Taking a Beating.
Were you well behaved at school, or did you push the boundaries? Can you remember getting caught and properly punished? I do. Vividly. I don’t remember what I did wrong, but I was in grade eight and new in school. My older sister had been there a while, and was in grade 12. Her class happened to be lined up and waiting for the teacher to whom I had been sent for corrective attention, no fun for a grade eight still drowning in an oversized uniform.
The 12th Grade boys taunted me into a state of complete and utter panic, while the girls destroyed any last shred of dignity with their overly dramatic and insincere chorus of “ah shame!”. When the teacher finally called me into his class, it was a relief. That was, until he started talking. He was a solidly built man with a kind face, calm voice and a cane which he affectionately referred to as “Flesh Hungry” (roughly translated from Afrikaans). A sense of inevitable pain descended, and suddenly being outside seemed the better option. If only it was an option. The multi-coloured welts and bruises inflicted by the cane cleared up long before the pain of the whole ordeal did. I still think about it today.
When I think about Jesus, I think back on that day and imagine a different scenario. One that helps me understand.
I imagine standing in that class room with my fate confirmed and knowing I deserve what’s coming. Ice cold fear washes through me. As the teacher draws back the cane, he’s interrupted by a knock. The door opens behind me, and the deafening silence, from those lined up outside, is interrupted by whispers of disbelief. Someone enters and quietly speaks to the teacher. Then, he stoops beside me and tells me he doesn’t want me doing the stuff that landed me here. He offers to help me, to show me a better way of doing things, to keep me from coming back here. I gratefully accept. He smiles, and he tells me to go.
What? Really? Just go free? I look at the teacher, his calm expression confirms it, and I leave hurriedly. As I close the door, I hear the rush of the cane and it’s repeated impact on someone else. Someone who chose to take my place.
Jesus took more than a beating for us, He took the death penalty. Sin is sin and must be punished, God is just. But in His love, God became flesh, in the person of Jesus, and took that punishment for us, so that we can be free. Free to love Him, free to learn from Him and free to become more like Him. How awesome is He?