What does Mark 15:16-20 mean?

¹⁶ And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. ¹⁷ And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, ¹⁸ And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! ¹⁹ And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. ²⁰ And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him. (Mark 15:16-20 KJV)

Jesus is Mocked by the Roman Soldiers

Pilate, to indulge the cruel humor of the Roman soldiers, handed Jesus over to be mocked and abused while preparations were made for the execution. They called together the whole cohort, and in an inner hall, they ridiculed our Lord Jesus as a king, just as in the high priest’s hall he had been mocked as a prophet and Savior.

1. The Roman soldiers dressed Jesus in a purple robe. This mocking of Christ through clothing should remind Christians not to take pride in fancy apparel (1 Peter 3:4). Should Christians be proud of robes of purple or scarlet, which were used to shame Christ?
2. They made a crown of thorns and put it on his head. A crown of straw would have been mockery enough, but this caused pain too. He wore the crown of thorns we deserved so we might wear the crown of glory he earned. These thorns should teach us, like Gideon taught the men of Succoth, to hate sin and love Christ, who is like a lily among thorns. If we suffer a thorn in the flesh, we can take comfort that our high priest knows how that feels.
3. They saluted him, “Hail, King of the Jews”—a mockery, as if saying, “Such a king, and such a people—fitting for each other.”
4. They gave him a reed in his right hand, imitating the royal scepter. Those who reject Christ’s authority, ignoring his commands and warnings, effectively put a reed in his hand and strike him with it, just as these soldiers did.
5. They spat on him instead of giving him the kiss of allegiance.
6. They bowed the knee and pretended to worship him, doing it all in scorn to amuse themselves. We were made subject to eternal shame and contempt by sin, and Christ bore that shame for us. He was mocked not in his own clothes but in someone else’s, showing he didn’t suffer for his own sin. The guilt was ours, the shame his. Those who pretend to submit to Christ but serve the world and the flesh do what these soldiers did—bow the knee in mockery. Those who draw near to him with words but keep their hearts far from him insult him as they did when they cried, “We have no king but Caesar.”

At the appointed hour, the soldiers led him from Pilate’s judgment hall to the place of execution (Mark 15:20), like a sheep to the slaughter. Though he had done no sin, he was led away with evildoers to be executed.