I.N.R.I.

I.N.R.I.
“Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum”
—
Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews
—

Oh, but the irony of it all:

Mocked, scorned, spat upon,

charged by the government,

exchanged for a criminal,

and
executed.

Tormented because of His bold and seemingly blasphemous claims to be
“The Son of God”
“The King of the Jews”;

And above all,
able to “Forgive Sins”

Their narrow-minded-self-interested-people-pleasing-fear-induced-acts-of-evil,
Becoming the driving force of every next move.

This man,

Stripped,

Embarrassed,

Betrayed.

While the only thing he ever violated were the holds of satan on His Beloved.

One by one, son by son, daughter by daughter, sheep by sheep,

He pried open the grip of the evil one.

Those grimy hands had no hold on the One(s) who He came for.

Yet,
In His infinite love,
His Father allowed His children to be free.

Free to choose,

And free to reject.

And for some, their sneering spite seized every last inch of their body,

The demons they befriended,

Allowing their bodies to be vessels of satan, as they carried out the scheme that he only could have dreamt up all along.

A captivating sight for all of earth,

As hell cheered,

And Heaven held its breath:

“Here is your king!” Pilate said.
They shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!” [Jn 19]

“Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us!” [Lk 23]

—

Oh, if only they could have known,

But soon they would,

As every knee would soon bow,

And tongue confess,

“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
[Mk 15:39]