“The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. 64 They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” 65 And they said many other insulting things to him.” Luke 22.63-65
To have given Jesus over to the religious leaders with a kiss, and to have denied him three times at the moment of his greatest need, is bad enough. But to mock and beat him? To blindfold him and insult him? Lord, have mercy.
I know that it is our sins that put him on the cross, and that makes it worse. But to be the Roman soldiers who inflicted the physical harm on the Son of God—the Word made flesh, the Messiah, Savior, Lamb of God? Lord, have mercy on their souls.
This is the part of the Gospels I would like to skip over. This is the difficult section I would rather not remember. I know it is necessary, but it is painful to read. It is so hard to see Jesus submit himself to this persecution, and to consider the willpower it took for him not to go crazy, not to shoot bolts of lightning from his eyes or kill everyone with a spoken word.
You know he could have done any of those things. He could already read the minds of humans, and the blindfold did nothing to dull his senses. But the show of restraint, the sign of submission to God’s will—this was the hardest thing he could ever do. How do you endure a beating like this and not cry out for mercy?
Jesus was pure and spotless, strong of will and courageous. He was fully God and fully man, and he endured the cross for our shame. His road to the cross is just beginning. He has much more to endure and suffer for our sake. I am not really looking forward to this, but it is our redemption story. Without the cross there can be no resurrection.
“O Lord God, the heartbreak of your passion is unthinkable. Thank you for doing what you did so that we might live abundantly, surrendered lives to the Lord. Thank you for enduring such pain so that we might have an advocate and receive forgiveness of our sins. You died for the world—billions of people call you Savior. Come now, Holy Spirit, fill us with your love and power. Help us know the power of your might and sacrifice. For you are good and your love endures forever.” Amen.