Ridiculed
“And they ridiculed Him…”
They ridiculed Jesus.
That same statement is made in all three gospels, the Gospel of Matthew, the Gospel of Mark and the Gospel of Luke. To be ridiculed means to be mocked or to be laughed at.
You see, they called Jesus to come and to raise the little girl who was dead and he pushed aside, as he walked in, and He said: “She is not dead”, and they ridiculed Him. How many times have people ridiculed you because of your stand for the Lord Jesus Christ?
I want to say to you to be ridiculed, to be mocked or to be laughed at is very, very unpleasant. But anyone who laughs at God is a fool because the Lord always has the last laugh.
I remember driving into Ladysmith many, many years ago to book the town hall for the first-ever campaign that we were going to have and it was as if the Lord audibly spoke to me. He didn’t speak to me audibly but in my heart. He asked me three questions.
The first one was: “Are you prepared to be a fool for Me?”
I said, “Well Lord, that is easy. I am a fool anyway.”
The second one was very much like it: “Are you prepared for people to say all manner of evil about you for My Sake, to laugh at you for My sake?”
I said, “ That’s okay Lord. I can handle that.” - I didn’t realize what was coming!
“Are you prepared to see less of your family for My sake?”
That was the third question. And I will be honest with you. That was a very tough one. Tears welled up in my eyes and I said, “Lord, only by Your grace” And He said, “Can you drink of the cup?” Not the cup of prosperity, but the cup of suffering. I said, ”I can Lord, by Your grace.” And I have.
Charles Spurgeon, that great Baptist preacher, told a little story of a boy who was being ridiculed. He would go down to the zoo every morning after school and he would sit down and watch a huge black-maned lion in a cage. It became his friend. He would sit and talk to it every day.
Some naughty little boys came down to the zoo and they started mocking the little boy and ridiculing him. They started picking up stones and throwing them at the big lion in the cage. The little boy was trying valiantly to protect his friend the lion by running up and down outside the cage and taking the stones on his own body, as the naughty boys were throwing them.
Spurgeon says all the little boy had to do was simply to open the gate of the cage and let the lion out. Well, folks, we don’t have to protect Jesus, do we? We don’t have to argue His case. We just have to tell people about Him and let Him out - He will do a mighty work for us.
Have a wonderful day and God bless you.