Unworthy

John 1:1-3, 14 (ESV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The Word is, of course, Jesus, the Creator of all things.  He is the God Who spoke and all that exists came into being.  He is equal to God (the Father and Holy Spirit – John 5:18), yet He emptied Himself and took the form of a human (Phil. 2:5-8).

Jesus, the God of the universe, walked with men, even washed their feet.  Imagine that.  God Himself washing your feet.  How humble is our God.

For revealing the grace of God, He was captured and held for trial.  While waiting, He was beaten and humiliated:

Luke 22:53-65 (ESV)  Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. ⁶⁴ They also blindfolded him and kept asking him, “Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?” ⁶⁵ And they said many other things against him, blaspheming him.

Then the God of the universe stood before men to be tried and further humiliated.  He was convicted in the court of men, the very men He had created (John chapter 18).

Then Jesus was scourged and further humiliated. 

John 19:1-3 (ESV)  Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. ² And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. ³ They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands.

Roman flogging -scourging – was so severe the victim’s back would be torn open by the scourge, a whip with two or three strands of rope or leather.  These strands would contain bits of sharpened metal and bone intertwined so when applied and pulled away from the victim, the whip would rip chunks of skin and muscle.  Forty or more blows were typical tearing muscle down to the bone.  Most victims died from the scourging alone, but Jesus survived.

Finally, Jesus was sentenced to be crucified, the cruelest form of execution of the day.  On top of this, in His severely weakened state, Jesus was forced to carry His Own cross to Calvary:

John 19:16, 18 (ESV)  So they took Jesus, ¹⁷ and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha. ¹⁸ There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, and Jesus between them.

Why is this important?

Before all this happened, Jesus knew:

Mark 10:33, 34 (ESV)  [Jesus said]  “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Jesus knew it all, yet He went.  In fact, this was the main reason He came.  God Himself understood the torture and humiliation He was about to face, but came went anyway.

I have one more verse to share:

Heb. 12:2 (ESV)  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

God the Son did this all for us and is filled with joy we will be able to join Him forever because of it. 

We are not worthy of our God.