“And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.” Mark 15:20 ESV
Reflection: have you ever been mocked or mocked someone else?
Most people have felt the effects of being made fun of by others. It starts when we are young, at home among siblings, between parents and children, among friends, at school and at work. We learn to deal with it, and we even learn how to do it. To make fun of others given the chance. Making fun of others is really nothing else than the broader behavior of mockery, which really is a strange human behavior when you really think about it. To mock is to make fun, to ridicule or insult someone else, but it is actually done for a purpose. It is not just “making fun”; It is to put down that person, in order to lift oneself up. And the person doing the mocking often enlists a group of others to maximize the effect of the mockery, getting even others to join in the mockery. Sort of social shaming, which can be very damaging to the victim. It is perhaps the most cowardly act one human can do towards another. The person doing the mocking is often the most insecure person of all, trying to take attention away from their own faults and insecurities.
Mark 15:16-20 is a very strange paragraph of scripture. Let’s read it. “And the soldiers led him away inside the palace (that is, the governor’s headquarters), and they called together the whole battalion. And they clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.” Mark 15:16-20 ESV. It is very hard to read. But let’s think for a moment about this – why in the world did the Roman soldiers feel the need to mock Jesus? He had done nothing towards them. They most likely didn’t even know Him or His teachings. This mocking seems so out of place, in a way.
But if we read ahead in Mark’s description of the events around the crucifixion, he writes the following “And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”” Mark 15:37-39 ESV. This centurion was most likely part of the mockery a few hours earlier. He might even have been the one who started it, who said “Hail, King of the Jews!” and got the rest of the guard to join in. Why might that be the case? Because it was him who later said “Truly this man was the Son of God!”, which means the idea of who Jesus really is, was already in his mind when they mocked Jesus.
We see so many mocking God today as well. Making fun of, insulting Jesus in so many ways, as the Roman centurion and soldiers did. But, we need to also be reminded here that, only a few hours earlier, Jesus was also rejected by His own people, even His own family. And, before that, betrayed, denied and deserted by His followers and closest disciples. No one stood up for Him, not even one. It is so difficult to think about, because we all would like to think we are so much better than that. But the truth is that we are not. We too, each one of us, caused His suffering. But, by His suffering and death for us, by His blood, we can receive forgiveness and reconciliation with God. We can be free from ourselves, from the bondage of our flesh and our sin.
Let us humble ourselves, repent of any mockery that we might have done of God, or of people, which are His creation. Let us bow down and worship.
