John 19:2

Joh_19:2

The soldiers platted a crown of thorns

The unwilling tribute

According to prophecy the Messiah was to fill the three offices of Prophet, Priest, and King.

Carnal expectation ignored the two former, and built its hopes on the latter. They were unwilling to be taught by the Prophet, they could not support the Priest, as His demand of sacrifices and offerings was beyond the extent of their love for religion; but they were willing that a King might reign over them. The kingly idea attached to the person of Christ agitated them the most. The Roman soldiers crowned and worshipped Him in derision; these were the rugged steps leading up to His throne.

I. THE CROWN OF THORNS WAS AN EMBLEM OF THE ASCENDANCY OF JESUS THROUGH SUFFERING TO THE GOVERNMENT OF THE WORLD. Ought not Christ to have suffered these things? &c. The course was not understood by His persecutors, But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, &c. He gave to all the subjects of His future kingdom an example of

1. Willing service. Even with the crown on His head, His last strength was spent in the service of truth and justice.

2. Entire submission to the will of God. He was oppressed, &c. Such an example of service and submission claims for Him the crown which the thorns symbolized.

II. THE PURPLE ROBE WAS EMBLEMATIC OF THE POWER WHICH HE WOULD EXERCISE OVER MANKIND. The other evangelists call it scarlet, but a robe with the colour of red in it was generally called purple. The one used was, no doubt, an old left-off robe of the proconsul. It was an emblem of power, worn by governors and generals. A reed was also put in His hand to represent the seeptre. Jesus is King

1. By Divine appointment. Yet have I set My King upon My holy Hill of Zion. The government was to be on His shoulder. All judgments are committed to His care.

2. By virtue of His influence. Mens thoughts are captive to the obedience of Christ. The hearts of the sons of men are in His hand. The kingdoms of this world are bowing to His authority. The angels of God worship Him.

III. THE MOCK HOMAGE WHICH WAS PAID IS AN EMBLEM OF THE ADORATION WHICH HE WILL RECEIVE (Joh_19:3). They saluted Him in terms of loyalty which they did not feel; but myriads have since said, Crown Him Lord of all. The vision reveals the four and twenty elders casting their crowns before the throne. And in another vision, On His head were many crowns. (Weekly Pulpit.)

The mock crown

God intended that the evil of sin should be fully manifest by the death of Christ. Those who had a hand in it show by their malignant spirit what a hell the world would become if there were no check upon it. But submitting as He did, Christ checked that spirit, and seemed to say, Do your worst on Me, and let it suffice for ever.

I. TO WEAR THIS CROWN CHRIST HAD LAID ASIDE THAT OF DIVINE MAJESTY. What a contrast is here. They mocked Him in all His characters. As a Prophet they said, Prophesy unto us; as a Priest, He saved others, &c. In bitter scorn of His Kingly claims, they crowned him with thorns. We can pity the great who are degraded, or impoverished, because, being human, we can measure the depth of their descent; but we have no power to gauge the height from which Christ humbled Himself. He left a world of glory for one of meanness, one of purity for one of crime, &c. He who had created all things was sold for thirty pieces of silver. He who was the source of bliss suffered anguish. He who had worn the royal robes of heaven was clad in a cast-off robe of office. He who had borne the crown of the universe was tormented with the spiky circlet of mockery. None could have placed it on His brow but by His consent; and the power by which He laid aside the one led Him to receive the other.

II. BY WEARING THIS CROWN OF MOCKERY CHRIST ADDED A GLORY TO THAT WHICH HE WEARS ETERNALLY. It is not the weight of gold in a crown, or its jewels, that are the measure of its value, but the character of its wearer. Judged thus, what glory attaches to the crown of Christ! It was wondrous love to man that led Him to wear the thorn-crown, and never was there such a crown as that which He now wears. We have read of crowns given for distinguished services, of crowns won by splendid victories, of crowns worn by hereditary right, royal crowns, imperial crowns, &c., but where is one like that which Jesus now wears? He conquered suffering and death for us, and now every spike of that mock crown is a jewel inwrought with that of His Divine majesty.

III. BY WEARING THE MOCK CROWS CHRIST GAINED A FURTHER RIGHT TO BESTOW A CROWN OF LIFE ON ALL THE FAITHFUL one without thorns. Be thou faithful unto death, &c. To Him that overcometh, &c. That which Christ died to obtain at such a cost must be worth having. Eternal bliss alone could balance such Divine sufferings. We may say, like Paul, With a great sum obtained I this freedom. Ye were not redeemed, &c. As Jonathan stripped Himself (1Sa_18:4) of his royal robes and put them, as signs of honour and love, on David, so Jesus was stripped that we might have the covering of His righteousness. He hungered, thirsted, sorrowed, was made a curse, &c., that we might not hunger, &c.

IV. THE POWER CHRIST GAINED OVER HUMAN SOULS BY WEARING THAT MOCK CROWN.

1. Men are led to mourn the guilt that brought Him such pain. Weep not for Me He said, knowing that the sin which could so treat Him was far more terrible than all suffering. Thorns are pressed on Him such as these

(1) Indifference to His sufferings.

(2) Unbelief in His great work.

(3) Unreality of professed belief.

(4) Inconsistency of life.

(5) Greed of worldly gain and pleasure.

(6) Neglect of others for whom He died. Surely He has had thorns enough thrust in already. Will you add more?

2. He gains such intense affection as He could have obtained in no other way. We could never have loved majesty or power; but Jesus we can love as God manifest in the flesh. Nothing arouses love like a sight of the crucified Saviour. Hence the cross has been His stepping-stone to dominion over souls. (Homiletic Magazine.)

The crown of thorns

Of other plants growing in the vale of Jericho, we noticed the Nebk, the most abundant thorn in the Holy Land. Hasselquist (Voyage and Travels) says, In all probability this is the tree which afforded the crown of thorns put on the Head of Christ: it grows very common in the East. This plant was very fit for the purpose, for it has many small and sharp spines, which are well adapted to give pain. The crown might be easily made of these soft, round, and pliant branches: and what in my opinion seems to be the greatest proof, is, that the leaves much resemble those of ivy, as they are of a very deep green. Perhaps the enemies of Christ would have a plant somewhat resembling that with which emperors and generals were used to be crowned, that there might be calumny even in the punishment. (Wilsons Lands of the Bible.)

The thorn bushes, which during the summer and autumn had been so dark and bare, were clothed with delicate green sprays of finely-serrated leaves, which almost hid the sharp, cruel-looking thorns. They were sprinkled with little round buds; when they opened, they threw out silky tufts of crimson, crowned with golden-coloured powder. The seed vessel is round, and divided into four quarters: at first it is almost white, but gradually becomes pink: and at the apex there is a little green tuft, in the shape of a Greek cross. When the seed is quite ripe, it is about half-an-inch in diameter, and of a very shining red colour. I have never seen a plant of which so beautiful, and at the same time so cruel, a crown could be composed. This thorn is the Proterium spinosum. About Easter it is seen in all its beauty, the leaves glossy and full-grown, the fruit or seed-vessels brilliantly red, like drops of blood, and the thorns sharper and stronger than at any other time. No plant or bush is so common on the hills of Judaea, Galilee, and Carmel as this. (Rogers Domestic Life in Palestine.)

The martyrs crown

When John Huss, the martyr, was brought forth to be burned, they put a paper over his head, on which were pictured three devils, and the title, heresiarch. When he saw it, he said, My Lord Jesus Christ, for my sake, did wear a crown of thorns: why should not I, therefore, for His sake, wear this ignominious crown? (Bp. Ryle.)

A pillow without thorns

How well did that converted Tahitian, Barn his name was, understand the comfort to be derived from these thorn.wounds of Jesus; when on his deathbed, he said: The blood of Jesus is my sure foundation. He is the best of all kings. He gives me a pillow for my head without thorns. (R. Besser, D. D.)

They put on Him a purple robe.--This again was done as a mark of contempt and derision, in order to show how ridiculous and contemptible was the idea of His kingdom. The colour, purple, was doubtless meant to be a derisive imitation of the well-known imperial purple, the colour worn by emperors. Some have thought that this robe was only an old soldiers cape, such as a guard-house would easily furnish. Some, with more show of probability, have thought that this robe must be the gorgeous robe which Herod put on our Lord, mentioned by St. Luke, when he sent Him back to Pilate (Luk_23:11), a circumstance which John has not recorded. In any case we need not doubt that the robe was some shabby, cast-off garment. It is worth remembering that this brilliant colour, scarlet or purple, would make our blessed Lord a most conspicuous object to every eye, when He was led through the streets from Herod, or brought forth from Pilates house to the assembled multitude of Jews. We should call to mind the symbolical nature of this transaction also. Our Lord was clothed with a robe of shame and contempt, that we might be clothed with a spotless garment of righteousness, and stand in white robes before the throne of God. (Bp. Ryle.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

19:2 The crown of thorns might have come from a date palm (cp. 12:13-14), the thorns of which can exceed twelve inches. There are Greek coin images showing such crowns, with the stems woven and the thorns radiating upward above the crown. • The purple robe was probably a soldier’s robe—dark red to complete the picture of mock royalty.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Joh 19:2. Οἱ στρατιῶται, the soldiers) The delivering up of Jesus by Pilate, was a thing done in successive steps [not all at once]. See Harm.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head--in mockery of a regal crown.

and they put on him a purple robe--in mockery of the imperial purple; first "stripping him" (Mat 27:28) of His own outer garment. The robe may have been the "gorgeous" one in which Herod arrayed and sent Him back to Pilate (Luk 23:11). "And they put a reed into His right hand" (Mat 27:29) --in mockery of the regal scepter. "And they bowed the knee before Him" (Mat 27:29).

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 2. Platted a crown of thorns] See Clarke on Mt 27:29.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

2. And the soldiers, platting a crown of thorns. This was unquestionably done by the authority of Pilate, in order to affix a mark of infamy on the Son of God, for having made himself a king; and that in order to satisfy the rage of the Jews, as if he had been convinced that the accusations which they brought against Christ were well founded. Yet the wickedness and insolence of the soldiers is indulged more freely than had been ordered by the judge; as ungodly men eagerly seize on the opportunity of doing evil whenever it is offered to them. But we see here the amazing cruelty of the Jewish nation, whose minds are not moved to compassion by so piteous a spectacle; but all this is directed by God, in order to reconcile the world to himself by the death of his Son.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(2) For the crown of thorns, comp. Mat_27:26; and for the purple robe, Mat_27:28; Mar_15:17.

(2) That St. John distinguishes between the condemnation to be scourged (Joh_19:1) and that to be crucified. In St. Matthew and St. Mark the flagellation is regarded as the preliminary and part of the punishment. If it was the third hour at which this commenced—i.e., if the incident of Joh_19:1 of this chapter is to be assigned to nine o’clock—then the Crucifixion itself would naturally come about twelve o’clock.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. And the soldiers] Herod and his troops (Luk_23:11) had set an example which the Roman soldiers were ready enough to follow. Pilate countenances the brutality as aiding his own plan of satisfying Jewish hatred with something less than death. The soldiers had inflicted the scourging; for Pilate, being only Procurator, would have no lictors.

a crown of thorns] The context seems to shew that this was in mockery of a royal crown rather than of a victor’s wreath. The plant is supposed to be the thorny nâbk, with flexible branches, and leaves like ivy, abundant in the Jordan valley and round about Jerusalem.

a purple robe] S. Mark has ‘purple,’ S. Matthew ‘scarlet,’ S. Luke is silent. ‘Purple’ with the ancients was a vague term for bright rich colour and would be used of crimson as well as of violet. The robe was a military chlamys, or paludamentum, perhaps one of Pilate’s cast-off cloaks. The garment in which Herod had mocked Jesus was probably white. Comp. 1Ma_8:14; 1Ma_10:20; 1Ma_10:62. The scourging and mockery were very possibly visible to the Jews outside.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns,.... This was an emblem of his being surrounded by wicked men, sons of Belial, comparable to thorns, whilst he hung suffering on the cross; and of the sins of his people compassing him about, which were as thorns, very grievous to him; and of his various troubles in life, and of his being made a curse for us at death; thorns being the produce of the curse upon the earth.

And put it on his head: not only by way of derision, as mocking at his character, the King of the Jews, but in order to afflict and distress him.

And they put on him a purple robe: Matthew calls it a scarlet robe; and the Arabic and Persic versions here, "a red" one: it very probably was one of the soldiers' coats, which are usually red: this was still in derision of him as a king, and was an emblem of his being clothed with our purple and scarlet sins, and of the bloody sufferings of his human nature for them, and through which we come to have a purple covering, or to be justified by his blood, and even to be made truly kings, as well as priests, unto God.

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

Ver. 2. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns] Prickly and sharp as the point of a sword (so the word signifieth). Ακανθη videtur ortum a voce ακη, cuspis, acies, mucro. (Pasor.) And our Saviour being of the finest constitution, must needs be extremely sensible. The soldiers did this (it is thought) by the command of Pilate, to give content to the Jews, and to move them thereby (if it might be) either to condemn him or commiserate him. But nothing would do but his death; these blood hounds would not otherwise be satisfied. Godfrey of Boulogne, first king of Jerusalem, refused to be crowned with a crown of gold, saying that it became not a Christian there to wear a crown of gold, where Christ for our salvation had sometime worn a crown of thorns. Some report that he would not be otherwise crowned than with a crown of thorns, as he kneeled at our Saviour’s sepulchre; to testify (perhaps) that he did dedicate his head and life to Christ crucified, and despised not for his sake a crown of thorns here so he might wear a crown of glory with him in heaven. Tradunt coronam spineam ei esse impositam flexis genibus ad sepulchrum Dominicum procumbenti. (Bucholcer.) Canutus, for like purpose, set his crown upon the crucifix. It is not fit, since the head was crowned with thorns, that the members should be crowned with rosebuds, saith Zanchius.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

The other evangelists also mention a reed put into his right hand. The crown, and the purple robe, and a sceptre, are all regal ensigns; they give them to Christ in derision of his pretence to a kingdom, and in the mean time themselves proclaim what he had said, that his kingdom was not of this world; for though earthly kings wear crowns, yet they use to be of gold, not of thorns; and their sceptres use to be gold, not reeds.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

Pilate then allowed the wounded and bruised man to be yet further and cruelly insulted by the Roman soldiers, who delighted in cruel play and coarse scorn. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and arrayed him in a purple robe. The "gorgeous robe" which had been put upon Jesus by Herod had been probably taken" from him before he was brought the second time into the Praetorium, and necessarily before his scourging. Now, though it is called a "purple robe" by John, it was probably a cast-off toga of the Herodian court, in all likelihood it was the same garment which was thrown again around his fettered limbs, his bowed and bleeding form. And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns; in imitation of the victor"s wreath at a "triumph," rather than the coronet or diadem of a king. The material is believed by Winer, Hug, Luthardt, and Godet to be the Lycium spinosum, often found at Jerusalem, not the acanthus, whose leaves decorate our Corinthian columns. It is of flexible stem, and would be soon woven into a wreath, the spikes of which, when it was placed around that majestic head, would be driven into the flesh, and produce great agony.

HOMILIES BY J.R. THOMSON Ver. 2. The crown of thorns.

How deeply the incident here related impressed itself upon the mind and heart of Christendom is manifest

(1) from the romantic legends current among Christians regarding it, from the time of Helena, the mother of Constantine, downwards; and

(2) from the frequent representations of the thorn-crowned Redeemer produced by Christian painters, who have used all the resources of their art to give to the "Ecce Homo!" the interest of sorrow and of spiritual beauty.

I THE OBVIOUS AND ORIGINAL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CROWN OF THORNS.

1. It was an evidence of the cruelty and brutality of Christ"s foes. The actual plaiting of the crown, and the actual placing of it upon the holy Sufferer"s head was the deed of the Roman soldiers. Insensibility to the pain experienced by Jesus may have been natural to such men; but the mockery and scorn displayed in the pretence of homage must have been learned from the Jews.

2. It was an opportunity for Jesus to exhibit those moral qualities which have ever since been peculiarly associated with his name. His patience, his meekness, this dignity, were never more conspicuous than when he was insulted and ill used by his calumniators and foes. Nor can we see that such dispositions could have been so strikingly exhibited except in circumstances such as those in which the Man of sorrows was then placed.

II THE SYMBOLIC AND PROPHETIC SIGNIFICANCE OF THE CROWN OF THORNS.

1. This affecting coronation is an emblem of our Savior"s earthly ministry.

His career brought together the hate and the loving devotion of multitudes; it was marked by poverty and lowliness, and yet by a majesty quite unique; he was despised and rejected of men, yet his teaching constrained the exclamation, "Never man spake like this Man!" and his miracles constrained the cry, "What manner of Man is this?" The thorns of hatred and contempt were thrust into his head; yet love and loyalty wrought them into a victor"s wreath, a monarch"s diadem.

2. The crowning of Jesus with thorns symbolized the character of the religion which he founded. The cross was followed by the resurrection; the entombment by the ascension. Thus God brought together, in the career of his own Son, the profoundest humiliation and the most exalted glory. And this arrangement represents the nature of Christianity. It is a religion of humility, contrition, and repentance, and also of peace, victory, and power. It smites the sinner to the earth; it raises the pardoned penitent to heaven.

3. This incident was prophetic of the progress and the victory of the Christian faith. Our religion has indeed triumphed, but it has triumphed through suffering. Its onward course has been marked by the blood of confessors, martyrs, and missionaries, and by the toil and anguish of thousands of faithful promulgators. The thorns of suffering are the means; the crown of glory and of conquest is the end. Christ was made perfect through suffering, and his Church shall reach a universal dominion only by a toilsome path of strife, watered by tears and stained with blood. T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Behold here. 1. The crown which they have prepared for him, a crown of thorns; and with great cruelty they press it closely to his sacred temples, whilst those sharp-pointed briars, piercing those tender parts, let out that blood, which in a short time was to be more freely poured forth for the redemption of captive souls.

The next part of our Saviour’s sufferings consisted of cruel mockings: Christ had owned himself to be the King of the Jews; that is, a spiritual king, in and over his church. But the Jews expecting that the Messiah should have appeared in the pomp of an earthly prince, and finding it to be quite otherwise in our Saviour, they look upon him as a deceiver and impostor, and accordingly treat him as a mocking, with all the marks of derision and scorn: for first they put a crown upon his head; but a very ignominious and painful one; a crown of thorns. They put a sceptre in his hand, but it was that of a reed; a robe of scarlet or purple upon his body; and then bowed their knees unto him, as they were wont to do before their princes, crying, Hail, King!

Thus were all the marks of scorn imaginable put upon our dear Redeemer: yet what they did in jest, God permitted to be done in earnest; for all these things were ensigns and marks of sovereignty, and Almighty God caused the royal dignity of his Son to shine forth, even in the midst of his greatest abasement.

Whence was all this jeering and sport, but to flout majesty? And why did the Son of God undergo all this igniminy, disgrace, and shame, but to show what was due unto us, for our sins; as also to give us an example, to bear all the scorn, reproach, and shame imaginable, for the sake of him who, for the joy that was set before him, despised the shame, as well as endured the cross?

Verily, nothing was omitted that either the malice of men, or the rage of devils could possibly invent, either to torment or reproach him.

But with what a lamb-like meekness, with what an astonishing patience, did he undergo all these trials, both for our good and in our stead!

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. οἱ στρατιῶται. Herod and his troops (Luk 23:11) had set an example which the Roman soldiers were ready enough to follow. Pilate countenances the brutality as aiding his own plan of satisfying Jewish hatred with something less than death. The soldiers had inflicted the scourging; for Pilate, being only Procurator, would have no lictors. They crown Him in mockery of royalty rather than of victory, as what follows shews. The plant used was probably the thorny nâbk, lycium spinosum, with flexible branches and leaves like ivy, abundant round about Jerusalem.

ἱμ. πορφυροῦν. S. Mark has πορφύραν, S. Matthew χλαμύδα κοκκίνην. Purple with the ancients was a vague term for rich bright colour, crimson as well as violet. The robe was a military chlamys or paludamentum, representing a royal robe. That in which Herod mocked Jesus was probably white: 1Ma 8:14; 1Ma 10:20; 1Ma 10:62. The soldiers act in derision of the detested Jews generally, who could probably see all this from the outside, rather than of Jesus in particular. The whole is a caricature of Jewish expectations of a national king.

ἤρχοντο πρ. αὐ. This graphic touch is omitted by the Synoptists and by some authorities here. We see each soldier coming up (imperfect) to offer his mock homage. As in Joh 18:22, ῥάπισμα is probably a blow with the hand rather than with a rod. Comp. Isa 50:6, I gave my back, εἰς μάστιγας, and my cheek, εἰς ῥαπίσματα. The Old Latin adds in faciem. The blow is the mock gift brought by the person doing homage.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

2. In the account of the mockery of Jesus by the soldiers of Pilate, Jn. follows Mar 15:17, or, at any rate, uses phrases which recall Mk. There is no probability that he uses Mt. Luk 23:11 ascribes this cruel indignity to the soldiers of Herod. The soldiers were amused by the idea that the poor prisoner claimed to be a king, and their rough jests were directed rather against the Jews than against Jesus personally. “This, then, is the King of the Jews!”

πλέξαντες στέφανον ἐξ ἀκανθῶν. Verbally identical with Mat 27:28; Mar 15:17 has πλέξαντες ἀκάνθινον στέφανον. Lk. does not mention the mock coronation. Pseudo-Peter (§ 3) attributes the jest to an individual; τις αὐτῶν ἐνεγκὼν στέφανον ἀκάνθινον ἔθηκεν ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς τοῦ κυρίου.

The soldiers plaited the twigs of some thorny plant into a crown or wreath (cf. ὁ στέφανος … ὁ πλεκείς, Isa 28:5).

ἐπέθηκαν αὐτοῦ τῇ κεφαλῇ. This phrase, too, might be thought to come from Mat 27:29 ἐπέθηκαν ἐπὶ τὴν κεφαλὴν αὐτοῦ, for Mar 15:17 has only περιτιθέασιν αὐτῷ. But Jn. says nothing of the mock sceptre which Mt. mentions, a detail which is not in Mk. It would be precarious to infer that Jn. is using Mt.’s narrative.

καὶ ἱμάτιον πορφυροῦν περιέβαλον αὐτόν. This is reminiscent of Mar 15:17, ἐνδύουσιν αὐτὸν πορφύραν, rather than of Mat 27:28 or Luk 23:11 (where, however, we find περιβαλὼν αὐτὸν ἐσθῆτα λαμπράν).1 The substitute for the regal purple (cf. 1 Macc. 8:14, etc.) may have been the scarlet cloak of one of the legionaries (χλαμύδα κοκκίνην, Mat 27:28). Jesus had first been stripped of His own outer clothing (ἐκδύσαντες αὐτόν, Mat 27:28). For ἱμάτιον, see on v. 23.

2. Ἀμὴν λέγω σοι, σήμερον μετʼ ἐμοῦ ἔσῃ ἐν τῷ παραδείσῳ (Luk 23:43). This was addressed to the penitent thief, and, like the First Word, must have been said at the beginning of the awful scene. “It was now about the sixth hour,” is Lk.’s comment (Luk 23:44); i.e. it was about noon. See on Joh 19:14. The report of this saying must have come from some one who stood near the Cross, and so was able to hear what was said.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Crown [στεφανον] . So Matthew and Mark. Luke does not mention the crown of thorns. See on 1Pe 5:4.

Of thorns [εξ ακανθων] . So Matthew. Mark has ajkanqinon, the adjective, made of thorns, which John also uses in Joh 19:5. All attempts to define the botanical character of the thorns used for Christ 's crown are guesses. The word for thorns used here is the only one that occurs in the New Testament; the skoloy (thorn in the flesh) of 2Co 12:7, being properly an impaling - stake.

Both the crowning with thorns and the flagellation are favorite subjects in Christian art. Some of the earliest representations of the latter depict the figure of the Lord as fully draped, and standing unbound at the column, thus illustrating the voluntariness of His sacrifice. In a MS. of the fourteenth century, in the British Museum, He stands, wholly clothed, holding a book in one hand, and blessing with the other. The more devout feeling which predominated in such representations was gradually overpowered by the sense of physical suffering. The earlier paintings represented the back turned toward the spectator, and the face, turned in a forced attitude, exhibited in profile. Later, the face and figure are turned full to the front, and the strokes fall upon the chest. Hence Jerome, in his commentary on Matthew, says that the capacious chest of God (!) was torn with strokes. The standing position is the accepted one, but instances occur in which the Savior is on the ground attached to the column by one hand. Such is the revolting picture by 50 Caracci in the Bologna gallery, in which the soldier clutches Jesus by the hair as he plies the bundle of twigs. In a Psalter of the fifteenth century the Savior stands in front of the column, covering His face with His hands.

According to the later type, the moment chosen is when the execution of the sentence is just beginning. One man is binding the hands to the pillar, another is binding together a bundle of loose switches. The German representations are coarser than the Italian, but with more incident. They lack the spiritual feeling which appears in the best Italian specimens. A field for a higher feeling and for more subtle treatment is opened in the moments succeeding the scourging. One of the very finest examples of this is the picture of Velasquez, "Christ at the Column," in the National Gallery of London. The real grandeur and pathos of the conception assert themselves above certain prosaic and realistic details. The Savior sits upon the ground, His arms extended, and leaning backward to the full stretch of the cord which binds His crossed hands. The face is turned over the left shoulder full upon the spectator. Rods, ropes, and broken twigs lie upon the ground, and slender streams of blood appear upon the body. A guardian angel behind the figure of the Lord, stands bending slightly over a child kneeling with clasped hands, and points to the sufferer, from whose head a ray of light passes to the child 's heart. The angel is a Spanish nursery - maid with wings, and the face of the child is of the lower Spanish type, and is in striking contrast with the exquisite countenance of Murillo's Christ - child, which hangs next to this picture, and which is of the sweetest type of Andalusian beauty. The Savior 's face is of a thoroughly manly, indeed, of a robust type, expressing intense suffering, but without contortion. The large, dark eyes are ineffably sad. The strong light on the right arm merges into the deep shadow of the bound hands, and the same shadow falls with startling effect across the full light on the left arm, marked at the wrist by a slight bloody line.

In the portrayal of the crowning with thorns, in a few instances, the moment is chosen after the crown has been placed, the action being in the mock - worship; but the prevailing conception is that of the act of crowning, which consists in pressing the crown upon the brow by means of two long staves. A magnificent specimen is Luini's fresco in the Ambrosian Library at Milan. Christ sits upon a tribune, clad in a scarlet robe, His face wearing an expression of infinite sweetness and dignity, while a soldier on either side crowds down the crown with a staff. The Italian artists represent the crown as consisting of pliable twigs with small thorns; but the northern artists "have conceived," to quote Mrs. Jameson, "an awful structure of the most unbending, knotted boughs, with tremendous spikes half a foot long, which no human hands could have forced into such a form." In a few later instances the staves are omitted, and the crown is placed on the head by the mailed hand of a soldier. Put on [περιεβαλον] . Literally, threw about. Rev., arrayed.

Purple [πορφυρουν] . An adjective. Found only here, ver. 5, and Rev 18:16. Mark uses the noun porfura, purple, which also occurs in Rev 17:4; Rev 18:12. See on Luk 16:19. Matthew has kokkinhn, scarlet.

Robe [ιματιον] . Better, as Rev., garment, since robe gives the impression of a trailing garment. See on Mt 5:40. Matthew has clamuda, a short military cloak (xxviii. 28). Luke describes the garment as lampran, gorgeous, bright or brilliant (xxiii. 11).

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.