Title: They crowned him with a crown of thorns

Scripture reading: Mark 15:16-20

“Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. ¹⁷ And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, ¹⁸ and began to salute Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ¹⁹ Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.”

Main idea: Believers can expect ridicule and mocking from others when it comes to their faith in Jesus Christ.

Soldiers staged a mock coronation for the King of the Jews (Mark 15:16-20).
Soldiers staged a mock coronation for the King of the Jews. It was God the Son they clothed with purple. It was their own Creator they crowned with thorns. It was the Lord of life and glory they struck on the head. They spat on the Prince of peace. They mockingly bowed their knees to the King of kings and Lord of lords. Their goal was to mock and to degrade Jesus, and in a way the soldiers succeeded. But they surely degraded themselves. It reminds us that whenever we attack someone, we hurt ourselves.

Jesus is mocked, and humiliated
This is the second of three mocking of Jesus in the gospel of Mark. First, He was mocked by members of the Jewish council and its guards after the trial before the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:65). Now he is mocked by Roman soldiers in the praetorium after the trial before Pilate (Mark 15:16-20). He will be mocked again a third time at his crucifixion (Mark 15:26-32). The Father sent His beloved Son to rescue and redeem the fallen race. Look at what they have done to our Lord! But look, and never forget, what our Lord has done for us!

“They twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head”
The crown of thorns pictured God’s curse on sinful humanity now being put on Jesus (Gen 3:15-18). He is crowned with a “crown of thorns,” a reminder of the curse from which He has redeemed us. Jesus bore the guilt and curse we should have borne. “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written: Everyone who is hung on a tree is cursed” (Gal. 3:13; Deut. 21:23).

Jesus wore a scarlet robe in Pilate’s Hall that morning. Before the day would end, Jesus would wear our scarlet sins on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21; Isa. 1:18). He would pay sin’s debt and one day, the world would be delivered from that curse (Rom. 8:20-22). In a deeper sense, the death of Jesus as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).  Jesus goes as it is written concerning him, but those who participate in his betrayal remain culpable and responsible (Mark 14:21).

“Hail, King of the Jews!”
Soldiers were mimicking the Latin salutation of the emperor, “Ave, Caesar!” Roman soldiers would certainly laugh at a Jew who claimed to be a king! Our Lord quietly suffered and did not fight back, a lesson that Mark’s readers would need to learn as they faced official persecution (1 Peter 2:21-24).

Jesus was not only a king, he was “the King of kings,” not only a lord, but “Lord of lords” (Rev. 19:16). One day he will return in judgment, as he told Caiaphas, “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (Matt. 26:64).

Charles H. Spurgeon said, “pure Christianity in its outward appearances is an equally unattractive object and wears upon its surface few royal tokens. It is without form or comeliness, and when men see it there is no beauty that they should desire it.” Nominal Christianity is tolerantly approved by most men, but the pure gospel is scorned and rejected. “The real Christ of today, among men, is unknown and unrecognized as much as he was among his own nation eighteen hundred years ago,”

“Led Him out to crucify Him.”
This portion of the scripture (Mark 15:18-20) closes with a plain, truthful statement: “And they led him out to crucify him.” Hebrews 13:11-13 is an interpretation of these words. The scapegoat—the one who bore the sins of the people in Old Testament typology—was always led out of the city (Leviticus 16:10).

Application
Soldiers mistreatment of Jesus was in fulfillment of what he had predicted in Mark 10:34. That Jesus should suffer so much, even as he was about to die on behalf of many (Mark 10:45), indicates just how serious the condition of humanity is with regard to the things of God. Jesus went to the cross as a rejected King of the Jews, but God did not share man’s rejection of Jesus, and would soon vindicate him through the resurrection.

Philippians 2:9-11 reminds us “Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” When you feel that unjust people who are hostile to Christianity are carrying the day, rest assured that Jesus holds the highest place and will return in glory.

During the war between Britain and France, men were drafted into the French army by a lottery system. When someone’s name was drawn, he had to go off to battle. But there was one exception to this. A person could be exempted if another man was willing to take his place. We needed a substitute. We needed someone who could pay our debt— the debt of death (Rom. 6:23)—and cleanse us so we could be found blameless regarding the Lord’s perfect and holy standard. Jesus died in our place.

If he is the King, say, “Yes, Jesus, I acknowledge who you are, and I want to become your follower today.” Bow before him today. If you do not, one day you will bow before him in terror at the judgment.

I leave you today with these words taken from Philippians 2:6-8, “who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”

Let’s pray together
heavenly Father, I thank you Lord, You gave me hope for tomorrow. This world mistreated You with a crown of thorns, but one day you will return with full of glory. While waiting for Your coming help me Lord to serve you faithfully. In Jesus Name, Amen.