1 So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. 2 And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe. 3 Then they said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck Him with their hands.
Having failed to manipulate the release of Jesus, Pilate took Jesus inside the Praetorium to be humiliated by his soldiers. He devised yet another scheme to save Him from the cross.
19:1
So then Pilate took Jesus and scourged [flogged] Him.
The flogging of Jesus by Pilate was another attempt at compromise with the Jews. The Romans used a leather whip with bits of metal embedded in it. The Empire allowed no Roman to be submitted to this scouring because it was so brutal. This was done to placate the Jews from calling for Jesus’ death.
19:2
And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head,
The soldiers mocked the idea of Jesus being a king by putting a “crown of thorns” on His head. It was His “royal crown.” The thorns were driven into His head, making it very painful. Profuse bleeding came from this so-called crown.
and they put on Him a purple robe.
To mock Jesus further they put a “purple robe” on Him, a military robe. This is another way they mocked His being a king.
19:3
Then they [the soldiers] said, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
The soldiers derisively taunted Jesus with pseudo homage. This was complete mockery of the Lord.
And they struck Him with their hands.
The Roman soldiers struck Jesus with their hands (Mt 27:30). This was their way of ridiculing His claim to have a kingdom.
PRINCIPLE:
Humiliation was part of Christ’s suffering for sin.
APPLICATION:
Since Jesus was about to pay for sin and sins of the world, it was necessary that sin be seen in all its enormity. Sin is the great humility of mankind and Jesus took that humility on Himself.
Jesus went through many humiliations in addition to the cross (Is 50:6; 52:12-53:6). Among other things, the soldiers spit on our Lord (Mt 27:30). They used horseplay with the Lord of the universe. This was a contempt toward the Jews as well as Jesus.
