And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.
In Pilate's judgment hall after He had been scourged and wounded, the soldiers clothed Jesus in purple, crowned Him with thorns, put a reed in His hand for a scepter, spat upon Him and bowed in mock worship as King, then seized the reed and struck the crown into His brow until blood ran down His face. Through it all He remained serene and dignified, submitting with meekness and patience and no retaliation, though He could have called the heavenly host to His aid. Satan led the cruelty and ridicule in hope of provoking Him to complain, retaliate, or free Himself by miracle, and so break the plan of salvation. His unbroken endurance kept Him a perfect offering, for one stain or failure would have made redemption impossible, and His abasement and wounded temples are the pledge of His exaltation and anointing as great high priest. Seeing Him thus humiliated, scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked with reed and robe, rejected for Barabbas and led to die as a malefactor, tried the faith of His disciples and made their hope and courage fail.
Setting and Mockery
The scene is the judgment hall of Pilate the Roman governor, where Christ stands bound as a prisoner with the guard of soldiers about Him while the hall fast fills with spectators and just outside the entrance stand the judges of the Sanhedrin, priests, rulers, elders, and the mob. This follows the council of the Sanhedrin condemning Jesus and coming to Pilate to have the sentence confirmed and executed, while the Jewish officials refuse to enter the Roman hall lest ceremonial defilement keep them from the feast of the Passover. Their murderous hatred has already defiled their hearts, and they do not see that Christ is the real Passover Lamb and that by rejecting Him the great feast has for them lost its significance.
It follows Pilate having Jesus scourged, leaving Him faint with weariness and covered with wounds, stripped and crowned with thorns and bleeding from cruel stripes. He is then led by the soldiers into the Praetorium where the whole band gathers, and He is displayed beside Barabbas, whose hardened appearance contrasts with His noble character. He endures the abuse with patience, gentleness, and dignity.
There the soldiers clothe Him in purple and put a platted crown of thorns upon Him and place a reed in His hand as a mock scepter. They salute Him with Hail, King of the Jews, spit upon Him, and mock Him with bowing knees in false worship as a king. Then wicked hands snatch the reed and strike the crown upon His brow and temples, forcing the thorns in so that blood trickles down His face and beard. The physical cruelty is joined with ridicule of His claim to be the Son of God and with mocking of His lowly birth and humble life.
The mockery belongs also to the account of Jesus being mocked on the way from Pilate's judgment hall to Calvary, when the jeers are interrupted upon encountering the body of Judas, and the sight makes the mockery lessen. It belongs to the account of Jesus being hurried to Calvary, where the cross prepared for Barabbas is placed on His bruised and bleeding shoulders while two thieves are also being taken to die with Him.
Endurance and Redemption
Amid the blows of the reed, the spitting, and the kneeling in false worship, He remained serene and dignified, bearing the marks of violence without losing His composure. He submitted with perfect calmness and no murmur to the coarsest insult, enduring with meekness, patience and gentleness rather than retaliating or using divine power to escape. Though He could have summoned the heavenly host to His aid or driven the mob away by His divine majesty, He departed in nothing from His Father's will, sustained by Godlike fortitude in human nature. That meekness and patience under cruelty which degraded His torturers below humanity into Satan's likeness exalted Him above humanity and proved His kinship to God.
Satan himself led the abuse, hoping that insult and violence would provoke Him to complain, to retaliate, or to perform a miracle to release Himself. His aim was to break the plan of salvation by drawing out such a response. For one stain or one failure to endure would have made the Lamb of God an imperfect offering, and would have made redemption a failure and impossible. It is His meekness and patience that upheld the perfect offering required for humanity's redemption.
His humiliation and suffering were part of the violence He endured to carry out the plan of salvation for those He came to save. His abasement is the pledge of His exaltation. The drops of blood from His wounded temples, where the thorns were driven in, are the pledge of His anointing with the oil of gladness as great high priest.
Trial for Disciples
The condemnation and mockery He endured belong to the trial awaiting His disciples. They had already seen the fickleness of the crowds, and they were prepared beforehand for their Master to be reviled. They were therefore not overwhelmed with surprise when the jeering crowd scorned Him.
They were to see Him whom they hoped would reign on David's throne brought into the depths of humiliation on the way to the cross. He was in the hands of wicked men, clad in the purple robe, with a reed placed in His hand as a mock scepter, bowed before in mock worship and then struck with that reed. Around that outrage were the clamoring for His blood, the crown of thorns, the scourging, the choosing of Barabbas in His place, and His lifting up to die as a malefactor. Witnessing it tried their faith and made their hope and courage fail. Once the Bridegroom was taken away from them, they had cause to mourn and fast.
He was struck on the head with a reed as part of the mockery and abuse before His crucifixion, and the reed drove the crown of thorns into His temples so that blood flowed from His brow. His suffering shows what He gave up for humanity. Beside it, any sacrifice His followers are called to face seems small by comparison.
In Pilate's judgment hall after He had been scourged and wounded, the soldiers clothed Jesus in purple, crowned Him with thorns, put a reed in His hand for a scepter, spat upon Him and bowed in mock worship as King, then seized the reed and struck the crown into His brow until blood ran down His face. Through it all He remained serene and dignified, submitting with meekness and patience and no retaliation, though He could have called the heavenly host to His aid. Satan led the cruelty and ridicule in hope of provoking Him to complain, retaliate, or free Himself by miracle, and so break the plan of salvation. His unbroken endurance kept Him a perfect offering, for one stain or failure would have made redemption impossible, and His abasement and wounded temples are the pledge of His exaltation and anointing as great high priest. Seeing Him thus humiliated, scourged, crowned with thorns, mocked with reed and robe, rejected for Barabbas and led to die as a malefactor, tried the faith of His disciples and made their hope and courage fail.
Setting and Mockery
The scene is the judgment hall of Pilate the Roman governor, where Christ stands bound as a prisoner with the guard of soldiers about Him while the hall fast fills with spectators and just outside the entrance stand the judges of the Sanhedrin, priests, rulers, elders, and the mob. This follows the council of the Sanhedrin condemning Jesus and coming to Pilate to have the sentence confirmed and executed, while the Jewish officials refuse to enter the Roman hall lest ceremonial defilement keep them from the feast of the Passover. Their murderous hatred has already defiled their hearts, and they do not see that Christ is the real Passover Lamb and that by rejecting Him the great feast has for them lost its significance.
It follows Pilate having Jesus scourged, leaving Him faint with weariness and covered with wounds, stripped and crowned with thorns and bleeding from cruel stripes. He is then led by the soldiers into the Praetorium where the whole band gathers, and He is displayed beside Barabbas, whose hardened appearance contrasts with His noble character. He endures the abuse with patience, gentleness, and dignity.
There the soldiers clothe Him in purple and put a platted crown of thorns upon Him and place a reed in His hand as a mock scepter. They salute Him with Hail, King of the Jews, spit upon Him, and mock Him with bowing knees in false worship as a king. Then wicked hands snatch the reed and strike the crown upon His brow and temples, forcing the thorns in so that blood trickles down His face and beard. The physical cruelty is joined with ridicule of His claim to be the Son of God and with mocking of His lowly birth and humble life.
The mockery belongs also to the account of Jesus being mocked on the way from Pilate's judgment hall to Calvary, when the jeers are interrupted upon encountering the body of Judas, and the sight makes the mockery lessen. It belongs to the account of Jesus being hurried to Calvary, where the cross prepared for Barabbas is placed on His bruised and bleeding shoulders while two thieves are also being taken to die with Him.
Endurance and Redemption
Amid the blows of the reed, the spitting, and the kneeling in false worship, He remained serene and dignified, bearing the marks of violence without losing His composure. He submitted with perfect calmness and no murmur to the coarsest insult, enduring with meekness, patience and gentleness rather than retaliating or using divine power to escape. Though He could have summoned the heavenly host to His aid or driven the mob away by His divine majesty, He departed in nothing from His Father's will, sustained by Godlike fortitude in human nature. That meekness and patience under cruelty which degraded His torturers below humanity into Satan's likeness exalted Him above humanity and proved His kinship to God.
Satan himself led the abuse, hoping that insult and violence would provoke Him to complain, to retaliate, or to perform a miracle to release Himself. His aim was to break the plan of salvation by drawing out such a response. For one stain or one failure to endure would have made the Lamb of God an imperfect offering, and would have made redemption a failure and impossible. It is His meekness and patience that upheld the perfect offering required for humanity's redemption.
His humiliation and suffering were part of the violence He endured to carry out the plan of salvation for those He came to save. His abasement is the pledge of His exaltation. The drops of blood from His wounded temples, where the thorns were driven in, are the pledge of His anointing with the oil of gladness as great high priest.
Trial for Disciples
The condemnation and mockery He endured belong to the trial awaiting His disciples. They had already seen the fickleness of the crowds, and they were prepared beforehand for their Master to be reviled. They were therefore not overwhelmed with surprise when the jeering crowd scorned Him.
They were to see Him whom they hoped would reign on David's throne brought into the depths of humiliation on the way to the cross. He was in the hands of wicked men, clad in the purple robe, with a reed placed in His hand as a mock scepter, bowed before in mock worship and then struck with that reed. Around that outrage were the clamoring for His blood, the crown of thorns, the scourging, the choosing of Barabbas in His place, and His lifting up to die as a malefactor. Witnessing it tried their faith and made their hope and courage fail. Once the Bridegroom was taken away from them, they had cause to mourn and fast.
He was struck on the head with a reed as part of the mockery and abuse before His crucifixion, and the reed drove the crown of thorns into His temples so that blood flowed from His brow. His suffering shows what He gave up for humanity. Beside it, any sacrifice His followers are called to face seems small by comparison.