Day 281 - Matthew 23-26 (Spitting in God's Face)
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'"Then they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, "Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?"' (Matthew 26:67-68)
The most shocking thing to me about the passion of the Christ is not depth of evil and cruelty of those men who abused the Lord Jesus Christ, who was God Himself in human flesh, but rather, it is the fact that God would subject Himself to that kind of extremely harsh treatment from His created beings.
I understand that someone who was perfect and without sin (Jesus Christ) must be sacrificed so that God's justice could be satisfied (propitiated), but surely God could have orchestrated it without totally humiliating Himself. Thankfully, the prophet Isaiah gives us the reason for the passion of Christ:
"Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth...
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief...
He shall see the labor of His soul, F77 and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:4-12)
Isaiah writing seven hundred years before the event of the crucifixion, describes it in detail as though he was right there as an eyewitness! Isaiah tells us that God did not attempt to manipulate His passion in the hands of His tormentors because "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."
Isaiah explains further that "it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief...He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied." Simply put, I believe God chose not to water down the suffering of His only begotten Son Jesus in order that He could satisfy the payment for our sins to the fullest extent. A quick and easy death simply will not cut it as payment for the sins of the whole world. In a sense, it's kinda like a guilty murderer sentenced in a court of law; all will agree that justice will not be served if the judge simply sentence him to community service for 6 months.
The next time you think that your situation is hopeless and that your suffering is beyond comparison, remember that God suffered much more than you are suffering now or could ever suffer in the future and He did so just so that you and I could be forgiven of our sins and be worthy to enter His kingdom in heaven. Have you asked God to forgive you yet of your sins? If not, you are wasting His sacrifice for you. All those who spit on the face of the Lord would have no meaning for you if you do not repent and receive Christ's sacrifice as substitute for the penalty of your sins.
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