And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.
Parallel translations
- WEB They spat on him, and took the reed and struck him on the head.
- BSB Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.
- NKJV Then they spat on Him, and took the reed and struck Him on the head.
- NASB And they spit on Him, and took the reed and beat Him on the head.
- NLT And they spit on him and grabbed the stick and struck him on the head with it.
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 spit on Jesus and strike His head with the reed. They heap physical abuse upon their mockery.
Overview
Their scorn turns violent as they spit on Jesus and beat Him with the very reed given as a mock scepter. The treatment fulfills prophecies of the suffering servant who gave His back to those who struck and did not hide His face from shame and spitting. Jesus absorbs this cruelty in silence, bearing it for the salvation of those who would later trust Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- 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.
- Matt 26:67Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,
- Mark 15:19And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him.
- Isa 53:7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
- Job 30:8–10They were children of fools, yea, children of base men: they were viler than the earth.
- Isa 53:3He 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.
- 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:
- 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.
- Luke 18:32–33For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on:
- 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.
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 27:30 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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