God's Promise in the Soldier's Spit

Chapter 2
I Will Bear Your Dark Side

The soldiers' assignment was simple: Take the Nazarene to the hill and kill him... The scourging was commanded. The crucifixion was ordered. But who would draw pleasure out of spitting on a half-dead man?

Spitting isn't intended to hurt the body-it can't. Spitting is intended to degrade the soul, and it does. What were the soldiers doing? Were they not elevating themselves at the expense of another? They felt big by making Christ look small.

Ever done that? Maybe you've never spit on anyone, but have you gossiped? Slandered? Have you raised you hand in anger or rolled your eyes in arrogance? Have you ever blasted your high beams in someone's rear view mirror? Ever made someone feel bad, so you would feel good?

That's what the soldiers did to Jesus. When you and I do the same, we do it to Jesus too. "I assure you, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!" (Matt 25:40 NLT). How we treat others is how we treat Jesus...

For some reason, the One who chose the nails also chose the saliva. Along with the spear and the sponge of man, he bore the spit of man. Why? Could it be that he sees the beauty within the beast?...

The sinless One took on the face of a sinner so that we sinners could take on the face of a saint.

(Excerpt taken from He Chose the Nails p16, 17, & 20)