(Matthew 27:27-31)
After Pilate released him into the hands of the chief priests, the soldiers took Jesus to the praetorium where he was humiliated. The humiliation of Jesus was in the form of mockery and abuse. They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him as if he were royalty, plaited a crown of thorns, put a reed in his hand as a sceptre and mocked him. He was struck and spat upon and they treated him shamefully.
This was all to fulfil prophecy for it was written by the prophet Isaiah, “In his humiliation justice was denied him.” (Quoted in Acts 8:33) Jesus humiliation was of the worst kind for he was truly and innocent man. What is more, in their mockery the soldiers dressed him as royalty, pretending he was a king, and yet not recognising him as the King of kings.
All of this the Lord did and suffered on our account. All of this shame he took on our account so that we might have the chance to be freed. In him we receive salvation, but the price he paid in humiliation, mockery, abuse and ultimately death was enormous.
We need to recognise his suffering and be thankful. In the same situation would we be prepared to suffer in the same way? Probably not. But Jesus who had first descended from magnificence and the right hand of God suffered all of this on our account so that we could be saved.
His humiliation was our salvation. His weakness before these men became the strength in which we live. His sacrifice became our great salvation and the means by which we are reconciled to God.
We cannot give thanks enough for his sacrifice. There are insufficient words to praise him for this magnificent gift. He has given us the gift of life, which we do not deserve for we were all sinners. He gave us this gift even while we were sinners and effectively the enemies of God. But by the grace of God, by his undeserved kindness and compassion towards us, he suffered this humiliation and death so that we could be released from our bondage to sin and become the children of God. His gift is inexpressible and it is for this reason all people should praise God.
Hi! I’m John, the owner, author, and editor of this site. Over the past 50+ years as a Christian I have been teaching, preaching and writing about the Bible to help Christians gain a deeper insight into the scriptures that are easily understood. I also answer specific Bible related questions, so feel free to contact me.
