I know that it's still two full weeks before Ash Wednesday, but my Bible reading schedule had me consider Matthew 27:27-56 this morning.
How can you read this without being impacted with the pathos of these hours?
Pilate, having washed his hands of the manipulations of the priests and religious leaders, turned Barabbas loose and handed Jesus over to the soldiers to be crucified.
- the soldiers mock Him
- they strip Him
- they place a red robe on Him
- then comes the crown of thorns
- they place a stick in His hand (as a mock scepter for the King of the Jews)
- then, laughter, mocking and abuse
Next, Jesus is forced to carry His cross. Unable to do so, Simon of Cyrene is strong-armed into carrying it for Jesus.
At the place of the crucifixion, He is offered a drink to help kill the pain; He refused it.
In one sentence, Matthew reports that they nailed Him to the cross and gambled over His garments. We can be thankful that he spared us the details of this gruesome process.
They place a placard reading: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Then, two criminals are crucified, one on each side of Jesus.
The crowd now jeers and mocks Jesus.
The high priests, religion scholars and leaders join in the mockery.
Even the criminals mock Him!
