Hail, King of the Jews!
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I don’t always appreciate Scripture as much as I should. But when I get a new perspective on a passage or it applies to a current situation in my life, I get excited about it.
The title of this post is from the soldiers who mock Jesus as He is about to be put to death. I’ve always viewed the soldiers as mostly insignificant – yes, they are the ones who torture Jesus, put Him through excruciating pain and death, but they’re really just the muscle that put their boss’s commands into action.
But as I was reading through this passage again, it hit me – I have been like the soldiers more often than not.
The soldiers mock Jesus, pretending to bow down to Him and that He is their king. I’ve done the same thing – I say, “Yes Jesus, I am loyal to You and will follow You completely. Well, except for the people I don’t like – I won’t treat them well…and I barely pay attention at Mass…and I don’t actually spend time just with You in prayer…but other than that I’m totally Yours.”
This was absolutely me for a very long time. And although it still is to an extent, it’s definitely not as bad as it used to be. It is taking a long time to change.
If you can admit that you aren’t being the disciple you know you should be, and if you earnestly try to be that better disciple, you distance yourself from the mocking soldiers in Scripture. It’s when we claim to be Christians while our lives are anything but that we become those soldiers – filled with empty words and hollow actions.
Instead of being the soldier who says, “Hail, King of the Jews!” be the soldier who says, “Truly, this was the Son of God!”
