Berated by the truth

And they (soldiers) clothed him in a purple cloak, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on him. ¹⁸ And they began to salute him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him. Mark 15:17-20  ESV

Don’t be surprised when a lost person states a biblical truth.  Throughout this chapter that records the death of Jesus, Mark emphasizes Jesus is the King of the Jews.  Pilate ask what will they do with this man, King of the Jews.  The soldiers beat him, while also mocking him by kneeling and proclaiming “Hail, King of the Jews!”  They put a sign on the cross with the title, Jesus, King of the Jews.  Even the religious rulers proclaimed it at the foot of the cross. ³¹ So also the chief priests with the scribes mocked him to one another, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. ³² Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.”

Jesus was present to hear all of this mockery, from Pilate, the soldiers, the crowd and the religious leaders.  It was the truth. Knowing this, one can see Jesus anguish just before his death as He cries out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me.”  He knew He was the messiah and that he had ability to change his circumstances, but He didn’t.

One of Satan’s prominent weapons against God’ children is slander.  John records in the book of Revelation that our enemy accuses us before God night and day.  He uses truth mixed with mockery to attack us.  This is an emotionally worded attack that is surrounded by physical activity.  How do we combat these attacks?

Here are some examples of the way that he attacks

IF you are a child of God, then why are your cars breaking down? Or having money problems?

If you are truly following Christ, why are YOUR children rejecting Christianity?

If you are truly a follower of Christ, why are you stuck in addictions?

IF you are truly a child of God, why don’t you tell more people about him or support those who do?

In each of these examples, Satan attacks our identity first.  Then he twist  the truth through the struggles and persecutions that we are facing.  All of these examples are to force us to conclude that we must not be a “child of God” or at the least “NOT a very good child of God.”  When we believe what the enemy has said about us, it neutralizes God’s power and presence in our lives.  How do you fight this attack? The Cross!

Take everything the enemy is saying and in your spirit go to the foot of the cross.  Tell Jesus what the enemy has been saying and ask Jesus what his perspective is about all of the accusations.  If there is a part in which we need to confess our wrong doing, the cross is the best place to receive forgiveness.  Tell Jesus that you chose wrongly and violated his best plans for your life, then receive His forgiveness.

If the Devil is just harassing you through slander, he will not remain at the cross very long.  It reminds him of his failure and his ending.  He loses.  At the cross we bring none of our skills, pride, or good works.  We stand in front of a Holy God receiving grace and mercy.  Jesus took the slander from those at the cross that we may be free.  THE TRUTH sets us free.  There is a cleansing and strength that comes from being washed in the blood of Christ.  There is no other way for this cleansing to come.  We walk away clean and bold to declare to the enemy that as many as receive Jesus to them he gives the right to be called children of God…and that is what we are!  Quote the promises of God often about your identity in Christ.  Learn to identify the voice of slander that the enemy brings against you and stand firm in the conviction the Holy Spirit gives of righteousness.

We are berated by the truth, because we are related to the TRUTH.  Having done all to stand firm…Stand firm.