Railing and Wagging of Heads - Mark 15:29

Mark wrote when they crucified Jesus, “they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take. And it was the third hour, and they crucified him. And the superscription of his accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS. And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which said, And he was numbered with the transgressors”, and in chapter fifteen and verse twenty-nine of his book, Mark shared how, “they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads” where we read:

And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying,

Ah, you that destroy the temple, and build it in three days,

The verse reads, “And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, ...”. Mark began with the words, “and they that passed by” or “and the people who proceeded in front of and went past Jesus” “railed on him” which means “spoke reproachfully, reviled, calumniated and blasphemed Jesus”, “wagging their heads” or “moving and throwing their heads from side to side in a riotous, excited and disturbing manner”, “and saying” which means “and uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. Mark shared how people who passed in front of Jesus as He hung on the cross began to make fun of, speak reproachfully and blasphemed Him as they moved their heads back and forth in a disturbing way.

The verse goes on to say, “... Ah, you that destroy the temple, and build it in three days, ...”. Mark continued with the words, “Ah, you that destroy” which means “ah! Ha! One who dissolves, disunites, demolishes and subverts” “the temple” or “the sacred worship place in Jerusalem”, “and build it” which means “and restores, rebuilds and repairs the temple again” “in three days” or “within three sunrises to sunsets”. Mark shared how the people began to rant and mock Jesus with His words about destroying the “temple” and “rebuilding” it “in three days”.

When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we see how the people began to mock and make fun of Jesus as He hung on the cross, and as a measure of their intense taunting they “wagged their heads” back and forth as they repeated what Jesus said about tearing down the “temple” in Jerusalem and “rebuilding” it in “three days”. The people had no idea that Jesus was talking about the “temple” of His body which was being “torn down” and would be “rebuilt” three days from that time. God the Father allowed these people to “mock” His Son Jesus because they needed to be “saved” from their sinful ways. Jesus knew He would be the judge of every person who “wagged” their “head” and taunted Him with their words, and He still went through death so they could have a relationship with His Father God. For those who think this process through and discover what Jesus did for them, the best response is to yield to Jesus as your personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Mark shares how the mocking people said, “save yourself, and come down from the cross”, 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. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".