Earlier this year we witnessed the funeral procession of the Queen Mother of England with all its pomp and glitter. The lords and ladies were there along with dukes and duchesses, princes and princesses. I sat on my couch watching the television as leaders and presidents from all over the world came to pay their last respects to this famous lady. Certainly she was deserving of honor.

At one hundred and one years old, she has surely seen much history and change in her time. There were many words of praise for her courage during the blitz during World War II. The royal family followed behind the flag-covered coffin which was topped off with a crown. The crowds gathered along the streets of London and applauded as the coach slowly passed. Flowers were strewn in the path. Vintage war planes did a fly over, tipping their wings in tribute. What a glorious sight to behold.

When the King of kings died, only his closest friends mourned his death. He was beaten, and paraded through the streets of Jerusalem as the worst of criminals. He was harassed, spat upon and ridiculed, then nailed to a Roman cross. He died at the age of thirty-three and vicariously suffered for the crimes of others.

Though we need to give honor to royalty like Queen Elizabeth, the stark difference in the way she was honored and the way Jesus of Nazareth as the Son of God was treated defies description.

The servant song of Isaiah, of course, gives us a prophetic view,

"He wasn't some handsome king. Nothing about the way he looked made him attractive to us. He was hated and rejected; his life was filled with sorrow and terrible suffering. No one wanted to look at him. We despised him and said, "He is a nobody!" He suffered and endured great pain for us, but we thought his suffering was punishment from God. He was wounded and crushed because of our sins; by taking our punishment, he made us completely well.."-Isaiah 53:2-5.