Day 34: Jesus Hears, “Crucify Your King.”
Read John 19:1-16
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!” As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.” The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
When Pilate heard this, he was even more afraid, and he went back inside the palace. “Where do you come from?” he asked Jesus, but Jesus gave him no answer. “Do you refuse to speak to me?” Pilate said. “Don’t you realize I have power either to free you or to crucify you?” Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.” From then on, Pilate tried to set Jesus free, but the Jewish leaders kept shouting, “If you let this man go, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar.” When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon. “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews. But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered. Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.
Read Matthew 27:26-31
hen the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
Reflect
Reading the description of Jesus being beaten and mocked is one of the most heart-wrenching passages in the Bible. There were three different levels of flogging in Rome. The flogging Jesus’ received was called the verberatio and it was the worst one used for the most horrific crimes prior to someone being crucified. “Victims were stripped and tied to a post, then beaten with a whip of leather thongs fitted with pieces of bone or metal. These savage beatings sometimes resulted in the victim’s death, and eyewitnesses report details of how victims were left with bones and entrails exposed. (Faithlife Study Bible)” After this horrific beating, the torturers put a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head to instill more pain on Him and mock Him. Because He claimed that He was indeed the King of Jews, they put a purple robe on Him, which was a symbol of royalty, and continued the mocking. Jesus was almost beaten to death and suffered greatly. Another sad prophecy was fulfilled about Him through this tragic experience. Isaiah 50:6, “I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting.”
After the beating and mocking, once again Pilate presented our Jesus, Messiah and King, to the people. The crowd started going wild with anger, shouting once again, “Crucify him!” Pilate was extremely fearful that there would be a Jewish uprising against the Roman rule and a potential revolution, thus he gave Jesus over to be crucified.
Jesus was almost beaten to death and suffered greatly. Another sad prophecy was fulfilled about Him through this tragic experience.
Respond
It’s important for us to embrace the pain, of this moment in time, which is one of the darkest days in the history of our world. God’s beloved Son was beaten almost to death and mocked, Jesus’ followers were full of fear and in disharmony, Jesus haters were angry and out of control. There was an array of pain being displayed in all directions. Jesus could have called a league of angels to stop the beatings and with one word have the governor, the entire legion of Roman guards and accusers drop dead. But, it would have been sin for Him to back down from His life purpose. He committed to God, to live and die for our eternal lives, because of His incredible love for us.
Jesus can relate with us in every way – no matter what we are experiencing. Hebrews 4:15, “Our High Priest is not one who cannot feel sympathy for our weaknesses. On the contrary, we have a High Priest who was tempted in every way that we are, but did not sin.” When you are tempted, it is often times because you are in pain. People usually have less strength to endure temptation because pain whether it is emotional, mental, spiritual or physical can wear them down.
In Celebrate Recovery, for co-dependency, I learned an acronym H.A.L.T. It stands for Hungry, Angry, Lonely, and Tired. Each one of these four physical or emotional conditions, if not taken care of, leaves an individual vulnerable to pain and relapse. Jesus understands our pain and vulnerability because He suffered and was tempted too. C.S. Lewis said, “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains; it is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Example: When you are in pain (H.A.L.T.), look to Jesus, give him your attention and ask him to help you process and grow through it. He already paid the price and desires to heal you or give you peace and wisdom as He holds your hand and walks through the pain with you.