Spoiler alert. God always wins. 

Have you every been disliked? Mocked? Ridiculed? Were you at a loss as to why you were the brunt of mockery? If you answered yes, you are in good company. Jesus was the son of God, and he was mocked and humiliated. God allowed the people to show their worst, most evil selves to the son of God. Make no mistake, it would not have happened, if God had not allowed it.

The soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and placed it on the head of God’s son. They put a purple robe on him, the color of royalty. As if that were not enough, they called out, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They struck him. They scourged him, which means to whip, beat, thrash. They attacked him with physical and emotional brutality. The thorns must have dug into his head, making his head ache and bleed. They whipped him. They hurled insults at him and laughed at him. They did their best to humiliate him.

Why did the people treat God’s son worse than a criminal? It was written in the bible. It was foretold, yet it happened anyway. Pontius Pilate was granted the power of a supreme judge, which meant that he had the sole authority to order a criminal’s execution. Pilate did not want to execute Jesus. “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.” The people did. It was the people. You and me. The same people that Jesus died for to forgive our sins. Yes, we persecuted Jesus. Yet, God forgave us and gave us this incredible gift. God gave us redemption. God gave us another chance.

The Soldiers Mock Jesus
So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.

Pilate then went out again, and said to them, “Behold, I am bringing Him out to you, that you may know that I find no fault in Him.”
–John 19:1-4 (NKJV)

I had a situation growing up where I felt almost smothered by the hate and dislike for me. It was an atmosphere thick and hard to escape. All that animosity towards you, weighs you down. No matter what you do, its never enough. I would try to be nice and loving, and I would be mocked. Every nice thing that I tried to do was met with a sneer or was taken advantage of and exploited. I was mocked to my face and behind my back to whoever would listen. Each mistake that I made, and there were many, was mocked, retold, and laughed at over and over again. I just wanted to be loved, but I was never enough. I believed all the lies thrown at me. My talents were diminished and laughed at, and I was encouraged to do things that I would fail at and never succeed. My talents were pushed down. They knew my flaws. They encouraged me to do things that I could not do, so I would fail. They wanted me to think that every choice I made on my own would fail. They wanted to control me by emotionally manipulating me. Even when I did what they wanted, I was still told that I did it wrong.

I was not treated kindly, and I was blamed, when I felt bad. Toughen up. Its almost like I was a target used in practice, for others to see how long it took to hurt me, destroy me, and break my will. They sought to destroy me and still do today. I had to fight my way out and pull myself up. It is hard to pull myself up, when everyone is trying to push you down and control you. Sometimes, when I go back into that situation, I feel the same way that I used to feel. Waves of emotions smother me, feeling left out, alone, useless. That is how they want me to feel. They make themselves feel good by trying to make me feel bad. They want me to feel like I am nothing. They want me to feel like they know everything. They want to get information from me, to twist and mutalite into lies and deceit. They don’t want anyone to like me. They will not rest until everybody hates me. They are wealthy and successful. They want me to feel like I am nothing compared to them and their great intellect, accomplishments and people they know. They want to show me that I don’t know anything, and I will never be as good as them. They want to pretend that I am the problem, instead of admitting their evil intentions in their hearts toward me.

Their manipulations no longer have power over me. The more I seek God, the more God’s shield covers me and protects me. I see the truth.

When I leave this unfriendly situation, I feel relieved. I feel happy that I was reminded about all the hurt and pain. I am happy that I removed myself from the situation awhile ago. I am reminded that I am enough. God doesn’t make mistakes. I am as I should be. I am the prefect child of God. I am reminded that I need to seek God before I enter the enemy’s territory, so I don’t take the assaults to heart. If the son of God was insulted, ridiculed and mocked, why do I think that I will not face the same?

I wish that I would have known Jesus, as I know him now, growing up. I tried, I reached out to the priests, and was dismissed. My life would have been so much easier, so much less painful. It has made me stronger.

Now, I know that God is always there for me. I have a father in heaven that knew me before I was born. God loves me. God will help me through any situation and bring me through trials with a heavenly chorus singing me through the storm. I know the difference between doing it on my own and God carrying me through it. I will choose God each time. God, fight my battles for me. God, protect me from those who hate me. God, let me do your will. God, don’t let me think that I know more than you. God, I trust in you. God, you will fight for me.

It doesn’t matter if others mock me,  ridicule me or make fun of me. I have God on my side. They can make fun of me for being a Christian and seeking God with all my heart. That is ok. I know I am on the winning side. Spoiler alert. God always wins.