Luke 22:64 The men in charge of Jesus began poking fun at Him, slapping Him around. They put a blindfold on him and taunted, “Who hit you that time?” They were having a grand time with Him.”
When I was about 10 years old, some girls at a mall made fun of the outfit I was wearing. I didn’t know them and – therefore – had no idea whether they were more refined fashionistas than I was or not (but trust me, they were. Everyone was.) Still, I went home and cried.
A lot of years later, I was stopped at a red light and I heard a noise and saw something land on my windshield. Then, something else. Substance? Big wads of saliva. I cautiously turned to the left and looked straight into the eyes of a sneering, spitting man. He looked right back, smiled…and did it again. I didn’t know him (though I suspect he was probably married to one of the girls from the mall) so there was no emotional investment, and yet as I drove away, I cried. And it wasn’t pretty, quiet, ladylike crying… something in me had burst and I was crying for every time I had been the weak one. The butt of the joke. The loser. I cried years of tears stored up from the mall to that moment, trapped next to a bad guy at a red light.
This scripture looks like an ordinary recitation of history…but it’s so much more than that. The Word became flesh and then took upon Himself all the words that I would ever hear. The words that would mock and mark me. The words that would duke it out to decide my identity. He stood there that long night, while all His friends ran fast and far, and absorbed my rejection into His big heart.
Proverbs says that words hold the power of death and life. But I Corinthians says that the cross took the sting out of death. Doesn’t that make you feel so brave?
What Now, Death?
Bo
P.S. I had stored this post away during Easter and had forgotten about it til a post at my friend, Cassie’s, blog reminded me of it.
Oh, it pains me just to read it! How we can all relate. But what a powerful cross, what a powerful redeemer! Thanks for the reminder.
i can so relate to the 10 year old girl thing so well!!!!!
and i thanks for the blog link and reference!
The cross took the sting out of death, but I don’t always feel so brave! Words do have the power of life or death, but I also think that when words are used against us, we as Christ followers are the ones holding the power of those words, not the ones giving them. We can choose to let the words destroy us, or drive us closer to our Father where they have no affect. The men taunting and beating Jesus repressents a picture of how death arogantly assumed he had conquired the Son of God. Though Jesus appeared weak and defeated, in the end He proved that the power is and always has been in the hands of the One who does his Father’s will.
When ever I am reminded of those weak moments, I am also reminded that God likes to let the enemy think he’s so strong before completely humiliating him! Jesus is the perfect example of “when I am weak, He is strong!” As far as the spitting man, Bo, there’s a righteouse spitting llamma waiting for him somewhere, ready to do the Lords will!:) (I see lots of llammas on my way to work every day!). Jesus Christ has all power over death, but I know that personally, I must not forget that the same power lives in ME, and I have free access to Him. Fear kreeps in all too quickly when I forget!
Sorry, ‘kreeps’ should have been creeps!