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!” Mark 15:17-18
There is a television show that is very political and ridicules and mocks a particular political part and those, in office, who are members of that party. We don’t watch this show, but I have seen enough of the commercials to know that it is offensive. Not because I care about how they feel about politics, but because they also mock Christ and Christians.
Even though the scripture tells us that those who don’t know Christ, and don’t have the indwelling Holy Spirit, find things of God foolish (“The natural man does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God. For they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” 1 Corinthians 2:14) it still bothers me, to no end.
The thing that bothers me, isn’t that the christian community is mocked, what bothers me is what they say and intimate about my Savior. I want to defend Him and really get pretty angry about their mocking and about the fact that they are even able to speak about Him the way that they do.
But, Jesus doesn’t need me to defend Him!
If we look at His walk to the cross, we see that He was repeatedly mocked, slandered and abused and He never even defended Himself. In fact when Peter (ya gotta love poor rash, unthinking Peter, whom I have a lot in common with ; ) defends Jesus with a sword in the garden and cuts off the ear of the high priest’s servant (who was part of the group attempting to arrest Jesus). Jesus not only, miraculously, puts the ear back on, but He chastises Peter, because Jesus knows that this is the fulfillment of the prophecy and that it has to happen if we are all going to have an opportunity for redemption. (So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.” This was to fulfill the word that he had spoken: “Of those whom you gave me I have lost not one.” Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. (The servant’s name was Malchus.) So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” John 18:7-11).
So, Jesus didn’t need Peter to defend Him and He doesn’t need us to defend Him either.
He does however, ask us to defend our faith: 1. 1 Peter 3:15 – but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.
2. Titus 1:9 He must be devoted to the trustworthy message we teach. Then he can use these accurate teachings to encourage people and correct those who oppose the word.
3. 2 Timothy 2:24-25 – And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth.
Notice the underlying message of love, gentleness and teaching?
God’s desire for mankind is reconciliation not condemenation. He desires that none should perish (The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9 & God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3:17)
Our purpose in this life is to come to know Him, as Lord and Savior, and then to glorify Him so others will come to know Him as well.
If a child is not raised to say “yes ma’am” or “yes sir”, you don’t expect them to say “yes ma’am” or “yes sir”. Now they can come to understand that it is expected. But initially, it would not be an expectation.
It is the same way with those who do not know Christ. The scripture says that the things of God are foolishness to those who don’t know Him. So, why then do we expect them to behave as though they do?
The way in which we endure their mocking can be used by God to glorify Himself and draw them into a relationship with Him.
We need to be loving, because He asked us to and, so that those who think the spiritual things of God are foolishness will come to know Christ as their personal Lord and Savior. And, God will also reward our suffering…
1. Matthew 5:11-12 – “You are blessed when they insult and persecute you and falsely say every kind of evil against you because of Me. Be glad and rejoice, because your reward is great in heaven. For that is how they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
2. 1 Peter 4:14 – “If you are ridiculed for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. None of you, however, should suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or a meddler. But if anyone suffers as a “Christian,” he should not be ashamed but should glorify God in having that name.”
3. Hebrews 10:32-36 – “Remember those earlier days after you had received the light, when you endured in a great conflict full of suffering. Sometimes you were publicly exposed to insult and persecution; at other times you stood side by side with those who were so treated. You suffered along with those in prison and joyfully accepted the confiscation of your property, because you knew that you yourselves had better and lasting possessions. So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised.”
Our Savior will be mocked, our faith will be mocked and even we, will be mocked. Thankfully, our Savior exemplified the way in which we endure those mockings. By, remembering that the eternal souls of those around us are more important then whether our feelings are hurt. After all that Jesus had endured people recognized that the one they, and others, had mocked was truly the Son of God (“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!”). We should hope for the same result from the way that we endure mockings of our faith and our Savior.
We need to remember that (prior to knowing Jesus as our personal Savior) we too mocked people, their faith and the Lord. The first thought when that is said to us is usually, “I don’t think I ever mocked Jesus”, “I may not have known Him as my Savior, but I don’t think I mocked Him”. I would tell you that you, even if He is Lord of your life, are in ways still mocking Him! We call Him Lord (which means the one in charge) and yet we continue to try to run our own lives (Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. Proverbs 3:5), we say that we have faith in Him and yet we fear circumstances, people and consequences (do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. Philippians 4:6), we say that He is our hope and yet we are negative, down trodden and self focused (Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds James 1:2). So, let us not hate or be angry with others who don’t know Him and mock Him, but instead let’s gently and lovingly share the truth and glorify Him in the process.
I pray that today we would have a new confidence in our faith, our Savior and our walk with Him. I pray that we would glorify, share, and live for Him in a more bold fashion than ever before. And, I pray that we would persevere through our trials and mockings, knowing that the eternal souls of those around us are influenced by the way in which we endure and, if that isn’t enough motivation, we are also storing up eternal rewards for those endurances. And, before we correct or condemn someone else’s mockings of our Savior, let us examine our own lives and rectify them…taking the logs out of our own eyes first (How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye. Luke 6:42). Glorify Him instead.
If you do not know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and have mocked him yourself, join the club. We have all been there. But, I would not encourage you to stay there. There is a loving plan implemented by our Heavenly Father, that would allow for your forgiveness and reconciliation to Him, through the blood of His precious Son. Jesus loved you, personally, so much that He endured mocking, beatings and death on the cross, so that you could have a relationship with Him, You could be forgiven and be reconciled to our Heavenly Father and have eternal life in Heaven. All it takes is one simple heartfelt prayer. Please, please go to our Life Preserver page (http://forgiven-n-loved.com/Life-Preserver/) and pray the prayer that is outlined there. The God of all creation is waiting to hear your voice and forgive you. Please pray and once you have prayed that prayer, please reach out to me at admin@Forgiven-n-loved.com and let me know so that I can be in prayer for you and welcome you to the family of God.
Luv Ya!
