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And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.
Mark 15:19 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB They struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and bowing their knees, did homage to him.
  • BSB They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt down and bowed before Him.
  • NKJV Then they struck Him on the head with a reed and spat on Him; and bowing the knee, they worshiped Him.
  • NASB And they repeatedly beat His head with a reed and spit on Him, and kneeling, they bowed down before Him.
  • NLT And they struck him on the head with a reed stick, spit on him, and dropped to their knees in mock worship.

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

They strike Jesus, spit on him, and kneel in mock homage. He endures cruel abuse fulfilling the suffering servant prophecies.

Overview

The beating with a reed, spitting, and false worship fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah 50 and 53 concerning the smitten and despised servant. Their sarcastic homage contrasts with the true worship Jesus deserves and will one day receive from all. The King silently absorbs this cruelty as part of the redemptive suffering he willingly bears for sinners.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 29

  • Mark 14:65And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.
  • Isa 53:3–5He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
  • Job 13:9Is it good that he should search you out? or as one man mocketh another, do ye so mock him?
  • Heb 13:13Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
  • Phil 2:10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;
  • Isa 49:7Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise, princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee.
  • Luke 23:36And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar,
  • Ps 69:12They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
  • Matt 20:18–19Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death,
  • Ps 69:19–20Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.
  • Job 30:8–12They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
  • Heb 12:2–3Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
  • Isa 52:14As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
  • Luke 18:32–33For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
  • Mark 9:12And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought.
  • Rom 11:4But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.
  • Isa 45:23I have sworn by myself, the word is gone out of my mouth in righteousness, and shall not return, That unto me every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear.
  • Mic 5:1Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
  • Ps 35:15–17But in mine adversity they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together: yea, the abjects gathered themselves together against me, and I knew it not; they did tear me, and ceased not:
  • Ps 22:6–7But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.
  • Mark 10:34And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
  • Gen 43:28And they answered, Thy servant our father is in good health, he is yet alive. And they bowed down their heads, and made obeisance.
  • Rom 14:10–11But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
  • Isa 50:6I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
  • Luke 22:63And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him.
  • Gen 24:52And it came to pass, that, when Abraham’s servant heard their words, he worshipped the LORD, bowing himself to the earth.
  • 1 Kgs 19:18Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him.
  • Esth 3:2–5And all the king’s servants, that were in the king’s gate, bowed, and reverenced Haman: for the king had so commanded concerning him. But Mordecai bowed not, nor did him reverence.
  • Luke 23:11And Herod with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (5)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Mark videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Mark 15:19YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on MarkMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

How Mark 15:19 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

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.