The Crown of Thorns - the soldiers were savagely beating Jesus. And as they do so, they mocked him. They called him the king of the Jews, and so they put a purple robe on him and thrusted a crown of thorns onto his head. Like the soldiers that morning, the world has a tendency to use the tokens of royalty to mock Jesus. The world calls him “Lord” in vain - as an expletive - and it abuses him for a laugh. And religious people do similarly when they call Christ “Lord” and sing to him and go through the motions yet are unwilling to submit their lives to him and obey him. Decide now to surrender all to Jesus the King. He can’t be your Saviour unless He’s also your Lord

"The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace (that is, the Praetorium) and called together the whole company of soldiers.
"They put a purple robe on him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on him" - (Mark 15:16-17, NIV).

Now that Jesus was been sentenced to death, he was handed over to the Roman garrison.

But first, they had a little game they want to play.

Jesus was already beaten many times, including in the judgment hall of Caiaphas, and by Pilate’s guard. 

Now he was in the hands of the Roman garrison.

Part of the process of crucifixion was usually that the condemned criminal was beaten within an inch of his life. 

This had various purposes. 

One of them was so that the victim might be weakened to make it easier for the crucifixion process.

Also, by removing the skin from the victim’s back, the cross would be more painful to endure as the dying man continuously pulled himself up against the rough timber to breath. 

It was also all part of the torture of crucifixion.

That’s why the soldiers were savagely beating Jesus. 

And as they do so, they mocked him. 

They called him the king of the Jews, and so they put a purple robe on him and thrusted a crown of thorns onto his head. 

After all, the more blood, the better.

Like the soldiers that morning, the world has a tendency to use the tokens of royalty to mock Jesus.

The world calls him “Lord” in vain - as an expletive - and it abuses him for a laugh.

And religious people do similarly when they call Christ “Lord” and sing to him and go through the motions, yet are unwilling to submit their lives to him and obey him.

REFLECT

Decide now to surrender all to Jesus the King. 

He can’t be your Saviour unless He’s also your Lord.

Dr Eliezer Gonzalez

Dr Eliezer Gonzalez is simply passionate about the gospel. With a background in teaching and management, the Lord called him to the gospel ministry and set him on an academic path. As a result, Eliezer earned two Master’s degrees (in Theology and Early Christian History), and then a PhD in Early Christian History. The Word Spreads Fast, and so do we. Good News Unlimited is led by Eliezer Gonzalez, who communicates the gospel of Jesus Christ with passion and conviction. 

goodnewsunlimited.com

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