15:16 So 22 the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) 23 and called together the whole cohort. 24 15:17 They put a purple cloak 25 on him and after braiding 26 a crown of thorns, 27 they put it on him. 15:18 They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” 28 15:19 Again and again 29 they struck him on the head with a staff 30 and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. 15:20 When they had finished mocking 31 him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then 32 they led him away to crucify him. 33
1 tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”
2 tn Or “delivered him up.”
3 sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.
4 tn Or “into their headquarters”; Grk “into the praetorium.”
5 sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.
6 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
7 sn The scarlet robe probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king.
8 tn Or “weaving.”
9 sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.
10 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
11 tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.
12 tn Grk “they mocked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.
13 tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”
14 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
15 tn Or “the reed.”
16 tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.
17 tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.
18 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
19 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
20 tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”
21 tn Or “delivered him up.”
22 tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the soldiers’ action is in response to Pilate’s condemnation of the prisoner in v. 15.
23 tn Grk “(that is, the praetorium).”
24 sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.
25 sn The purple cloak probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king (cf. 15:2).
26 tn Or “weaving.”
27 sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.
28 tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”
29 tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.
30 tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.
31 tn The aorist tense is taken consummatively here.
32 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
33 sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.
34 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the crowd’s cries prevailing.
35 sn Finally Pilate gave in. He decided crucifying one Galilean teacher was better than facing a riot. Justice lost out in the process, because he did not follow his own verdict.
36 tn Although some translations render ἐπέκρινεν (epekrinen) here as “passed sentence” or “gave his verdict,” the point in context is not that Pilate sentenced Jesus to death here, but that finally, although convinced of Jesus’ innocence, he gave in to the crowd’s incessant demand to crucify an innocent man.