Amen, Jim and Richard! There are a trove of lessons for us in the treatment of Christ in Pilate's judgment hall and what He faced before Herod. I was impressed with how Jesus' blood was flowing at this point--the sacrifice for our sins was being made, and He laid down His life that we might be saved.
I never really thought about it until the Holy Spirit impressed me with it this morning, but it was from the point of Gethsemane that Christ began to stand in a different attitude than before--He was feeling the weight of our guilt, and was to know what it would mean to feel separated from His Father. That was weighing on Him--and His blood began to be shed in Gethsemane, when he sweat as it were great drops of blood.
"Christ was now standing in a different attitude from that in which He had ever stood before. His suffering can best be described in the words of the prophet, 'Awake, O sword, against My shepherd, and against the man that is My fellow, saith the Lord of hosts.' Zech. 13:7. As the substitute and surety for sinful man, Christ was suffering under divine justice. He saw what justice meant. Hitherto He had been as an intercessor for others; now He longed to have an intercessor for Himself." {The Desire of Ages, page 686, paragraph 4}
Christ knew what it meant to suffer for our sins. Here, even in the judgment hall of Pilate, he is also bleeding. Oh, wonderful Savior! His blood was shed for me! I gladly receive Him and will let Him cleanse me from every stain of sin!
"The Roman governor, though familiar with cruel scenes, was moved with sympathy for the suffering prisoner, who, condemned and scourged, with bleeding brow and lacerated back, still had the bearing of a king upon his throne. But the priests declared, 'We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.'" {The Desire Ages, 736, paragraph 2}
Even though He was feeling what it was like to be condemned for our sins, He still maintained His godlike bearing of a king. Christ's character did not change, even though the way He felt, and the weight of condemnation that He was to bear for us, was an infinite sacrifice. Let us behold this matchless love and be changed! Love awakens love in our hearts!