Jesus Put Pilate in His Place

I am intrigued by Jesus' interaction with Pilate recorded in John 19:10-11. Pilate is conflicted because he knows Jesus is innocent yet the crowd presses him to sentence Jesus to death or else be labelled as a traitor to Caesar. Pilate was annoyed that Jesus didn't answer his question (vs.9) and boldly declared, "Do You not know that I have authority to release You, and I have authority to crucify You?" Jesus responded, "You would have no authority over Me unless it had been given you from above..." Basically Jesus told Pilate that he really wasn't calling the shots. If Jesus had not been a willing participant nothing Pilate could do would endanger Jesus. While Pilate was puffing his chest about his authority, Jesus was reminding him of his true insignificance. A good reminder on this Good Friday that Jesus went to the cross willingly--an innocent man died so that all who believe would be pardoned because He (Jesus) paid the debt of sin they owed and each believer would then be seen by God as possessing the righteousness of Christ they didn't deserve. Love So Amazing.