Jesus is mocked by the Roman soldiers

St Matthew Chapter XXVII : Verses 27-31

Contents

• Matt. xxvii. 27-31.  Douay-Rheims text & Latin text (Vulgate).
• Notes on the text.

Matt. xxvii. 27-31

Jesus leaves the prætorium.
J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor taking Jesus into the hall, gathered together unto him the whole band;

Tunc milites praesidis suscipientes Jesum in prætorium, congregaverunt ad eum universam cohortem :

28 And stripping him, they put a scarlet cloak about him.

et exeuntes eum, chlamydem coccineam circumdederunt ei,

29 And platting a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand. And bowing the knee before him, they mocked him, saying: Hail, king of the Jews.

et plectentes coronam de spinis, posuerunt super caput ejus, et arundinem in dextera ejus. Et genu flexo ante eum, illudebant ei, dicentes : Ave rex Judæorum.

30 And spitting upon him, they took the reed, and struck his head.

Et exspuentes in eum, acceperunt arundinem, et percutiebant caput ejus.

31 And after they had mocked him, they took off the cloak from him, and put on him his own garments, and led him away to crucify him.

Et postquam illuserunt ei, exuerunt eum chlamyde, et induerunt eum vestimentis ejus, et duxerunt eum ut crucifigerent.

Notes

    27. into the hall. Into the prætorium or common hall, an open court-yard in the midst of the pile of buildings which composed the governor's palace. St Mark speaks of it as the court of the palace. The scourging had been inflicted in front of the prætorium. This was the official residence of the Roman governor, and was situated at the north-west angle of the Temple mount.

    The word “prætorium” was also employed to designate —

    (a) The general’s tent.

    (b) The quarters of his bodyguard.

    the whole band. A cohort, the tenth part of a legion, i.e. 600 men.

    28. a scarlet cloak. St Mark records that Jesus was clothed with purple. These words are interchangeable in the classics. The purple robe used on this occasion was probably the red military cloak (the sagum). This was put on the bleeding shoulders of Christ to signify that He was now invested with regal dignity. This cruel burlesque was the complement to Herod’s act, for he had clothed Jesus in a white garment, as an aspirant to royal honours.

The royal robe, the crown, and the sceptre.
J-J Tissot. Brooklyn Museum.

    29. platting a crown of thorns. It is not known for certain what plant was used for this purpose. It may have been the nâbk, a shrub which grows abundantly on the slopes of the hills in Judea.

    It could be bad close at hand, and its supple branches, with their ivy-shaped leaves and long spicules, would have been suitable for the purpose, since the leaves would represent the bay wreath worn by the emperors, while the sharp thorns would make it an instrument of torture. Thus Jesus expiated our sins of thought.

    they put it upon his head. To cause Him greater suffering they drove in the thorns with blows of the reed which had been placed in our Saviour’s hand.

    a reed. This mock sceptre may have been the stalk of a sugar-cane or papyrus. Our Lord’s attire is now complete, — the royal robe, the crown, and the sceptre. It is when Jesus has all these ensigns of royal power that the mock obeisance begins.

    bowing the knee before him. In mockery, the soldiers begin to salute Him. The whole cohort files past Him, and each soldier offers his mock homage. They greet Christ as king of the Jews, they kneel before Him, their Satanic mockery is changed to brutal maltreatment, and they did spit on him, and they took the reed and struck his head. To what a depth of humiliation does Jesus descend to save us !

    31. after they had mocked him, — i.e. the Roman soldiers. Also after Pilate had presented Him to them robed, as a mock king. “ The Jews delayed but little between the finishing of judgment and the execution ” (Lightfoot).

    they took off the cloak. This must have given our Saviour excruciating pain, as His sacred body was furrowed with the blows of the scourges.

    led him away. It was customary both with the Romans and the Jews to execute the condemned without the city. By the law of Moses criminals were to be executed without the camp (Numb. xv. 35), and no executions could take place within the holy city, the camp of Israel. Therefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people by his own blood, suffered without the gate (Heb. xiii. 12).

    When a criminal was conducted to the place of execution, the procession started from the seat of judgment (before which the condemned had been scourged) in the following order. A mounted centurion led the way, followed by the soldiers marching in rank. Then came the herald, who proclaimed the crimes of the accused and his sentence. They were also inscribed on a white tablet which was borne aloft by the herald, or hung round the neck of the condemned, who, guarded by four soldiers, brought up the rear. There would be a mob following, larger or smaller, according to the interest aroused by the circumstances. When Jesus was conducted to crucifixion there seems to have been a great multitude, composed of His foes and friends. Certainly some had the courage openly to sympathize with our Saviour, for we learn from St Luke’s account that a multitude of people and of women, who bewailed and lamented him, followed Christ on the road to Calvary. From the Greek text it is clear that only the women bewailed, not the people in general.

Totus tuus ego sum

Et omnia mea tua sunt;

Tecum semper tutus sum:

Ad Jesum per Mariam.