Easter Family Devotionalنموونە

Jesus Is Mocked

When reading this story, it’s quite shocking. Can you imagine treating the King of Kings, the Son of God, like a criminal? The Roman soldiers took Jesus to the governor’s headquarters. In Roman history, this was known as the Praetorium, Pilate’s house, where Jesus was judged by the people, similar to how we have a judge in the court these days.

The identity of Christ had regularly been questioned as He declared Himself to be the Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world. Only one chapter before this, in Matthew 27, the Jewish rulers had already mocked Jesus as the Messiah, and now the Roman authorities mocked Him as King.

They dressed Jesus in the clothes of a king to tease Him as they didn’t believe that He was who He said He was, the King of Kings! They dressed Him in a scarlet robe (which only royalty would wear because the dyes to make fabric that colour were so expensive in those days). Instead of giving Him a crown made of gold, like other kings of that time, they placed a crown of thorns on Jesus’ head – ouch! They gave Him a reed stick to hold, not a glorious sceptre to symbolise His power, but a flimsy reed that didn’t look very kingly.

Their mockery turned really mean! They shouted out fake praise, mocked Him with their words, took back the robe, spat on Him, smacked Him on the head with the same stick they gave Him to carry, and led Him on the way to His crucifixion.

If only they knew and understood who Jesus really was!

RESPONSE/ACTIVITY

As hard as that passage is to read, there are some things we can learn from it. Of course, not in the physical sense, but do you think that you sometimes treat Jesus as though He’s just a normal person, not as His true identity – the King of Kings?

Have you ‘mocked’ Jesus by not worshipping Him the way He deserves?

Romans 12:1 (NLT)
"And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind He will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship Him”

When you tell God you love Him, is your life full of love?

When you sing praise and worship to Him, is it truly full of praise and worship?

When you pray to Him, are your prayers really focused on Him?

We have imagined Jesus looking like a character from a book. This may have hindered us from worshipping Him as our King, draped in a royal scarlet robe, wearing a glorious golden crown, and powerfully holding a sceptre. Is that how you see Jesus?

TODAY’S PROMISE

1 Peter 2:9 (NLT)
"But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for He called you out of the darkness into His wonderful light.”

Jesus is King, and because, as Christians, we are His ‘very own possession’, we are royal priests! When we truly recognise the identity of Christ for what it really is, it also helps us to know and understand our identity.

When we can love, honour, and worship God the way He deserves – as the King of Kings – we will understand His love for us! How do we know that? Because Jesus chose to go to the cross because He loves us, even though He was mocked and beaten, and even though the people who were supposed to love Him didn’t believe that He was who He said He was. We no longer have to wonder if we’re good enough, believe wrong things other people may think about us, or names other people may call us because we know that we are God’s very own possession, and our God is King!

PRAYER

Jesus, thank You for loving me even when I don’t worship You with my whole life. I am so grateful that You call me Your very own possession. I know that You are the King of Kings. Help me honour You with my words and with the way I live. I never want to mock You, so please help me to love You, and help me love everyone else, too, just like You love everyone. Amen.