And the men that held Jesus mocked Him and smote Him. Luke 22:63
On April 21, 1985, Tancredo Neves, newly elected president of Brazil, died of complications from surgery, the day before he was to have been sworn into office. During the presidential campaign, Neves told reporters if he got 500,000 votes from his party, not even God would remove him from presidency. So, Neves received the votes, but he never received the presidency. A coincidence? On December 8, 1980, John Lennon, a member of the Beatles rock-and-roll singing group, was shot six times in the archway of the house where he lived in New York City. Fourteen years earlier, at the height of the Beatles’ popularity, during an interview with the London Evening Standard and later quoted in the American magazine Datebook, Lennon said: ‘Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, today we are more famous than Him’. Public backlash to those remarks was so strong that the Beatles had to abandon public concerts and become a studio-only performing group, as their popularity plunged. A coincidence? God is not mocked (Galatians 6:7). Not even by bullies and thugs.
During the trial at the high priest’s house, Jesus was subjected to indignities and abuse beyond our imagining. He was probably still bound with ropes, but that did not stop the bullies from their tormenting. We are not told of the nature of their mockings at this point, but they would have included the worst of insults and blasphemies, intended to ridicule and humiliate Him. At the time, these cruel men felt they were getting away with it, and their actions were certainly encouraged, and probably abetted, by the high priest and his cronies. But these men were mocking the Son of God. As they wail in hell awaiting final judgment, how these men must regret their actions that day. When they stand before the Great White Throne, how dreadful will be their realization of the awful price to pay for their mockery and cruelty. God is not mocked.
Tancredo Neves and John Lennon are not the only people to have mocked God and thought they had gotten away with it. In addition to all of the atheists, evolutionists, and so-called intellectuals of our day, we can paint most of society with the same brush. We speak often of the growing spirit of apathy, as people all around us turn away from morality, decency, and any consideration of God as a valid aspect of their lives. Very few people do anything but shrug off or wave off any attempt to present them with the Gospel. Because they don’t want to get involved, they assume they are excused from any responsibility. They are mocking God… for now.
We know why the Lord Jesus allowed those evil men to mock and smite Him. He must be mocked and smitten if we are to be saved. But those who mocked and smote will eternally regret it. – Jim MacIntosh