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, in the morning following the illegal night trial in which Jesus was condemned for blasphemy, 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.  Perhaps partially because of his wife's admonition (see Matthew 27:19) Pilate knows that Jesus is innocent (see yesterday's reading, in which we're told that Pilate knew that the chief priests had handed Him over because of envy), and so makes an effort to save Him by repeatedly questioning the crowds regarding Jesus. But eventually he seeks to gratify the crowd.   Here my study Bible comments that Pilate's sin was less than that of the Jewish leaders who delivered Christ to him (John 19;11), for the Jews had the Law and the prophets to instruct them, and Pilate did not.  Pilate was not without sin in that, because of his desire to gratify the crowd, he knowingly sent an innocent Man to death. 

 

  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 notes here that every king is proclaimed by his soldiers.  Although the intention here is to mock and ridicule, it remains prophetic that Jesus is crowned and hailed as King by soldiers of the governor.  For a similar example of unwitting prophecy, see John 11:49-51, where Caiaphas prophecies, despite his intention, of Christ's redemptive work.  The mockery here in today's reading portrays Jesus as despised and rejected by human beings, who bears the iniquity of all of us (see Isaiah 53:3-9).  Christ is clothed in a royal purple; the Greek word for this color is πορφύρα/porphyra, a color which appeared as a deep maroon red.  My study Bible comments that it represents both Christ's royalty and 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 notes the mention of Simon as the father of Alexander and Rufus, and comments that St. Mark likely asserts this here as they were still living and possibly known to contemporary hearers of the time.  It comments that there is a spiritual message here, in that we, like Simon (whose name means "obedience"), are not simply called to carry the cross which Christ sets upon us, but seeing Christ in others, we are also called to bear one another's burdens as well (Galatians 6:2). 

 

In recent readings, we have commented on the "upside down" nature of many of the events surrounding Christ's Crucifixion -- particularly in the efforts to have Him put to death and be rid of Him and His ministry.  Today's reading is no exception that series of observations.  Christ will be put to death quite literally and officially by the Romans and by sentence of Pilate, and yet it is Pilate who knows He is innocent, and even seeks to save Him.  Jesus is here called "the King of the Jews" and yet it is the Jewish religious leaders who seek to be rid of Him, to put Him to death and thus vanquish Him from among their midst.  Even Pilate asks specifically, "Why, what evil has He done?" when the people shout, "Crucify Him!"   But they don't answer, goaded on ("stirred up") by the high priests.  They simply demand, "Crucify Him!" crying out all the more.  Of course, the irony and "upside-down" nature of the treatment of Jesus by the soldiers cries out itself with great obviousness to us.  He is draped in the royal purple of the time, crowned with an improvised crown of thorns to spike and harm Him the more -- mimicking for ridicule the treatment of a worldly king.  He is struck with a reed; a reed is a weak image of a king's scepter, meant for use as a symbol of power, and here reduced to weakness in order to further humiliate Christ.  They even bowed the knee and worshiped Him.  This is again in mocking imitation of the courtly attire and treatment of a worldly king, but little do they know that it is only God who should be worshiped -- and that it is God who stands before them, and whom they treat with such contempt and debased behavior, even spitting on Him to degrade Him as much as possible.  The One who deserves our worship is the One who is silently receiving the hatred of people who don't know Him, and perhaps more importantly, whom He will forgive from the Cross, if they but accept the salvation only He can offer to the world.  What looks to worldly eyes like destruction and vanquishing is in fact the victory of Christ, and will be turned into the deepest victory possible via the power of God from the Cross, in which even death and evil will be defeated.  Human beings can mock and defeat their enemies all they want to, but spiritual reality has its own power and authority, and it will be upheld by God after all things are said and done.  Christ, we mustn't forget, is also the ultimate and first Witness -- the Faithful and True Witness, as it says in Revelation 3:14, and so ultimately is both Witness and Judge.  When we think we see a great defeat and humiliation in the world, we should remember this scene, and know that we may watch lies unfold before us, manipulated by those who hate truth, and seek to destroy the work of God for their own purposes.  We must remember that the "worldly" outlook is capable of great deception, telling us that what is priceless is actually worthless -- and upholding worthless behavior as somehow just and deserved by its victims.  Let us remember this scene and Christ as Witness, for nothing we do is missed by God, nothing is exempt from the awareness of Christ who now has experience as incarnate human being of all that we do and live through, even the effects of evil and lying in our lives, the abuses of power, the cruelty that is useless except to cause harm without meaning.  Christ is witness to it all, and He is truly King above it all, and it is to that truth we must cling, no matter what we think we see, for we also must witness in His name as well. 

 

 

 

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!"

Icon of Christ the Bridegroom

 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, in the morning after Jesus' night trial by the Council, 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.  My study bible says that Pilate's sin was less than the deliberate "framing" of Christ by the religious leaders who delivered Him to Pilate.  Pilate, after all, did not have the Law and the prophets to instruct him, and knew nothing about Jesus' preaching and teaching and how it linked to the whole heritage of Jewish spiritual tradition.  But Pilate's desire to gratify the crowd means nevertheless that he knowingly sent an innocent man to death.

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.   Here's the ironic twist that evil puts on these scenes of Jesus on trial.  He tells the truth, and even His mockers, jesting at a framed up charge, inadvertently reveal the truth.  My study bible says that it's prophetic that Jesus should be crowned and hail as King by soldiers of the governor.  It notes, "This mockery shows Jesus as the One despised and rejected by men who bears the iniquity of us all (see Isaiah 53:3-9).   It notes also the prophetic pronouncement inadvertently made by Caiaphas as written in John's Gospel (John 11:49-51).  The royal purple was closer to what we would call a reddish color (red/purple) -- representing both His royalty and the sins of humanity that He's taken upon Himself.  (Here is a photo of a mosaic depicting Empress Theodora dressed in what is called Tyrian puple, 6th century.  Here is another example, an 11th century Byzantine robe.)

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 suggests that Mark mentions that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus because they were still living and possibly even known to Mark's contemporary hearers.  It says, "The spiritual message is that we, like Simon (whose name means 'obedience'), are not only called to carry the cross Christ sets on us, but seeing Christ in others, we are called to bear each other's burdens as well (Galatians 6:2)."

So here is the picture of Christ bound, mocked, spat on, ridiculed.  And in the contempt, there is inadvertently truth.  It's a strange way in which evil circumstances still can't really hide truth.  The twisted nature of evil isn't something new to observe at all, but there are so many ironies in all the ways that people try to belittle and hold Jesus in contempt, in all the varied scenes of those who -- one way and another -- seek to take Him down.  Perhaps there's a clue in the element of truth that makes a person genuine, who they really are, an internal reality that can't really be denied.  Oh, we can try and deny and cover up all we want.  But when something is a truly genuine part of an intangible internal reality, then it becomes a different matter.  That can't be taken away.  It's a force that comes from a different place than a worldly crowning or declaration of a king.  It's not something that belongs to Christ because others say it's so or assent to it or recognize it.  It simply is -- as in the name I AM.  Jesus' reality is transcendent of His circumstances and the opinions of others.  There's a lesson there for all of us, particularly in a time when we so value images and publicity or fame, and we're bombarded with its values all the time.  What makes a person genuine?  What gives us the quality of dignity or honor?  Whose praise matters when it comes to declarations of true reality and identity?  What can't really be taken away, no matter how much contempt or mud or spittle is cast at it?  That's what we think about when we look at this icon of Christ as prisoner.  The icon above is called "The Bridegroom."  It's a portrait of Christ in captivity, but more truly, an icon of love.  He's bound to us with His covenant.  As His hands are bound in the scene of imprisonment, so we are bound with Him, and to those whom we love.  All He goes through is for our sake, humiliated as vulnerable human being -- His voluntary sacrifice for love.  All for us.  As Bridegroom He is a picture of what it means when we, too, love enough to sacrifice, to carry the burdens of others as Simon does:  and that becomes another glimmer of the truth that can't be hidden although it's twisted as conscription, compulsion, weakness.  It's the truth that dignifies, even if others mock because of it. Sound familiar?  Simon becomes a believer, and his sons well-known members of the Church, crowned and honored as true soldiers of Christ.  Let us think about Bridegroom, the heavenly Jerusalem and Church as His bride, and truths that can't be hidden although mocked, and twisted, and ridiculed.  Let us remember who we are, in His name and His truth for us, His love.