The more Pilate heard about the Saviour, the more inclined He was to side with Him! In 18:38, Pilate declares Christ innocent and endeavoured to have Him released. His scourging of Christ and permitting his soldiers to abuse Him and array Him in mock royal regalia was actually an attempt to try and placate the mob and hopefully arouse some compassion for Jesus within them and permit Pilate to release Him. His words: "Behold the man!" were intended to arouse some mercy amongst the Saviour's accusers. But that did not satisfy the Jewish mob. They wanted Christ dead. Pilate dare not refuse the mob but he did hope to soften them somewhat and so arrange the release of the Lord Jesus. He utterly failed. I wish to use the words of Pilate in a simple form this evening.