Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood;
Sealed my pardon with His blood.
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
Hebrews 11:36, “Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment.”
Mark 15:20, “And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes on him. And they led him out to crucify him.”
Abusers use disdain and dismissiveness as a weapon designed to de-humanize their victim. This article addresses a very similar tactic, and yet it is not quite the same thing. While disdain can be very passive (no response, a roll of the eyes, a short verbal put-down), mockery is much more active. It also targets the victim’s personhood, but more overtly.
What does it feel lie to be mocked? Ridiculed? To be told you are a fool. To be scornfully laughed at and treated with derision? It is extremely painful and very, very damaging if believed. The Apostle Paul spoke of it –
1 Corinthians 4:9-13, “For I think that God has exhibited us apostles as last of all, like men sentenced to death, because we have become a spectacle to the world, to angels, and to men. (10) We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ. We are weak, but you are strong. You are held in honor, but we in disrepute. (11) To the present hour we hunger and thirst, we are poorly dressed and buffeted and homeless, (12) and we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure; (13) when slandered, we entreat. We have become, and are still, like the scum of the world, the refuse of all things.”
All the prophets of God were mocked. Here is an example that Isaiah experienced –
Isaiah 28:9-10, “To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? (10) For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”
Isaiah’s mockers spoke jibberish, making fun of the words of the Lord spoken by Isaiah — as if to call them nonsense and baby talk. You can hear their devilish laughter.
And speaking of devilish laughter, we come to the main point. Mockery is Satanic. Especially in the hands of the abuser. Satan is a mocker. Many, many times as enemies of God came against the people of God, they evidenced this demonic quality of mockery. Isaiah admonishes this spirit in Sennacherib when his armies came against Jerusalem:
Isaiah 37:21-24, “Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, (22) this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: “‘She despises you, she scorns you– the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you– the daughter of Jerusalem. (23) “‘Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel! (24) By your servants you have mocked the Lord, and you have said, With my many chariots I have gone up the heights of the mountains, to the far recesses of Lebanon, to cut down its tallest cedars, its choicest cypresses, to come to its remotest height, its most fruitful forest.”
And think of Goliath:
1 Samuel 17:41-44, “And the Philistine moved forward and came near to David, with his shield-bearer in front of him. (42) And when the Philistine looked and saw David, he disdained him, for he was but a youth, ruddy and handsome in appearance. (43) And the Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you come to me with sticks?” And the Philistine cursed David by his gods. (44) The Philistine said to David, “Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field.””
Perhaps the event in all of biblical history that saw the greatest concentration of mockers was The Cross:
Matthew 27:27-31, “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. (28) And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, (29) and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (30) And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. (31) And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.”
Enemies of the Lord are representatives of The Enemy of Christ, the devil. Satan is a mocker. Mockery is one of his favorite and most effective weapons, and therefore we as the people of Christ need to be very, very wise to this tactic. And if you are the victim/target of an abuser, you already know mockery quite well. Abusers mock-
- Your appearance
- Your accomplishments
- Your interests
- Your family
- Your church
- Your ideas
- Your habits
- Your decisions
- The route you choose to drive to the store
- The pets you like
- The new glasses you wear
- Your hairstyle, makeup, and wardrobe
- Your friends
- Your gender
- Your music
- How and where you sit
- Your body and sexuality
Abusers mock everything about you and everyone associated with you. It is a wicked, soul and body destroying campaign designed to murder you as a human being and turn you into a malleable blob of putty, easily shaped and controlled.
And you can hear him. You can hear the devil in the mocking words. He has a certain tone. Mockery is Satan smiling. It is hatred grinning at you. It is pure evil. Without conscience. Without empathy.
So when the mocker comes your way, realize who he is and what he is doing. Reject his ridicule with the truth of Christ.
“We know you, Satan. We see you. You are a murderer and a liar, the very father of lies. We belong to Christ Jesus. You have nothing in us.”
James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”
