Would You Spit in the Face of Jesus?

Before you say no, hang on, I have a couple of more questions for you. Would you beat him unmercilessly? Would you be willing to crucify Him?

These are real questions that fit into the category of what is known as recall and/or process questions. These types of questions require some analysis on the part of the respondent, that is, you the reader. But for the purpose of avoiding you thinking I am not capable of doing these despicable things, I include myself.

Spitting in the face of Jesus

Spitting in someone's face is an indignity. In the US where I am from, it calls for an immediate fight on the spot wherever it my occur.

When Jesus was being led by the Roman soldiers to be crucified, Matthew tells us that "They spit on him..." (Matthew 27:30, NIV). This was meant to humiliate Him in front of all those who witnessed Him as He bore His cross.

I submit to you that when we deny Christ as Peter did, we spit in His face. Now many will claim that they would never do such a thing, but the reality is, even if we believe we have a strong faith, there may be times when we indirectly deny Jesus.

This may occur and typically does when we fail to speak up for Jesus or we do not speak out, which can be just as much a form of denial as any.

Take heed to what Jesus said: "Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven (Matthew 10:32-33a, NIV).

Would you beat Jesus?

Many of us do. Unbelievers do it all the time by ridiculing Him. But believers are also capable of doing it when we complain and grumble, when we don't receive an immediate answer to our prayers, or when we fight amongst ourselves over trivial matters.

On the well known Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said to the masses: "In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven" (Matthew 5:16, NIV).

I submit to you that when we see things we ought to do and do not do them, our light does not shine and instead we slap Jesus in the face as if what He said doesn't apply to us.

Not only did the Roman soldiers spit on Jesus, but they "took the staff and struck him on the head again and again" (Matthew 27:30b, NIV).

I would suggest that we beat Him up when we ask in greed for things we don't need. We ask to be wealthy, we fall for social media scams that promise money if you'll just type an "Amen" in the comment section. We ask for money, too. Don't you know God will supply all of our needs when we serve Him in faith?

Would you crucify Jesus?

Some faiths do this every single time they meet. This is especially true among those adherents of the Catholic faith when they observe the Mass. Let's see what God's word has to say about this.

"The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes" (1 Corinthians 11:23-26, NIV).

The Mass has four primary purposes: 1. To adore God as our Creator and Lord; 2. To thank God for His many favors; 3. To ask God to bestow His blessings on all men; and 4. To satisfy the justice of God for the sins committed against Him.

But again, I submit to you that the Mass does none of these things. Inasmuch as the Mass is a man-made institution with no standing in the God's word, and inasmuch as it accomplishes the holding up of Jesus Christ continually to public shame, which is expressly forbidden in Scripture, we can definitely know that the Mass cannot accomplish any of these objectives above.

While we do not quarrel with the first three objectives, we certainly of a necessity quarrel with objective number four. The very idea that humanity must daily, through the Sacrament of the Mass, satisfy the Justice of God for sins committed against Him is totally against Scripture.

You see, during the Mass, Christ supposedly continues to offer Himself to the Father as He did on the Cross. And in the Mass the Father continues to accept His Son's gift. This is not so!

Now some of you will be angry with me and I can accept that, but I speak the truth from God's word, not to berate you but rather to educate you.

Parting shots

Have you spit in the face of Jesus, beat him up and crucified Him over and over again? If so, we should stop doing these ungodly practices. These practices reveal our lack of reverence for He who died for our sins.

Do you not know that "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit..." (1 Peter 3:18, ESV).

In closing, let's stop spitting in His face by denying Him and to maintain friendships; let's stop beating Him up with grumbling, complaining and begging Him for money as if He were our central bank; and finally, let's stop crucifying Him over and over again.

May the Holy Spirit touch the hearts of the readers and convict where applicable.

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