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mocked Him they praised Him. They didn’t try to praise Him.
        They tried to mock Him. Matthew 27:29, “And after weaving
        a crown of thorn, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right
        hand; and they kneeled down before Him  and mocked Him,
        saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’” They put a crown of thorns
        on His head and in mockery they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
        That’s a praise; “Hail, King of the Jews!”
               Matthew 27:37, “And they put up above His head the
        charge against Him which read, ‘This is Jesus the King of the
        Jews.’” Over his head they put the cause of His death but listen
        to what they said, “This is Jesus the King of the Jews.” They
        didn’t try to praise Him but they ended up praising Him.
               Matthew  27:42,  “He  saved  others;  He  cannot  save
        Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from
        the cross, and we shall believe in Him.” They tried to mock
        Him and they said, “He saved others; save Himself!” But in
        that mockery they confessed that He saved others. God turned
        the mockery into praise.
               Matthew 27:43, “He trusts in God; let Him deliver Him
        now, if He takes pleasure in Him; for He said, “I am the Son of
        God.’”  They  said,  “He  says  that  He  trusts  in  God  and  God
        delights in Him,” but they were mocking Him. But they also
        confessed that He trusts in God and He saved others and God
        delights in Him.  They said that He said He was the Son of God.
        As they tried to mock Him they said, “He’s the King, He saved
        others, He trusts God, God delights in Him, and He’s the King
        of the Jews.”
               I  don’t  know  if  you  are  familiar  with  Friedrich
        Krummacher,  a  German  reformed  theologian.  He  was
        meditating on this passage and he said, “They stoned His cross
        with roses.” They tried to throw stones but, instead, they just
        honored the Lord.
               One that has become precious to me is Matthew 27:25,
        “And all the people answered and said, “His blood be on us and
        on our children!” You know what they meant when they said,
        “His blood be on us and our children.” I pray that for  my


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