JULY 6

Mocking the Maker

Bible Reading: Matthew 27

The eternally praised Son of God stepped way down from Heaven’s glory when He became flesh and dwelt among us.  He who had heard nothing but angelic praise was subjected to a dissonant song in His earthly ministry.  In response to His mission of mercy, praise and thanksgiving were the exception, not the rule.

We were created to glorify God.  He is worthy of our praise (Isaiah 6:1-4).  But sin has bedeviled our hearts and mouths.  We are by nature a “people of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5).  Lips made to praise are prone instead to sing a different tune.

The gravity of our sin problem was vividly demonstrated at Calvary.  Given the choice between freeing Barabbas, a notorious prisoner (Matthew 27:16), or Jesus—the multitudes chose Barabbas.  Having been thus persuaded by the chief priests and elders, they called for His death.  “LET HIM BE CRUCIFIED!” they all said (Matthew 27:22).  Pilate asked, “Why, what evil has He done?”  But they kept shouting all the more, saying, “LET HIM BE CRUCIFIED!”  (Matthew 27:23).  In a cataclysmic act of depraved injustice, the jury of sin rebels demanded that their Maker die.

A growing chorus of voices joined in a malignant choir.  The soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorian, where He was surrounded by an entire Roman battalion.  They stripped Him, put a scarlet robe and crown of thorns on Him, and placed a reed in His right hand.  “They kneeled down before Him and MOCKED Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ (Matthew 27:29).  “And they spat on Him and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.  And after they MOCKED Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to be crucified” (Matthew 27:31).

As He hung there on that cross, “those passing by were HURLING ABUSE at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself!  If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross” (Matthew 27:39-40).  In the same way, the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were MOCKING Him, and saying, ‘He saved others; He cannot save Himself.  He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we shall believe in Him” (Matthew 27:41).  “And the robbers also who had been crucified with Him were casting the SAME INSULT at Him” (Matthew 27:44).

At Calvary, the depth of humanity’s depravity was evidenced in that cacophony of rebellious scorn.  In response, Jesus spoke as He had walked.  He who never sinned did not sin in His words (1 Peter 2:22-23). Instead, He expressed both concern and forgiveness for others (Luke 23:34; John 19:26-27).  His last words, “It is finished,” being the most precious of them all.  For in His Work “He Himself bore our sins in His body… that we should die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).  Because of His work, by faith in Him, rebellious hearts are changed and mocking tongues are Spirit-led to sing a better song.

Rebel sinners still sing that mocking tune.  It is His name they curse (1 Corinthians 12:3), His cross they count as foolish (1 Corinthians 1:23), and His return they mock (2 Peter 3:3).  But a marvelous transformation takes place when a person is born-again—rebel sinners are transformed into worshippers and profanity gives way to praise (1 Corinthians 12:3).  There will come a day when “every tongue (will) confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:11).  A multitudinous choir of the redeemed will sing a song of heart-felt adoration: “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, be blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever” (Revelation 5:8-14). In Heaven, no mocking voices will be heard, only worship for the One who died to save us!

“At Calvary, humanity mocked its maker, but the day will come when every tongue will confess Him as Lord.  How good it is to have confessed Him to be one’s Lord and Savior before that day (Romans 10:9)!”

Jerry Conklin

HE IS LORD

Emptied of His glory; God became a man,
To walk on earth in ridicule and shame.
A Ruler, yet a Servant; a Shepherd, Yet a Lamb;
A Man of Sorrows, agony and pain

Humbled and rejected, beaten, and despised.
Upon the cross the Son of God was slain.
Just like a lamb to slaughter, a sinless sacrifice;
But, by His death His loss became our gain.

Satan’s forces crumbled like a mighty wall.
The stone that held Him in was rolled aside.
The Prince of Life in glory was lifted over all,
Now earth and heaven echoes with the cry.

Refrain: He is Lord, He is Lord!
He is risen from the dead and He is Lord!
Ev’ry knee shall bow, ev’ry tongue confess That
Jesus Christ is Lord