This week BibleWorm reads John 19:1-16a, a continuation of Jesus’s trial, if one can even call it that. Despite the fact that Pilate repeatedly says he finds no charge against Jesus, the machinery of this human penal system is now in motion, and Pilate seems unwilling to stop it. We pull out our hair watching the web of forces that seem to hold sway over the characters – both the religious authorities and the empire’s authorities – many of which are based in fear, and none of which are based in speaking and acting upon what one actually believes to be true.  And we see pretty clearly that indeed the empire would lose its power if it could not hold the fear of death over its people. Good heavens, humans are a disaster.