Read: Mark 15:16-20
On His way to the cross, we have seen Jesus rejected by almost everyone. Judas betrayed Him. The disciples either denied Him or ran away. The Jewish religious leaders had Him arrested. Herod didn’t know what to do with Him. Pilate eventually consents to His crucifixion. In today’s passage, we see soldiers mocking Him with fake tribute and insult. All this brings to mind Isaiah’s prophecy about the Messiah in Isaiah 53:3-5 – “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.”
Question of the Day: Have you ever felt rejected or deserted? Jesus knows how you feel! No one has ever suffered the way Christ did for you and me. He can relate to us in our sorrows.