MOCKING

Luke 22:63-65 “Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him.  They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy!  Who is it that struck you?”  And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.”

Doesn’t the “braveness” of the “crowd” really show up throughout the events after the arrest of Jesus and in the darkness of that night in the courtyard of the high priest’s property?  Can you hear the jeers of the group and visualize the horrible hazing that was happening to our Lord?  Such brave men, who had fallen into the “mob mentality”, each trying their best to add insult to injury.   We know that Jesus knew, not only who was striking Him, but everything about each of the people in the courtyard that evening.  “He even knows the number of hairs on their head” (Matthew 10:30).  He knew everything about them, and he knows everything about us.  He knew that He would have to endure all the events that evening and the next day, in order to carry out His mission and provide our salvation.

But more than the awful actions of the mob was on display for us to consider in these three verses of scripture recorded in Luke.  How fortunate for us that we have a Lord and Savior that calmly submitted to the events of this evening…and much, much more…for the sake of our salvation.  Surely Jesus could have “called out to His Father and had thousands of Angels come immediately to protect Him”, as He told his disciples in the garden earlier this evening. (Matthew 26:53)  Yet He did not!  He endured all these insults and all the mocking and the beating, and the humiliation FOR US!  Thank you Jesus.

Have any of us had to endure this kind of treatment in our lives?  I’m certain some of us have had very, very difficult times and circumstances, and maybe some are going through those times right now.  Jesus has set an example of how “He put His trust in the One that judges justly” (1Peter 2:23).  He endured the insults of the crowd without retaliating.  That is quite contrary to our human nature, that wants to retaliate and even sometimes, strike back at those who are mistreating us.  So, how do we apply what happened that night, to how we interact with people in our lives?

Jesus demonstrated to us that the appropriate response to hate and mistreatment is not more hate and mistreatment.  He taught us the appropriate response is LOVE.  He also taught us that when we are going through mistreatment or humiliation, we can turn to Him because He knows exactly how that feels!  He knows that pain of this type of treatment, because He has endured more than we can really fully understand.  He also has shown us the trust He had in the promise of His Father, God Almighty.  He knew how the events of this evening and the next few days would end, and He trusted His Father.  He has told us that “in this world you will have tribulation.  But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). 

As difficult as all the events of this night have been to reflect upon the past several days, there are applications for all of us as we strive to become more like Jesus.   Our human nature certainly does not lead us to react with patient endurance during times of suffering.  However, Jesus is teaching me to be more patient in times of stress and tension, and to focus on the “long view” of how to act and react as a follower of Him.  I’ve known several people, myself included, that have had times in their lives when they wanted to have a sign prominently displayed, that read “LORD GRANT ME PATIENCE…RIGHT NOW!”.  Can you relate to times in your lives when that sign would have applied to you?  May we all seek to be more patient and more trusting in the One who judges justly, and has overcome the world.  Thank you, Jesus. 

Tom Hoien