Matthew 27:27-44

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion in front of him.

²⁸ And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him,

²⁹ and after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And they spit on him and took the reed and hit him on the head.

³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes back on him and led him away to crucify him.

³² As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, called Simon. They forced this man to carry his cross.

³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull),

³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with a bitter herb, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.

³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his clothes among them by casting lots.

³⁶ Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.

³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.”

³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

³⁹ And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads

⁴⁰ and saying, “You who wanted to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, deliver yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”

⁴¹ So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying,

⁴² “He delivered others; he cannot deliver himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.

⁴³ He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”

⁴⁴ And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

they made him do it

Simon of Cyrene is famous for having been compelled to carry Jesus’ cross, but none of the other characters in the story were made to do what they did. The soldiers could have argued that they were just following orders, but no one forced them to cruelly mock Jesus and gamble for his clothing. The religious and community officials also made fun of Jesus, literally adding insult to injury. The bystanders joined in the shame. The robbers who were also being crucified joined in as well.[1] There are no excuses for being cruel to others just because you can. At the cross we see humanity at its ugliest, and divinity in the heights of compassionate perfection.

LORD, thank you for enduring the cross, showing compassion for the world when the world had no compassion for you.

[1] Luke 23:39-43 tells us that one of the robbers changed his mind, and defended him.