Lent Day 20

John 19: 1-4
Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him. 2And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3They came up to him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" and struck him with their hands. 4Pilate went out again and said to them, "See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that I find no guilt in him."

The Soldiers' Horseplay (John 19: 1-4)

It was not every day that a ‘king’ was to be executed so the soldiers indulged in savage derision. They improvised a crown of thorns and the sort of robe that would befit a king. Because of its cost purple cloth was much prized in the ancient world and was associated with royalty. The dye came from the ‘throat’ of a tiny shellfish called Murex caught off the Phoenician coast. The first convert in Europe was an enterprising Asian business woman who traded in ‘purple goods’ (Acts 16:14).

The soldiers obviously relished the opportunity to make fun of Jesus: ‘Hail, king of the Jews!’ There is a sick horror in the sheer persistent repetition of their taunting.

Think: The soldiers physically and verbally abused Jesus, but in what ways do we ‘hear our voice call out among the scoffers’?