15:16 Praetorium is a Latin loan word that describes a Roman governor's official residence (cf. Matt. 27:27; John 18:28, 33; 19:9; Acts 23:35). The Roman soldiers escorted Jesus to the courtyard (Gr. aule, cf. vv. 54, 66) of the palace. This could have been either the Antonia Fortress or Herod's palace, but it was probably the Antonia Fortress. There a group of soldiers assembled around Jesus, probably those who were nearby and available. A cohort consisted of 600 men.
15:17-19 The reddish purple robe and the crown of thorns mocked Jesus' claim to be the Jews' king. The Greek word porphyranelsewhere describes colors from bright red to deep blue.385
"With this crown' the soldiers unwittingly pictured God's curse on sinful humanity being thrust on Jesus (cf. Gen. 3:17-18)."386
Mark did not mention the staff that they placed in Jesus' hand as a mock scepter (Matt. 27:29). "Hail, King of the Jews"is a parody of "Hail, Caesar."Their repeated beatings, spitting, kneeling as if in worship, and bowing as before a great person intensified Jesus' sufferings.
15:20 Normally the Romans forced criminals condemned to crucifixion to walk naked to their place of execution and flogged them along the way.387Evidently the soldiers concluded that Jesus would not live through such treatment in view of the abuse that He had already suffered. Therefore they put His own garments back on Him.
"Irony is a dominant feature of Mark's story. Verbal ironyoccurs when a speaker self-consciously says one thing but means the opposite."388
Mark's original readers faced subjection to similar mockery and abuse from pagan authorities. This pericope would have been an encouragement to them to remain faithful to Jesus. Jesus allowed other people to treat Him as a servant because this was a part of His obedience to God (cf. 1 Pet. 5:6-7).
