+JMJ

The following contemplative moment was the first I ever experienced in prayer. It is the moment that changed everything for me.

I originally intended to share it on Good Friday, but I felt the Holy Spirit urging me to share it now instead.

“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium and gathered the whole cohort around Him. They stripped off His clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak about Him. Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And kneeling before Him, they mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat upon Him and took the reed and kept striking Him on the head. And when they had mocked Him, they stripped Him of the cloak, dressed Him in His own clothes, and led Him off to crucify Him.” -Matthew 27:27-31

Entering The Scene: A Contemplative Prayer Reflection

In prayer, I placed myself inside the scene of the Crowning with Thorns.

I stood in the crowd. There were so many people pressed around me that I could barely move. The shouts were deafening.

I watched as the soldiers shoved Jesus into the center of the praetorium. He stood with His eyes lowered, silent, doing everything they demanded without protest.

They stripped Him. The chanting began:

“Hail, King of the Jews! Hail, King of the Jews!”

One soldier rushed forward with a cloak and thrust it into His face.

“You say you are a king? We will make you a king.”

They forced Him to His knees and threw the cloak around His shoulders.

Another soldier jammed a crown of thorns onto His head. Blood began to stream down His face. They placed a reed in His right hand and forced Him to stand before them — humiliated, mocked, spat upon, beaten.

Then came the words:

“So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, ‘Behold, the Man!’” — John 19:5

“Behold, the Man.”

Ecce Homo.

The words echoed in my mind.

“Behold, the Man…”

I looked at Jesus standing before the crowd — beaten, bloody, disgraced. His body ached from the blows. Sharp pain radiated from the thorns embedded in His skull.

“Ecce Homo…”

My heart broke.

Ecce Homo: Behold The Man

Then something happened.

Jesus looked up at me.

It was as if time stopped. The entire scene froze. The crowd became motionless and silent. Only Jesus moved.

He dropped the reed and walked toward me.

When He reached me, He gently removed the cloak from His shoulders and wrapped it around mine.

I wept… for in this moment, I behold the Man. Not in the disgrace, humiliation, embarrassment, degradation, or dishonor.

I, instead, behold Him in all of His glory. All of His love. All of His mercy. All of His compassion.

That moment changed me forever.

A Personal Encounter With Jesus Christ

This was the moment I truly knew Jesus — not just knowing about Him, but knowing Him personally.

I realized He had been waiting for me my entire life.

Waiting with eyes lowered as I dishonored Him with my sins.

Waiting as I crowned Him with the thorns of my pride and selfishness.

Waiting patiently while enduring the pain I caused.

Waiting for the moment I would choose to know Him.

This was the moment I fell in love with Jesus Christ — my Lord and Savior.

He is waiting patiently for you too.

Do you have a single moment where Jesus changed you forever?

I would love to hear about it!

Thrive in Jesus my Friends!