Devotions

Rev Gav

Majesty

Mark 15.16–20

The soldiers led Jesus into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters); and they called together the whole cohort. And they clothed him in a purple cloak; and after twisting some thorns into a crown, they put it on him. And they began saluting him, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ They struck his head with a reed, spat upon him, and knelt down in homage to him. After mocking him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.

Reflect

Jesus had been sentenced and, as far as the soldiers were concerned, he was a dead man walking. The soldiers are likely to have been recruited from the local area and would have been comprised of Phoenicians, Syrians, and possibly even Samaritans — people unsympathetic to the Jewish cause. Mark tells us that there was a whole cohort of soliders, which literally would have been about 600 men. Even if it wasn’t literally a cohort, the implication is that there was a large group of soldiers called back to the palace, probably because the authorities feared reprisal. Jerusalem was a political tinderbox and Jesus had been identified by the Romans as a rebel or insurrectionist.

Jesus was fair game to these cruel soldiers who mocked and beat him horribly. It takes a special kind of nastiness to go out of your way to create a crown and source a purple robe just for the purpose of humiliation, yet this is what happened. Once their torment had been completed, notice how they had to dress him back in his own clothes. I wonder if Jesus had received such a beating that he was unable to dress himself. Certainly, he had to be led, and if we read on, he was unable to carry his cross.

When I was young, I remember attending a church youth service where the gospel was preached. The pastor said, “If you were the only person in the world, Jesus would still have given his life for you.” Those words stuck with me. Of course, Jesus gave himself so that the whole world might be reconciled to God, yet it is equally true that God loves each of us so much that God would have done it all just for you or just for me, and that is a sobering thought.

When I read the crucifixion accounts in the gospels, my first instinct is to dive in and save Jesus, to prevent the heinous injustice from taking place, but then this was all part of God’s plan, to give everything including Godself for our salvation. My own response is to do what those soldiers feigned to do, and honour Jesus Christ as the true Sovereign of all creation, kneel down in homage, and cry out, “My Savour and my God!”

Pray

Holy God
Thank you for giving yourself
that I might have life.
May I honour you
as the true Sovereign
and ruler over all creation.
I give you all my worship
and the praise that
is due your name.
This day and forever.