"AND the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? And many other things blasphemously spake they against him" (Luke 22:63-65).
Note the four expressions: They "held Jesus," "mocked him," "smote him," and "blindfolded him."
Picture the scene. This was a long night nineteen centuries ago. Jesus carried upon His smitten heart the burdens of the whole world. A sequence of events took place in rapid succession. The devil and all his hosts must have been close by. Even in the upper room, during the Supper, things were tense. Judas made his final decision. He left the fellowship circle of Jesus' disciples, never to return. The other disciples were still arguing as to who would be the greatest. And Jesus knew that Peter would be tested and his weakness revealed in a few hours' time.
Imagine the Master's frame of mind as He left the upper room and went "as was his custom" to the Garden of Prayer. John says, "He went forth with his disciples over the brook Cedron, where was a garden, into the which he entered, and his disciples." (The other Gospels tell us that this was the Garden of Gethsemane where He went to pray.) "And Judas also, which betrayed him, knew the place: for Jesus ofttimes resorted thither with his disciples" (John 18:1, 2).
Judas Knew the Place
No doubt this was the place of prayer most commonly used by Jesus and the disciples, and it is interesting to note that Judas knew the place. He also knew the time, and when the bloodthirsty murderers of Christ were pressing him to take them to Jesus, he evidently restrained them until the proper time when he would find Christ in the Garden of Prayer.
What an important object lesson this is for God's people today. It seems to us that when it's prayer meeting time in Seventh-day Adventist churches all non-Adventists should automatically know where Seventh-day Adventists can be found—certainly not at home with the TV but at the house of prayer.
That night, emotions were running high. Danger was in the air. Already matters were getting somewhat out of hand. The mob was thirsty for blood and in no mood to put up with any interference with their plans. Everyone seemed pitted against the Master, but no one could really give a good reason why.
Holding Jesus
In this setting, then, let us notice again the four expressions: They "held Jesus," "mocked him," "smote him," "blindfolded him."
It would seem ridiculous and amusing if it weren't so tragic. Think of it, holding Jesus! Sinful man restraining the Christ—the Son of the living God! Must they hold Him because of His destructive power or because of the power of His saving love?
In your imagination can you hear the command ringing out, "Hold Him, soldier, the power of the universe is in His hands!" Hold Him who said all power is given unto Me in heaven and in earth? Hold Him! For if you turn Him loose, He will go about doing good, healing the sick, cleansing the lepers. Hold Him, soldier, or soon He will be giving sight to another blind man, will cure the lame, restore a withered hand, or raise another little girl to life. Hold Him, or He will take up another child in blessing or be forgiving another publican his sins.
How foolish! How absurd! That any should stand there holding Jesus. They were safe. He would have done them no violence!
Are We Shackling Christ?
Before we sit in judgment on this crowd, we should ask, How about us today? Is it possible we can make the same mistake? Do we not shackle His holy arms when in any area of our lives we remain unsurrendered to Him? There is a text that says, "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:33). How many of us take this text as it should be taken? How many sermons are preached on this verse? Yet its message is clear that in every area of our lives—business, social, or religious—Christ and His plan, His outline, His blueprint, and His formula should be permeating every action of our lives.
Paul said: "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world" (2 Tim. 4:10). Demas restrained Christ when he forsook Paul for the big city.
Perhaps the greatest discouragement for a preacher is to stand helpless in the presence of a backslider.
Teachers, preachers, church officers, missionaries, laymen—we all tie the arms of Jesus by saying No instead of Yes to the will of God. We must guard carefully against this.
The Moslem's New Testament
We must conclude that any hindrance to the gospel—such as withholding tithes and offerings, failure to stand up and be counted on the side of righteousness, or whenever we set ourselves in opposition to His will—hinders Jesus.
Dr. Samuel M. Zwimmer in his book on the Moslem world speaks of having seen an old Moslem diligently marking his copy of the New Testament. Dr. Zwimmer, surprised to see a Moslem reading the New Testament, moved close and asked him why he was doing this. The Moslem replied, "I am marking places where I find teachings of Jesus that are not observed by His followers." Dr. Zwimmer observed that the Moslem had already marked a large number of sections of the Gospels. This brings the question forcibly to each of us, How would my New Testament look if I marked it in that way concerning myself?
The men "mocked him." To mock, according to Webster, means "to treat with scorn or contempt; to deride; ridicule, defy, despise; to tantalize, imitate, mimic, taunt or jeer." Certainly the crowd that surrounded Christ during His trial and suffering and crucifixion did all of this and more, but perhaps we should be slow to criticize the crowd and the soldiers when we realize how many men are making an open mockery of Christ and His teachings today.
Twentieth-Century Mockers
In the world there are great atheistic movements that openly defy the existence of God and blatantly mock the name of Jesus. They mock the church of Jesus and everything connected with it, and they do it openly. Then how about those who have a profession of godliness but deny the power thereof? They use the name Christian when perhaps it would be better if they didn't. They mock Jesus by knowing what they ought to do but are not doing it. How about us? Are we guilty of this sin?
Next it says, "they smote him." I wonder which hurt Jesus more—the mocking or the beating. Perhaps it was the mockery, because Bible students seem to agree that Jesus died of a broken heart; but imagine men beating their own Creator and causing Him pain as He stands before them in a physical body.
The question arises, Is it possible for us to actually hurt our Master today? Evidently it is, for in Hebrews 6, verses 4 to 6, the message of Paul warns that we should be careful not to crucify the Son of God afresh by our actions and attitudes.
Dr. Alexander White tells of a man who claimed he saw Jesus tied to a whipping post and a man scourging Him. As the man brought the whip down on the bared shoulders of Jesus, the dreamer shuddered. As the persecutor raised his arms again to strike, the dreamer rushed forward, intending to stop him. As he did so, the man turned, and as if looking into a mirror, the dreamer recognized himself!
May God help us to resolve not to crucify Christ afresh and cause Him pain with our inconsistencies and self-seeking today.
Why the Blindfold?
Last, it says, they "blindfolded him." Why? Was it to keep Him from seeing the expressions on their faces? Or was it to hide the love and pity and compassion streaming forth from His understanding eyes? No doubt all of us can look back to a time when we wished Christ had been blind to our mistakes, our sins, our running away from Him and failing Him. Perhaps that's why the soldiers did it. They couldn't look into those eyes. Remember what it did for Peter when Jesus looked upon him (Luke 22:61, 62)?
Of course, we know that Jesus could look right through that blindfold into the hearts of His persecutors. He can see our hearts today, even through the veil of darkness and sin that is covering the world. He sees us, and He judges the motive of the heart. I am thankful for this. Christ deals with the individual, not the crowd or the church. I thank God that He sees the good as well as the bad; and concerning the bad He says, "If you confess your sins, I will forgive you."
No amount of covering or deception will hide from the eyes of Jesus that which is good and right or that which is bad and filthy.
One wonders about the leaders of nations who defy God and all who trust in force instead of God's plan of love. They must hope the eyes of Christ are not upon them at the moment.
Heart, Not Skin
The dishonest merchant must think that Christ is still blindfolded. The hypocrite, who is perhaps the most wretched individual on the face of the earth, evidently feels that Christ still is blindfolded. The immoral person who continues in his immoral practice has been deceived by the devil to think that the eyes of Christ are blindfolded against his unclean ways. But in all of this it is only a matter of time until Jesus Christ, the Son of the living God, looks upon us all.
In a certain sense it may seem that there is a blindfold over the eyes of Jesus. Perhaps what evil men did symbolizes an important object lesson, for Christ certainly does not see as man sees. He is unprejudiced as He considers differences in language, national background, and skin pigmentation. Perhaps that is also why He does not distinguish between a sinning church member and any other kind of sinner or between a professor of religion and any other worldly person. No! Jesus does not see as man sees. He looks on the heart.
Rather than judge the crowd that surrounded the Master, should we not ask ourselves whether we are not acting in certain areas of our activity as though Christ is blindfolded? For example, when we fall down in our responsibilities to God's cause or in giving for its program, or when we fail in our opportunities to win men to Christ; when we wrangle or become embroiled in arguments over nonessentials, or when we are contentious.
One Night's Results
"And as soon as it was day" (Luke 22: 66). You see, all these happenings took place at night. Jesus was betrayed one night. The doom came for Judas one night, and one night has spoken doom for many a person since the time of the Fall, because the devil loves to operate in the dark.
One night Peter, James, and .fohn, sleeping a little way from Jesus in Gethsemane, were tested. One night Peter, warming himself at the fire, wanted to hide his religion. He remembered his mistake later with remorse. At the very time when he had a grand opportunity to witness for the Master by willingly identifying himself as a follower, he fell into Satan's trap and did the opposite.
Jesus said, "I am the light of the world," but men love darkness rather than light. How direct and explicit John 3:19-21 is on this.
Those who walk in light avoid pitfalls and snares that trip those who walk in darkness. John says: "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ . . . cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7). What a beautiful picture! Most of us have not been called on to pay too high a price for the privilege of being a Christian. But some have paid much.
Christ Liberated in Huss
The record says that the mother of John Huss dedicated her son to God after his father died. She worked hard for John's spiritual and educational development. He received a charity scholarship to the University of Prague and his mother accompanied him there. As they neared the city, they knelt together, and the mother committed her fatherless son into the hands of the Almighty for future service. How wonderfully God answered that mother's prayer!
The time was 1415 and the place a pleasant meadow near the shores of Lake Constance. A guard of 1,000 armed men followed by a vast throng of people came to bring Huss to the place of his martyrdom.
As he walked, he recited portions of Psalm 31, verses one to five. "In thee, 0 Lord, do I put my trust; let me never be ashamed. . . . Into thine hand I commit my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, 0 Lord God of truth."
Soon his arms were fastened behind his back. His neck was secured to the stake with a chain. Then straw and wood were heaped about him, and pitch was sprinkled over all. John Huss was offered one last chance to recant. He said, "I shall not recant. I will die with joy in the faith of the gospel which I have preached." The torch was applied, the flames leaped high. Huss in his first agony prayed, "0 Christ, Son of the living God, have mercy upon us!" The wind blew the flames and his voice was stilled. His voice, yes, but his example will go on forever.
John Huss was not guilty of holding the hands of Jesus, mocking, hurting, or blindfolding Him. In Huss, Christ was liberated to witness to oncoming generations of the power of the gospel upon the heart of a once sinful man.
Let us not allow our easier times to lull us to sleep or cause us to be off guard as the disciples and Peter were. Let us stay awake with the Lord and follow close to Him, not afar off, even if it means Calvary or suffering. May we never let Him down. We have only one life to live, and we will never die for Him until we first learn to live for Him.
