Reflecting on Luke 22:63-65“The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him.” (Luke 22:63)
Notice that these are the guards in the house of the high priest (v.54).
These are Jewish guards, under the authority of the high priest.
“He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him.” (John 1:11)
God’s holy people, chosen and loved, are mocking God’s messiah.
Sometimes the religious are persecuted, but sometimes they do the persecuting.
Maybe we do not directly insult Jesus, but how about indirectly?
Jesus made it very clear: “Truly I tell you,, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.” (Matthew 25:40)
How about when we demean other believers who do not believe like we do.
Jesus is in/with those who are mistreated for their faith.
How do you receive (or not) those who are not like you in faith?
How do you speak of those that you believe are weak or wrong in faith?
We may not beat them physically, but do we beat them verbally?
To insult anyone is to insult an image-bearer of God (James 3:9).
To mistreat a fellow believer is to mistreat Jesus, to Whom they belong.
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, forgive me for belittling You when I belittle believers who think differently from me. Show me where I am doing this, and help me to stop!
They can tell that we are Christians by our love. I need to be like Christ unto others. They need to daily see how I carry Christ with me each day. As far as it depends upon me, I need to live at peace with one another. That is also called one anothering which is mentioned about 60 times in the New Testament. May His light shine in me and through me each day anew.