Mensa Otabil - Mocked and Beaten (10/02/2025)
Luke chapter 22, verse 63 to 65: Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him. Having blindfolded Him, they struck Him on the face and asked Him, saying, «Prophesy, who is the one who struck you?» And many other things they blasphemously spoke against Him. Jesus was painfully mistreated by those who arrested Him, and though He had not been pronounced guilty, they treated Him as a convicted criminal. Our passage sets out a summary of some of the treatments that were meted out to the Lord Jesus Christ. It is important to understand that both Jewish law and Roman law did not permit a person who had not been judged and found guilty to suffer punishment. Therefore, what they were doing to Jesus was totally illegal. It was illegal for either the Jews or the Romans to act against Him in this manner. There are five things I want you to pay attention to concerning what Jesus went through.
The first is that He was mocked; He was ridiculed. They sought to humiliate Him and were determined to belittle Him, making Him feel very small because this was the person who had been hailed by the people. Just a short while ago, He had entered Jerusalem on a donkey with people crying, «Hosanna» to Him. They mocked Him to make Him feel inadequate, doing so while others were looking on, including some of His disciples and the crowds who loved Jesus.
Secondly, the passage says that He was beaten. This means He was kicked and hit, sometimes with sticks, sometimes with boots, and sometimes with fists. He was just beaten up. Thirdly, He was blindfolded. The reason the blindfold was placed on Him was so He couldn’t identify those who were breaking the law by hitting Him. They sought to disorient Him, because even if He was found not guilty and reported that people were mistreating Him, He wouldn’t be able to point out who had mistreated Him. So, they blindfolded Him to deny Him access to justice.
Number four: He was slapped. They slapped Him about, and the passage states they struck Him on the face. They hit Him very hard and, as they did, they asked Him who hit Him. He was blindfolded, and they confused Him, making Him feel bad about Himself.
Finally, it says that they blasphemed against Him, which means they insulted Him and spoke profanity toward Him. Can you imagine Jesus, who hears the voices of angels and their praises and has been experiencing that in eternity, hearing unprintable words spoken against Him? People insulted Him using all kinds of profanity, both Romans and Jews, and He had to endure all those words spoken against Him. This was before His trial even started, and He went through all kinds of sham trials because the people were determined that, regardless of the situation—whether He was right or wrong—they were going to kill Him; it was predetermined that He should die.
But remember, while all of this is happening, He is doing it for us. Jesus knew what He had signed up for when He said, «Let Your will be done» in Gethsemane. He foresaw all of this and endured it because He wanted to offer you and me total redemption from shame, from disgrace, and from everything that is wrong. In Him, we can have life and have it more abundantly.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, for my sins Christ suffered. Help me never to forget the price that was paid for my salvation. In Jesus' name, amen.» I’ll be with you again tomorrow. Pastor Mensa Otabil, shalom, peace, and life to you.