Matthew 27:29 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

NIV: and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said.

NASB: And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and put a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!'

CSB: They twisted together a crown of thorns, put it on his head, and placed a staff in his right hand. And they knelt down before him and mocked him: "Hail, King of the Jews!"

NLT: They wove thorn branches into a crown and put it on his head, and they placed a reed stick in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt before him in mockery and taunted, 'Hail! King of the Jews!'

KJV: And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

NKJV: When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand. And they bowed the knee before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”

The idea that a battalion of Roman soldiers would come together to so elaborately mock one prisoner may be hard to imagine. And yet, these are Gentiles stationed in a predominately Jewish area, over which Rome has control. Their commander, Pontius Pilate, is noted by history for his cruelty and derision towards Jews. They may well be bored, being stationed in Jerusalem only because it's a major religious holiday for Israel (Matthew 26:17; 27:15). Pilate's act of handing Jesus over to them is almost like throwing a toy in front of a dog.

Taking full advantage of the opportunity, the soldiers have stripped off Jesus' own clothes and have draped a cloak on Him to represent a king's robe. Now they twist together a wreath made of stems with thorns on them, perhaps palm spines or similar. When the crown is complete, they force it down onto Jesus' head. Finally, they put a reed in Jesus' hand to represent a royal scepter to complete the look. The point of the entire cruel joke was to mock Jesus for His "crime" of claiming to be "king of the Jews" (Matthew 27:11). To hammer the joke home, the Roman soldiers kneel before Jesus and sarcastically pretend to honor Him.

Jesus had already been flogged at this point (John 19:1–4). He would have stood before them as a bloody, bleeding mess of a human being, now dressed in a robe and crown and with a scepter. It is remarkable that a Being who could have called for angel soldiers of His own simply refuses to do so (Matthew 26:53–54). He remains resolved to endure any suffering to see His mission through.

Matthew 27:27–31 describes Roman soldiers abusing Jesus inside the governor's headquarters. Most of this mistreatment occurred before His final sentencing, but Matthew continues to group events by theme more than by time. The soldiers strip off Jesus' clothes and dress Him as a mock king. They place a robe on Him, along with a crown made of thorns, and a reed for a scepter. Then the soldiers kneel before Jesus and sarcastically praise Him as the "King of Jews!" Finally, they spit on Jesus and hit Him with the reed before putting His own clothes back on His tattered body and leading Him off to be crucified. Further details are found in John 19:1–6.

When Judas learns Jesus has been condemned, he regrets betraying the Lord. He throws down his ill-gotten money and hangs himself. Jesus is taken to Pilate, who finds nothing to charge Him with. Given the choice, the people shout for the release of a convicted murderer and insist on Jesus' death. Jesus is mocked by a battalion of soldiers and then taken to be crucified. On the cross, He is mocked for not being able to save Himself. After three hours of darkness, Jesus dies. He is buried by a rich follower in a new tomb. This location is tightly guarded to prevent anyone from stealing the body.

Matthew 27 begins with an official meeting of the Jewish ruling council. They affirm Jesus' condemnation from the previous night, described in chapter 26. Judas confesses his betrayal and hangs himself. Pilate tries to release Jesus, but the mob shouts for Jesus to be crucified. Jesus is humiliated by Roman soldiers and marched to be executed. On the cross, He is mocked by Jewish religious leaders and others. He dies and is buried in a never-used tomb. Extensive efforts to secure His body from being stolen only serve to prove the miraculous nature of His resurrection, which is detailed in chapter 28.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.