Spitting and Buffeting Jesus - Mark 14:65

Mark wrote how those who captured Jesus led Him to the “high priest” and “religious leaders” where they attempted to find “witnesses” against Him. When they could find none who agreed, “the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answer you nothing? what is it which these witness against you? But he held his peace, and answered nothing. Again the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? And Jesus said, I am: and you shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, and said, What need we any further witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy: what think you? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death”, and in chapter fourteen and verse sixty-five of his book, Mark shared how, “some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him” where we read:

And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

The verse reads, “And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, ...”. Mark began with the words, “And some began” which means “and particular ones of the religious leaders initiated and started” “to spit on him” or “to project saliva on Jesus”, “and to cover his face” which means “to overlay entirely Jesus' face”, “and to buffet him” or “and to strike with their fists, maltreat and treat Jesus with violence and contumely”, “and to say unto him” which means “and to utter, declare and proclaim to Jesus” the following words. Mark shared how the “religious leaders” began to “spit” on Jesus and hit him with their fists as they treated Him violently while “saying” the following words.

The verse continues, “Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.” Mark added the word, “Prophesy” which means “be a prophet, speak forth by divine inspirations and foretell future events”: “and the servants” or “and the slaves, men of servile condition and the subordinate attendants of the religious leaders” “did strike him” which means “without caring where they hit or thrust Jesus” “with the palms of their hands” or “using the flats of their physical hands such as slapping the face or boxing the ears”. Mark shared how the “religious leaders” mocked Jesus by telling Him to “speak forth a prophesy” as their “servile men” hit and slapped Jesus with their “palms”.

When we consider Mark's words in this verse, we discover some of the abuses Jesus took as the “religious leaders” condemned Him. The “leaders” and their “servants” began to “spit upon”, taunt, beat and slap Him as they “covered His head” so He could not reflexively avoid the blows. We can only imagine how this “Creator of the Universe” who gave every one of these men life felt as they punished Him in such atrocious ways. Because God loves people so dearly, He allowed His Son Jesus to endure these things, and because there was no other way for people to be “saved” from their “sins”. Those who are wise will attempt to put themselves in Jesus' shoes and realize how great a price He paid so they might have a relationship with God.

Next time Mark writes, “as Peter was beneath in the palace, there came one of the maids of the high priest”, 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".