DAY TWENTY-SIX -- Scorned
Around the Silent Sufferer surged the brutal slaughter and flung its showers of barbed sarcasm in His holy face. The Prisoner has become the sport of the executioners. —William Henry Bierderwolf
Reflect
Let a sense of peace fill your heart as you come to the cross today. Ask God to speak to you afresh, to reveal in some new way the glory of a Savior who lays down His life in love. Ask Him for the privilege of sharing in His suffering.
Psalm 22 is a prophecy of Jesus’ time on the cross. It tells us more of Jesus’ thoughts as He hung there. Ponder the first part of this psalm, seeking to understand what Jesus felt as you prepare to continue your journey with Him:
My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning. O my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer; and by night, but I have no rest . . .
But I am a worm and not a man, a reproach of men and despised by the people. All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the head . . . Be not far from me, for trouble is near; there is none to help. They open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion. (Psalm 22:1–2, 6–7, 11, 13 NASB)
Read
In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself.” (Mark 15:31 NASB)
As if on cue, the priests and elders take up the ridicule of Christ that the passersby had begun, now bantering loudly back and forth.
He saved others; He cannot save Himself.
“Yes—if He is God’s chosen One—the Christ, then let’s see Him save Himself!”
Jesus watches but says nothing. Is He envisioning what would happen if He did save Himself? Can He see demons binding those below, sealing their slavery to sin for eternity? Or do His own words—If you want to save your life, you must lose it—echo in His mind?
A mixture of self-righteousness and relief fills the priests as they see Jesus failing to respond. Surely, now all His foolish followers will understand what a counterfeit this One is who claimed to be the Christ. Their taunts grow in contempt.
“Look—there’s the King of Israel!”
Boisterous laughter peppers the air at the absurd idea. “Sure—He’s a King, so let Him come down from the cross—then we’ll all believe in Him!”
Nodding in sarcastic agreement, the elders glance at Jesus, wondering if He’ll say or do anything.
What can He say? What words can change the evil in the hearts of men who glory in His humiliation? What can He do? Come down from the cross and command them to bow and give Him His rightful place? How well He understands that if He did, the price for sin would remain on their heads, a price none of them can ever hope to pay.
Throughout the ridicule, Caiaphas has stood aloof, enjoying his moment of triumph. The envy that once ate at his insides has turned to loathing. He remembers the claims Jesus made only a few hours ago. What a stupid fool.
“He trusts in God. If God loves Him so much, let Him deliver Him right now. After all, He says He is God’s own Son!”
Once the chief priest speaks, it seems everyone wants to join in the revelry on Golgotha’s hill. Soldiers, inebriated from the wine they have been drinking all morning, revert to their earlier game of pretending Jesus is a king.
A couple of them make grandiose bows before the cross. Another holds up a chalice with the sweet beverage and says, “Come now, O King of the Jews. It is time for You to save Yourself!”
Snickering, they stagger around the cross, toasting each other gaily in the game that provides a break from the monotony of the day.
Like a roar, the scorn at Golgotha reaches the portals of heaven. Myriads of angels mourn, each one yearning to jerk the stakes from Jesus’ hands and feet. But the love of God is a mystery into which angels can only long to look. The Savior of the world will not save Himself and let humankind be damned to the hopelessness of hell.
Respond
Many people minimize the price Christ paid for sins because they believe since He was God, He had the power to come down if He wanted, or because He knew He would rise again. This is exactly why the price He paid was so great. He could have drawn on His supernatural strength at any moment. He could have forced the issue of His deity, but He chose not to. He chose to embrace the cross as a man, impotent to changing things.
This is a true mystery. Consider how Jesus had the force of the universe at His disposal, while He chose to endure the pain, the scorn, and the agony of it all. Contemplate the wonder of a love like this. Read or sing the words to the following hymn aloud and write your own prayer in response:
What Wondrous Love Is This?
Alexander Means
What wondrous love is this, O my soul, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
To bear the dreadful curse for my soul?
When I was sinking down, sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down, sinking down,
When I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside His crown for my soul.
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing, I will sing;
To God and to the Lamb, I will sing.
To God and to the Lamb who is the great “I Am”;
While millions join the theme I will sing, I will sing;
While millions join the theme, I will sing.
A Prayer
I wish they understood, my Savior, why You wouldn’t save Yourself, but I confess my own perplexity. What kind of love is this? I see Your name sullied by the sins of those You created for glory. I see Your honor disdained by unholiness in hearts You fashioned for Yourself. And still You go to Your death, choosing to endure each moment of torment. I stand here where men scoff and You hang in agony and do not save Yourself and I can only say, my Lord, Your cross confounds me still.
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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