Wollongong churches have recently printed T-shirts and badges and banners with the unfinished sentence “Jesus Is ___”. In Matthew 27:27-56, half a dozen opinions are given as to how to finish this thought.
- A whole company of the governor’s soldiers hail Jesus as “king of the Jews” – but they were mocking him.
- The written charge against Jesus used the same words: “THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS”. This written charge explains why Jesus was crucified; he was seen to be a king, competing with the Roman Emperor for allegiance, committing treason.
- Passers-by hurled insults. They mockingly applied the title, “Son of God”.
- The chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders also mocked Jesus as “the king of Israel”.
- Jesus himself was reported as saying “I am the Son of God”.
- The centurion and those guarding Jesus exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God”.
There are six opinions. What’s yours?
