To be crucified is the ultimate inhumane death sentence. How can humans be so cruel to a fellow human being? By looking at how the Roman soldiers treated Jesus, I can see three reasons. And again these are the same reasons some people still reject Him…
John 19:1-3 says, “Then Pilate had Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip. The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him. “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked, as they slapped him across the face.”
Jesus’ fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah…
“His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.” Isaiah 52: 14, 53: 7
The first reason of this kind of rejection and mockery is the result of blind ignorance: To these soldiers, Jesus was just a prisoner. They never heard Jesus’ teaching or seen His miracles. They made a sport out of Him. To them, He was just a great joke… just entertainment. When a Roman flogging took place, they wouldn’t stop until the person was near death. In fact, many have died from being flogged. They pushed a crown of thorns on His head. Can you imagine the excruciating pain of having something pierce your scalp? “Hail! King of the Jews!” they mocked Him and spit in His face… the ultimate insult. Because of their blind ignorance, they had nothing to gain or lose. People today laugh at Christianity; they see it as a joke. Let’s look at 2 Corinthians 4: 3-4…
“If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is only hidden from people who are perishing. Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.”
This is the plight of humanity…
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.” John 3: 18-21
By looking at the Roman soldiers, we can see two more reasons people reject Jesus. Those two reasons next week…
Why Do People Reject Jesus… A Look at the Roman Soldiers (cont.)