04/04/2026
Something to think about.
Before the cross…
Before the flogging…
Before the nails…
They spit on Him.
Blindfolded Him.
Struck Him.
Mocked Him.
Mark 14:65 says:
“Some began to spit on Him, to cover His face, and to strike Him, saying to Him, ‘Prophesy!’ And the guards received Him with blows.”
This wasn’t random abuse.
This was intentional humiliation.
In the ancient Jewish and Roman world, spitting in someone’s face was one of the highest forms of disgrace. It was a public declaration that someone was worthless and rejected.
They didn’t just want to hurt Jesus…
They wanted to dehumanize Him.
The Greek word used for “strike” here is κολαφίζω (kolaphizō)
which means to beat with fists, to repeatedly punch.
This was not a single hit.
This was sustained violence.
Then they blindfolded Him and said:
“Prophesy.”
Think about the mockery.
They were essentially saying:
“If you’re a prophet…
If you’re who you claim to be…
Tell us who hit you.”
But here’s what makes this moment so powerful from a theological perspective:
He stayed silent.
Isaiah prophesied this in Isaiah 50:6:
“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.”
This was not weakness.
This was intentional surrender.
Jesus was not overpowered.
He was yielding Himself.
John 10:18 confirms this:
“No one takes my life from me, but I lay it down of my own accord.”
The Greek word for authority here is ἐξουσία (exousia)
meaning the legal right and power to act.
Even in that moment…
Jesus still had full authority.
He could have stopped it.
Matthew 26:53 says He could have called legions of angels.
But He didn’t.
Why?
Because this moment reveals something deeper than power.
It reveals love.
Not a weak love.
Not an emotional love.
But a deliberate, sacrificial love.
Romans 5:8 says:
“While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Meaning this:
The same humanity that was hitting Him…
He was dying for.
The same hands that struck Him…
He created.
The same voices mocking Him…
He came to save.
And He endured it all…
Without backing down.
This is what separates Jesus from everything else.
He didn’t just display authority through miracles.
He displayed authority through restraint.
Through choosing not to respond.
Through choosing not to retaliate.
Through choosing to absorb the punishment instead of returning it.
That is not weakness.
That is absolute control.
And here’s the revelation:
Before the cross ever happened…
Jesus had already decided.
He was going to endure it.
He was going to take it.
He was going to love humanity…
Even when humanity rejected Him.
So when you read that they struck Him…
Don’t just see pain.
See purpose.
Because every blow was a step closer to our redemption.
