The Meaning of Christ’s Sufferings for Your Daily Life

In light of Jeff’s previous posts on health and wealth teaching, I thought that I would share this short excerpt from the rough draft of the Bible Study notes. The study was delivered this evening (on John 19:1-22; and the Pilate’s trial of Jesus), June 18/2009.

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John 19:1-2
Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. ² And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. ³ They came up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands.

“The soldiers”; clearly having some license from Pilate to abuse Jesus, rough Him up. They put a ‘crown of thorns’ on Him and mock robe on Him. This crown of thorns probably served two purposes.[1] First, depending on where they got them, the thorns could be 12 inches long, and would be very painful.[2] Second, and this isn’t certain, the spikes are a mock imitation of the ‘radiant corona’, a crown portrayed on ruler’s heads at the time. The spikes represent rays of light (picture the Statue of Liberty). Either way, the point of the crown is to mock Jesus.

See, the soldiers are playing their twisted, vulgar games. They would play a game of “mock king,” scratchings of which are preserved on the stone pavement of the fortress of Antonia. Philo and other literature attest this game.[3] Mark describes it this way (Mark 15:18-19): “¹⁸ And they began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" ¹⁹ And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him.” See, whenever they would go to bow down before the prisoner they would substitute a gift or kiss with a punch to the face.[4] Even the way they say, “Hail, king of the Jews” is formed in such a way that would only be used to address inferiors.[5] That is, it’s even phrased to deny that he’s a king.

Isaiah 50:6-7
I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

…

There is one particular application that I want to make from this [the mockery and abuse of Jesus Christ] . It is very important for our time.

1 Peter 2:20-21
… if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

Christ left you an example. For what? So that believers might follow in His steps; Steps of suffering, a road of sorrows, of mockery, pain, suffering, reviling, and hatred from the world.

1 Peter 4:1
Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking, for whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin…

In context, Peter refers back to 1 Peter 3:14-18. The “way of thinking” is to be ready and willing to suffer for good and for righteousness’ sake, and so imitate Christ’s own way when He was reviled and when He suffered. Arm yourself with this way of thinking. Why? Because suffering for the sake of Christ cuts off the ‘nerve centre of sin’. This is why it is necessary. It isn’t optional. And in our day, when preachers will proclaim that material comfort and prosperity is your calling, this is an especially important message. If you are a child of God, you will suffer. If everything is comfortable for you, biblically speaking, it means that you are an illegitimate son.

1 Peter 4:13; 5:10
4:13 But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. …
5:10 … after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

Please take this to heart. It is for the good of your soul:

2 Timothy 2:3
Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus.

So set your face as flint, and endure suffering, as Jesus Himself did.

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[1] Carson (The Gospel According to John), page 598. The NET notes say, “The crown of thorns was a crown plaited of some thorny material, intended as a mockery of Jesus' "kingship." Traditionally it has been regarded as an additional instrument of torture, but it seems more probable the purpose of the thorns was not necessarily to inflict more physical suffering but to imitate the spikes of the "radiant corona," a type of crown portrayed on ruler's heads on many coins of the period; the spikes on this type of crown represented rays of light pointing outward (the best contemporary illustration is the crown on the head of the Statue of Liberty in New York harbor).” Morris writes that this idea of the crown of thorns is widely accepted, but not proven, and it well could be an instrument of torture (page 700, fn. 5).

[2] Kostenberger (John), page 532.

[3] Kostenberger, page 532.

[4] Morris (The Gospel According to John), page 701. The soldiers probably thought themselves witty, going up and paying homage, and substituting blows for gifts and dutiful presents.

[5] Citing Wallace; Kostenberger, page 532, note 56.