Midweek Lenten Devotion 2017

+ In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti + Amen.

Text: Matthew 27:41
Theme: The Wound of Mockery


Dear friends of the Wounded Saviour,

“Sticks and stones may break my bones but words will never harm me!” So they say! But is it really true? Can we be so dismissive of the verbalization of motives and beliefs? Words can be powerful. We quickly learn which words can be taken with a grain of salt and which words convey meaning and intent. Words can heal. Words can destroy.

The theme for our Lenten series this year is “A Wounded Saviour for a Wounded People.” In the coming weeks we’ll take a closer look at how Christ was wounded by betrayal, apathy, denial, mockery, and abandonment during His passion. The suffering of Christ is familiar to us, but it’s not merely incidental to the storyline of salvation. Only by bearing our sin as a true human being could our redemption be accomplished and our resurrection assured. This evening we’ll be focusing on the wound of mockery.

In relation to the other aspects of suffering Jesus endured, mockery might seem to be a minor component. Mockery involves only words. After all, Jesus was whipped and then experienced the physical torture of the cross. But how do we measure pain? How do we assess its severity, its scope, its consequences? The medical profession often uses a scale to gauge the pain of sufferers by rating it between one and ten. But, pain is very subjective. What one person tolerates cripples another. Childbirth might be the most universally recognized pain and it has garnered many biblical references. Physical pain gets a lot of attention, but what about psychological and emotional pain? Dying of a broken heart is now a proven medical reality.

Malicious words can be like arrows piercing right through our consciences and lodging deep in our hearts. They open wounds and they cause scars. We learn to know that the intentions of the speaker often determine the impact of the words. There once was a law professor who had the habit of mocking his students in the classroom. His intention wasn’t to harm but his manner was very convincing. He imagined that it would help hone the participants’ skills in formulating legal arguments. Instead, few and fewer students signed up for his classes. They were unable to distinguish his simulated mockery from spiteful intent.

Jesus was mocked with intention and vehemence. “…twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head…and kneeling before Him they mocked Him.”1 And again, “…the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked Him, saying ‘He saved others; He cannot save himself.’”2 Ridicule and mockery cause pain. They leave wounds. His detractors heaped scorn upon Him. Their goal was to completely destroy His credibility; to break His morale. They wanted the memory of Him and His legacy to be erased as soon as possible. He was a blasphemer in their eyes and a danger to the piety of the people. Yes, a threat to the piety of the people.

Remember now that we’re not merely observers musing on past historical events. We too, are the sinners Christ came to save. Jesus may indeed be a danger to your piety. If your standing before God is constructed on and maintained by your belief that your virtue or goodness, your generosity or devotion is praiseworthy in His sight, then you aren’t seeking the forgiveness that reconciles but the acclamation that isolates. The Scripture says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”3 If we sow to grow our egos we will reap the consequences of idolatry.

Christ is, in fact, the sworn opponent of every attempt to establish self-righteousness as meritorious before the Almighty. There are simply no concessions and no cooperations. The Lamb of God alone is worthy. Only His foot crushes the head of the Serpent. Only His arm shatters hell’s iron gates. Only His gentle touch embraces the fragile soul. Jesus is our righteousness before God, our holiness and redemption. We are deemed holy in His sight not because we are good even in the smallest measure, but in spite of the fact that we are self-serving to the core. The baptismal covenant made with you is valid not because you are deserving but because Christ is worthy. His body is given and His blood is shed for you in the sacrament not because you’ve earned the right but because He has made the sacrifice.

Every Lent we risk the age-old temptation of thinking it’s up to us to pull up our spiritual bootstraps. That we must put our noses to the grindstone and get our spiritual lives and our churches turned around. Dear friends, do not try to rob Christ of His glory. Do not try to pull Him off the cross while He still draws breath. The answer for an anemic church, for the body of Christ in any country or locality that is living off the capitol of the previous generation, is not the exhortation to try harder or do better. It’s not the threat of blame for the failure that seems to be looming. Appeals seeking to prod the sinful nature into action never have been and never will be the answer. The answer is not to presume to speak for God but to let the Spirit speak for Himself. The answer is the wounded Jesus for a wounded people.

“He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”4Jesus knows what to do with wounded people. He knows how to handle scars. He received the deepest scars ever dealt and he still bears them. He was the target of assassination. Yet God prevented His untimely murder so that the public spectacle of the crucifixion might be a witness recorded for all to see and hear. His wounds are our refuge.


Christ was mocked so that you could hear those joyful words of God’s welcome, “Come, you who are blessed by My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”5 Lent isn’t an aimless journey. It has a destination. That destination isn’t so much a place as it is a presence. We are journeying to the presence of the Wounded One; the Risen One. In His presence, we have perfect health. Even human words are powerful. God’s words are a matter of life and death. All the damage done by sticks and stones…and words, will be undone. Jesus is for us the Word of Life. Amen.

+ In nomine Jesu +

Midweek Lent 2017
Reverend Darrin L. Kohrt

1 Matthew 27:29
2 Matthew 27:41-42
3 Galatians 6:7
4 Isaiah 53:3-4
5 Matthew 25:34