SDA Daily Devotion

Herod with his men of war set Him [Jesus] at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate (Luke 23:11).

Jesus had no light to give one who had gone directly contrary to the knowledge he had received from the greatest of prophets. . . . The silence of Jesus could no longer be borne by Herod; his face grew dark with passion, and he angrily threatened Jesus; but the captive still remained unmoved. . . .

Some cried out that He claimed to be the Son of God, the King of Israel. Herod, hearing this, said, in derision, A king, is He? Then crown Him, and put upon Him a royal robe, and worship your king. . . .

A crown was now plaited from a vine bearing sharp thorns, and this was placed upon the sacred brow of Jesus; and an old tattered purple robe, once the garment of a king, was placed upon His noble form, while Herod and the Jewish priests encouraged the insults and cruelty of the mob. Jesus was then placed upon a large block, which was derisively called a throne, an old reed was placed in His hand as a scepter and, amid satanic laughter, curses, and jeers, the rude throng bowed to Him mockingly as to a king. Occasionally some murderous hand snatched the reed that had been placed in His hand, and struck Him on the head with it, forcing the thorns into His temples, and causing the blood to flow down His face and beard. . . . But He who could command the heavenly hosts, and in an instant call to His aid legions of holy angels, one of whom could have immediately overpowered that cruel mob--He who could have stricken down His tormentors by the flashing forth of His divine majesty--submitted to the coarsest insult and outrage with dignified composure. As the acts of His torturers degraded them below humanity, into the likeness of Satan, so did the meekness and patience of Jesus exalt Him above the level of humanity.

When Herod saw that Jesus submitted passively to all the indignity that was heaped upon Him, preserving an unparalleled serenity through it all, he was moved by a sudden fear that after all this might not be a common man. . . . [Some who came to mock Jesus] looked into the sufferer's face and saw expressed there a look so like a king that they turned back, ashamed of their own audacity. Herod was ill at ease and, hardened as he was, dared not ratify the condemnation of the Jews; and he therefore sent Jesus back to Pilate.

It is from the Father’s heart that the streams of divine compassion, manifest in Christ, flow out to the children of men.... God permitted His beloved Son, full of grace and truth, to come from a world of indescribable glory, to a world marred and blighted with sin, darkened with the shadow of death and the curse. He permitted Him to leave the bosom of His love, the adoration of the angels, to suffer shame, insult, humiliation, hatred, and death.... It was the burden of sin, the sense of its terrible enormity, of its separation of the soul from God—it was this that broke the heart of the Son of God.... – {AG 188.2}
God suffered with His Son. In the agony of Gethsemane, the death of Calvary, the heart of Infinite Love paid the price of our redemption.... Nothing less than the infinite sacrifice made by Christ in behalf of fallen man could express the Father’s love to lost humanity.... – {AG 188.3}
The price paid for our redemption, the infinite sacrifice of our heavenly Father in giving His Son to die for us, should give us exalted conceptions of what we may become through Christ. As the inspired apostle John beheld the height, the depth, the breadth of the Father’s love toward the perishing race, he was filled with adoration and reverence; and, failing to find suitable language in which to express the greatness and tenderness of this love, he called upon the world to behold it.... What a value this places upon man! Through transgression, the sons of man become subjects of Satan. Through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, the sons of Adam may become the sons of God. By assuming human nature, Christ elevates humanity. Fallen men are placed where, through connection with Christ, they may indeed become worthy of the name, “sons of God.” – {AG 188.4}
Such love is without a parallel. Children of the heavenly King! Precious promise! Theme of the most profound meditation! The matchless love of God for a world that did not love Him! – {AG 188.5}