Sixteenth Day of Lent - Violated

The scourging of Christ. 
Window in Dalhem Cathedral,
Gotland Sweden. Wikipedia

"We are going to the top floor, so you might as well help."  The burly officer passed Jesus a pile of cabling.  He tried to see if Jesus could carry the battery pack too, but his strength seemed already to be failing. 

Outside a crowd was gathering.  Brutality was in the air. 

TV crews had been instructed to entitle all news bulletins: 'Jesus - Hope of the Nations'.  

There was international interest in this story. 

The police chief pointed out the inaccuracy. 

"Don't say 'Hope of the Nations'. Say, 'He thought he was Hope of the Nations'."

"Too late mate," smiled our Australian correspondent.

The crowd was becoming increasingly agitated.  

"What you doing in there? Show us the body!"

Then electricity struck.  Three naked bodies could be seen on the roof.  They were being strung-up, on flag poles, Jesus was in the middle. 

A sickening scene of triumph, a stinking odour of evil, spreading through the throng.

The officers drew lots to see who would get Jesus' private possessions - quite a nice mobile phone someone had given him.

Little did they know that what they were doing had been foretold in the book of Psalms chapter 22 vs 18.

There were also people who loved Jesus there too.  They strained to see Jesus’ swaying body. John grabbed hold of Jesus' mother's hand.  “He is telling me that from now on we stick together.”

John's Account Chapter Nineteen

Humanities' potential for depravity is beyond imagination.  Many have concluded that the Creator is either ambivalent to this suffering, or has unleashed such a beast that the damage is done. The violation Jesus experienced is sadly present today, and can be found in every country.  Unspeakable sickening cruelty.  

We believe that Jesus death was part of the plan to put an end to this.  This horror is not of the Creator's doing, though it has been permitted.  That is the extraordinary thing.   Permitted but not condoned.  There will be justice, and their will be healing from the indignity of personal violation.

PRAYER: I trust you that there is a way out of the hell we have created here on earth.