Matthew 27:27-30 meaning

Mark 15:16-19 and John 19:1-3 are the parallel Gospel accounts of this event.

After Matthew finished his account of Pilate's interaction with the chief priests and elders during Jesus's civil trial (Matthew 27:2; 11-26), the Gospel writer then presents his account of Jesus's mistreatment at the hands of the Roman soldiers. 

According to John's Gospel, at least some of the soldiers' abuse and mockery of Jesus seem to have taken place immediately after He was scourged (John 19:1-3) and before Pilate decided to hand Him over to be crucified (John 19:16). 

John's Gospel attests that Pilate presented Jesus to the crowds bloodied from the scourge and "wearing the crown of thorns" (John 19:5) as the governor appealed for His release. Pilate later would interview Jesus a second time (John 19:9-11) and make a final appeal which failed to win over the crowd (John 19:12-16). Pilate handed Jesus over after the chief priests committed blasphemy: "We have no king but Caesar" (John 18:15-16).

It is possible that at least some of the mockery which Matthew describes occurred after Jesus was condemned, but it is likely that the main elements of His abuse by the soldiers occurred during the middle of the third phase of His civil trial as indicated by John.

The three phases of Jesus's civil trial were:

1. Jesus's Arraignment before Pilate
   (Matthew 27:1-2, 11-14, Mark 15:1-5, Luke 23:1-7, John 18:28-38)
2. Jesus's Audience before Herod Antipas
   (Luke 23:8-12)
3. Pilate's Judgment
   (Matthew 27:15-26, Mark 15:6-15, Luke 23:13-25, John 18:38 - 19:16)

To learn more about the timing and sequencing of these events, see The Bible Says' "Timeline: Jesus's Final 24 Hours."

Matthew concluded his account of Pilate's back and forth with the chief priests and elders by summarizing Pilate's major decisions of the third phase of Jesus's civil trial. He organized them chronologically. Pilate: 

1. "Released Barabbas for them"
2. "[Had] Jesus scourged" 
3. "Handed [Jesus] over to be crucified"
   (Matthew 27:26)

Then Matthew recounts how the soldiers had abused Him. Again, the majority of this abuse seems to have occurred after Jesus was scourged, but before Pilate condemned Him to be crucified. In other words, Matthew's account of these things seems to have happened when Pilate punished Jesus (Luke 23:22) and took Him to be scourged (John 19:1). It seems that this scourging was part of Pilate's plan to create sympathy for Jesus so Pilate could release Him. 

The commentary for this passage will therefore include an explanation about Jesus's scourging, which was mentioned in the previous verse.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him (v 27).

Matthew's description the soldiers of the governor indicates that these were Roman soldiers who were under the direct command of Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. At this time, the Roman Empire had two major categories of Roman soldiers—auxiliary soldiers and legionnaires. 

Auxiliary soldiers fought for Rome under the command of local authorities loyal to Rome. Auxiliary soldiers were often composed of foreigners or locals who wanted a way into Roman society. Military service of this nature was their path to citizenship. The soldiers of Herod Antipas were probably auxiliary Roman soldiers. 

Legionnaires were more esteemed and elite. These soldiers were already full-fledged citizens of Rome, many of whom were descended from ancient Roman or Italian families. They served out of a sense of duty and devotion to their Empire. Legionnaires were typically better trained and armed. As proud men of Italian heritage, legionnaires were prone to look down on locals, including auxiliary soldiers, but especially local prisoners like Jesus. The soldiers of the Roman governor would have been legionnaires. 

Matthew writes that this took place inside the Praetorium just as Mark records (Mark 15:16) and John indicates (John 18:28, 19:1, 19:9). The Praetorium was likely the palace built by Herod the Great (builder)—the father of Herod Antipas who tried Jesus earlier that morning. This palace/the Praetorium was built on the western side of the upper city along the city wall. Its ruins can be visited at the time of this writing (2024). The army barracks for Pilate's soldiers would also have been located in the Praetorium. 

Matthew's description of the soldiers as being a Roman cohort further demonstrates their status as legionnaires. A Roman cohort during the first century is estimated to have been 480 soldiers. Matthew says the whole Roman cohort that was on duty gathered to witness and/or participate in Jesus's scourging and/or mockery. 

After Jesus was brought into the Praetorium and the whole Roman cohort had been gathered around Him (v 27b)—they stripped Him of His clothes (v 28a). The reason Jesus was stripped of His clothes was so He could be "scourged" without anything interfering with the whips (Matthew 27:26). 

Matthew, Mark, and John explicitly say that Jesus was scourged (Matthew 27:26, Mark 15:15; John 19:1). Luke's gospel is less direct, but still clear when he records Pilate's order "I will punish Him" (Luke 23:22). However, none of the Gospels describe in detail what it meant for Jesus to be scourged. 

Flogging as a Form of Punishment
The likely reason that none of the Gospels go into descriptive detail about the scourging or punishment Jesus received is because it would have been unnecessary; their readers as subjects or citizens of the Roman Empire would have been horribly familiar with its brutality. 

Until modern times, flogging was a common form of punishment throughout the world.

The Jews scourged criminals as a type of punishment. The Jewish scourging entailed using a whip with short leather lashes that puts stripes on the wicked man's back according to his guilt. Jewish scourging was certainly painful, but never cruel and never deadly. It was always meant to be restorative, never merely punitive.

To ensure that Jewish flogging was not cruel or deadly, Moses strictly directed how this style of scourging was to be carried out:

"if the wicked man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall then make him lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of stripes according to his guilt. He may beat him forty times but no more, so that he does not beat him with many more stripes than these and your brother is not degraded in your eyes."
(Deuteronomy 25:3)

The offender was made to "lie down" to ensure that only his back was whipped. And in case the person doing the counting made a mistake, Jewish tradition stopped lashing a wicked man after thirty-nine times as a precaution to guarantee that Moses's limit of "no more than forty times" was not transgressed. The intent behind Moses's command (and the Jewish tradition surrounding it) was to punish the wicked man, but preserve his humanity as a fellow person made in God's image.

But Jesus did not receive a Jewish flogging. He suffered a Roman flogging.

Roman flogging purposefully stripped away a person's humanity along with their flesh. It was deliberately mean and often deadly. There was no limit to how much a person could be whipped under Roman law—but because it was so harsh, victims likely received fewer than forty lashes if their abusers wanted them alive. 

Victims of Roman flogging were bound to a post and the whips they used had long leather lashes which could wrap around a person's entire body. The victim was usually stripped naked, exposing every bit of their body to the torture—including the groin and face. Attached to the leather lashes were metal beads, to tenderize the flesh; as well as sharp pieces of bone, iron, glass, or nails to rip flesh from the body. After only a few lashes, deep wounds were made which profusely poured out blood. After several more lashes, the victim's back, ribs, stomach, chest, legs, and face were a bleeding mess and their figure was barely recognizable as a human.

The Scourging of Jesus
Instead of describing the gory details of the flogging, Matthew, Mark, and John all focus on the mockery that Jesus suffered by the Roman soldiers both while and after He was scourged by them (Matthew 27:27-31, Mark 15:16-20, John 19:1-3).

The whole Roman cohort (480 soldiers) watched the Jewish Messiah be stripped of his clothes and saw Him naked. This would have been deeply degrading. 

Jesus was probably out of view of the crowd of Jews waiting outside the Praetorium. In an immense irony they stayed outside so they could avoid being "defiled" (John 18:28). Thus they were ceremonially clean while committing murder. But the scourging was not likely out of earshot to them. They could probably hear each lash of the whip; the grunts and jeers of the soldiers who were doing the flogging; the cries of Jesus as His flesh was ripped off His bones. 

This might have been a part of Pilate's plan to conjure sympathy for Jesus so he could let Him go. The entire episode shows the cold and calculating cruelty of Rome. Rome served itself and its own power and privilege. 

Jesus was able to withstand this physical brutality because He trusted the LORD absolutely,

"For the LORD God helps Me,
Therefore, I am not disgraced."
(Isaiah 50:7a)

Jesus did not fear those who could destroy His body, yet could not harm His soul:

"Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul."
(Matthew 10:28a)

Jesus was able to withstand this excruciating torment because He had spent the night praying with His Father—that He might not enter in temptation (Luke 22:40)—seeking His will so that He would be able to accomplish His Father's plan and not His own desires (Luke 22:42). 

At any moment during this severe torture, Jesus could have summoned "more than twelve legions of angels" to rescue Him (Matthew 26:53). But He did not choose to be saved from death. He chose to obediently follow His Father's plan to save the world through His suffering and death (Philippians 2:6-8).

The aftermath of the Roman scourging—where Jesus hardly looked human—was likely what Isaiah meant when he prophesied of the Messiah:

"So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men."
(Isaiah 52:14) 

Isaiah also prophesied of the Messiah:

"I gave My back to those who strike Me."
(Isaiah 50:6a)

"The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed."
(Isaiah 53:5b)

Pilate's order to have Jesus, the Messiah, scourged (John 19:1), was in fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecies seven centuries earlier. Other translations of Isaiah 53:5 say "by His stripes we are healed" to visually describe how the lash of a flogging leaves bloody stripes all over the victim's body. Jesus also alluded to the terrible punishment He would undergo during His Seder celebration of the Passover with His disciples the evening before,

"And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, 'This is My body which is given for you.'"
(Luke 22:19)

With this expression from His Seder meal, Jesus claimed that the unleavened bread (called "Matzah" represented His broken body. Matzah bread must be made according to tradition: "pierced and striped" in order to prevent it from being puffed with leaven. 

[PICTURE OF MATZAH]

Because Matzah is made without leaven it is an image of sinlessness (like Jesus), because leaven represents sin and pride in the Bible and in Jewish culture. Deuteronomy, looking back to Israel's suffering in Egypt and looking forward to the Messiah being broken by the scourge, refers to Matzah as "the bread of affliction" (Deuteronomy 16:3).

To learn more about how Matzah represents Jesus and depicts His sinless suffering, see The Bible Says article: "Jesus and the Messianic Fulfillments of Passover and Unleavened Bread."

Jesus not only alluded to His chastisement under the Roman scourge, He explicitly predicted it:

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem; and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn Him to death, and will hand Him over to the Gentiles to mock and scourge and crucify Him, and on the third day He will be raised up."
(Matthew 20:18-19)

Following the Roman scourging, Jesus's body would have been in shock from the blood loss and the excruciating pain screaming through Him, as the soldiers mocked and abused Him for their pleasure.

The Scarlet Robe
After Jesus was scourged in this manner, He was also mocked and abused by the soldiers, as He predicted He would be (Matthew 20:19). 

After they stripped Jesus and "scourged" Him (Matthew 27:26), Matthew tells us that the Roman soldiers put a scarlet robe on Him (v 28b). 

They dressed Jesus in this robe to mock Him as a fake king as they cruelly laughed at Him for the charges which alleged that He went around telling everyone "that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Luke 23:2). Scarlet was the color of Roman Legionnaires. The red color would mask any bloodshed in battle, hiding weakness to their enemies. 

Scarlet is also was the color of blood and sacrifice. Matthew may have commented on the color of this robe as a way to further associate Jesus with the Passover lamb—whose sacrificial blood was sprinkled on the doorposts of Israelites on their final night in Egypt (Exodus 12:7). 

It is worth pointing out that Mark and John also comment on the color of this robe, but they describe its color as "purple" (Mark 15:17 and 15:20 and John 19:2, 19:5). In the ancient world the color of a person's clothing designated their station in life for others to see. Purple was the color of rulers and royalty. The purple robe that that the soldiers put on Jesus was meant to further insult and mock Him as a king. 

A purplish colored robe was also worn by the Jewish high priest. This was likely an unintended, but nevertheless poignant, irony by the Roman soldiers—that Jesus as the Messiah was both a King (like David) and Priest (in the order of Melchizedek). According to Mark and John, as the Roman soldiers mocked Jesus, they dressed Him in the colors of both these Messianic roles. 

So, what are we to make of these different descriptions of the robe's color? Was it scarlet as Matthew said, or was it purple as Mark and John report? Moreover, Luke also indicates that when Jesus was before Herod Antipas, He was mockingly dressed in "a gorgeous robe" by the tetrarch (Luke 23:11) before being sent back to Pilate. The Greek language in Luke indicates that the robe Herod dressed Him in was white, which was the color worn by heirs to the throne, who were not yet in power. Luke does not describe Jesus's scourging or the Roman legionnaires mockery of Him.

There are several ways these different accounts of the robe's color can be merged. 

First of all, there seems to be at least two robes—a white one from Herod Antipas and another put on Jesus by the Roman soldiers. But if the robes were the same, then Herod's white robe would have changed from white to scarlet as it covered Jesus's bleeding body.

Second, the robe the soldiers put on Jesus could have been multi-colored: scarlet and purple.

Third, purple and scarlet are similar colors. Therefore, it could be that what Matthew describes as scarlet was the same color that John and Mark factually describe as purple. 

The colors of scarlet and purple also seem all the more similar when faded. And the robe the Roman soldiers put on Jesus very well may have been faded as they were unlikely to put a gorgeous new robe on Jesus as Herod Antipas had. 

Fourth, Matthew may have been describing the color as it appeared—the scarlet cloak of a Roman legionnaire; while Mark and John described the color as the soldiers intended it be perceived within the context of their mocking—the purple robe of royalty.

Finally, and similarly to the first possibility, the robe may have been looked more purple initially, but as Jesus's body continued to bleed from the scourging, the robe's purple fabric began to take on a more scarlet hue. 

It is also possible that the three authors used several of these reasons for why they chose to describe the robe in the color which they did. 

On a related note, the fact that Matthew, Mark, and John each record the same event with similar but not identical terms further demonstrates how the Gospel writers each wrote from their own unique perspectives and did not conspire in their narratives. 

One would expect slight variations to be present if multiple people are describing the same event, rather than a verbatim match. And this is exactly what we have here, as well as throughout the four Gospels. A verbatim match would not only be redundant, it would also open up the Gospels to criticism that one or more of them was a forgery, or collusion was somehow involved. 

Matthew, Mark, and John's identifying different shades of the robe as purple (Mark 15:17, John 19:2) or scarlet (Matthew 27:28) is but one of many unique perspectives that authenticate the historical accounts of Gospel events. 

The Crown of Thorns
And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head (v 29a).

The soldiers continued their ridicule of Jesus by taking branches with thorns and twisting them together to fashion a scornful crown. Along with the scarlet robe they had put on Him, this crown of thorns put on His head made Jesus appear to be a bloodied, absurd king. The crown of thorns put on His head were physically painful as well, as the sharp thorns pierced His skin and created scars around His head. 

From a theological perspective, the crown of thorns is loaded with symbolism, though this was not the soldiers' intent.

Thorns are first mentioned in scripture in reference to the LORD God's curse upon the ground and the man's work: 

"Cursed is the ground because of you;
In toil you will eat of it
All the days of your life.
Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you;"
(Genesis 3:17b-18a) 

Jesus did not just suffer because of the curse from Adam's sin in an incidental way when He wore this crown of thorns. He was literally suffering to redeem the world from the curse—to break the curse by becoming sin and assuming all of God's wrath against the sins of the world (2 Corinthians 5:21). In His suffering and death, Jesus became the object of the curse and His Father's fierce wrath (Isaiah 53:10a, Matthew 27:46). 

In wearing the crown of thorns on His head, Jesus became the king of our curses. He did this because He loved us (Matthew 20:28, John 15:13). When He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4), Jesus both obeyed His Father and served all humanity. 

Through His only-begotten Son, whom He gave for the life of the world (John 3:16), God demonstrated "His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us, [so] having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him" (Romans 5:8-9). Jesus suffered and died for our sins and assumed our due penalty and curse upon Himself. 

The crown of thorns they put on His head, with its connection to the curse in Genesis 3, also evokes the prophetic hope God gave Adam and Eve when He punished the serpent:

"And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her seed;
He shall bruise you on the head,
And you shall bruise him on the heel."
(Genesis 3:15)

The Messiah, Jesus, was the seed of the woman—"her seed." The expression "your seed" is a reference to Satan. God was warning Satan that one day Jesus will crush his head, even as Satan will bruise Jesus on the heel. This scourging was part of the Messiah's bruising by Satan. But the Messiah's suffering unto death was also a part of how Jesus would defeat Satan. Thus, the scourging, humiliation, and crucifixion of Jesus was a double fulfillment of this prophecy in Eden. 

The crown of thorns is a visual reminder that God was breaking the curse through the suffering and death of Christ. 

The curse was broken, and all authority given unto Jesus (Matthew 28:18). Hebrews says Jesus was made a "Son," meaning He, as a human, was granted the earth as His realm to reign over (Hebrews 1:5, 1:8, 1:13). Hebrews goes on to quote Psalm 8, noting that although humans were made lower than angels, they were originally appointed to have dominion over the earth (Hebrews 2:5-8). However, Hebrews 5:8 points out: "But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him [humans]."

Because of the Fall, apparently Satan recovered the right to reign (John 12:31). But Jesus regained that right for humanity "because of the suffering of death" (Hebrews 2:9). We now live in a sort of time warp, a delay between the time when Jesus has gained authority, and when He executes His authority to take physical rule of the world. But it is certain that He will return to earth and set up His reign. Amazingly, He invites all believers to join Him, and promises He will reward those who are faithful witnesses and endure rejection from the world, even as He endured, by sharing His throne even as He shares the throne with His Father (Revelation 3:21). 

The Mocking and Abuse of Jesus
And a reed in His right hand (v 29b). 

In addition to the scarlet robe and the crown of thorns which the Roman soldiers put on Jesus, they also put a reed in His right hand. This reed was probably a thin stick a couple of feet in length to resemble a king's scepter. Matthew makes a special note to indicate that the reed was intended to be a mock scepter by recording that it was Jesus's right hand—the same hand which kings used to hold their scepters of power. 

At this point we can imagine that, to the mocking onlookers, Jesus looked like a ridiculous king. He was probably sitting on a chair and propped up because He had been severely beaten, bloodied beyond recognition by the prior evening's abuse (John 18:22, Matthew 26:67-68, Mark 14:64-65, Luke 22:63-65) and the recent scourging. In this condition, He was dressed in a robe and wearing a crown of thorns and holding a reed in His right hand as a scepter. 

The Roman soldiers then began to play along in this cruel charade:

And they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" (v 29c).

The soldiers pretended to pay homage or allegiance to the bloodied king. Mark records that some soldiers were "bowing before Him" as well as "kneeling" (Mark 15:19). But instead of respecting or honoring Him when they knelt down and bowed, they were scorning Jesus. These same soldiers will bow before Jesus again, but there will be no hint of insult when they do (Philippians 2:10-11). 

As they knelt down and bowed before Jesus, they were saying "Hail, King of the Jews!"

Hail is a term calling for respect, attention, and reverence. But the soldiers were using it sarcastically in such a way that it was disrespectful. The soldiers used the term King of the Jews as a way make light of the Jewish leaders' charge against Him—a charge which the Roman governor of Judea and the tetrarch of Galilee had personally acquitted Him of. 

The Jewish leaders had brought Him before Pilate on the accusation that Jesus went around "saying that He Himself is Christ, a King" (Luke 23:2). If those chief priests or elders were able to witness or hear any of these insults, they must have felt insulted also—not for Jesus's sake—but for their own pride. In other words, the same scorn the Roman legionnaires had for Jesus was similar to the scorn they had for the local inhabitants of Judea.

But the soldiers did not stop with merely acting out their cruel charade making fun of Jesus as a preposterous king. They used it as an occasion to further abuse and beat Him. 

They spat on Him (v 30a).

Spitting is a sign of gross disrespect. To spit in the presence of the king or another dignitary would bring punishment. Matthew says the soldiers were not spitting at Him, but that they actually spat on Him—which was an even more personal display of complete disdain. 

This picture of abuse and ridicule is a graphic illustration of the world's rejection of its Creator (John 1:11, Colossians 1:16-17). It will be clear that Jesus's suffering was real. Even though at any time He could have called a legion of angels to rescue Him, He endured this suffering "for the joy set before Him" which was to "[sit] down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). It was because of this "joy" that Jesus "endured the cross, despising the shame" (Hebrews 12:2). 

To "despise" something means to give it little to no value. Although this suffering was horrific, and the abuse and rejection intense and terrible, Jesus fixed His eyes on the big objective. He understood that to do His Father's will meant to gain His Father's reward (Philippians 2:5-10). 

Therefore Jesus humbly took this abuse without resisting their evil as His blood and their saliva ran down His face. As He did, He was following His teaching from His Sermon on the Mount, which is commonly referred to as "turning the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39). Jesus loved His enemies (Matthew 5:44), but thought little of their mockery in comparison to the joy and eternal reign of glory set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). 

The author of Hebrews exhorts believers to emulate Jesus's example in painful and/or humiliating circumstances such as this so we too can reign with Him,

"For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart."
(Hebrews 12:3)

(See also: Matthew 5:10-12, 10:32-33, 10:39, 19:27-30, Romans 8:16-18, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, 2 Corinthians 4:16-18, 2 Timothy 2:11-13a, James 1:12, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Revelation 2:10-11, 3:21)

As the Roman soldiers spat on Him, it was further fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy regarding the Messiah's suffering:

"And [I gave] My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting."
(Isaiah 50:6b)

The last thing Matthew records about the soldiers' cruel charade mocking Jesus was that they took the reed which was being used as a fake scepter from His right hand and began to beat Him on the head with it (v 30b). As part of their charade of humiliation, they were beating Jesus, the King of the Jews, with "His own scepter." Their blows were all the more painful as it further drove the crown of thorns into Jesus's head. 

Mark indicates this abuse was constant and ongoing (Mark 15:19) as Jesus "recovered" from the shock of the scourging before He could be brought back out of the Praetorium to finish His trial (John 19:4-16). 

John adds that the soldiers "began to come up to Him and say, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' and to give Him slaps in the face" (John 19:3).

Jesus continued to submit Himself to His Father's will (Isaiah 50:7-9a; Matthew 26:39) and "turn the other cheek" (Matthew 5:39). 

Following this torturous mutilation and mockery, Jesus was summoned back to Pilate, who presented His disfigured and bleeding figure still wearing the crown of thorns and colorful robe to the chief priests, and said: "Behold the Man!" (John 19:4-5). 

The Roman governor had apparent hopes that this punishment would satisfy the crowd's bloodlust and allow him to release Jesus without further incident (Luke 23:22). 

Matthew has already informed his readers that Pilate's hopes were not realized; and that he capitulated to the crowd's demands to crucify Him (Matthew 27:26). Matthew continues his narration with Jesus being taken to "Golgotha," the place of His execution (Matthew 27:31-33).

John however goes into considerable detail about what happened after the scourging and humiliation of Jesus by the Roman soldiers up until the moment Pilate surrenders Jesus to the deadly demands of the crowd (John 19:4-16).

To continue Matthew's account of Jesus being taken to the cross, see the next section.

To see The Bible Says commentary about how Jesus's civil trial concluded from this moment on, start with our commentary for John 19:4-5.