The Soldiers Watch Jesus - Matthew 27:36

Matthew the apostle wrote how the soldiers of Pilate took Jesus, “unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots”, and in chapter twenty-seven and verse thirty-six of his book, Matthew wrote how the soldiers, “sitting down they watched him there” where we read:

And sitting down they watched him there;

The verse reads, “And sitting down ...” Matthew began words, “and sitting down” which means “and being seated, fixed in place and established in seated positions”. Matthew shared how the soldiers “sat down” after they hung Jesus upon the cross and gambled for His clothing.

The verse continues, “they watched him there.” Matthew added the words, “they watched” or “the soldiers observed, guarded and kept” “him there” which means “Jesus upon the cross”. Matthew shared how Pilate's soldiers commenced to “watching and guarding” Jesus as He hung on the cross.

When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we may have difficulty in imagining this scene because these “soldiers” were now “sitting” simply to “observe Jesus” and perhaps “guarding” Him in case someone interfered with His death. What was it like to look upon Jesus and He hung there, and what were these men thinking? Perhaps we should “be seated” and look as much as possible toward the cross where Jesus hung to die for our sins and examine our thoughts as we realize, “He hung there for sinners such as me”.

Next time Matthew wrote how the governor's soldiers, “set up over his head his accusation … THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.