Page 102 - laten-08-06-2020

mockery as an example of irony, since Jesus is indeed a prophet,
and at the very moment, his prophecy that Peter would deny
him was being fulfilled. The prophetic assignment in the Bible
needs a heavy cost to be paid, and as such, prophets were often
the target of persecution and opposition. Hence Jesus also stands
here in the Prophetic tradition, yet he was more than that.

Second stage

After his condemnation by Pontius Pilate, Jesus was
flogged and mocked by Roman soldiers. They clothed him
with a ‘purple’ (Mark 15:17) or ‘scarlet robe’ (Matthew 27:28)
symbolizing a royal gown since purple was a royal color, ‘put
a crown of thorns on his head' symbolizing a royal crown, and
‘put a staff in his hand’ symbolizes a scepter. They knelt before
him and said, ‘Hail, king of the Jews (Matthew 27:29). This was
done as a mockery of Jesus’ kingship. After this, they spat on
him and struck him on the head with the staff repeatedly.
Peter Leithart depicts that, the soldiers ‘reverse the whole
coronation with an anti-coronation. They spit in contempt
instead of kneeling in reverence, pull the scepter from Jesus’
hand and beat His crowned head with it, strip off the scarlet
robe and replace it with Jesus’ own robe’.
It is deeply ironic that Jesus exercised his kingship
through submission and suffering: the Roman legionnaires have
unwittingly furthered God’s secret purposes by dressing Jesus
up as a king.

Third stage

The third stage of mocking Jesus was on the cross.
According to Mark 15:29-30, this was done by those who passed
by. They insulted him and told him to come down from the
cross. Mark 15:31-32 points out that ‘the chief priests and the
teachers of the law’ also mocked him among themselves, saying:

96
Lenten Meditations Re - Imaging People