Easter 2

I want to finish my last post : Verse 29 says they put a reed in His right hand. The right hand was the hand of authority. And the reed was the symbol of a scepter and in those days the kings would hold a scepter of ten of ivory and gold. And this was to be His scepter. It was made out of a reed, just a common stalk.And there He is with a crown of thorns and a robe of scarlet and a scepter of a reed. And they carry on their little mockery. They bowed the knee before Him as if He were king, they gave Him homage. And they mocked Him saying, "Hail, king of the Jews." There was no sincerity in that; it was just mockery, sarcasm, cynicism, ridicule, scorn.And as they rise from their knees, verse 30, they spit on Him. Down on the knees, "Hail, king of the Jews," and on the way up they spit in His face. The ultimate human indignity, to spit on someone.If they only knew who they were spitting on. If they only knew who they were mocking. If they only had known who it was upon whom they placed a crown of thorns and a scarlet robe. If they had any idea.Verse 30 by taking the reed out of His right hand and ... the Greek text says... repeatedly struck Him on the head. More blows, slaps already, punches with the fist already, spit and now hitting Him repeatedly in the head with this reed.They did this primarily to show what a joke His authority was. What kind of a king are you, we can rip the very scepter out of your hand and beat on your head with it? Your sovereignty is a laugh. Your kingliness is a joke. Anybody who can spit on a king and hit him in the head with his own scepter and have nothing happen in retaliation is some kind of king. You're a farce.And though He endures it all, He says nothing. He offers no resistance. He says nothing. He is willing to suffer for sinners, TO suffer not only the death on the cross but everything that came along with it. He will fulfill His calling. To the crucifixion : Crucifixion originated in Persia and it originated from the strangest circumstance. The Persians had a deity by the name of Ormuzd, O‑r‑m‑u‑z‑d. And Ormuzd was the god who considered the earth to be sacred. And so anyone who was executed had to be lifted up above the earth lest that person being executed by virtue of his evil would defile the sacredness of the earth. And so the Persians devised a crucifixion as a way to suspend a person above the earth in execution. It passed from the Persians to the Carthaginians and somehow the Romans took it from those in Carthage and used it ... and I mean the Romans used it extensively. From the best we could ascertain at the time of Christ and around the era of Roman occupation of Israel, the Romans crucified at least 30,000 Jews. And they did it all over the highways in order to warn people what happens to someone who violates Roman law. Vivid illustrations of the foolishness of going against Rome.Verse 35, "And they crucified Him and parted His garments casting lots. in verse 37, "And they set over His head His accusation, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS." Jesus endured this without saying anything, complaining, asking why? , He did it for us! I look on my own life and think, boy I sure complain or whine about a lot of things, and my Savior never once complained when facing the most horrible thing on this earth in hostory. Mattew 16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples,"If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and followe Me." How often do I do this? Is my life a total commitment to him in everything I do? I sure have a lot of things to change! I Praise My Savior for what He did so that I may live! May I never forget what He had to suffer and always know that I can endure anything with His help, no matter how big or small that may come my way.