Page 65 - laten-08-06-2020

Matthew 27: 27-31

Matthew 27: 27-31 portrays Jesus' trial in Pilate's court.
The trial generally is expected to inflict physical injuries,
however, in Jesus' case, it is not only inflicting physical injuries
but also stripping him, spitting at him, and mocking him. The
soldiers may have or may not have known Jesus and the reason
behind his crucifixion. However, the political modus-operandi
of the Empire is to use the vulnerable against the vulnerable
to retain its political power. Were the soldiers convinced in
supporting the empire, or were they compelled to do so due to
their socio-politico and economic necessity is to be pondered
upon. Whether the soldiers were convinced or compelled, the
truth is that the Empire achieves its ploy through such agencies.
In the given text, both, the religious empire and the political
empire are using agencies such as the crowd and soldiers in
achieving their goal. The Empires were successful in disfiguring
the image of the crowd and soldiers as bloodthirst community
on one hand, and on the other, they were also successful in
imaging Jesus as a religious heretic and anti-national.

Soldiers and the Gospel of Matthew
The Matthean writer, in the gospel, paints the Roman
soldiers in different images. Firstly, in Matthew chapter 8, verses
5 – 13, the writer images a centurion who comes to Jesus in
all humility seeking the healing of his servant. Further, the
centurion is portrayed, on one hand, as the one who claims to
be unworthy as a result of being part of the authority and, on
the other hand, as the one who indisputably believed in Jesus
and his words. Secondly, in Matthew chapter 27 verses 27-31,
the soldiers are imaged as those mocking at Jesus, spitting at
him and humiliating him, which unmasks the wickedness of
the Empire. And finally, in Matthew chapter 27 verse 54, the
soldiers are elevated as the proclaimers of faith (‘truly this man
was God's son). The Gospel of Matthew from one point of view
characterizes the soldiers as the willing instruments of the

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Lenten Meditations Re - Imaging People