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 spat 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 the 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 remembered because he was forced to carry Jesus’ cross. But he is the exception, not the rule. No one else in the story was compelled to do what they did. The soldiers could have claimed they were “just following orders,” but no one ordered them to mock Jesus, to spit on Him, to gamble for His last earthly possessions. That cruelty came from their own hearts.

The religious leaders and community officials joined in as well. They had already condemned Him, but that wasn’t enough—they added mockery to murder. The bystanders, swept up in the moment, hurled their insults too. Even the criminals suffering beside Jesus—men who knew the sting of judgment—used their final breaths to heap shame on Him.

No one had to do any of this. Every act of cruelty was a choice. And that is the sobering truth: there are no excuses for harming others simply because we have the power or opportunity to do so. At the cross, humanity reveals its ugliest instincts—mockery, violence, indifference, and the willingness to wound what we do not understand.

And yet, at that same cross, divinity shines in its most radiant form. Jesus responds to hatred with mercy, to mockery with silence, to violence with forgiveness. While the world shows no compassion for Him, He shows compassion for the world. In the place where human sin reaches its darkest depth, God’s love rises to its highest height.

LORD, thank You for enduring the cross. Thank You for showing compassion when none was shown to You. Teach us to reflect Your mercy in a world still so quick to wound.

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