The Mocking with Sonja Knutson

Mockery feels small until it hits the core of who you are. On a snowy morning, we keep walking the Lenten journey to the cross and sit with one of the hardest scenes to read: Jesus being laughed at, dressed up, spat on, and publicly shamed. Sonia Knutson starts with a story many of us recognize, the sting of being judged for something as simple as a pair of shoes, and then invites us to notice what shame tries to do to our identity.

From there we zoom in on the Gospel of Mark and why it dwells on the brutality. Soldiers drape Jesus in purple, press on a crown of thorns, and perform a sarcastic “Hail” that was meant to degrade Him. Passersby, religious leaders, and even those crucified beside Him pile on. We wrestle with the question Mark forces onto the page: does this make Jesus look weak, or does it reveal a God who chooses vulnerability and love over self-protection?

The turning point is irony. The mock coronation becomes a real coronation, and the King they ridicule is the King who rises. We also bring it home: the bandwagons we jump on, the ways we conform for approval, and the danger of “fake faith” that goes through motions while daily life says none of it is true. If you want a deeper, more honest Christian faith this Lent, hit play, then subscribe, share with a friend, and leave a review with the line that challenged you most.

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Transcript

Snowy Welcome And Lent Journey

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Well, good morning. Good snowy morning to all of you who are at home. We're missing you here in person, but we're not here Sunday morning either. So we're glad that you can stay home and be safe and be cuddly. We are on a journey to the cross during this Lenten series. My name is Sonia Knutson. If you don't know who I am, I am the Pastoral Associate here, and I work with Ryan and Ben and Olivia, Isabel, and the whole team. And it's just a really a big privilege to be with them and a part of this team. We've been on a journey to the cross since Ash Wednesday, and we've been tracking Jesus through this Lenten season. And as you can see in our timeline, we have covered the arrest in the garden. And if you were following the week after that, Ryan sent an email out about the trial. And then last week, Ryan talked about Simon, who was carrying Jesus' cross for him. And today we're going to be talking about the mocking of Jesus. And we will end in just a few weeks with Easter morning. And I can't believe that Easter is just around the corner. Mockery, it's such an interesting and fun topic to talk about, isn't it? We all have experienced it in some shape or form, unfortunately, as it comes out in many ways in our lives. If you're in a conversation with someone, you might uh receive mockery through passive-aggressive comments or sarcasm, which happens to be our love language in our family. You might receive it in condescending or dismissive remarks. It could be shared publicly, privately, or even on socially online if you uh follow any media feed. No matter what your experience with it, it hurts. Amen. When I was in third grade, I remember experiencing mockery for the first time that impacted me in a memorable way. My mom had just left my dad and we moved from Iowa to Minnesota from a very small farm community, maybe about 800 to 1,000 people. And we moved to a larger city, which was about 25,000 people. And within a few weeks, we were going to be starting our new school. We barely had time to get settled in, and school was just around the corner. And so my mom thought, like, let's make this a little bit easier. I'm going to take the kids shopping. We were eight, nine, and 11 years old. And we went to a discount store and we all got to pick out brand new shoes, which was a big deal. My parents didn't have a lot of money. Um, and I had a lot of hand-me-downs from my sister. And so I was super excited to pick out my white tennis shoes with blue stripes. She was a little concerned because they were white and I was eight years old, but I promised that I was going to keep them clean. So I was able to purchase those shoes, and on the first day of school, all was going well until I attempted to play with a group of girls that quickly pointed out that my shoes had four stripes on them and they must have been bought at a discount store. Their shoes had three stripes and they were brand name. And I had never even heard of them before. And the taunting and the mock mocking felt like it went on for hours as other kids picked up on what they were doing, and it felt like everybody was laughing at my shoes. The teasing hit me to the core, and the shame filled me with something that I really didn't understand where I came from. We didn't worry about brand names or clothes or shoes. And for that matter, everything we bought came from the discount store. The joke was in Elgona, Iowa, that if this store didn't have it, you didn't really need it that bad. So after school that day, I remember going home and begging my mom for new shoes with no avail. Understandably, my mom didn't have a lot of money and they were brand new shoes. But she did share her best mom wisdom when she said, You're not defined by your shoes, honey. Give them time. They'll learn to know you and love you, which to me as a third grader and eight years old sounded like blah, blah, blah, because all I wanted to do was just fit in at my new school. I was embarrassed and felt less than, and the mocking for a short time did define who I was in this new place because of my lack of self-esteem and my uncertainty of our new beginning. But as I grew in friendships and I found my footing, I came to peace with my four striped shoes. And yet today, it still surprises me how the act of teasing and mocking affected me so deeply. And it was such a small piece of my life puzzle. And this mocking was nothing compared to what Jesus suffered in our story. Our reading today shared a depth of details and emotions tied to the taunting Jesus withstood through Mark's perspective and his lens, which is interesting considering he may or may not have been at the site. Some speculate that he was the man in Mark 14 that fled the scene after his linen cloth was stripped from him, but we're not certain for sure that this is true. So whether he was there or not, his writings share a level of mockery that is grueling and paints a vivid picture of the heartache Jesus was exposed to, which was cruel and indecent, and yet seemed to roll a bit off of Jesus as he endured it, which doesn't make any sense to me mocking, which is a behavior of speech that hurts and ridicules is harmful. It attacks, it cuts to the core of who we are, and yet Jesus seems unscathed by it. Yeah, surely there were times in all of the Gospels when he pushed back and exhibited his authority, but even then he does it with vulnerability and a calm demeanor. For example, in the garden, when he is arrested, Peter cuts off a servant's ear, and Jesus asks him to sheath his sword, put the sword away, and he says, Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given me? In other words, I already know my path, Peter. It's not going to change, so we don't need more violence in this situation. And then at his first informal trial, Jesus tells the high priest, after his accusations, that I have spoken openly to this world. And then he is struck by a soldier who thinks he's being disrespectful. And Jesus replies to him, If I have said something wrong, testify to me what is wrong of it. But if I have spoke the truth, why did you strike me? And later in Luke twenty-three, as Jesus is led to Calvary and his death, he addresses a group of mourning women who are crying along the side of the road, and he addresses them, saying, The daughters of Jerusalem, he tells them, Don't weep for me, weep for yourself and weep for your children. And he shares a riddle with them where he states, For if they do these things to me, a green tree, symbolizing that he himself is sinless and innocent, what shall be done to the dry, representing the guilty and the harsh judgment that will come to them? Outside of these few comments, Jesus willingly and calmly went to his death, for he knew he was fulfilling his prophecy. And as he told Pontius Pilate, he knew his kingdom was not of this world. Which makes me wonder, then, why was it so important for Mark to emphasize the details of the mocking, the shame, and the brutality? And what does it say about our divine God? After all, it wasn't just the soldiers that mocked him. Several verses describe others mocking, teasing, and taunting. The passer buyers, as they went by, wagged their heads and their tongues and hurled insults to him, and the chief priest and the scribes laughed and mocked him. They said, You save others, but you're not going to save yourself. And even the thieves that hung next to him were sarcastic and would say, Aren't you the Messiah? Come down from that cross. What does this say about him? Does this make him less than when he when we read how cruel and demeaning the people were to him? Some scholars believe so, and suggest that other gospel writers did not share the gruesome details, such as Matthew and Luke, for they feared that believers might consider him a weak god. But Mark shared the depth of all of the scenes, including the taunting and the mocking, and the many onlookers that jumped on the bandwagon to torment him, which consisted of many haters who wanted to end his kingship, but also many who loved him, including his mother and Mary Magdalene, a group of female followers and John, and some spectators who were curious and were possibly conformed out of fear or pressure, or were just simply swayed by others jeering and taunting. I'm so glad that we never do that. We never jump on the bat bandwagons to fit in or to be accepted. I know I did, especially when I was younger, and I still do, I'm sure, today. When I was in eighth grade, I smoked my first cigarette because my friend was doing it. It was the first time and the last time. They're gross. I wanted to be accepted, though. I think we're all guilty of this at times in our lives. Outwardly, we go with what the group is doing to gain approval, such as dressing what you think is cool to be like someone else, or buying three striped tennis shoes, even if you can't afford them, or getting the same haircut and style, because the person that you idolize, uh, like for example, Jennifer Aniston or Justin Bieber in the early 2000s, everybody wanted to look like them. Or even we're conformed in our driving, especially in Minnesota when we're trying to be Minnesota nice, like waiting in a zipper line, that long lane, rather than following the rules and going to the front, like you're supposed to. But we don't want to offend anybody, and we surely don't want that look. You know, that look, by the way, 169 north of the Roman is being constructed this summer, and I will be one of those that goes to the short lane and the zipper lane. So just be prepared for that and don't give me a look. More recently, I see that we are conforming in ways that we riot or we picket or we protest to support a side we may or may not fully agree with, because a friend or a party that we want to identify with encourage us to do this. It's what we do. We conform. And I can't help but wonder how many at this scene were swayed from their own beliefs to mock, along with the soldiers and the leaders and the priest, and to shame and encourage the brutality Jesus received because they were afraid or they wanted to fit in, or they couldn't possibly see the bigger picture of what is happening. Something that we can see 2,000 years later, but in that moment, they could not see the irony of their brutality and shameful actions. Do you know irony? This idea of actual meaning hidden under the obvious like this. Or this. Or did you know that the number one book shoplifted in America is the Bible? How ironic. I love it. And one of my favorite ironic stories is Alexander Graham Bell, who invented the phone, refused to have one in his own home because it might distract him. Irony and smart, I would say. And Jesus' journey to the cross is filled with this type of irony. The mockery, although it was vicious, was ironic how it played out with the resurrection being the icing and the top of the cake. The soldiers thought that they put Jesus in his place. They thought they gave him what he deserved. They thought that they had warned future pretenders, you know, those who might also think that they are a savior, they are going to be a king. They thought by putting him in his place, they were letting him know that this is what will happen to you as well. They mocked him with shame by dressing him in a purple cloak, and they made a crown of thorns and forced it on his head, as we heard earlier. And they said, Surely, surely the king of the Jews needs a crown. And they began to salute him and bow at his feet in homage and sarcasm flowed from them. Hail the King of Jews to humiliate his soul to the lowest depth. And the irony of the shaming is he was the king. He was Lord. Their mockery designed to degrade him as a fake king, unintentionally and unwittingly staged a coronation for the King of Kings that three days later would be declared an absolute truth of his identity and his authority. And if the shaming words weren't enough, the mocking continued into his beatings. Not only was he flogged, beaten with a short handle stick, with leather straps and bone fragments, but he was blindfolded and mocked brutally with reeds. And they were first placed in his hands as a scepter, and then told prophecy. Who is the one that is hitting you? As described in Luke. He was spat on and struck and prodded and stripped of his clothing publicly. He was nailed to the cross, pierced with spears, and given sour wine when he was thirsty, all of which he predicted and shared with his disciples shortly before they arrived in Jerusalem for the Passover. And as we read in Mark 10, when Jesus told his disciples, the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priest and scribes, he will be condemned to death, mocked, spit on, flogged, and killed, and three days later he will rise again. And the irony of all of this, this compelling story that Mark brilliantly shares, is Jesus, the divine authority, through his willingness reveals and demonstrates his immense love for humanity, and through his silent suffering saves others by refusing to save himself. And why? Because he was secure in knowing his path. Unlike third grade me, and unlike so many of us, he was secure knowing the path his father laid out for him, and knowing that he would be defined by the kingdom that was to come. Friends, this beautiful story reveals God's heart for his people. And in Mark's readings, when he shares profound details and deep emotion, we meet the most human, relatable portrait of Jesus that I believe intentionally was shared, so we, those that walk through difficulties every day, can relate to him. And his silence and refusal to retaliate his mocker serves as a template for myself and all believers to face hostility with grace and patience and prayer. He knows our journey. A path that deserves the utmost respect, and a path in our faith journeys that should reveal our hearts and our love for Jesus, not our love for this world that tends to continue to mock and belittle his realm, but rather a path that shares his truth in all that we do and shouts his name for this world to see. When President Abraham Lincoln's body was brought from Washington to Illinois, it passed through Albany and was carried through the street. They say a black woman stood upon the curb and lifted her little son as far as she could to reach above the heads of the crowds. She was heard saying, Take a long look, honey, he died for you. And this is where we should be in our faith, not mocking, not using his name in vain or living in fake faith or meaningless empty faith. Ryan shears in his final dissertation, Many Christians attend church on a Sunday morning yet live the rest of the week as if none of it is true. Instead of this practice connecting us to the divine or opening our eyes to the transcendent, they simply remain motions we go through that have no meaning beyond perhaps soothing our troubled souls and satisfying our superstitious urges. This type of faith is a form of mocking, as is twisting scripture to support or suit the modern world and our secular thoughts, or elevating the use of our titles as Christians to gain power. Always we continue to mock Jesus, but instead we should be lifting our hearts, our words, our actions, and one another to the one that died for us is so his brutality and death were not in vain. Central, this morning, and as you move into the mission field and the weeks to come, and as we continue to walk through our Lenten season, let the mocking of this story transform your heart and your relationship with Jesus. Let it convict you, inspire you, and define your path in his kingdom. And let it alter our stories of suffering with patience and humility, trust and endurance, and let our focus from self and the world shift so others can see the divine God in and through all we do. Amen.