THIS IS JESUS - THE KING OF THE JEWS

Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him, and divided his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:

"They divided my garments among them,

And for my clothing they cast lots."

Sitting down, they kept watch over him there. And they put up over his head the accusation written against him:

THIS IS JESUS

THE KING OF THE JEWS.

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver him now if He will have him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing.

- Matthew 27:32-44

In yesterday's reading, we read of many choices; of Pilate's choice to try to wash his hands of the decision, of the crowd's choice to try to take Jesus' blood upon their hands and their children's, of the soldiers who gathered the whole garrison to humiliate Jesus before crucifixion. And today, we read of the crucifixion itself.

Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear his cross. And when they had come to a place called Golgotha, that is to say, Place of a Skull, they gave him sour wine mingled with gall to drink. But when he had tasted it, he would not drink. Then they crucified him, and divided his garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet: "They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." As written in Mark's gospel, Simon of Cyrene will come to be known as the father of two sons who will later be members of the early church, Rufus and Alexander. At the Last Supper, when Jesus instituted the Eucharist, his covenant, he told his disciples, "But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom." He is true to his word; he does not drink the wine offered to him. The quotation ("They divided my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots") is from Psalm 22:18.

Sitting down, they kept watch over him there. And they put up over his head the accusation written against him: THIS IS JESUS - KING OF THE JEWS. For Jesus, the mockery and humiliation are complete. He is derided, degraded. He is the model of a scapegoat, in earthly terms.

My study bible has a note on our entire reading for today, which I will insert here: "Jesus endures the weakness of our body in his own body on the Cross to take upon himself our sufferings. This he does by the reality of the union of his divine nature and human nature in the One Son of God. His humanity is indeed our very humanity. He endures pain, is struck, tortured and crucified: He is wounded on account of our sins (Is. 53:5). And though he has no sin, he himself was made to be sin for us, that through his flesh he might condemn sin in the flesh (Rom. 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 2:9)."

Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and another on the left. And those who passed by blasphemed him, wagging their heads and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross." Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, "He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he is the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God, let Him deliver him now if He will have him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Even the robbers who were crucified with him reviled him with the same thing. This scene reflects much in scripture of the "Man of Sorrows" (see the icon from yesterday's commentary). We can read in Psalm 22, verse 8: "He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!" Even Jesus' mockery is prefigured in scripture. And we will see in tomorrow's reading, how Psalm 22 reflects so much of what is happening here. Isaiah 53:9 & 12 is also reflected, here and in the readings that will follow. Jesus is utterly despised. We are told that even the robbers crucified with him look down on him and revile him. He is the lowest of the low, in earthly terms.

So, once again, as in the past few readings, we must ask ourselves, what are we looking upon here? What is this picture we see before us in this reading? The King of Kings and Lord of Lords is mocked, spat upon, the lowest of the low. He is crucified in a pitiless, helpless way as the whole world seems to look on and look down upon this scene. What do we do with this awful, unbearable picture of truth upside down? In this hour of crucifixion, what should we see? What do we think about?

One thing we know for certain is the truth of the words of Isaiah 53:9: "Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth." Jesus has been truthful, true to himself, to his word, to his teachings and his identity all throughout this trial and crucifixion. That is one thing we can see. But what else is true about this scene? Contempt for Christ is something we all have to face at some point, if you ask me. His weakness, his lack of earthly power, what does it all mean here? We must face within ourselves the reality of the world that would create this scene. It may be hidden well in our lives. It may not ever appear in some stark and clear way. But there is a place in the world where it comes up, in contempt for truth, in contempt for the weak and powerless, in contempt for those upon whom we can falsely place somebody else's (or perhaps our own) guilt. In its contempt for anything beyond the worldly, for spiritual truth of the heart, that takes spiritual eyes and ears to see. This scene teaches us about something we have to guard against, and understand in order to know how we must make choices, and what we sometime must take a stand against in our own lives.

What do you see in the world that is upside down? That can bring terrible cruelty to those who don't deserve it? Let us ask ourselves for whom did Jesus die? Why is he on that cross? We know that it is for you and me. How does he teach us to be like him here? Can we share his burden, as did Simon?