DAY THIRTEEN -- Hoping for a Sign
Come now my soul, and worship this man, this God. Come believer, and behold thy Savior. Come to the innermost circle of all sanctity, the circle that contains the cross of Christ, and here sit down. —Charles Haddon Spurgeon
Reflect
Breathe deeply as you affirm God’s presence with you in this quiet time and place. Acknowledge your need for Him by confessing any sins that His Spirit brings to mind. Thank Him for the healing and forgiveness that flows through His blood at Calvary.
Meditate quietly on the following passage:
For you have been called for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in His steps, who committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in His mouth; and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously; and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. (1 Peter 2:21–24 NASB)
Write a prayer of thanksgiving for the truths you see here. Read
Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him. (Luke 23:8 NASB)
Sounds of morning life fill the air as Roman guards march the prisoner to the palace in which Herod stays during Passover. Merchants setting up stalls stare at the procession as it passes through the already bustling marketplace. It is almost impossible to see Jesus now for the crowd that hems Him in.
It is a short walk to the palace, but Jesus hasn’t slept in at least twenty-four hours. Does He tire of the jostling, the tugging and pushing that prods Him on when His feet falter? Does His head throb from the bruises of the night’s beating? Or does He draw His reserve from some inner reservoir of strength, something no one has been able to destroy?
A disturbing grief occupies the heart of Christ as they approach Herod’s palace. He can’t help but think of His beloved cousin John, whose beheading this man ordered to appease his incestuous wife. Dread must surely stir within as Jesus anticipates His own encounter with the evil tetrarch.
At the palace, anticipation fills the air. Herod has wanted to see Jesus for a long time, having heard tales of miracles and bold teaching. Secretly, he fears John the Baptist has come back to life. Now he will be able to see for himself and do away with him for good, if necessary.
Loud laughter resonates from Herod’s chamber. He and his entourage are eager to toy with the strange Galilean rumored to have raised the dead and turned water into wine.
But when the group finally arrives, the prisoner is a disappointment. Disheveled, dirty, bruised and bound, it is hard to believe He can perform miracles, much less entice whole villages to follow Him.
Herod paces a circle around Him.
“Who are You, really? And why have they brought You here?”
The crowd shuffles with nervous energy as Jesus fails to respond.
“Is it true You heal the sick? Raise the dead? Are You from God, or is all this a hoax?” Herod stops directly in front of Jesus, demanding an answer.
There is none.
With growing frustration, he tosses out a series of questions, none of which elicit a reply. Finally, convinced that this couldn’t be the brash John the Baptist, Herod tires of the fiasco. He looks around the room. As if on cue, the priests and scribes begin to call out angry charges against Jesus, accusing Him once again of blasphemy and treason.
Herod’s soldiers, disappointed that they’ve seen no miracles, shake their heads in disgust and begin to ridicule Him. “Mighty miracle man—You can’t even untie Your hands!”
“You can’t do miracles—You’re just a washed-up prophet.”
A priest shouts above the mocking soldiers: “It doesn’t matter what He is—He is stirring people up against the government—He is a threat to Caesar.”
Herod laughs out loud. “Him—a threat? How could He be a threat to anyone? He’s harmless—pitiful, a weak excuse for a man.”
One of the soldiers makes a sweeping bow before Jesus, feigning submission. The others jeer as they kneel around the would-be king.
Herod joins in, grabbing one of his royal robes and placing it on Jesus’ shoulders. The sight of the bedraggled prisoner dressed as a king amuses even the high priests.
What thoughts must plague Jesus now? Surrounded by royalty, does He remember the throne He left behind when He came to a fallen earth? Does the robe He wears remind Him of the robes of white His death will secure for sinners such as these?
Is the mental cruelty being thrust upon Him now perhaps more painful than the physical injuries He sustained in last night’s beating? Knowing what He knows, how can He keep taking this abuse?
Quickly becoming bored with the whole thing, Herod turns to leave. “Take Him back to my friend, Pilate. Tell him I find nothing worthy of death in this Man.”
An unusual alliance—Pilate, the Roman procurator, and Herod, the Jewish tetrarch—enemies up to this very moment. But politics makes strange bedfellows, and another piece of the Passion puzzle fits nicely into place.
Respond
Consider Jesus enduring this kind of ridicule. How did He do it? What sustained Him? In His humanity, what do you think He experienced in those moments?
See yourself as one of the soldiers, bowing in mockery before Him. Look into His eyes and seek to comprehend His thoughts and emotions.
Reread the passage from 1 Peter at the beginning of this section. According to this verse, how did Jesus endure? Imagine Him going through this process again and again. Praise Him that He chose to do so when He could have walked away. Offer Him your personal response.
A Prayer
King of kings and Lord of lords . . . they mock You. You didn’t perform for them, and so they scorn Your very presence. I think I understand their evil hearts, my Lord. How often I have disdained Your presence for something more tangible, something to satisfy my senses rather than sear my soul. This is how I mock You, dearest Savior—forgive me . . . forgive my foolish squandering of Your precious grace.
Reprinted by permission. Contemplating the Cross: a Forty Day Pilgrimage of Prayer, Tricia McCary Rhodes, 2004, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, Tennessee. All rights reserved. Copying or using this material without written permission from the publisher is strictly prohibited and in direct violation of copyright law.
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