewish historian has written that this man had been guilty of rape, insult, murder and inhumanity. Later on, when he had carried cruelty too far, he was recalled from Judea and replaced by another man. When Jesus was brought before him, Pilate was at the peak of his power and influence. It is unlikely he had ever seen Jesus before. He may not even have heard of him unti…