Today’s scripture: Mark 15:21-26 (ESV-text and audio) (KJV) (The Message)
As you read, consider: What might God be saying to me? Summarize your thoughts in a sentence or two.
My thoughts (Brent Walsh):
A few years ago when I was a solo truck driver, I was driving through eastern Ohio when I came upon an entrance ramp where two other semis were trying to merge onto the interstate. I didn’t change lanes fast enough, so they had to slow down and lose some of their momentum. This upset them, so one of them got in front of me and the other pulled beside me to the left. I was trapped in the right lane, so when they both slammed on their brakes, I was forced to also slam on mine. We traveled at about 25 miles per hour for quite some time while they refused to let me around them. These schoolyard bully tactics were clearly intended to make me feel weak and inferior. It worked, and my ensuing anger was a reflection of how helpless I felt.
This is when I knew I had a choice to make. I could react to their bullying by swerving wildly like a cornered animal, trying to pass on the right or blaring my air horn, giving them more pleasure in my entrapment. I could quietly go along with their assertion of dominance and continue at 25 miles per hour until they grew tired of taunting me. Or I could realize that their behavior reflected on them, not me, and choose to take a non-violent stand. I took the third option, and I simply left the interstate at the next exit.
I pulled off onto the shoulder of the exit ramp, got out of my vehicle, and literally shook with anger as I paced back and forth. I must say, it took a toll on me to make this kind of a choice. For days afterward I fantasized about clever ways that I could have outsmarted the other drivers. I wished I could have demonstrated some kind of superior intellect and gotten back at them for their mean treatment. Looking back now, I know I did the right thing, but my ego had taken a hard blow when I decided to exit the roadway, and it took me a long time to come to terms with it.
When I read this passage about Jesus being led to Golgotha, it is hard for me to comprehend how he must have felt. The Bible tells us the facts of the story, but I wonder what was going on in Jesus’ mind. Was the human side of him seething with anger? Was he infuriated at the crowd’s cruelty and arrogance? Did he feel trapped? Did he question his dignity or his manhood? When he saw that his strength was being completely under-appreciated, he could have walked away from his tormentors or decided to put on a brilliant display of force and power. Surely that would have shown them who was boss!
But somehow that wasn’t necessary for Jesus. He did not flaunt his authority or try to prove his dominance. Looking back, we all know that his ultimate power was shown best, not in destroying his tormentors, but in putting aside his feelings and freely giving his own life so that they could have life everlasting.
Thought for the day: Philippians 2:5-8
Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,
who, though he was in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be exploited,but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
being born in human likeness.And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death —
even death on a cross.
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the guidelines on the How to Pray page.