Jesus Mocked For Our Sins

May 7th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Matthew 27:27-31 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. 28 They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31 After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

After Barabbas’ release from prison, Jesus was taken away and scourged (27:26). After this brutal flogging, Jesus was then taken into Pilate’s palace with the whole Roman cohort, about 600 soldiers. There they stripped Jesus naked before putting a scarlet robe on Him to mock His status of “king of the Jews.” Since scarlet robes were the garb of kings, and since Jesus was being recognized as a king, the soldiers thought they would have a good time mocking His kingdom with a royal robe. Going further, since kings wear crowns, they placed a crown on Jesus’ head—a crown of thorns. The two-inch barbs known around Judea would have penetrated Jesus’ scalp causing a flow of blood into His eyes and onto His face. How ironic that thorns would be a part of Jesus’ torment, for thorns were part of the curse dating back to the fall of mankind after Adam’s sin (Gen. 3:17-19). But Jesus took the curse of mankind and became a curse on man’s behalf. Even His crucifixion—death by hanging on a tree—attests to this: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree” (Deut. 21:23; cf. Gal. 3:13).

After putting a “reed” in Jesus’ hand—a mock staff for kings—Pilate’s soldiers, some 600 of them, fell down on their knees feigning worship to Him. Then, taking back the reed they gave Him, the soldiers began to beat Jesus over the head with it while spitting on Him. This was now the second time Jesus was beat over the head and spit upon like a common criminal. The first group to do so were His fellow Jews who had condemned Him the night before (Mark 14:65).

John’s Gospel says that Pilate, after having Jesus scourged, brought him back to the Jews to see if they had changed their mind about wanting Him crucified (19:1-15). Pilate even took Jesus aside and spoke briefly to Him in private. Then he went out and pleaded with the mob to let the innocent Man go. But when he realized that it was hopeless, Pilate sentenced Jesus to crucifixion. Though the Synoptics omit these details, John condemns the Jewish leaders and the crowd they influenced who looked upon Jesus in His bloody mess after His scourging. The chief priests and elders of the people were a ruthless group so filled with envy and jealousy over Jesus that even His torture at the hands of the Romans did not seem to bother them.

Food for Thought
Some folks today blatantly use the name of Jesus as a punch-line while others simply disregard who He is by ignoring Him and leaving Him to the “religious folks” who believe in such things. Either way, Jesus is scorned and rejected by both—whether willfully or ignorantly. Yet all that Jesus endured—His scourging, mocking, beatings, and crucifixion—was for the forgiveness of mankind’s sin which plagues us from birth. Now those who trust in Him for salvation will receive eternal life. He became a curse for mankind in that He took what our sins deserve—a torturous death! This is why Christians celebrate His death. After all, His death brings us life, eternal life! In fact, Jesus’ torture and death was for all who are willing to receive His sacrifice to atone for their sins. Will you receive Jesus by faith? If you do, you will receive the promise of the forgiveness of your sins and eternal life at the end of this finite existence. There is absolutely no other way to receive forgiveness. Jesus is the only way.