This is interesting that the pilot seemed to know Jesus was Messiah but still let Him be crucified because of the chief priest getting the people to shout out “kill him”. Rather, than do what is right, Pilate let Jesus be crucified to appease the people and Jewish authorities. It seems like we sometimes let our sins get in the way of having a genuine relationship with our Savior. Jesus was on the cross not just because of their sins but for ours also. We in a sense also crucified Christ because of our sins (Hebrews 6:6). One thing I took from this chapter is that it is more important to follow God than enjoy the pleasures of sin (Hebrews 11:25). Which means doing the right thing regardless of how we are treated which is why 1 John 3:10 speaks of loving our brother see Mark 16:15. Jesus in the strictest sense had every right to save Himself from the cross, He suffered for us so we should be willing to suffer for His sake (Philippians 1:29). However, I am thankful that Christ’s life is not all about suffering. In fact I am thankful that Jesus died to free me from the eternal consequences of sin. We are commanded to basically be a disciple of Christ, and I think that means loving not just God but our Christian and Non-Christian brothers and sisters. How can we do this? In my opinion the best way to do this is to run the race of life faithfully (Mark 13:13) with endurance which to me means being obedient to Christ and following His teachings as best as possible because that is part of being a disciple of Christ! The context of the verse is that we should love one another just as Christ has loved us. If we are in Christ the Holy Spirit leads us, and as we allow the spirit to lead us we can overcome much of our weaknesses and God will help us to remain in Him (John 15:4).