Day 42 – From pain to glory
Mark 15:12-20
“What shall I do, then, with the one you call the king of the Jews?” Pilate asked them. “Crucify him!” they shouted. “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”. Wanting to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas to them. He had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified. The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him. And they began to call out to him, “Hail, king of the Jews!” Again and again they struck him on the head with a staff and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
Sheila Crofton Briggs writes:
Once Pilate and the crowd had finished with Jesus, He was handed over to brutal Roman soldiers, a whole battalion of them. The crown of thorns they wove always speaks to me. The thorns are very spiky and extremely painful, especially when hit with a reed which caused the thorns to dig even deeper into Jesus' flesh. The humiliation Jesus took from these brutal men, the spitting, the cursing and mockery I believe allows us to be freed from our shame, from our humiliation. Jesus took it all! Amazing! He withstood all their bullying and mockery so we don’t have to. He transformed the crown of thorns to a crown of glory for us!
What can You ask Jesus to help you with today to replace the painful thoughts you endure, and replace with His victorious “life-crown”?