-- Matthew 26:67,68 And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? -- Luke 22:63,64 |
| If we're going to get the full picture of what happened in Caiaphas' chamber that night when the religious leaders were spitting on Jesus and striking Him in the face with their fists, we need to pull all the pieces of this picture together from both the Gospels of Matthew and Luke. Luke 22:63 says, "And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him." I want you to particularly see the word "mock" in this verse. It comes from the Greek word empaidzo, which meant to play a game. It was often used for playing a game with children or for amusing a crowd by impersonating someone in a silly and exaggerated way. For instance, this word might be used in a game of charades when someone intends to comically portray someone or even make fun of someone. This gives us an important piece of the story that Matthew didn't include in his Gospel account. |
