Matius 27:26-31

27:26 Then he released Barabbas for them. But after he had Jesus flogged, ¹  he handed him over ²  to be crucified. ³  27:27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the governor’s residence ⁴  and gathered the whole cohort ⁵  around him. 27:28 They ⁶  stripped him and put a scarlet robe ⁷  around him, 27:29 and after braiding ⁸  a crown of thorns, ⁹  they put it on his head. They ¹⁰  put a staff ¹¹  in his right hand, and kneeling down before him, they mocked him: ¹²  “Hail, king of the Jews!” ¹³  27:30 They ¹⁴  spat on him and took the staff ¹⁵  and struck him repeatedly ¹⁶  on the head. 27:31 When ¹⁷  they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes back on him. Then ¹⁸  they led him away to crucify him.

Markus 15:15-20

15:15 Because he wanted to satisfy the crowd, Pilate released Barabbas for them. Then, ¹⁹  after he had Jesus flogged, ²⁰  he handed him over ²¹  to be crucified.

Jesus is Mocked

15:16 So ²²  the soldiers led him into the palace (that is, the governor’s residence) ²³  and called together the whole cohort. ²⁴  15:17 They put a purple cloak ²⁵  on him and after braiding ²⁶  a crown of thorns, ²⁷  they put it on him. 15:18 They began to salute him: “Hail, king of the Jews!” ²⁸  15:19 Again and again ²⁹  they struck him on the head with a staff ³⁰  and spit on him. Then they knelt down and paid homage to him. 15:20 When they had finished mocking ³¹  him, they stripped him of the purple cloak and put his own clothes back on him. Then ³²  they led him away to crucify him. ³³ 

Lukas 23:16

23:16 I will therefore have him flogged ³⁴  and release him.”

Lukas 23:23

23:23 But they were insistent, ³⁵  demanding with loud shouts that he be crucified. And their shouts prevailed.

[27:26]  ¹ tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”

[27:26]  sn A Roman flogging (traditionally, “scourging”) was an excruciating punishment. The victim was stripped of his clothes and bound to a post with his hands fastened above him (or sometimes he was thrown to the ground). Guards standing on either side of the victim would incessantly beat him with a whip (flagellum) made out of leather with pieces of lead and bone inserted into its ends. While the Jews only allowed 39 lashes, the Romans had no such limit; many people who received such a beating died as a result. See C. Schneider, TDNT, 515-19.

[27:26]  ² tn Or “delivered him up.”

[27:26]  ³ sn See the note on crucified in 20:19.

[27:27]  ⁴ tn Or “into their headquarters”; Grk “into the praetorium.”

[27:27]  sn The governor’s residence (Grk “praetorium”) was the Roman governor’s official residence. The one in Jerusalem may have been Herod’s palace in the western part of the city, or the fortress Antonia northwest of the temple area.

[27:27]  ⁵ sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.

[27:28]  ⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:28]  ⁷ sn The scarlet robe probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king.

[27:29]  ⁸ tn Or “weaving.”

[27:29]  ⁹ sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.

[27:29]  ¹⁰ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:29]  ¹¹ tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[27:29]  ¹² tn Grk “they mocked him, saying.” The participle λέγοντες (legontes) is redundant and has not been translated.

[27:29]  ¹³ tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[27:29]  sn The statement Hail, King of the Jews! is a mockery patterned after the Romans’ cry of Ave, Caesar (“Hail, Caesar!”).

[27:30]  ¹⁴ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:30]  ¹⁵ tn Or “the reed.”

[27:30]  ¹⁶ tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.

[27:31]  ¹⁷ tn Here καί (kai) has not been translated.

[27:31]  ¹⁸ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:15]  ¹⁹ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:15]  ²⁰ tn The Greek term φραγελλόω (fragellow) refers to flogging. BDAG 1064 s.v. states, “flog, scourge, a punishment inflicted on slaves and provincials after a sentence of death had been pronounced on them. So in the case of Jesus before the crucifixion…Mt 27:26; Mk 15:15.”

[15:15]  sn A Roman flogging (traditionally, “scourging”) was an excruciating punishment. The victim was stripped of his clothes and bound to a post with his hands fastened above him (or sometimes he was thrown to the ground). Guards standing on either side of the victim would incessantly beat him with a whip (flagellum) made out of leather with pieces of lead and bone inserted into its ends. While the Jews only allowed 39 lashes, the Romans had no such limit; many people who received such a beating died as a result. See C. Schneider, TDNT, 4:515-19.

[15:15]  ²¹ tn Or “delivered him up.”

[15:16]  ²² tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “So” to indicate that the soldiers’ action is in response to Pilate’s condemnation of the prisoner in v. 15.

[15:16]  ²³ tn Grk “(that is, the praetorium).”

[15:16]  sn The governor’s residence (Grk “praetorium”) was the Roman governor’s official residence. The one in Jerusalem may have been Herod’s palace in the western part of the city, or the fortress Antonia northwest of the temple area.

[15:16]  ²⁴ sn A Roman cohort was a tenth of a legion, about 500-600 soldiers.

[15:17]  ²⁵ sn The purple cloak probably refers to a military garment which had the color of royal purple, and thus resembled a king’s robe. The soldiers did this to Jesus as a form of mockery in view of the charges that he was a king (cf. 15:2).

[15:17]  ²⁶ tn Or “weaving.”

[15:17]  ²⁷ sn The crown may have been made from palm spines or some other thorny plant common in Israel. In placing the crown of thorns on his head, the soldiers were unwittingly symbolizing God’s curse on humanity (cf. Gen 3:18) being placed on Jesus. Their purpose would have been to mock Jesus’ claim to be a king; the crown of thorns would have represented the “radiant corona” portrayed on the heads of rulers on coins and other artifacts in the 1st century.

[15:18]  ²⁸ tn Or “Long live the King of the Jews!”

[15:18]  sn The statement Hail, King of the Jews! is a mockery patterned after the Romans’ cry of Ave, Caesar (“Hail, Caesar!”).

[15:19]  ²⁹ tn The verb here has been translated as an iterative imperfect.

[15:19]  ³⁰ tn Or “a reed.” The Greek term can mean either “staff” or “reed.” See BDAG 502 s.v. κάλαμος 2.

[15:20]  ³¹ tn The aorist tense is taken consummatively here.

[15:20]  ³² tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[15:20]  ³³ sn See the note on Crucify in 15:13.

[23:16]  ³⁴ tn Or “scourged” (BDAG 749 s.v. παιδεύω 2.b.γ). This refers to a whipping Pilate ordered in an attempt to convince Jesus not to disturb the peace. It has been translated “flogged” to distinguish it from the more severe verberatio.

[23:23]  ³⁵ tn Though a different Greek term is used here (BDAG 373 s.v. ἐπίκειμαι), this remark is like 23:5.