Heartless scoffers did surround Thee,
Treating Thee with shameful scorn
And with piercing thorns they crowned Thee.
All disgrace Thou, Lord, hast borne,
That as Thine Thou mightest own me
And with heav’nly glory crown me.
Thousand, thousand thanks shall be,
Dearest Jesus, unto Thee.
LSB 420 st. 4
“And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and 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!’”
Matthew 27:28-29
Jesus was stripped, beaten, and mocked. He suffered and was humiliated. By His suffering we know Jesus comes alongside us in our suffering, and yet He does so much more. Jesus suffered all of this on your behalf. He was brought low so that you could be raised up to the heavenly places. Our Lord was stripped so that you could be clothed in the white robe of His righteousness by Baptism. A scarlet robe was placed on His body, a body that would soon be covered with His own scarlet blood as He hung upon the cross. Your blood need not be spilt, for Christ’s precious blood pays your debt of sin. A piercing crown of thorns was pressed upon the King of Glory’s head, so that you may receive the crown of everlasting life. A reed, which was used to beat our Lord, was put in His hand, so that you could be given a scepter of the heavenly kingdom. Those soldiers mockingly knelt before Jesus saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” What they said was true, even though they said it mockingly. Our Lord is not weak in this scene—rather, this is the coronation of our King. For Christ the King is Christ the Crucified.
Let us pray: O God, Your Son endured humiliating suffering at the hands of heartless men. Grant by Your Holy Spirit that Your Church would be strengthened in times of suffering, ever conforming to the image of Your Son, that Your Church would remain faithful unto death, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
(Cory Kroonblawd, Sem. II)