Jesus’
trials by the Sanhedrin and Pilate were over and both had similar verdict. He
was condemned to death on charges that were not even true. Jealousy and envy
had triumphed over truth and justice. They judged that He deserved the death
sentence and sent him to be scourged. Jesus would soon be carrying His cross,
on which He would be hanged, down the streets and to finally die in great
torment. As they had treated all insurrectionists, they also intended to make a
public show of Jesus as a deterrent to all would be insurrectionists. Before
the public execution, He was escorted to the Praetorium, the residence of the
governor. There the Roman cohorts, about 600 soldiers, were quickly assembled.
They were there to amuse themselves.
They replaced Jesus’ clothing with a purple robe. This was a
mockery using one of the soldier’s robe as a substitute for a royal garment.
Then they put over His brow a crown of thorns. In the midst their laughter they
shouted, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They beat His head with a reed and spat at
Him. He was not given the respect even a real criminal would have deserved.
They mockingly knelt and bowed before Him not knowing that they were bowing to the King of kings.
After
they had their fun and amusement, they took away the purple robe, put His own
clothes back on Him again. Then they led Him down to Golgotha where He would be
crucified. Simon of Cyrene, a Jew on his pilgrimage to Jerusalem, was made to
bear the cross for Him. Notice that Mark made mention that he was the father of
Alexander and Rufus. The Apostle Paul, in Roman 16:13 greeted Rufus and his
mother, and even referring to him as a choice man in the Lord, suggests that
Simon and his sons and wife became followers of the Lord after Calvary.
As we
read and reflect on all that our Lord had gone, we wonder why Pilate went
against what he knew he should have done conscionably. We also wonder why the
crowd was so vacillating, one moment they were elated by His ministry and the
next they would join the popular call to crucify Him. This is the sickening
fact of human fickleness. We have seen this ever so often. People would rather
run with the crowd, the turkeys and the geese, rather than soar a solo flight
like an eagle. It’s easy for us in all that we are reading to miss the Lord
Jesus, who stood there alone silently in the furry of activities. How could the
Savior remain so quiet? How could He stay so stoutly rooted to please the
Father? Is this a reflection of the depth of His prayer life? His quiet
resignation to the will of God in the face of His trials, stands as the model
for us. He shows us that a life of abiding prayers must be a non-negotiable
program if we are to face the uncertainty and even hardship of life. The depth
of our prayer life will determine if we can remain solidly rooted in God and
His will.
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