Friday – Scourged & Condemned
Scripture: John 19:1-7
Then Pilate had Jesus taken and whipped. The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple robe. Over and over they went up to him and said, “Greetings, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face. Pilate came out of the palace again and said to the Jewish leaders, “Look! I’m bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no grounds for a charge against him.” When Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here’s the man.” When the chief priests and their deputies saw him, they shouted out, “Crucify, crucify!” Pilate told them, “You take him and crucify him. I don’t find any grounds for a charge against him.” The Jewish leaders replied, “We have a Law, and according to this Law he ought to die because he made himself out to be God’s Son.”
Thought for the Day: Have you ever been mocked? I can think of a few times, but there were probably others when I sadly did not recognize what was occurring. In the case of the soldiers dressing Jesus like a king – with the intention of ridiculing him – it would become another means by which the truth of the incarnation was communicated. This human expression of the divine will was not about power, but humility. The I Am enfleshed in Jesus Christ revealed something very unexpected about the nature of God. It was not about intimidation of others. It was not about manipulation. Instead, it was a revelation of sacrificial love and merciful kindness. Over and against the Roman authority that used fear and violence to make its point, the people heard and saw a radical alternative. And as we learn in John’s Gospel – Jesus said, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (14:9).
Prayer: O Lord of the cross, I am in awe of your love revealed in humility and mercy. My gratitude overflows. Amen.
THIS MORNING
TONIGHT
GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE
7:00pm in the Centrum
Service of Song, Testimony and Story
