27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the [ m ]Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman [ n ]cohort to Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a red [ o ]cloak on Him. 29 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a [ p ]reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head. 31 And after they had mocked Him, they took the cloak off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.
Matthew 27:27-31 (NASB) 中文
Crucifixion confirmed
Jesus has been judged by the Jewish leaders and now Pilate. Pilate was seeking to get Jesus released but it seemed a riot was about to start as a result so he relented. Jesus has been scourged and been sent to be crucified.
Mocking the King
So they take Jesus into the governor’s residence and about 600 soldiers make fun of Him. They do not know much about Him but what they do know is that He was acclaimed as King of the Jews. There is no King but Caesar according to these Roman soldiers so they mocked Jesus as king.
Makings of a mocking
How did they mock Him? They outfitted Jesus with the makings of a king:
- A red rob – a ranking Roman soldier’s outer cloak. Every royalty must have a robe. But we read in Isaiah 6:1 that, “In the year of King Uzziah’s death I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of His robe filling the temple.” Then John writes in Revelations 19:13, “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ”Jesus does indeed have a robe!
- A crown – this one of thorns. Imagine a crown made of rose bush or bougainvillea stems twisted into the shape of a crown and smashed onto your head. In truth, Jesus does have a crown. Many crowns, in fact: “His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many crowns; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.” (Revelations 19:12)
- A reed as a scepter. Jesus does have a scepter. It’s a scepter of righteousness. Hebrews 1:8, “But regarding the Son He says, ‘Your throne, God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of righteousness is the scepter of His kingdom.’”
And beyond that, the writer of Hebrews records that Jesus is God and seated at the right hand of God, the Father. “When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, 4 having become so much better than the angels, to the extent that He has inherited a more excellent name than they.” (Hebrews 1:3b-4)
RЯeflection
- Have you bowed to this Jesus? Have you confessed your need of Him for forgiveness and believed? For more on this, click here.
- Fellow believers, let us be reminded of the man, Jesus. He is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
