Mark 15:17

15:17 They put a purple cloak ¹  on him and after braiding ²  a crown of thorns, ³  they put it on him.

Mark 15:36

15:36 Then someone ran, filled a sponge with sour wine, ⁴  put it on a stick, ⁵  and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to take him down!”

Mark 12:1

The Parable of the Tenants

12:1 Then ⁶  he began to speak to them in parables: “A man planted a vineyard. ⁷  He put a fence around it, dug a pit for its winepress, and built a watchtower. Then ⁸  he leased it to tenant farmers ⁹  and went on a journey.

[15:17]  ¹ 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).

[15:17]  ² tn Or “weaving.”

[15:17]  ³ 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.

[15:36]  ⁴ sn Sour wine refers to cheap wine that was called in Latin posca, a cheap vinegar wine diluted heavily with water. It was the drink of slaves and soldiers, and was probably there for the soldiers who had performed the crucifixion.

[15:36]  ⁵ tn Grk “a reed.”

[12:1]  ⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ⁸ sn The vineyard is a figure for Israel in the OT (Isa 5:1-7). The nation and its leaders are the tenants, so the vineyard here may well refer to the promise that resides within the nation. The imagery is like that in Rom 11:11-24.

[12:1]  ⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[12:1]  ¹⁰ sn The leasing of land to tenant farmers was common in this period.