27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
Read Matthew 27:27-31 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
If you have ever wondered why Jesus chose the cross, our passage for this journal entry gives us a clue. While there were prophecies about His death, if we think logically about history and prophecy, He could have pointed the prophets to speak a different path for His life. Jesus was there when the story of history was being first being written, so why would He choose to go down the path that includes the most brutal torture imaginable, to ultimately face one of the most painful deaths imaginable?
If Jesus’ giving up His life for us was what was necessary, why choose the path with the most pain?
When we read Luke’s gospel, we learn the clue: two thieves.
I don’t recall any prophecies about Jesus promising a thief paradise when He was facing His end, but the picture of Jesus facing all the torture, beating, and pain just to get through to us and show us that He cares is a powerful picture. Jesus could have promised the thief paradise while walking by, or while visiting him in prison, but instead, Jesus faced what the thief faced, lowered Himself into the same set of experiences as the thief.
This is not a picture of God looking down and simply lifting us up. This is a picture of Jesus coming down personally, and stooping lower than even we would choose to go, in order to save just one more person for God.
Jesus faced the torture and pain because He wanted to save the thief – who had yet to put his trust in Jesus. Jesus knew that this would only happen if He shared a neighboring cross, so Jesus chose that path.
If Jesus loved a thief enough to orchestrate His death around saving him, how much more do you think He loves you and me?
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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