Matthew 27:27-31 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the [f]Praetorium and gathered the whole garrison around Him. 28 And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 When they had [h]twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified.
Oh Lord, as I attempt to preach these mysterious words, which no archangel could adequately preach, I plead for the help of the Holy Spirit. May You use the means of my empty words to open the eyes of Your people and make Christ very precious to them. Let them see His glory. And to those among us who still mock Him by rejecting Your gospel, may You speak to every one of us so that, as we finish this sermon, we may all be found at Your feet—not in mock worship, but in true submission, faith, repentance, and worship.
The Central Event of History
The Cross of Christ is the central event of redemptive history. Everything in the Bible centers on the Cross: the Old Testament looks forward to it, and the New Testament looks backward to it. In heaven, all saved souls will eternally look back to what Christ did on the Cross and praise Him for all eternity.
The Cross also demonstrates the greatest truths of the Bible. On one hand, it shows how good, gracious, merciful, loving, and patient God is; on the other, it shows the utter, total depravity of mankind. The Holy Spirit inspired the words I read concerning how shamefully and brutally Jesus was mocked by soldiers. If you deeply meditate on this, you and I will be ashamed of being born human.
If you do not believe in man’s total depravity, this passage should convince you. Consider what sinful man will do if his Creator and Judge falls into his hands: wickedness and cruelty unmatched. Every step of what they did to Jesus—from the betrayal and arrest to the trials—now reaches its climax at the Cross. That depravity is not satisfied with just killing the blameless God-man; it wants to pack a million deaths into one, spew all its venom, and make the end unbelievably painful and infinitely shameful. Here, gathering all the hate in his wickedness, man mocks and spits in the face of the glorious Son of God Himself.
Just reading these words is heart-wrenching and absolutely horrible. These are just words, and words can only describe glimpses of the scene; think of how the whole scene would have been terrible beyond any language’s ability to describe. If you listen with a sensitive heart, you will leave as if you have seen the worst accident of your life, impressed with horror. Behold the depravity of man in the palace of Pilate! Woe unto mankind for what they did to the infinite Son of God if they do not repent!
One saint said these words have so much depth that they are not just to be read, preached, or heard, but are worthy of our deepest meditation. May God help me to open these words to you simply and encourage you to meditate on them deeply.
The Presence of the Past
Matthew writes this passage in the historical present tense, which is intended to do two things for the readers. First, it tells us this did not happen once and then end; rather, it was an extended action. These were repeated actions, performed perhaps by many hundreds of soldiers.
Secondly, by the constant use of the historical present tense, Matthew forces us to place ourselves in the actual situation—to travel in our minds and see before our eyes what was done to our Lord in the Praetorium, Pilate’s palace. There is a famous old song: “Were you there when they crucified my Lord? Were you there when they mocked my Lord? Were you there when they pressed the crown of thorns? Were you there when they spat upon my Lord?” The song says, “Sometimes it causes me to tremble… tremble.”
When we allow these historical present tense verbs to drive us into the Praetorium to see what the soldiers did to the Lord, and we deeply meditate on it, we may cry out: “Yes, I was there.”
To understand this, never forget the excellence of His person. He is the brightness of the Father’s glory; He is, in Himself, God over all, blessed forever—the eternal Son of God by whom all things were made. Though He is the heir of all things and will be lifted above every name in the universe, see the depths to which He descended. It should make any sensible man tremble.
Forget not the glory to which He had been accustomed. He was the Father’s darling, eternally in the bosom of the Father, adored by cherubim and seraphim. He is the One whose face shines brighter than a billion suns—the One whose face angels yearned to glimpse, yet closed their own faces in His presence. That face is here spat upon. To the One the entire universe worshipped, mock worship is given. Behold this most mysterious and wondrous scene: He sits there mocked with a crown of thorns, the center of a comedy. Can there be a scene filled with more irony and wonder?
The Fulfilled Prediction
Though these horrors are happening, Jesus exactly predicted all of this repeatedly in Matthew. As we saw months ago in Mark 10:33-34:
“Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles, who will mock Him and spit on Him and flog Him and kill Him. And after three days He will rise again.”
This prediction was fulfilled with precise accuracy. The Jewish authorities fulfilled it with their three trials, then handed Him over to the civil Roman authorities. The result of both the religious and civil trials was the greatest injustice in human history. Rome’s best gift to her subject nations was supposed to be justice, but here the governor was guilty of prostituting that justice to save himself and conciliate a howling mob. The worst verdict ever given was against Jesus. It was a verdict that did not condemn the accused, but rather condemned the judges for all history.
The Mock Coronation
Before Jesus was crucified, Matthew records the cruelty and mockery of the Roman soldiers. They performed a mock coronation. Let us understand this in three headings:
- The Place where it happened.
- The People involved.
- The Seven Stages of this coronation.
1. The Place We are directed first to the place in verse 27: “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium.” This was the palace of the Roman governor, located near Herod’s palace and the Temple. Remember, the Jews did not want to enter this place for fear of being defiled. Once the Lord was handed to the soldiers, He was taken inside, out of sight of the leaders and the mob. This scene took place in the privacy of the inner palace with Gentile Romans. It is a bitter irony that this palace, which should have been a shelter for the wronged, became a theater for such barbarity.
2. The People Verse 27 continues: “…and gathered the whole garrison around Him.” So far, the focus has been on the priests, leaders, and Pilate. Now, the focus is on the soldiers—specifically, the whole garrison. This cohort likely numbered up to 600 soldiers.
Why did the entire army surround Jesus? It was not because He needed to be guarded to prevent escape, for He had no desire to be set free. It was not to prevent a rescue, for His own people had already cried, “Crucify Him!” He had no friends to stand up for Him. They gathered to mock Him.
These soldiers were not Jews, as Jews were exempt from Roman military service; they were likely Syrians or men from other parts of the Roman world. These were rough men, trained in Roman cruelty and far from the softening influences of home and family. They hated the Jews and their “superstition” regarding a Messianic king. To them, this was a chance to vent their frustrations on the “King of the Jews” who was the cause of so much unrest. There was a certain kind of glee in their pent-up anger.
They saw Jesus as a pathetic figure—His face swollen, bruised, and covered in spit from the earlier trials. This happened after the scourging; His body was full of open wounds, and He was quivering in pain. They saw Him as a fake and a fraud, perhaps mentally deranged, and played with Him like a clown.
3. The Seven Stages of the Mock Coronation Now we see them perform seven acts as part of their game.
- Stripping and the Scarlet Robe: Verse 28 says, “And they stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.” Any king on his coronation day should be dressed in royal clothes. First, they heartlessly ripped His own garments off over His head. Because of the scourging, His clothes would have begun to cement to His wounds as the blood coagulated. Ripping the robe off surely pulled away flesh and reopened the wounds, causing stinging, burning pain.
Then, they put a scarlet robe on Him. Royalty appeared in rich purple and scarlet. They didn’t buy a new one; they likely used an old, faded soldier’s cloak that was lying around. In those days, such cloth was very rough and scratchy—something you would never put on a bare body. They took this old, smelling robe and threw it over His raw, open wounds. To them, this was all part of the fun.
Secondly, once a king is dressed in royal clothes, what comes next? What is a king without a crown? The great symbol of his kingship is the crown. After clothing Him in the robe, they twisted a crown of thorns and put it on Him. They wove a crown—not of straw or olive branches, which are common in Palestine and used in ordinary ceremonies—but one designed to inflict both shame and pain. This is why they put a rough scarlet robe on His bare body, and now, they take a Palestinian thornbush with sharp, two-inch piercing thorns and twist them into a crown. Every image of Tiberius Caesar on coins and flags featured a royal wreath; this was intended to be a cheap, painful imitation of that wreath.
Imagine them bringing Him forward. One soldier takes the posture of an official and makes Him kneel. Holding the crown with a thick military glove so the thorns do not pierce his own fingers, he places it on the Lord’s head and presses down. As he presses, every point of every thorn begins to cut a deep furrow into His brow, from which blood spurts, trickling down His face like little waterfalls to mingle with the rest of the blood on His body.
Now the “King” has a royal garment and a crown. For the third item, to be a “real” king, he must have a scepter. A scepter is the golden staff with a rounded top that signifies a king officially exercises power and authority as a rightly enthroned monarch.
When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. (Matthew 27:29)
To create this scepter, a soldier looked around and found a bamboo-like reed. He whacked it off with his sword and placed it in the Lord’s right hand—the hand of authority. There is deep mockery here; a reed is easily shaken by the wind. It was a scepter good enough for such a “King”—weak, wavering, and worthless.
The picture is now complete. The King is officially “coronated” with a scarlet robe, a crown of thorns, and a reed scepter. While these acts were meant to humiliate the Lord, the soldiers’ fun had only just begun. All of this makes Jesus look like a joke, a ridiculous figure.
The Mock Homage
The soldiers were never satisfied with the initial stages of mockery. Matthew records that they moved from a mock coronation to a mock homage—both verbal and physical.
The Verbal Mockery:
And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (Matthew 27:29)
Matthew and Mark use tenses that imply this was done continually by hundreds of soldiers. When a new king was officially brought to his throne, his loyal subjects would bow and cry out, “Hail the King!” formally acknowledging his identity. Here, it was pure sarcasm and ridicule. They hated the Jews and their Messianic hopes of a king who would overthrow Rome. They were so certain this man could never be that King that they surrendered to Him in mock submission.
The Physical Abuse: Verse 30 uses three verbs to indicate repeated action: spitting, striking, and (as Mark adds) “worshipping.”
Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head. (Matthew 27:30)
Normally, subjects would kiss a king’s feet or hand. These soldiers fell on their knees, but as they rose, they moved close as if to kiss His face. Instead, they spat on Him and walked away laughing. Spitting is a universal symbol of utter contempt—the ultimate human indignity. The Jews had done it earlier (Chapter 26), and now the Gentiles do the same. The whole world, it seems, gathered to spit on the Son of God.
Finally, they rudely snatched the reed—the symbol of His power—and struck Him on the head with it. With each blow of the reed, the thorns were driven deeper and deeper into His skull. They were saying, “You are the one who would crush Rome? We will take your own ‘authority’ and crush your face with it.” Their message was clear: His sovereignty was a farce. John 19:3 adds that they kept punching Him. It is an unbelievable scene of human evil.
The Return to the Crowd
To complete the mockery, they prostrated themselves with their heads on the ground in mock worship. If there had only been two or three soldiers, they might not have thought of such cruelties. But in a large group, one coarse fellow invents the crown, another the scepter, and another the spit, until the whole band is caught up in a frenzy of fresh insults. Even a criminal facing death usually receives some pity, but to make a man about to die the subject of such scorn is the height of wickedness. It seems as though the Devil himself moved these men.
And when they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him away to be crucified. (Matthew 27:31)
When they had finished venting their foul hatred and could laugh no more, they stripped the scarlet robe from Him. Again, the Lord had to endure the excruciating pain of having a rough garment torn away from His congealed blood and open wounds. They put His own clothes back on Him, though there is no mention of removing the crown of thorns; it is generally supposed He was crucified with it still on His head. They then led Him out of the Praetorium to carry out the sentence of death.
Lessons from the Mockery
What are we to learn from this? Should we feel mere anger toward the soldiers or pity for the Lord? There are deeper practical lessons for us.
Behold the Glory of the Suffering Servant We have before us a King whose pedigree is more glorious than any earthly monarch. His right to reign is indisputable. He is the “Son of the Highest,” yet He became the Son of Man for our sakes. This scene shows the “vile outcropping” of human depravity. While man worships false kings and film stars, when given the true God-Man, he gives Him a mock coronation.
Yet, in the midst of this horror, our Lord shines gloriously. Behold His meek, lamb-like patience. Have you ever been mocked? It is often more painful than a beating. It stings our pride and tests our patience. For the sinless Son of God, every mock word must have stung like a scorpion.
Remember, He had already passed a night without sleep, endured the agony of Gethsemane, faced six trials, and been brutally scourged. Now, He is delivered to these expert executioners. He is shivering, His nerves are on fire, and they strip Him and spit on Him. It is the most grievous spectacle ever witnessed by human eyes. Never forget He had a real human body—just as sensitive and capable of intense pain as our own.
The Glory of His Silence There is a profound glory in His silence. This is the God who spoke worlds into being. If He had willed it, one glance from His eyes could have caused the earth to open and swallow the Praetorium whole. He could have called legions of angels to crush the Roman Empire. Yet, He sits there wearing the cruel crown, enduring the shame and the agony in total, dignified silence.
Why was He silent? Because 700 years earlier, the prophecy of Isaiah 53 said:
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.
He was silent because He was the suffering servant of Jehovah, fulfilling the plan for our salvation.
Behold the concrete symbols of Christ’s real work for sinners in the spiritual realm. From the moment of His arrest in the garden, He appeared in no other form than as an accused criminal. Though inherently innocent, He stood as a guilty man because, in the heavenly theater of reality, Christ was being treated as a criminal in the court of heaven, with our sins reckoned to His account. Every pain He endured was absolutely necessary for our salvation.
He was bearing substitutionary grief in our place. Because there is no part of our humanity without sin, there could be no part of His humanity without suffering. He was draining the cup that perfect Justice had mingled for us, atoning not only for our actual sins but for our original sin.
The Symbols of the Curse
Consider these symbols one by one:
- The Nakedness: He was stripped naked. The shame of nakedness entered the world with original sin. Therefore, Christ submitted to that shame to clothe us in His perfect righteousness.
- The Scarlet Robe: Scripture says our sins are as scarlet—murderous, wretched, and permanently staining. God placed those deep scarlet sins on Christ, and the robe was the visible symbol of Him bearing our “scarlet” transgressions. He became sin for us, though He knew no sin.
- The Crown of Thorns: In Genesis 3, Adam sought to be a king—not a creature under God, but a rival. As a result, God cursed the earth to bring forth thorns. This is the only crown sin can give humanity: a life of vanity and sweat that ends in the mud. Thorns are the symbol of the curse of the Covenant of Works. Christ wore that visible crown to redeem us from that curse. He is the sacrifice caught in the thicket, the victim in our place, fulfilling the ancient type of the ram Abraham slew instead of Isaac.
- The Spitting: To spit on someone is the ultimate expression of contempt. It is we who deserved to be spat upon by the universe for defacing the image of God. We ungratefully used His bounty to speak against the Most High. But Christ vicariously took that shame to save us from the everlasting shame and contempt we deserved.
- The Reed: They gave Him a reed as a scepter to mock His power. Yet, He is the true King. While earthly kings die, this King died to conquer death and the devil. He is even now stretching out that scepter of mercy to every sinner who seeks refuge in His wounds.
The Mystery of His Love
Behold the glory of His eternal, self-giving love. John 13:1 says that having loved His own, He loved them to the end. I cannot find any other sentence for my tongue but this: Oh, how He loved us! He, the altogether lovely One, endured infinite humiliation. His delicate purity felt a horror of this ribald jesting that we cannot estimate.
He put the cup of Father’s wrath to His lips and never shrank—He drank until not a drop was left. There is not a man or woman here who could have remained silent under such indignities, yet Jesus sat in the omnipotence of patience. What language can explain this? The tongue of an archangel might be consumed in the effort to sing the griefs of Him who was loaded with our shame.
His Heroic Faith
Behold the glory of His strong, heroic faith. Isaiah 50:6 says: “I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting.”
He did not turn His face away because He knew His pain was temporary. He knew that in a few days, the empty tomb would be His vindication. He set His face like a flint because He knew the One who justifies Him was near. This is faith: resting in God’s promise despite present appearances. As Hebrews 12:2 says, for the joy set before Him, He despised the shame. His eye looked forward to the day when a great multitude from every nation would worship Him—not in mock adoration, but in truth.
Your Response to the King
What is your response? You can commit the same sin as these soldiers by offering superficial, sentimental worship while remaining disobedient. To be indifferent to the Lord Jesus is to cut Him to the quick.
Pilate brought Him before the crowd and said, “Behold the man!” I say to you today: Behold the man. You cannot be neutral. You must either come to Him begging for mercy or join the crowd that cries, “Away with Him!”
You will bow your knee to Him. You will either bow now, melted by His grace in repentance, or you will bow one day in terror when He comes to judge. Every tongue shall acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord. Touch your knees where you sit—those knees will bend one day before the King of kings. He will either say, “Come, ye blessed,” or “Depart into everlasting fire.”
Do not look at this scene and pity Jesus; He does not need it. Pity yourself if, in your love of sin, you defy the King of kings. Come now while the door of mercy is open. Fall at His feet and cry, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”
I wonder if one of the soldiers who spat on Him later looked upon His patient face and felt its mysterious power. Perhaps even his sins were forgiven. No sin is beyond the power of the blood He shed. Whatever you have done, regardless of how you have treated Him, He cries: “Come to Me.”