My Walk Through the Book of Mark by Annette Godtland

The Soldiers Mock Jesus (Mark 15:16-20)

16Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison. 17And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, 18and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!" 19Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him. 20And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.

What's with these soldiers? They weren't part of the lynch mob that the chief priests gathered to capture Jesus. They weren't part of the crowd that the chief priests incited against Jesus. I don't get the feeling that they are doing this under orders of Pilate either because Pilate seemed to admire Jesus (he marveled at Him) and seemed sorry for Jesus (he offered to release Him because he knew the chief priests captured Him out of envy). This is the soldiers first exposure to Jesus. All they know is that Jesus is being crucified because they heard He claimed to be King of the Jews.

Their job was to crucify Jesus. Why did they do so much more? Why did they feel the need to mock and humiliate Him? Isn't crucifixion punishment enough? Did they take time to torment all prisoners slated for crucifixion, or was Jesus a special case? Did they enjoy tormenting the downtrodden, or were they trying to show loyalty to their king by humiliating this would be king?

The whole garrison took part in this scene. No one stood up for this Man who was not fighting back. No one felt sympathy for Him. No one cut off the revelry to try to ease His pain. Even Pilate recognized Jesus' innocence, why didn't even one soldier notice it and try to intervene? Just as the crowd was simply following each other in their cries to crucify Jesus, these soldiers all followed each other's examples in casting judgment and punishment on Jesus. It is easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing. If everyone around you is casting a judgment, it is easy to convince yourself that judgment is right.

But remember even if you are convinced a judgment is right, only God is the true judge. We should leave it to Him to cast judgment and give punishment. God is able to punish someone well enough without our joining in and adding our own actions to someone's punishment. No matter what was going on around Him, Jesus always showed compassion. We are to follow Jesus' example.

In Mark 14:27 Jesus quotes scripture that says "I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered." By striking the shepherd, Jesus wasn't just to be crucified. He had all His moral support removed from under Him. His friends were gone. God and His angels were not going to be removing His trials from Him. His teachings and purpose were questioned by the Sanhedrin and in front of Pilate. He was blindfolded, beaten, and mocked by the officers of the Sanhedrin. He was beaten by Pilate's men when he was scourged. And he was humiliated and tormented some more by the soldiers. He was being struck in many ways, physically and emotionally, and He took it all. He is taking all the punishment we deserve for our sins. Remember, He did this for us.