Mocking (Holy Week)

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Read:

Mark 15:16-20


Reflect:

Two of the scariest verses in the Bible, for me, are verses 17 and 18 in today’s passage: ‘They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!”’

It’s scary because of the accuracy of the soldiers’ words with their hearts in completely the wrong place. They clothed Jesus in a purple robe (a sign of royalty, which He is) but they did it mockingly. They crowned Him as Lord, but with a crown of thorns. They hailed Him as King, but sarcastically. In one sense they said the right words and did the right things, but not because they believed them to be true or significant.

We face falling in the same trap. We may say the right things - “Hail Jesus the King!” - , crown Him as Lord - but not of my heart -  or bring expensive sacrifices and still miss the mark. May we recognise Jesus as the true King of all, and may we respond accordingly.


Respond:

Lord Jesus, thank you for your grace and mercy. Please forgive me for the times I’ve not crowned you as Lord of my life, or surrendered to your sovereignty. Please forgive me for the times I’ve merely said the words instead of believing it with my very core. Help me recognise you every day. Amen.


Remind:

“Of all the bad men, religious bad men are the worst.”

~C.S. Lewis~


Photo by Ismael Paramo on Unsplash

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