Journey to the Cross | Day 4 | April 8, 2020
Jesus is beaten and mocked
Read John 19:1-3
Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.
Shame mounts as each strike upon the body of Jesus echoes in the praetorium. Pilate listening to hear if this man he just proclaimed innocent (John 18:38) would curse Rome. Thinking to himself, Give me some reason to convict you! Trial by flogging was gruesome. Enough to push any man to the point of blasphemy against the powers of Rome. No justification to Pilate’s shame, only silence from Jesus.
The Roman soldiers crown the king of the Jews with thorns, a symbol of the curse (Gen. 3:18). Seeing Jesus’ head now points us to the problem.
Humanity has been trapped under the curse of sin. Look closely at the curse fashioned by these soldiers. Beneath it is not one who is trapped but the One who rescues. You see the power in His eyes. You see the hordes of angels He is holding back.
Silence.
They fling a purple robe around Him, one soldier saying to another, “There, now he at least looks the part of a king! Ha ha!”
Silence.
The soldiers are enraged by the lack of response. Now close enough for Jesus to smell their breath, through their stained teeth they mutter, “Hail, King.” A little louder in His face, “Hail, King!” Then to all those around, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
Silence.
Angry now, the soldiers begin to make it personal. With bare hands, they strike the One who sketched their fingerprints.
Silence.
Mocked, beaten, humiliated, and crowned with thorns — the triumph of a King on display over the curse we were once under.
Even in His silence, Jesus had all authority.
