Paid In Full: An In-depth Look at the Defining Moments of Christ's Passion (14 page)

Chapter 15:
Has Anyone Ever Spit
in Your Face?

Some years ago, I visited another church in our city to hear a special speaker who had come from afar. That evening at the meeting, the local church I was visiting announced they would be starting a building program. As I sat there, God’s Spirit spoke to my heart and instructed me to sow a sacrificial seed into their new building program. It was a time when we desperately needed money for our own building program, so
anything
I sowed would have been a sacrifice. However, the amount the Lord put in my heart was significantly beyond what my natural mind would have possibly conceived.

What made it even harder for me to give this gift was that this church had acted maliciously toward our church in the past. They had lied about us, scoffed at us, and even prayed for our downfall.
And now the Lord was telling me to sow a large gift into this same church?

Throughout that entire service, I argued with the Lord. The issue really wasn’t the money, although we could have used the money ourselves at that moment. The issue I was wrestling with was giving a gift to this church that had treated us with contempt for so long.

Finally, the Spirit of God asked me,
Are you willing to sow a seed for peace with this church?
That clinched it! I pulled my checkbook out of my pocket to write what I considered to be a sizable gift for this or any other church. Writing that check was difficult, but once it was written, my heart simply flooded with joy because I had been obedient. There is no joy to compare with that which comes from being obedient!

One week later, the pastor to whom I gave the gift was at a meeting with his staff and church leaders. The pastor told his leaders, “Look at this puny little check Pastor Rick gave us! Couldn’t he have done any better than this?”

When I heard how this pastor viewed the financial gift I’d given, I was quite shocked. But I was literally stunned by what this pastor did next. He devoted the next part of his staff meeting to discussing all the things he didn’t like about our church and about me. He poked fun at us, ridiculed us, mocked us, and put us down in front of his people. Instead of being thankful for the gift we gave, he once again demonstrated utter disrespect and contempt for us.

When I heard about this event, it hurt so badly that it cut deep into my heart. How could anyone say the gift we gave was puny? It would be considered significant in any nation of the world. But what hurt the most was that the pastor had put us down and publicly made fun of us in front of his staff and leadership. I remember feeling as if I had been spit on — and as the years passed, this same pastor spit on us many more times.

For instance, when we dedicated our church building — the first church to be built in 60 years in our city — it was a moment of great rejoicing. But soon after our dedication, this man stood before a large convention of several thousand people and sneered at our new facility. For a second time, he injected a dagger into my heart! At a time when this pastor could have been rejoicing with us, he chose to make it another opportunity to spit in our faces.

How about you? Can you think of an instance in your life when you did something good for someone, but that person didn’t appreciate what you did? Was he so unappreciative that you felt as if he’d spit in your face? Were you stunned by his behavior? How did you act in response to that situation?

I think nearly everyone has felt taken advantage of and spit on at some point or another. But imagine how Jesus must have felt the night He was taken to the high priest where He was
literally
spit on by the guards and temple police! For three years, Jesus preached, taught, and healed the sick. But now He was being led like a sheep to the spiritual butcher of Jerusalem, the high priest Caiaphas, and to the scribes and elders who had assembled to wait for His arrival.

In the trial that took place before the high priest and his elders, the religious leaders charged Jesus with the crime of declaring Himself the Messiah. Jesus replied by telling them that they would indeed one day see Him sitting on the right hand of power and coming with clouds of glory (Matthew 26:64). Upon hearing this, the high priest ripped his clothes and screamed,
“Blasphemy!”
as all the scribes and elders lifted their voices in anger, demanding that Jesus would suffer the penalty of
death
(Matthew 26:66).

Then these religious scribes and elders did the
unthinkable
! Matthew 26:67,68 says, “Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?”

Notice that it wasn’t just a few who spit in His face that night. The Bible says, “…
they
spit in his face.…” The word “they” refers to all the scribes and elders who were assembled for the meeting that night. One scholar notes that there could have been 100 or more men in this crowd! And one by one, each of these so-called spiritual leaders, clothed in their religious garments, walked up to Jesus and spit in His face!

In that culture and time, spitting in someone’s face was considered to be the strongest thing you could do to show utter disgust, repugnance, dislike, or hatred. When someone spattered his spit on another person’s face, that spit was meant to humiliate, demean, debase, and shame that person. To make it worse, the offender would usually spit hard and close to the person’s face, making it all the more humiliating.

By the time Caiaphas and his scribes and elders had finished taking turns spitting on Jesus, their spit was most likely dripping down from His forehead into His eyes; dribbling down His nose, His cheekbones, and His chin; and even oozing down onto His clothes. This was an extremely humiliating scene! And remember, the men who were acting so hatefully toward Jesus were religious leaders! Their hideous conduct was something Jesus definitely didn’t deserve. And what makes this entire scene even more amazing is that Malchus — the servant whom Jesus had just healed — was in all probability standing at the side of Caiaphas and watching it all happen!

These religious leaders didn’t stop with just humiliating Jesus. After spitting on Him, they each doubled up their fists and hit Him violently in the face! Matthew 26:67 says, “Then did they spit in his face,
and buffeted him
.…” The word “buffet” is the Greek word
kolaphidzo
, which means
to strike with the fist
. It is normally used to picture a person who is
violently beaten.

As if it wasn’t insulting enough to spit on Jesus, approximately 100 men viciously and cruelly struck Him with their fists. Not only was this brutal — it was sadistic! Humiliating Jesus with their spit and curses didn’t satisfy the hatred of these men; they wouldn’t be satisfied until they knew He had been physically maltreated. To ensure that this goal was accomplished, their own fists became their weapons of abuse.

It appears that these scribes and elders were so paranoid about Jesus getting more attention than themselves that they simply wanted to destroy Him. Every time they spit on Him, they were spitting on the anointing. Every time they struck Him, they were leveling a punch against the anointing. They hated Jesus and the anointing that operated through Him to such an extent that they voted to murder Him. But first they wanted to take some time to personally make sure He suffered before He died. What a strange way to render “thanks” to One who had done so much for them!

When I get disappointed at the way others respond to me or to what I have done for them, I often think of what happened to Jesus on that night when He came before these Jewish leaders. John 1:11 tells us, “He came unto his own, and his own received him not.” Although these men who spit on and hit Jesus refused to acknowledge Him, He still went to the Cross and died for them. His love for them was unwavering — unshaken and unaffected by their wrong actions.

Although these men who spit on and hit Jesus refused to acknowledge Him, He still went to the Cross and died for them. His love for them was unwavering — unshaken and unaffected by their wrong actions.

When you think about the way people have wronged you in the past, does it affect your desire to love them? What have these conflicts revealed about
you
? Is your love for those unkind people consistent, unwavering, unshaken, and unaffected? Or have the conflicts revealed that you have a fickle love, which you quickly turn off when people don’t respond to you the way you wished they would?

The same Holy Spirit who lived in Jesus now lives in you. Just as the Spirit of God empowered Jesus to love people consistently, regardless of what they did or didn’t do, the Holy Spirit can empower you to do the same.

It is your responsibility to walk as Jesus walked regarding those who have let you down or disappointed you in your life. So take a few minutes right now to identify the individuals who fit this description. Then I encourage you to
pray
for them. Forgive each person, one by one, and then release them from their sin against you. Make the choice to follow your Master’s example, loving those who have wronged you the way Jesus loved those who so grievously wronged Him.

When you give a gift with sincere motives, it is surprising and hurtful to have the recipient express disdain for the gift or disrespect toward you as the giver. Has someone ever made light of a gift that you gave with the intention of blessing him or her? How did you feel?

Imagine how Jesus felt, knowing that He was giving His life for people who not only mocked His purpose, but also wanted Him to suffer and feel humiliated even as He gave to them. Think about the depth of love and humility Jesus walked in — just for you.

What kinds of attitudes and actions serve as a “spit in the face” toward another individual? Have you ever demonstrated those attitudes and actions toward God concerning His gifts to you? Think about it.

Disrespect and dishonor are far too easy to find in our modern society. On the other hand, honor, respect, and appreciation are rare, yet so very valuable. How can you build more honor and appreciation into your responses to others? What positive influence can you have in the life of someone you know, simply by displaying honor toward him or her — particularly if that person has been dishonored by others?