Matthew_27

Scripture

Matthew 27:28-3128 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had [h]twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.

Observation

In many ways, this is the beginning of the end…but also the end of the beginning.Judas had basically sold Jesus off to his death for 30 pieces of silver, felt great shame and guilt and tried to return it then hung himself.Jesus had been taken before the governor, Pilate, who did NOT find him guilty but upheld the custom of releasing only one prisoner of the crowd’s choice – of which they chose Barabbas.Now, Barabbas has been released and they begin the process of crucifixion.

Understanding

The accounting of Jesus’ death is always heart wrenching. No one deserves a death like this, especially not an innocent, peaceful and loving man…for whom the governor could find no wrong. One thing to take away though, is Jesus’ example of humility.I’ve always felt that spitting on someone was among the most disgusting and disrespectful things one could do to another. And here we see our Savior being mocked, subjected to pain, spit on, struck, stripped down, fed sour wine, hung, nail pierced…yet, even here – subjected to humiliation and holding the power to bring down whatever he wanted on to these people (fire and lightening come to mind for me) – he remains innocent, peaceful, loving and humble. Talk about raising the bar in living a life of example!

Life Application

God, I thank you that you have such incredibly high standards…but that in the short time you physically walked the earth, you set the best example of living up to those high standards. I’ll be honest, it still doesn’t possible and I know I fail daily…but make me more like you. May my humility, my love, my kindness, my attempts to bring harmony and peace be reflective of you in me and may it turn hearts towards you. In your name I pray. Rei To check out the discussion or to join in click here.