Hail, King of the Jews!

 Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

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

Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

- Mark 15:12-21

Yesterday we read that, immediately following Jesus' night trial (and Peter's denial of Christ), in the morning, the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and scribes and the whole council; and they bound Jesus, led Him away, and delivered Him to Pilate.  Then Pilate asked Him, "Are You the King of the Jews?"  He answered and said to him, "It is as you say."  And the chief priests accused Him of many things, but He answered nothing.  Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, "Do You answer nothing?  See how many things they testify against You!"  But Jesus still answered nothing, so that Pilate marveled.  Now at the feast he was accustomed to releasing one prisoner to them, whomever they requested.  And there was one named Barabbas, who was chained with his fellow rebels; they had committed murder in the rebellion.  Then the multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do just as he had always done for them.  But Pilate answered them, saying, "Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?"  For he knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy.  But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. 

 Pilate answered and said to them again, "What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews?"  So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!"  Then Pilate said to them, "Why, what evil has He done?"  But they cried out all the more, "Crucify Him!"  So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.  It's clear from his statements that while Pilate really does not know the circumstances nor the nature of Christ's ministry,  he does see Jesus quite clearly as innocent of the charges brought against Him.  He gets no answer to his question, "Why, what evil has He done?"   My study bible comments that Pilate's sin was less than that of the Jewish leaders who delivered Christ to him (John 19:11), because the Jewish religious leaders had the Law and the prophets to instruct them -- while Pilate did not.  So there is in addition to his lack of knowledge about Jesus, there is Pilate's lack of knowledge of Jewish spiritual history and faith.  But Pilate's sin is that, in his desire to gratify the crowd, he will knowingly send an innocent to be crucified.

 Then the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they called together the whole garrison.  And they clothed Him with purple; and they twisted a crown of thorns, put it on His head, and began to salute Him, "Hail, King of the Jews!"  Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.  And when they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, put His own clothes on Him, and led Him out to crucify Him.   My study bible comments here that every king is proclaimed by his soldiers.  Although the intention here is to mock, it is a prophetic act that Jesus should be crowned and hailed as King by soldiers of the governor (see also John 11:49-51, in which Caiaphas unwittingly makes a prophecy regarding Christ's salvific work).  My study bible adds that this mockery shows that Jesus is the One who is despised and rejected by all, and who bears the iniquity of all (see Isaiah 53:3-9).  Here in Mark we read that they clothed Him in purple; Matthew's Gospel says red or scarlet.  But the word for purple is porphyra/πορφύρα, a royal color of reddish-purple.  (It's also known as Tyrian purple or Tyrian red, made with a rare and extraordinarily expensive dye; see this image).   My study bible comments that this deep reddish-purple colored robe represents both Christ's royalty and also the sins of humanity, which He has taken upon Himself.

 Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.  My study bible says that Mark mentions Alexander and Rufus as they were likely still living, and possibly even known to those who would first hear Mark's Gospel.  It notes that the spiritual message here is that we, like Simon (whose name means "obedience") are called not simply to carry the cross which Christ has set upon us, but also seeing Christ in others, we are called to bear one another's burdens as well (Galatians 6:2). 

We receive many images in today's reading, which form something like icons for our understanding of our faith.  Christ's mocking -- dressed in the red/purple robe, with a crown of sorts, and even soldiers bowing their knees to worship -- forms a prophecy despite its intent.  If we see through the strangeness of the time and its malice and evil, we also see its irony, that it is telling something -- despite all intent to the contrary -- which is nevertheless true.  In Romans 14:11, St. Paul quotes from Isaiah 45:23:  " For it is written:  'As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.' "   St. Paul also writes, ". . . that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth . . ." (Philippians 2:10).  The soldiers, in effect, are unconsciously mimicking what they don't understand, even in calling Christ a King.  And there is another spiritual image or "icon" we're inadvertently given, also at the direction of the Roman soldiers, that of Simon called to carry Christ's cross.  There is a depth of meaning there that not only calls us to bear one another's crosses in times of suffering, as my study bible notes, but moreover that our lives are lived in the very participation of Christ's Cross as well.  That is, each of us will have our own crosses to bear, and we look to Christ's crucifixion to teach us about doing so with grace and forbearance.  If we could but remember that it is also our work to help one another to do so as well, we would go a long ways to coming to terms with an idea of what Christ's Church should look like, what it should mean that we are one Body, and brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are called to live in a particular way, with particular meanings and values that transcend everything, so that even in this scene of evil -- the innocent condemned to suffer and die -- we find words and actions of prophesy, that tell the truth to us instead of the lie.  This is the way that Christ's life and truth shapes the reality of who we are, regardless of circumstances.  These are images that tell us that even in the worst of things, we can find the place where Christ's life bears fruit in us, a way that we follow Him, a way that His truth will come to bear upon each and every one of our circumstances.  Let us remember that He is at work, even through all things, with faith as our guidance.