Matthew 27:29

Mat_27:29-31

And when they had platted a crown of thorns.

Mocked of the soldiers

The shameful spectacle! What element of scorn is lacking? Roman soldiers mocking a supposed rival of Caesar are sure to go to the utmost lengths in their derision. The spectacle is as cruel as it is derisive. Thorns and rough blows accentuate mockeries and scoffs. Roman legionaries were the brutalized instruments of a race noted for its ignorance of all tenderness; they wrought cruelties with a singular zest, being most at home in amusements of the most cruel kind.

I. Hers learn a lesson for your heart.

1. See what sin deserved. All laid on Him.

(a) Ridicule for its folly.

(b) Scorn for its pretensions.

(c) Shame for its audacity.

2. See how low your Saviour stooped for your sake.

(a) Made the substitute for foolish, sinful man; and treated as such.

(b) Scoffed at by soldiers of meanest grade.

(c) Made a puppet for men who play the fool.

3. See how your Redeemer loved you. He bears immeasurable contempt, in silence, to the bitter end.

4. See the grand facts behind the scorn.

(a) He is a King in very surety.

(b) Glorified by conquering earths sorrow.

(c) Rules by weakness.

(d) Makes men bow the knee.

(e) True Monarch of the Jews.

5. See that you honour and love Him in proportion to this shame and mockery. The more vile He has made Himself for us, the more dear He ought to be to us.

II. A lesson for the conscience.

1. Jesus may still be mocked.

(a) By deriding His people.

(b) By despising His doctrine.

(c) By resolves never fulfilled.

(d) By beliefs never obeyed.

(e) By professions never justified. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The crown of thorns

According to the Rabbis and the botanists, there would seem to have been from twenty to twenty-five different species of thorny plants growing in Palestine; and different writers have, according to their own judgment or fancies, selected one and another of these plants as the peculiar thorns which were used upon this occasion. But why select one thorn out of many? He bore not one grief, but all; any and every thorn will suffice; the very dubiousness as to the peculiar species yields us instruction. It may well be that more than one kind of thorn was platted in that crown: at any rate sin has so thickly strewn the earth with thorns and thistles that there was no difficulty in finding the materials, even as there was no scarcity of griefs wherewith to chasten Him every morning and make Him a mourner all His days. The soldiers may have used pliant boughs of the acacia or shittim tree, that unrotting wood of which many of the sacred tables and vessels of the sanctuary were made; and, therefore, significantly used if such was the case. It may have been true, as the old writers generally consider, that the plant was the spina Christi, for it has many small and sharp spines, and its green leaves would have made a wreath such as those with which generals and emperors were crowned after a battle. But we will leave the matter; it was a crown of thorns which pierced His head, and caused Him suffering as well as shame, and that suffices us. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

The Christians crown, not gold but thorns

That thorn crown cures us of desire for the vain glories of the world, it dims all human pomp and glory till it turns to smoke. It takes the glitter from your gold, and the lustre from your gems, and the beauty from all your dainty gewgaws, to see that no imperial purple can equal the glory of His blood, no gems can rival His thorns. Show and parade cease to attract the soul, when once the superlative excellencies of the dying Saviour have been discerned by the enlightened eye. Who seeks for ease when he has seen the Lord Christ? If Christ wears a crown of thorns, shall we covet a crown of laurel? Even the fierce Crusader, when he entered into Jerusalem and was elected king, had sense enough to say, I will not wear a crown of gold in the same city where my Saviour wore a crown of thorns. Why should we desire, like feather-bed soldiers, to have everything arranged for our ease and pleasure? Why this reclining upon couches, when Jesus hangs on a cross? Why this soft raiment, when He is naked? Why these luxuries, when He is barbarously entreated? Thus the thorn crown cures us at once of the vain glory of the world, and of our own selfish love of ease. The worlds minstrel may cry, He, boy, come hither, and crown me with rosebuds! but the voluptuarys request is not for us. For us neither delights of the flesh nor the pride of life can have charms while the Man of Sorrows is in view. For us it remains to suffer and to labour, till the King shall bid us share His rest. (C. H. Spurgeon.)

Crowned with thorns

I. The crown of thorns was placed upon the brow of our Divine Redeemer in derision of His true kingly dignity. It suggests the worlds general treatment of His claims. Herods question-Art Thou a King? Christ claims this supremacy on the ground of His Divine fulness and sufficiency as our Redeeming God.

II. The crown of thorns reminds us of kingship over suffering, or the passive perfection of the Lord Jesus.

III. Of the disappointments which are inseparable from the earthly and the seen. (C. H. Davison.)

The crown of thorns

1. A striking exhibition of the intense love of Christ to guilty man.

2. The profound depth of His abasement.

3. The development of the nature of that kingdom which Christ came into this world to establish.

4. There is a description of the character, tendency, and issue of the affliction of the righteous. Afflictions prick and tear, but suffering is a crown.

5. An affecting image of the reality, extent, and the permanence of the dominion of Christ. (J. Clayton.)

The thorn crown

I. See what that age must have sunk to. We test forces in depravity by their resistance of good. Rome decadent! Do you know its wealth, armies, etc. It was withal corrupt, dying.

II. See what a limited power Christs enemies have. They can put thorns on His head, but none on His heart. How calm in all His sorrow. The keenest physical agony is little felt in the joyous sense of triumphant love for others.

III. See what suffering love can do.

IV. See what is the sin of the world today. Our rebellion is a crown of thorns on his heart.

V. See the altered verdict of the ages. The crown was then a mockery, now a royal symbol. Learn

(1) never to be carried away by a mere temporary judgment;

(2) what a contrast we have in the glorious vision of the Apocalypse, On His head were many crowns. (W. M. Statham.)

The crown of thorns

The crown of thorns symbolized-

I. That Christ was about to bear the curse for sinful man. Thorns were part of the original curse upon the soil.

II. That Christ was about to endure pain for sinful man. The piercing thorns were harbingers of the cruel spear and nails.

III. That Christ was about to conquer death for dying man. Christ was crowned before He came to the cross; undesignedly indicating His victory. (F. W. Brown.)

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

Mat 27:29. Ὁ βασιλεὺς τῶν Ἰουδαίων, the King of the Jews) They treated Jesus as a madman who fancied Himself a King.

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

Mat_27:29 f. Ἐξ ἀκανθῶν] belongs to πλέξαντες. What is meant is something made by twisting together young flexible thorns so as to represent the royal diadem. The object was not to produce suffering, but to excite ridicule; so that while we cannot altogether dissociate the idea of something painful from this crown of thorns, we must not conceive of it as covered with prickles which were intentionally thrust into the flesh. Michaelis adopts the rendering Bärenklau (ἄκανθος); but this is incompatible with the ἀκάνθινον of Mar_15:17, which adjective is never used with reference to the plant just mentioned. Besides, this latter was a plant that was highly prized (for which reason it was often used for ornamental purposes in pieces of sculpture and on the capitals of Corinthian pillars), and therefore would be but ill suited for a caricature. It is impossible to determine what species of thorn it was (possibly the so-called spina Christi?; see Tobler, Denkbl. pp. 113, 179).

καὶ κάλαμον] ἔθηκαν] being understood, the connection with ἐπέθηκαν is zeugmatic.

Observe the imperfects ἐνέπαιζον and ἔτυπτον as indicating the continuous character of the proceeding.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 29. A crown of thorns] στεφανον εξ ακανθων. It does not appear that this crown was intended to be an instrument of punishment or torture to his head, but rather to render him ridiculous; for which cause also they put a reed in his hand, by way of sceptre, and bowed their knees, pretending to do him homage. The crown was not probably of thorns, in our sense of the word: there are eminently learned men who think that the crown was formed of the herb acanthus; and Bishop Pearce and Michaelis are of this opinion. Mark, Mr 15:17, and John, Joh 19:5, term it, στεφανον ακανθινον, which may very well be translated an acanthine crown or wreath, formed out of the branches of the herb acanthus, or bear's foot. This, however, is a prickly plant, though nothing like thorns, in the common meaning of that word. Many Christians have gone astray in magnifying the sufferings of Christ from this circumstance; and painters, the worst of all commentators, frequently represent Christ with a crown of long thorns, which one standing by is striking into his head with a stick. These representations engender ideas both false and absurd.

There is a passage produced from Philo by Dr. Lardner, which casts much light on these indignities offered to our blessed Lord.

"Caligula, the successor of Tiberius, gave Agrippa the tetrarchy of his uncle Philip, with the right of wearing a diadem or crown. When he came to Alexandria, on his way to his tetrarchate, the inhabitants of that place, filled with envy at the thoughts of a Jew having the title of king, showed their indignation in the following way. They brought one Carabus (a sort of an idiot) into the theatre; and, having placed him on a lofty seat, that he might be seen by all, they put a diadem upon his head, made of the herb byblos, (the ancient papyrus, or paper flag;) his body they covered with a mat or carpet, instead of a royal cloak. One seeing a piece of reed, παπυρου (the stem, probably, of the aforesaid herb) lying on the ground, picked it up, and put it in his hand in place of a sceptre. Having thus given him a mock royal dress, several young fellows, with poles on their shoulders, came and stood on each side of him as his guards. Then there came people, some to pay their homage to him, some to ask justice, and some to consult him on affairs of state and the crowd that stood round about made a confused noise, crying, Mario, that being, as they say, the Syriac word for LORD; thereby showing that they intended to ridicule Agrippa, who was a Syrian." See PHILO, Flace. p. 970, and Dr. Lardner, Works, vol. i. p. 159.

There is the most remarkable coincidence between this account and that given by the evangelists; and the conjecture concerning the acanthus will probably find no inconsiderable support from the bylos and papyrus of Philo. This plant, Pliny says, grows to ten cubits long in the stem and the flowers were used ad deos coronandos, for CROWNING THE GODS. See Hist. Nat. lib. xiii. c. 11.

The reflections of pious Quesnel on these insults offered to our blessed Lord merit serious attention.

Let the crown of thorns make those Christians blush who throw away so much time, pains, and money, in beautifying and adorning a sinful head. Let the world do what it will to render the royalty and mysteries of Christ contemptible, it is my glory to serve a King thus debased; my salvation, to adore that which the world despises; and my redemption, to go unto God through the merits of him who was crowned with thorns."

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

(29) A crown of thorns.—The word is too vague to enable us to identify the plant with certainty, but most writers have fixed on the Zizyphus Spina Christi, known locally as the Nebk, a shrub growing plentifully in the valley of the Jordan, with branches pliant and flexible, and leaves of a dark glossy green, like ivy, and sharp prickly thorns. The likeness of the crown or garland thus made to that worn by conquering kings and emperors, fitted it admirably for the purpose. The shrub was likely enough to be found in the garden attached to the Prætorium.

A reed in his right hand.—Here also the word is vague, and it may have been the stalk either of a sugar-cane, a Papyrus, or an Arundo. It represented, of course, the sceptre which, even under the Republic, had been wielded by generals in their triumphs, and which under the Empire, as with Greek and Eastern kings, had become the received symbol of sovereignty.

They bowed the knee before him.—We have to represent to ourselves the whole cohort as joining in the derisive homage. The term in Mar_15:19 implies a continued, not a momentary act—the band filing before the mock-king, and kneeling as they passed.

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

29. a crown of thorns] It cannot be ascertained what especial kind of thorn was used. The soldiers, as Bp Ellicott remarks, would take what first came to hand, utterly careless whether it was likely to inflict pain or no.

King of the Jews] Cp. ch. Mat_2:2, and Mat_27:37.

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 they spit upon him,.... The Syriac and Persic versions add, "upon his face", which he did not hide from spitting; see Isa 1:6, and so what with sweat, by being hurried from place to place, and with blood trickling down from his temples, scratched with thorns, and with the spittle of these filthy soldiers, his visage was more marred than any man's, and his form than the sons of men, Isa 52:14.

And took the reed, or "cane", which was put into his right hand,

and smote him on the head; whereby they drove the sharp points of the thorns into it, which must give him inexpressible pain and torture.

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

29 And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon 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!

Ver. 29. And when they had platted a crown, &c.] Christ, by wearing this crown of thorns, the firstfruits of the curse, took away the sin and curse of all his people; who must therefore, by their obedience, set a crown of gold on his head, Son 3:11, as Canutus in his superstitious way set his crown upon the crucifix. {See Trapp on "Joh 19:2"}

And a reed in his right hand] So do all those still, that submit not to the sceptre of his kingdom, -that give him not full sovereignty over their souls.

Bowed the knee before him] With ludibrious devotion. So do hypocrites to this day. King Richard II, when he was to be deposed, was brought forth in royal array, whereof he was presently despoiled. Never was prince so gorgeous with less glory and more grief.

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 crowning of thorns had preceded the time, when Jesus was made over by Pilate to the Jews. As the Jews have no preterpluperfect tense, we may conjecture that those words, circumdederunt, posuerunt, are Hebraisms; for circumdederant, posuerant, they had covered him with a cloak; they had placed a crown of thorns on his head, and a reed or can in his hand. (Bible de Vence)

Jesus carrieth his cross to Mount Calvary, where he is nailed to it. A great darkness.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

29. Had platted — The old English verb to plat or plait, signifies to braid or interweave. A crown of thorns — The question has been raised whether this crown was intended for mockery or for pain. Undoubtedly mockery was the leading object, and yet that mockery is all the more effective by being made painful. A crown of straw would have been mockery; a crown of thorns was a painful mockery. What sort of thorns composed this crown is uncertain. But Haselquist, a Swedish naturalist, says, of the Nabea Palisius Athanaei of Alphinus, now Zizyphus Spina Christi, “In all probability this is the tree which afforded the crown of thorns put upon the head of Christ. It is very common in the East. This plant is very fit for the purpose, for it has many small and sharp spines which are well adapted to give pain; the crown might easily be made of these soft round and pliant branches; and what in my opinion seems to be the greater proof is, that the leaves very much resemble those of the ivy, as they are of a very deep glossy green. Perhaps the enemies of Christ would have a plant somewhat resembling that with which emperors and generals were crowned, that there might be a calumny even in the punishment.” — Kitto, Art., Thorns.

A reed — A burlesque sceptre for this fictitious king. The reed is a plant with a hollow jointed stalk, growing in wet grounds. It was sometimes used for light walking canes, and one may have been taken from the bystanders for the present purpose. Bowed… mocked… Hail — These were all ironical offers of mocking homage to Jesus as he sat in a semblance of royalty. What followed was real and professed abuse and injury.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Platted a crown of thorns. In carrying out their mockery, the soldiers next supply a regal crown. Palestine was a country thickly set with brambles and thorn-growing bushes. They would have no difficulty in finding plants to suit their cruel purpose, and in plucking with their gauntlet-covered bands sprays sufficient to weave into a rude coronet. What was the particular shrub employed cannot be known for certainty. The zizyphus, Spina Christi, a kind of acacia with long reflex thorns, is of too brittle a nature to be used in this way. Some variety of the cactus or prickly pear may be meant. "Hasselquist, a Swedish naturalist, supposes a very common plant, naba or nabka of the Arabs, with many small and sharp spines, soft, round, and pliant bushes, leaves much resembling those of ivy, being of a very deep green, as if in designed mockery of a victor"s wreath, "Travels," 288" (F.M.). Thorns were the fruits of the primal curse, which Christ, the second Adam, was now bearing, and by bearing removed. A reed in his right hand. By way of sceptre. This must have been a reed or cane of a thick and solid character (see ver. 30, and note on ver. 48). Bowed the knee before him. Doing mock obeisance to him as King. Thus these wretched heathens did that in derision which sonic day all Gentiles shall do in solemn earnest, when "all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before him". (Psa_22:27) Hail, King of the Jews! Doubtless they cried, "Ave, Rex Judaeorum!" in imitation of the "Ave, Imperator!" addressed to the Emperor of Rome.

The crown of thorns.

The wreath that the unfeeling soldiers pressed on the brow of the patient Christ, in mimicry of the victor"s crown, with its cruel thorns to lacerate and pain, was only meant for an insult. It was one element in the torture of rude mockery to which our Lord was subjected. Yet, though quite beyond the perception of the brutal legionaries, this was wonderfully representative of the true Kingship of Jesus. He is a King crowned with thorns. Let us look at the fact from two points of view.

I THE KINGSHIP OF CHRIST NECESSITATED A CROWN OF THORNS,

1. Because he was King he could not but suffer. That is a vulgar notion of royalty which regards it as a state of enviable pleasure. The king of the fairy tales may live in a palace of delights; but the king of history is better represented by Shakespeare, one of whose monarchs exclaims, "Uneasy lies the head that wears a crown!" Most kings find some thorns in their crowns.

2. The peculiar Kingship of Christ involved peculiar suffering. No other king wore a crown wholly woven of thorns. No other king ever suffered as he suffered. It was not the common fate of kingship that bruised and crushed the heart of the Divine King. He came to rule in the souls of men, and the rebellion of men"s souls wounded him. He came to rule the wills of his people, and the resistance of self-will hurt him. He came to rule with righteousness, to cast out all unrighteousness, and the wickedness of the world turned against him. His great aim was to overthrow the kingdom of Satan and to set up his own kingdom instead of it. That is to say, he came to conquer sin and to reign in holiness. But the victory over sin could only be had through suffering and death.

II THE CROWN OF THORNS CONFIRMED THE KINGSHIP OF CHRIST. If they had only known it, those heartless, mocking soldiers were really symbolizing the right of their victim to be their king. Their mimicry of a coronation was most typical of his real coronation. Jesus is a King crowned with thorns, because he is crowned with sorrows, because his sufferings give him a right to sit on his throne and to rule over his people.

1. The sufferings of Christ give him a right to the highest honour. After describing his self-emptying and obedience even to the death of the cross, St. Paul adds, "Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him the Name above every name," etc. (Php_2:9) There is no merit in mere pain, but there is great honour in suffering for a noble cause. Christ went further; he was more than a martyr. He drank a more bitter cup than any other man has tasted, and he took all this suffering upon him for the saving of the world. Such a crown of thorns worn for the good of others marks its wearer as worthy of the highest honour.

2. The sufferings of Christ give him the kingdom over which he rules. He had to win this kingdom for himself, and it is his now by right of conquest. But he did not use any weapons of carnal warfare. He did not fight with the sword. The sufferings of the war were not inflicted on the territory he was conquering, but on himself, He won the world to himself by dying for the world on the cross. W.F.A.

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

29. A crown of thorns. Both in mockery and for torture. And a reed in his right hand. For a sceptre. Having thus arrayed him, in royal robe, crown of thorns, and mock sceptre, they kneel before him and deride him.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

29. ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ for ἐπὶ τὴν δεξιάν.

29. στέφανον κ.τ.λ. It cannot be ascertained what especial kind of thorn was used. The soldiers, as Bp. Ellicott remarks, would take what first came to hand, utterly careless whether it was likely to inflict pain or no.

ὁ βασιλεὐς τῶν Ἰουδαίων. Cp. ch. Mat 2:2, and Mat 27:37.

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.

29.] It does not appear whether the purpose of the crown was to wound, or simply for mockery—and equally uncertain is it, of what kind of thorns it was composed. The acanthus itself, with its large succulent leaves, is singularly unfit for such a purpose: as is the plant with very long sharp thorns commonly known as spina Christi, being a brittle acacia (robinia),—and the very length of the thorns, which would meet in the middle if it were bent into a wreath, precluding it. Some flexile shrub or plant must be understood—possibly some variety of the cactus or prickly pear. ‘Hasselquist, a Swedish naturalist, supposes a very common plant, naba or nubka of the Arabs, with many small and sharp spines; soft, round, and pliant branches; leaves much resembling ivy, of a very deep green, as if in designed mockery of a victor’s wreath,’ Travels, 288. 1766 (cited by F. M).

κάλ., for a sceptre.

ὁ βασ., nominative with art. for vocative, a Hebraism, see reff.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

(M) 29. And they wove a crown of thorns, and put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand: and kneeling down before Him, they mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!] Mk. has: “—having woven a crown of thorns, and began to salute Him, Hail, King of the Jews.”—βασιλεῦ] see Moulton, p. 71.2

Mt., having transferred Mk.’s περιτιθέασιν to the previous clause, is obliged to insert a conjunction καί and a new verb ἐπέθηκαν, and adds ἐπὶ τῆς κεφαλῆς αὐτοῦ. He inserts also καὶ κάλαμον ἐν τῇ δεξιᾷ αὐτοῦ, taking the “reed” from Mk v. 19, where it seems pointless and out of place. The καὶ γονυπετήσαντες ἔμπροσθεν αὐτοῦ ἐνέπαιξαν αὐτῷ is also anticipated from Mk 19 καὶ τιθέντες τὰ γόνατα προσεκύνουν αὐτῷ. Mt. substitutes γονυπετήσαντες cf. 17:14; Mar 1:40, Mar 10:17, and changes προσεκύνουν into the ἐνέπαιξαν of Mk v. 20.

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