Pilate did not have a good track record. He was a heavy-handed, brutish Roman Governor whose management of Israel had already got him into trouble with Caesar.  But upsetting local religions was not considered a good way to extend 'Roman Peace'.  Pilate did not want to be involved.  The complaints of the Sanhedrin Council were not relevant in Roman law, although the suggestion that Jesus was starting riots got his attention.  But when Pilate discovered that Jesus was from Galilee, it was the perfect reason to hand Him over to Herod, who was responsible for the Galilee area, and was already in Jerusalem for Passover.
 
King Herod (more a puppet regional governor) had little interest in law, morality or God but he liked ideas.  He had imprisoned John the Baptist because of his clear condemnation of Herod’s immoral life, but still enjoyed theological discussions with him (Mark 6:17-20).  Perhaps he thought he could see Jesus perform a miracle, or that he could tease out some of Jesus’ ideas.  But Jesus did not answer questions of curiosity.  

Like so many who play with Christianity, if they cannot get their way, they ridicule Jesus.  So, Herod resorted to mocking the King of kings.  The Roman soldiers joined in and together they dressed Jesus in one of Herod’s old royal robes before sending Him back to Pilate.  The two brutish leaders had been enemies but now they seemed to enjoy playing with fire together.  Ignoring truth, justice and morality, the two men found a strange friendship in perverting the course of justice.  They became friends because neither would accept who Jesus was and submit to Him.
 
Jesus cannot be ignored because He is the Creator and Sustainer of the universe.  Nor can He be used to entertain us for our amusement, nor may His name be used in vain because He is the judge of all human beings; including Pilate and Herod.  Yet so many continue to despise the Saviour, reject His love, spurn His grace, resist His mercy and provoke His wrath.  They are playing with fire and need to know that without welcoming the Friend of Sinners they can never see God.  We must pray for them, explain the gospel to them (www.crosscheck.org.uk), excite them with His love and warn them of His wrath (Romans 2:8).  It will only be 'Good' Friday if they repent and receive the mercy which flows from the cross. Otherwise as Hebrews 10:26-27 says, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God."