Mark 15:16-20

Passage

The soldiers led Jesus away.  While they were still in Pilate’s quarters, the decided to call the whole cohort together.  The dressed Jesus in purple and then placed a crown of thorns upon His head.  The made gestures towards Him as though He was a dignitary and called Him the King of the Jews.  They struck Him.  They spit upon Him.  They bowed down in mock worship of Him.  When they were done, they put His own clothes back onto Him and led Him out to crucify Him.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

A cohort was the equivalent of six centuries or one tenth of a legion.  That means about 600 men.  600 men were called together to mock Jesus.  Let that sink in for a second.  Let me put that in perspective.  There are on average 220 customers in any Walmart across the country at any given hour, 24 hours a day.  So imagine taking a little under three hours worth of Walmart customers and standing in front of all of them.  Then imagine being mocked publically before all of them at the same time.  That’s what Jesus endured.  For you.  For me.  Publically mocked by the world.

What does it mean to you that Jesus was publically mocked by that many people?  How can this story help you the next time you are wondering about whether or not you should stand up publically for your faith?

As an aside, here’s some cool Roman military terminology:

• 10 soldiers = 1 Squad
• 10 Squads = 1 Century
• 6 Centuries = 1 Cohort
• 10 Cohorts = 1 Legion

Second Thought:

Jesus said nothing.  Jesus literally did not resist.  Through the beatings, through the mocking worship, through the crown of thorns, through the spitting – Jesus said nothing.  He was doing the work of the Father.  His victory would come on the cross.  What need did Jesus have of dominating over these soldiers?

Why do you think Jesus was able to endure this treatment?  Why do you think human beings have a difficult time accepting abuse from the world?  How can Satan use our human nature to cause us to actually stray from God’s work when persecution comes?  How do you know when the right time is to stand up and resist and when the right time is to accept the persecution?

Third Thought:

When they were done, it was back to business as usual.  The Roman soldiers had their fun with Jesus.  Then they led Him out to die.  I have to wonder about the particular cruelty that resides in the human heart.  We have such a nature to kick people when they are down.  They didn’t need to mock Him; crucifixion would be bad enough.

What can this part of the crucifixion story teach us about the cruelty of the human heart?  Who in your life has shown you mercy when they could have turned on your weakened position?

Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 15:21-26