Read John 19:1-6. Circle the word(s) that stand out to you. What is the Lord saying to you?
Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.
4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”
6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
Reflections on the Word.
Mockery! Disdain! Contempt! Sometimes we want to denigrate a person by belittling them. We may not care how much it hurts the person. The unkind actions are ultimately about the rejection of that person.
When we see or hear hurtful words, what is our response? Do we grimace in silence? Do we add our voices to theirs, being swept up in the moment of emotion with the crowd? Do we walk away or do we stay to see what happens at the end?
Pilate attempted to appease the crowd by having Jesus whipped. He had hoped that it would satisfy their bloodlust. The Roman soldiers hearing the conversation between Pilate and Jesus despised that weak man before them. They not only followed Pilate’s command, but they took their own initiative to belittle and challenge his kingly authority by slapping him. When Pilate brought back Jesus before the crowd and declared His innocence, they only saw a man half beaten to death who was dressed-up as a puppet king and humiliated by Rome. Everyone judged Jesus by his appearance. Their eyes told them that He was worthless and was just a nobody. And nobodies are to be discarded and cast aside.
The religious leaders utterly rejected Him. The text states this, “6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!” (NIV). When we see the homeless, do we see any value in or of them. We may not shout, “Crucify them!”, but in our minds and hearts, we silently say, “Ignore them! Look away.” It’s so easy for us to quickly judge the value of a people by their physical appearance.
I think if we took the time to look at a homeless person in his or her eyes, our response may be different. Don’t just look at their sign or their outward appearance. See the person behind the sign and clothing! What does Jesus see when He sees that homeless person? Do we see the person, or do we see nothing at all? Let’s see and respond to people the way that Jesus sees them.
-Kingston