Matthew 27:27-31
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Mockery by the Soldiers. 27 (A)Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium[a] and gathered the whole cohort around him. 28 They stripped off his clothes and threw a scarlet military cloak[b] about him. 29 (B)Weaving a crown out of thorns,[c] they placed it on his head, and a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 (C)They spat upon him[d] and took the reed and kept striking him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the cloak, dressed him in his own clothes, and led him off to crucify him.
The Way of the Cross.[e]
Read full chapterFootnotes
- 27:27 The praetorium: the residence of the Roman governor. His usual place of residence was at Caesarea Maritima on the Mediterranean coast, but he went to Jerusalem during the great feasts, when the influx of pilgrims posed the danger of a nationalistic riot. It is disputed whether the praetorium in Jerusalem was the old palace of Herod in the west of the city or the fortress of Antonia northwest of the temple area. The whole cohort: normally six hundred soldiers.
- 27:28 Scarlet military cloak: so Matthew as against the royal purple of Mk 15:17 and Jn 19:2.
- 27:29 Crown out of thorns: probably of long thorns that stood upright so that it resembled the “radiant” crown, a diadem with spikes worn by Hellenistic kings. The soldiers’ purpose was mockery, not torture. A reed: peculiar to Matthew; a mock scepter.
- 27:30 Spat upon him: cf. Mt 26:67 where there also is a possible allusion to Is 50:6.
- 27:32 See note on Mk 15:21. Cyrenian named Simon: Cyrenaica was a Roman province on the north coast of Africa and Cyrene was its capital city. The city had a large population of Greek-speaking Jews. Simon may have been living in Palestine or have come there for the Passover as a pilgrim. Pressed into service: see note on Mt 5:41.
John 19:2-3
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
2 And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, 3 and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly.
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