Luke 22:63-65 (NIV) The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, “Prophesy! Who hit you?” And they said many other insulting things to him.
The abuse of Jesus began in the garden, when the temple guards bound Him tightly before leading Him off to the high priest’s house. They didn’t have to bind Him at all; Jesus offered no resistance to them, and even stopped His followers from interfering. But, at this point, it was all about authority and control. The leaders hoped that by abusing Jesus, they could cause Him to lash out, to lose control, to say some unguarded word that could be turned against Him.
But now, when the leaders could find no grounds on which they could accuse Him credibly to the governor, they ramped up the mistreatment. Blows rained down on Jesus, drawing blood from His mouth and nose, and swelling His face.
And, of course, the mocking began. The guards knew that many considered Jesus to be a prophet. So that became the centerpiece of their abuse. They put a blindfold on Him, and then took turns hitting Him across the face and demanding that He name the one who had hit Him.
Through all this abuse, Jesus stayed still and didn’t say a word. He knew that, as bad as all of this was, it would get far, far worse before death put an end to His agonies. And He was not going to say a word in response that could be used to tarnish His reputation when all of this was over. Every word that he allowed past His lips were only words that would glorify the Father, or enable God’s plans for Him to move forward.
Father, thank You for this example given to us by Jesus. Very few of us today have had to endure the increasing level of abuse for our faith that Jesus did, but even as the beatings and tortures increased, He still demonstrated divine peace and patience. Help me to stay in His footsteps any time I end up facing opposition, or even suffering, for His name. Help me to surrender myself to your path, no matter where that path leads, and to say and do in those times only what You direct. Amen.