The Jewish leaders wanted Jesus killed because he undermined their authority and called out their hypocrisy. But for the Romans it was the charge that he had claimed to be a king that signed his death warrant. 

The purple robe, the thorny crown, the homage – all these props were designed to demean and humiliate the purported rival to the great Caesar. Roman soldiers were part of a mighty army in an empire which had swept Palestine into its great jaws a century before. This man seemed to them entirely powerless, his kingdom a fantasy, and they wanted to put him properly in his place.

In the spotlight at the centre of the cruel performance was Jesus, quietly enduring the mockery, the physical pain and the abandonment by his closest friends. At any moment he could have called countless angelic armies to his aid, but in faithful love he remained. 

The Roman Empire lasted 500 years, under roughly 70 emperors. The kingdom of God however is eternal and has one Lord, one God, one lamb on the throne, whose sacrifice granted forever citizenship to whoever believes in him.