By Andrew Williams
Then the soldiers led Him away to the courtyard inside the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and they called the entire detachment of soldiers together. And they dressed Him in [a] purple [robe], and, weaving together a crown of thorns, they placed it on Him. And they began to salute Him, Hail (greetings, good health to You, long life to You), King of the Jews!
Mark 15:16-18 AMPC
Good morning fellow disciples.
One of the accusations that the Jews brought against Jesus was that He said that He was the King of the Jews. Pilate asked Him if He was, and then referred to Him several times with the title “The King of the Jews”. Having been condemned to death and been beaten, look at what now happens.
1. Jesus was taken into the courtyard of the palace.
2. The entire detachment of soldiers were called together to see Him.
3. They dressed Him in a purple robe {the royal color}.
4. They placed the crown up on His head, and
5. They saluted Him and hailed Him King of the Jews.
Jesus was being coronated as king by these Roman soldiers, but it was a mock coronation. As they laughed and mocked Jesus before taking Him to be crucified, I wonder how these Roman soldiers felt. I wonder if they thought that this was just some crazy guy that they were about to crucify? I wonder, did they even have an opinion of Jesus?
I wonder, what was Jesus thinking? If God had allowed Him to speak, what would He have said to them while they were ridiculing Him?
What was Jesus’ body language saying during all this punishment and jeering?
Prayer: Father God, not a lot of words were said or recorded during this time, but we realize that the nonverbal conversation was very loud. Even without knowing or seeing the entirety of what happened, I am deeply impacted by what is described.
Lord God, I can’t comprehend what really happened in that Palace, but I am so grateful that Your Son gave His life for me. Thank You Jesus! Amen.
The body language of Love & Humility.
☺️