Matthew 27:26-31

Context
27:26 Then he released Barabbas for them. But after he had Jesus flogged,¹ he handed him over² to be crucified.³ 27:27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence⁴ and gathered the whole cohort⁵ around him. 27:28 They⁶ stripped him and put a scarlet robe⁷ around him, 27:29 and after braiding⁸ a crown of thorns,⁹ they put it on his head. They¹⁰ put a staff¹¹ in his right hand, and kneeling down before him, they mocked him:¹² “Hail, king of the Jews!”¹³ 27:30 They¹⁴ spat on him and took the staff¹⁵ and struck him repeatedly¹⁶ on the head. 27:31 When¹⁷ they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then¹⁸ they led him away to crucify him.

Mark 15:15-20

Context
15:15 Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then,¹⁹ after he had Jesus flogged,²⁰ he handed him over²¹ to be crucified.

Jesus is Mocked

15:16 So²² 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 cloak²⁵ on him and after braiding²⁶ 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 again²⁹ they struck him on the head with a staff³⁰ and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. 15:20 When they had finished mocking³¹ him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then³² they led him away to crucify him.³³

Luke 23:24

Context
23:24 So³⁴ Pilate³⁵ decided³⁶ that their demand should be granted.

[27:26] ¹tn 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.”

[27:26] ²tn Or “delivered him up.”

[27:26] ³sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[27:27] ⁴tn Or “into their headquarters”; Grk “into the praetorium.”

[27:27] ⁵sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.

[27:28] ⁶tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:28] ⁷sn 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.

[27:29] ⁸tn Or “weaving.”

[27:29] ⁹sn 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.

[27:29] ¹⁰tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:29] ¹¹tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[27:29] ¹²tn Grk “they mocked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[27:29] ¹³tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[27:30] ¹⁴tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:30] ¹⁵tn Or “the reed.”

[27:30] ¹⁶tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.

[27:31] ¹⁷tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:31] ¹⁸tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:15] ¹⁹tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:15] ²⁰tn 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.”

[15:15] ²¹tn Or “delivered him up.”

[15:16] ²²tn 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.

[15:16] ²³tn Grk “(that is, the praetorium).”

[15:16] ²⁴sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.

[15:17] ²⁵sn 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] ²⁶tn Or “weaving.”

[15:17] ²⁷sn 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.

[15:18] ²⁸tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[15:19] ²⁹tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.

[15:19] ³⁰tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[15:20] ³¹tn The aorist tense is taken consummatively here.

[15:20] ³²tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:20] ³³sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.

[23:24] ³⁴tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “so” to indicate the implied result of the crowd’s cries prevailing.

[23:24] ³⁵sn 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.

[23:24] ³⁶tn 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.