John 19:3

And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. AND SAID, HAIL, KING OF THE JEWS! - doing Him derisive homage in the form used on approaching the emperors (see also, on the same derisive epithet, page 472). AND THEY SMOTE HIM WITH THEIR HANDS. Matthew says "they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head" (see ). The best comment on these affecting details is to cover the face....

1-18 Little did Pilate think with what holy regard these sufferings of Christ would, in after-ages, be thought upon and spoken of by the best and greatest of men. Our Lord Jesus came forth, willing to be exposed to their scorn. It is good for every one with faith, to behold Christ Jesus in his sufferings. Behold him, and love him; be still looking unto Jesus. Did their hatred sharpen their endeavours against him? and shall not our love for him quicken our endeavours for him and his kingdom? Pilate seems to have thought that Jesus might be some person above the common order. Even natural conscience makes men afraid of being found fighting against God. As our Lord suffered for the sins both of Jews and Gentiles, it was a special part of the counsel of Divine Wisdom, that the Jews should first purpose his death, and the Gentiles carry that purpose into effect. Had not Christ been thus reje...

See the notes at Matthew 27:26....

EXPOSITION JOHN 19:1 (d) [Within the Praetorium.] The unjust scourging, and the crown of thorns. JOHN 19:1 Then PILATE THEREFORE TOOK JESUS, AND SCOURGED HIM. The force of the "therefore" may be seen in the foregoing observations (see especially Luke 23:23). He obviously fancied that the sight of their victim's utter humiliation, his reduction to the lowest possible position, would sate their burning rage. Scourging was the ordinary preliminary of crucifixion, and it might be regarded as Pilate's verdict, or the conclusion of the whole matter. Roman and Greek historians confirm the custom (Josephus, 'Ant.,'...

AND SAID, HAIL, KING OF THE JEWS!.... Some copies before this clause read, "and they came unto him"; and so read the Vulgate Latin, Arabic, Coptic, and Ethiopic versions; that is, they came and prostrated themselves before him; bowed the knee unto him, and addressed him in a mock way, as if he was an earthly monarch just come to his crown, and whom they wished long to live; thus mocking at his kingly office, and despising him under that character, as many do now: some will not have him to reign over them, but reject him as King; and others, though in words they own him to be King, yet disregard his commands, and act no better part than these scoffing soldiers did: AND THEY SMOTE HIM WITH THEIR HANDS: upon his cheeks, as the Syriac version reads it. These, and many other affronts they gave him; in all which they were indulged by Pilate, and was a pleasing scene to the wicked Jews, whose...

John 19:1. _Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. And said, Hail, King of the Jews!_ Just as they were gathered to say, «Ave Imperator» «Hail emperor» so imitating that word which they applied to Caesar. and applying it to Jesus in mockery. «King of the Jews,» the utmost scorn was thrown into the last word, «of the Jews.» There had been a general tradition that there should arise among the Jews a king who would subdue the nations, and the Romans jested at the very thought that they should be conquered by the leader of such a despised race as the Jews, and so they said, «King of the Jews.» John 19:3. And they smote him with their hands. Pilate therefore went forth again, and s

CHAPTER 19 _ 1. Behold the Man! (John 19:1 .)_ 2. The Last Question of Pilate and Christ's Last Word. (John 19:8 .) 3. Delivered up and Crucified. (John 19:12 .) 4. The Title upon the Cross. (John 19:19 .) 5. The Parted Garments. (John 19:23 .) 6. Behold Thy Son! Behold Thy Mother! (John 19:25 .) 7. It is Finished! (John 19:28 .) 8. His Legs not B

PILATE GIVES WAY TO THE JEWS. Pilate's next attempt is to persuade the Jews to be content with a lighter penalty than crucifixion. The prisoner is not dangerous enough, even to the religious authorities of the nation, to make the extreme penalty necessary. Scourging will meet the case. It was the usual preliminary of the Roman punishment of crucifixion, and in the Synoptic account it is recorded only after the sentence has been pronounced. _Cf.,_ however, Luke 23:16; Luke 23:22, where Pilate suggests it as a sufficient punishment. The soldiers obey orders, and, visibly interpreting the governor's wishes, add mockery to the scourging, making sport of the claimant to a kingdom, and perhaps of Jewish sovereignty _in_ general. The other gospels record mockery, after the Jewish trial, of the prisoner as a disc

AND THE SOLDIERS PLATTED. CROWN OF THORNS. The crown of thorns was probably. wreath of thorny leaves something like the common cactus. While presenting the appearance of. crown it would be an instrument of torture. To this emblem of royalty was added. purple, or scarlet robe (both colors are named and with the ancients differed little), which was thrown around him as. royal mantle. Matthew adds that. reed was placed in his hand as. scepter. Then, when they had thus arrayed their torn and bleeding victim, the brutal soldiers began to mockingly salute him and to cry, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Their whole conduct was designed to render his claims of kingly power contemptible. In order to make the humiliation greater they would approach him, as they saluted him as King, extending their hands as if to offer him royal tribute, and then strike him. blow. Whenever. think of one that could have c...

They brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the governor's headquarters. It was early in the morning and they themselves did not enter into the headquarters, in case they should be defiled; but they wished to avoid defilement because they wished to eat the Passover. So Pilate came out to them and said: "What charge do you bring against this man?" They answered him: "If he had not been an evildoer, we would not have handed him over to you." Pilate said to them: "You take him, and judge him according to your laws." The Jews said to Pilate: "It is not permitted to us to put anyone to death." This happened that there might be fulfilled the word of Jesus, which he spoke in indication of the kind of death he was going to die. So Pilate went again into his headquarters, and called Jesus, and said to him: "Are you the King of the Jews?" Jesus answered: "Are you saying this because you have discovered it...