In this moment, we see cruelty clothed in authority. Jesus, having spoken truth without violence, is struck in the face. Soon he will wear a robe of mockery and a crown of thorns, fashioned not to honor but to humiliate. His body will be torn with a Roman scourge — the Cat of Nine Tails — designed to inflict maximum pain. But this moment is not just about physical brutality. It’s about dehumanization.
 
What are these tools meant to do?
They do not merely hurt the body.
They assault the soul.
They say: You are less than.
They say: You are no one.
 
Jesus, the eternal Son of God — through whom all things were made — is mocked as a fraud, hit like a criminal, and treated like a joke. Why?
 
Because in a broken world, truth is threatening.
Because when confronted with holiness, sin strikes out.
Because human insecurity often expresses itself in contempt.