Why were the soldiers so mean to Jesus? Why did God let them hurt Jesus?
Here's the answer:
The soldiers didn’t love God. They treated Jesus like a criminal.
Matthew 27:27-31 says, "The governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the palace, which was called the Praetorium. All the rest of the soldiers gathered around him. They took off his clothes and put a purple robe on him. Then they twisted thorns together to make a crown. They placed it on his head. They put a stick in his right hand. Then they fell on their knees in front of him and made fun of him. ‘We honor you, king of the Jews!’ they said. They spit on him. They hit him on the head with the stick again and again. After they had made fun of him, they took off the robe. They put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to nail him to a cross."
Whenever people are mean, they are saying they don’t care about Jesus or His ways. It was the same back when Jesus was on earth. The soldiers thought Jesus was a criminal, so they beat him and made fun of Him. They didn’t believe in what He was teaching.
Why did God let these people hurt Jesus? Actually, Jesus' death on the cross was God's plan! God let the people crucify Jesus because He planned for Jesus to die and take the punishment for sin—death.
Jesus could have called for angels to help Him (Matthew 26:53), but He didn’t. Jesus chose to die for you. He loves you so much that He paid for your sins on the cross.
Even though the soldiers were mean to Jesus, He asked God to forgiven them. While on the cross, Jesus said, "Father, forgive them. They don’t know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34a).
Bible Truth
"Again and again they hit him on the head with a stick. They spit on him. They fell on their knees and pretended to honor him" (Mark 15:19).
"But here is how God has shown his love for us. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).
