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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadBob Utley You Can Understand the Bible - Mark 15:16 - 15:20
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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Mar_15:16-20
16The soldiers took Him away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium), and they called together the whole Roman cohort. 17They dressed Him up in purple, and after twisting a crown of thorns, they put it on Him 18and they began to acclaim Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 19They kept beating His head with a reed, and spitting on Him, and kneeling and bowing before Him. 20After they had mocked Him, they took the purple robe off Him and put His own garments on Him. And they led Him out to crucify Him.
Mar_15:16 "The soldiers took Him away" These Roman soldiers (cf. Mat_27:27) hated the Jews because of their exclusive attitudes toward Gentiles and they took their animosity out on Jesus. Luk_23:11 implies that Herod the Tetrarch's soldiers also mocked Him as king.
NASB "into the palace (that is, the Praetorium)"
NKJV "into the hall called Praetorium"
NRSV "into the courtyard of the palace (that is, the governor's headquarters)"
TEV "inside to the courtyard of the governor's palace"
NJB "to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium"
This referred to the Roman officials' residence when they were in Jerusalem. This may have been the fortress Antonio, which was next to the Temple or more probably Herod the Great's palace in Jerusalem.
NASB "the whole Roman cohort"
NKJV "the whole garrison"
NRSV, NJB "the whole cohort"
TEV "the rest of the company"
The Greek term speiran (i.e., cohort) originally referred to something twisted together, like a strand or rope. It came to be used figuratively for a band of men working together for a purpose. Cohort is another Latin term. It was used of one-tenth of a legion, normally 600 men. But it could refer to many less (cf. Joh_18:3). The Roman military was structured by (1) legions, 6,000; (2) cohorts, 600; (3) maniples, 200; and (4) centuries, 100.
Mar_15:17 "dressed Him up in purple" Mat_27:28 has a "scarlet robe" of a Roman cavalry officer. Purple was the symbol of royalty. Originally a Roman officer's robe would have been scarlet, but in time it faded to a shade of purple. They were mocking Jesus as the supposed King of the Jews (cf. Mar_15:18; Mar_15:20; Joh_19:2).
Luk_23:11 records that the Jewish soldiers of Herod the Tetrarch or Herod Antipas also mocked Jesus as King/Messiah by placing a kingly robe on Him.
▣ "crown of thorns" Traditionally this has been thought of as a mode of torture whereby the thorns were pressed into Jesus' brow. However, it is quite possible that it was a radiant crown made of palm leaves, which was another way of mocking Jesus as a king (cf. Mat_27:27-31; Mar_15:15-20). The Greek term "crown" (stephanos) was used of an athletic victory garland or a laurel wreath worn by the Emperor.
Mar_15:19 This verse describes the mockery of the Roman soldiers.
1. "hail," specialized greeting to a leader (Mar_15:18)
2. "beating His head with a reed," this probably was first put in Jesus' hand as a mock scepter
3. "spitting on Him," a cultural sign of contempt or mimicking a kiss (i.e., a type of salute)
4. "kneeling and bowing before Him," another mock symbol of His kingship
5. a purple robe placed on His shoulders, symbolizing kingship
Numbers two through four are imperfect tenses, which mean repeated action in past time. Many of the soldiers did these actions again and again or possibly each soldier present did it.
Mar_15:20 "they led Him out" Jesus, as all condemned prisoners, had to carry His own cross beam to the place of crucifixion outside the city walls. They took the long way through the streets of Jerusalem so that all would see and fear Roman justice.
This leading of criminals outside the walls of Jerusalem to be killed may have been done out of respect for Jewish law (cf. Lev_24:14 and Num_15:35-36). The Romans did not want a riot during these crowded feast days.
▣ "to crucify Him" The Phoenicians invented crucifixion. Alexander the Great crucified 2,000 after the fall of Tyre. The Romans perfected the technique so that condemned criminals suffered several days before their death. This cruel torture was meant as a deterrent to crime. It could not be performed on a Roman citizen.