I remember a situation during my freshman year of high school. In a study hall with a rather inexperienced student teacher, one of my classmates became unruly and disrespectful. After several attempts to get him to stop and be quiet, the teacher called the school office and asked for the assistant principal to come to the classroom to intervene. He seemed to arrive immediately and approached my desk and asked if I thought I was being funny. The next thing I remember was being slapped several times, all while the perpetrator sat in the back of the room laughing. I was stunned and embarrassed and felt like a victim. As I remember it, I had done nothing wrong. I was innocent and I wanted justice! Now, as I look back on the situation, I probably wasn’t totally innocent. I may have thought that some of the things the unruly student was doing were kind of funny. Although what happened to me that day may seem unfair, there is a stark contrast between the injustice I felt and the true injustice Jesus experienced when He suffered on the Cross prior to His crucifixion.
Unlike you and me, who get infinitely more grace than we deserve in relation to God, Jesus was perfectly innocent in conduct and speech. Jesus was hit, beaten, scourged and whipped, forced to carry His Cross and then nailed to it. Sinless Jesus would have been fully justified to defend Himself or to call down a legion of angels in His defense. He didn’t. He remained silent. He suffered and was slandered but He did not retaliate or threaten. Jesus knew His role in God’s plan to redeem mankind, and He trusted God to work through the painful circumstances.
When we sincerely think about the Crucifixion, it should make us pause and recognize the magnitude of the humility of Jesus and the love He has for us. On the Cross, true injustice was used to justify you and me, and left us with a blueprint for handling injustice in our own lives. Now, when we feel injustice, we can lay it at the feet of the One who understands. Let’s take time on this Good Friday to thank and honor our Lord and Savior.
For Reflection:
- How have you experienced injustice? How did you handle it? Have you given it to Jesus? How does His example inspire you to trust God even in the face of injustice?
by Bryan Browning
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