To Be Least

Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' (Matthew 16:24)

Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, "If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all. (Mark 9:35)

      Jesus was a perfect example of this concept of denying your self, of putting yourself lower then others. He was the least of all, and because of this he was the greatest.

Then they spit in his face and struck him with their fists. Others slapped him 68and said, "Prophesy to us, Christ. Who hit you?" (Matthew 26:64)

The men who were guarding Jesus began mocking and beating him. They blindfolded him and demanded, "Prophesy! Who hit you?" 65And they said many other insulting things to him. (Luke 22:63-64)

²⁸They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand and knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. ³⁰They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. ³¹After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. (Matthew 27:28-31)

      Jesus, the Son of God, was insulted, beaten, mocked, and spit upon. To the world, a king should have a crown of gold, expensive garments, and a golden scepter. Yet Jesus has a crown of thorns, a scarlet robe, and a staff. This was not a sign of reverence, of respect, but a sign of mockery. Jesus was the "king of the Jews," however he was the opposite of a wordly king.

Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!" (Matthew 27:38-40)

      Jesus was crucified in between two robbers, men who deserved the crime. Yet Jesus had done no wrong, had committed no sin. Jesus was not the one who deserved to be on that cross, we are the ones that deserve to be on that cross. Yet he took our place, he payed for all our sins.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed. (Isaiah 53:5)

      I think often time we forget what Jesus did for us. He put himself as servant of all, the least of all. We deserved the what he went through on the cross, but Jesus took our place on the cross. God bless.