The Mocking Crowds

And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.

Their words echo Satan’s temptations…

Matthew 4:6 “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down, for it is written, ‘He will command his angels concerning you,’”

Can you hear it in those who passed? “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” (vs.40)

If you are God, do this, they say, as if they have the authority to determine whether or not Jesus is God. The arrogance. The gall. You said you’d destroy the temple you claim to be God’s Son, that must mean you are all powerful… do it if you are so strong, save yourself!

This is the lie of Satan: God isn’t who He said He is, He doesn’t tell the truth.

The truth? We don’t get to say who God is. When we decide that we get to determine who God is and what He is like, we are aligned with Satan, essentially saying,“I am god”.

Again: in Matthew 4:8-9 “…the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, “All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.”

Do you hear it in their mocking: ““He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” (vss. 42-43)

The lie: Almighty God would never endure suffering.

The truth? Suffering was exactly God’s plan. He could not save himself so that we might be saved. He could not save himself and save you, save me. “he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. (Isa. 53:5).

Suffering is a tool of God to shape me and form me into the image of Jesus. Suffering produces endurance, endurance produces character, character produces hope.

I don’t hate God for allowing suffering, but sometimes I do question His faithfulness, kindness, and goodness to me in the midst of it. In the end those questions end up crushing me because that kind of questioning is selfish and self-centered and leads to death. Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.

Who am I to treat Him as a puppet… if you do this or if you do that, then I will believe? Since when has God had a transactional relationship with me… he formed me and created me because He is love, and He loves me… and I minimize this to my metric of what He should do and be before I give Him the praise, honor, and glory that He is due!??? Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.

When I look at the cross through the perspective of the mocking crowds… I see myself, Lord have mercy on me, a sinner.