Monday Evening Devotion
Scripture
1 Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. (John 19:1-3)
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 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. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 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. (Matthew 27:27-31)
Reflection
Condemned by Pilate, the punishment begins. Soldiers take Jesus to the Praetorium. There they bind him to a column, securing His hands over His head, exposing His back. They proceed to lash Him with a three-pronged, lead-tipped whip for 40 lashes. They intend to weaken Him physically for His crucifixion. They slap His face. Mocking, calling Him the King of the Jews.
What the soldiers thought was mocking, was actually truth. Jesus was King of the Jews, but for the Romans, He was a criminal to be disposed of. Jesus absorbed their blows without complaint. He was fulfilling Isaiah 53:5. "He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." In this physical flogging and mocking, we see a picture of how foul our sins are to God. What was justifiable for us, punishment for our rebelliousness, He, an innocent man, took upon His body.
We cannot appreciate how foul our sin is to God. Reflect on the punishment Jesus is absorbing. That is how detestable our sin is to God. His Son absorbed the brutality of the Roman soldiers that we might be made whole. Physical, emotional, and spiritual degradation for our healing.
Prayer
Heavenly Father, forgive my sin before you, in thought, word and deed. My iniquity is ever before me. I recognize my rebellion against you. It haunts me day and night. Jesus, forgive my indifference to my rebellious spirit and the punishment inflicted on You for my behalf. Have mercy on me, O God. Blot out the stain of my sin. Restore me to fellowship with You. In the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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Artwork: Ecce Homo (Behold the Man) by Honoré Daumier, Ecce Homo by Albert Chmielowski, and Jesus Is Scourged by Gustave Doré.