A ROBE OF HATRED

“Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.”
John 19:1-3 KJV

I am wearing a beautiful purple robe which keeps me warm but the purple robe they put on Jesus didn’t keep Him warm, it broke His heart. They put it on Him to mock Him. They didn’t want to keep Him warm. It was a robe of hatred. This is a very difficult devotion for me to write because I love Jesus so much.

We think how terrible it is that the soldiers platted a crown of thorns and put it on His head. However, every time that we say something hateful or do something to hurt people, we are just as guilty as the soldiers who platted that crown of thorns and put it on His head.

We need to remember when we hurt people; we also hurt Jesus and break His heart. We read in the Bible “And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

It is time that we stop hurting Jesus. He has been hurt enough and He has suffered so many things for us. May God help us to always do things and say kind words that will make Him happy. What about you? Are you doing things and saying words that hurt people? If you are, you are hurting Jesus.

Heavenly Father, please forgive us for hurting Jesus and breaking His heart. I know that when we hurt Jesus, we also hurt You. Help us to be kind and loving to everyone. Amen.

Joanne Lowe
January 2, 2012