Reflecting on Matthew 27:27-31
“Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him.” (Matthew 27:29)
As a Jesus follower, this is not something I want to follow.
Yes to the way of love, but no to this way of suffering.
Yet is it possible to genuinely love, and not suffer?
What is it in these soldiers that makes them so… loveless?
Not just the humiliating mockery, but the physical cruelty.
How had their lives formed them to be like this?
Was their anything in their soul that struggled with it?
Were they just pure evil, or were they made this way?
I still wonder about people who can be so cruel.
How can bullies and abusers and sex traffickers do what they do?
Whatever the explanations, it is so obviously wrong.
In contrast I see Jesus, whose only crime was loving people.
He is weak, and He is choosing to stay that way.
His love for people is so strong, He does not fight back.
Was he already now thinking what He later says out loud?
“Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)
The soldiers mock His supposed kingship by kneeling down to Him.
This moment makes me think of what Paul says later on.
“That the name of Jesus every knee should bow.” (Philippians 2:10)
This line follows Paul’s reflection on the humility of Jesus.
“He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death.” (Philippians 2:8)
Jesus’s weakness and love led the soldiers to mock Jesus.
Jesus’s weakness and love led Paul and many others to worship Jesus!
All the knees are bowing, but only some in devotion and faith.
I sense Jesus asking me what it is I am bowing down to.
Am I admiring and devoting myself to the Jesus way of love?
Am I using my power to control others, or giving it up for others?
The way of Jesus is not to claim or assert position, authority or power.
Jesus rules not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit.
The Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness goodness…
Gentleness, faithfulness, self-control.
This is what we as Jesus followers should bow down to.
And this is how we reign with Jesus in His kingdom here on earth now.
Jesus is reigning, but He is reigning in the way of love.
Wherever you see evidence of love at work, you see Jesus.
Wherever people bend the knee to love, they are honouring Jesus!
Conversely, cruelty and lack of compassion mock Jesus.
Especially when it comes from people claiming to worship Him.
They may be kneeling in body, but they are not kneeling in Spirit.
They may be hailing Him in words, but not in their actions.
Do I genuinely honour Jesus and the Jesus way of love?
Am I serving this Jesus by imitating His way of love?
The soldiers chose to mock Jesus and the Jesus way of love.
I refuse to mock it, instead I admire it and want it for myself.
What can I do today that will put this desire into action?
“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” (1 John 3:18)
Lord Jesus, Your love compels me to follow You, not to mock you. May my kneeling before you show itself in how I kneel before and server others in Your love, gracious way. Help me to live not by might nor by power but by Your Spirit!