John 19:19-22 “Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.’I have spoken openly to the world,’ Jesus replied. ‘I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret. Why question me? Ask those who heard me. Surely they know what I said.’ When Jesus said this, one of the officials nearby struck him in the face. ‘Is this the way you answer the high priest?’ he demanded.”
The other day, I was reading the story of Judas’s betrayal of Jesus and Jesus’ crucifixion in John, and these verses in chapter 19 really hit me, specifically verse 22. It says that one of the officials struck Jesus in the face. As in, this guy slapped the King of kings. He hit Jesus. On the face. With the hand that Jesus created, actually. My initial reaction was anger at this guy…how dare he hit my King? How could he be so blind to the fact of who Jesus was, and is!? But then as I continued to think about it, I realized that the official did what we as sinners do every day. Yeah, there’s not a physical Jesus that we punch with our fist, but every time we chose sin and the desires of the flesh over the incredible blessings that are offered to us through Christ, we are pretty much slapping Him in the face. When we chose our old sinful habits over the grace of Christ, we’re saying “Yeah, God, what You’ve got is whatever…I’d rather not take part of it. I mean You gave your life, but it’s not really worth it to me to live for You.” That’s a slap if I’ve ever heard one.
Not worth it. That’s what our lives scream when we continue to stand in our sinful ruts. Not worth it. That’s what we say when we claim that our bodies aren’t beautiful. Punch, slap, smack, ouch. Why do we claim to live for Christ and love Him with our lives but then slap Him in the face in our lives? It breaks my heart. Truly, honestly, breaks my heart.
