You may recall that I mentioned a few days ago that in the final week of His life, Jesus fulfilled 33 Messianic prophecies. What is even more astounding is that 29 of them were fulfilled in the 24 hours that began on the night of His betrayal!

One of these prophecies concerns the mocking that Jesus endured at the hands of His enemies. Psalm 22 was written by King David some 1000 years before Christ and in it he describes the process of crucifixion – centuries before it was even heard of in Israel. He describes the mocking of Jesus in this way:

“All who see me sneer at me;

They separate with the lip, they

Wag the head saying,

Commit yourself to the Lord;

Let Him deliver him, because

He delights in him.” (Psalm 22:7-8)

The Gospels tell us that Jesus was mocked, beaten, punched, and spat upon by both the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman soldiers. We can understand the beating and mocking, but why the spitting?

Have you ever been spat upon? There is something about it that shames your soul and cuts you to the core of your being. The soldiers’ spitting on Jesus revealed their utter contempt for, and rejection of Him.

Max Lucado made an interesting observation about the soldiers spitting on Jesus. He said it didn’t just reveal the blackness in their hearts, it also exposes the blackness in our own. The soldiers’ humiliation of Jesus is the supreme example of the bully who makes himself superior at the expense of his weaker victim.

And we do the same. We may not physically spit on people, but we cut them down with our words or treat them with contempt so that we can feel better about ourselves.

But here is the incredible thing – Jesus bears it all – the humiliation, rejection, contempt, and blackness in our hearts…

and “carries it to the Cross.”

Today’s Bible reading: Mark 15:6-15