Daily Devotions
A Disturbing Scene
Title: A Disturbing Scene
Reading for April 28: 1 Chronicles 1-2
Weekly reading for April 15-21: Luke 20-24
Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking
him as they beat him. They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, "Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?" And they said many things against him, blaspheming him.
Luke 22:63-65
This scene is disturbing on so many different levels. First, there is simply the brutality and inhumanity on display. I've never witnessed something like this first hand, but I've seen mobs like this beating a defenseless victim on TV. I can't understand how people could find pleasure in something like this, even if someone is guilty of a crime or somehow "deserved" a beating like this.
But we're not looking at a man who deserved any kind of punishment at all. This is a man who "went about doing good" (Acts 10:38). He never did anything evil at all to anyone. He comforted the brokenhearted. He held children in his arms. He welcomed the rejects. He preached good news to the poor. He even loved his enemies.
More than that, we're witnessing an astonishing thing here as we see the Creator willingly allowing his creation to abuse and humiliate him in this way. This is beyond all comprehension. This is a God I cannot understand.
What can we say to you, O Lord, to express the gratitude of our hearts?
