“Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking Him as they beat Him. They also blindfolded Him and kept asking Him, ‘Prophesy! Who is it that struck You?’ And they said many other things against Him, blaspheming Him.”
(Luke 22:63-65 ESV)
It’s a nasty way to mock a prophet—to blindfold Him and then hit Him, saying “Who’s hitting You, huh, huh, huh? You’re a prophet, can’t You tell?”
And the answers are all pretty obvious. Who’s hitting Jesus? A bunch of jerks, that’s who (sorry, the more appropriate terms are not fit for family media). A lot of people get their kicks from hurting people who can’t fight back. Some men who will probably go home after this and treat it like any other day, because they abuse prisoners all the time; it’s nothing new.
But Jesus would define it differently. Who’s hitting Jesus? A sinner infected with evil. Someone who needs a Savior. Someone God cares about so much that He chose to send His only Son into the world, knowing what human beings would do to Him.
These are good descriptions of us, too, aren’t they? We also bear responsibility for what happened to Jesus. Our sins led to this beating—and to the cross. And yet Jesus welcomes us and cares for us just as He did for the very people who were beating Him—because we are the reason He came into the world. He takes us, blind in our sin and lashing out against Him—and He baptizes us into a new life as clear-sighted children of God. He carries the marks of our sin—and we carry His blessing.
Prayer: Thank You, Lord, for loving us so much. Amen.
Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on April 2, 2022
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved
Reflection Questions:
* Who is really blind in this scenario, Jesus or the abusers?
* Jesus had the power to answer them with their names—do you think He did? Why or why not?
* When have you caused harm to someone (accidentally or not) and they returned you a blessing?