And the soldiers twisted a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they put on Him a purple robe.
Parallel translations
- WEB The soldiers twisted thorns into a crown, and put it on his head, and dressed him in a purple garment.
- KJV And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,
- BSB The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns, set it on His head, and dressed Him in a purple robe.
- NASB And the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and placed it on His head, and put a purple cloak on Him;
- NLT The soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put a purple robe on him.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
The soldiers mock Jesus' kingship with a crown of thorns and a purple robe. Their cruel parody unwittingly proclaims a deeper truth about who he is.
Overview
Purple was the color of royalty, and the soldiers dress Jesus as a mock king to ridicule the charge that he claimed kingship. The crown of thorns recalls the curse of thorns that came with sin (Genesis 3:18), which Jesus now bears on his own head. What the soldiers intend as scorn, God uses to display the true King wearing the marks of the curse he came to remove.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Mark 15:16–20The soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they called together the whole cohort.
- Isa 53:3He was despised, and rejected by men; a man of suffering, and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
- Ps 22:6But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
- Matt 27:27–31Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium, and gathered the whole garrison together against him.
- Luke 23:11Herod with his soldiers humiliated him and mocked him. Dressing him in luxurious clothing, they sent him back to Pilate.
- Isa 49:7Yahweh, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, says to him whom man despises, to him whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and rise up; princes, and they shall worship; because of Yahweh who is faithful, even the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
- John 19:5Jesus therefore came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple garment. Pilate said to them, “Behold, the man!”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 19:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
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