Matthew 27:27-37 -Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave Him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when He had tasted it, He would not drink. Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: “ They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.” Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him: THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Reflect On: Matthew 27:27-37
- Praise God: For overcoming evil with good.
- Offer Thanks: For the hope that Christ imparts to us.
- Confess: Your fear of suffering.
- Ask God: To help you put sin to death by the power of His Spirit.
As Christians we must … remember what our Lord said to His disciples on the verge of His arrest. He told them to take heart because He had overcome the world! But how could they take heart when they saw Him in chains? How could they believe He had overcome the world when He appeared so weak? No wonder they fled. They couldn’t understand until after the resurrection that Jesus was intentionally reversing the usual formula whereby the strong dominate the weak. The strongest man who ever lived was allowing His body to be forced onto a cross, to suffer the violence of the crucifixion in order to defeat the world’s evil.
As followers of Christ the King, we too must suffer a kind of necessary violence, a violence directed against our sin and against the sinful instincts of our fallen nature that make us want to repay hatred with hatred. Instead, we must allow Christ to overthrow our selfishness so that He can ascend the throne of our hearts. When He reigns there, He enables us to reproduce the pattern of His life, even to the extreme of loving our enemies. As the apostle Paul says:“Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. Therefore “If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Romans 12:17-21.
No matter how brutal the world may become, we must resist the temptation to fight evil with evil. We are called instead to forcefully advance Christ’s kingdom by overcoming evil with good, hatred with love. Let us pray to have Christ’s mind about the various conflicts that beset our world, asking Jesus to impart His wisdom to leaders of nations and peoples. Let us commit ourselves to loving others by actively working on behalf of the world’s poor, praying for the grace to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly before our God.
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