Church Fathers Commentary Mark 15:16-20

"And the soldiers led him away within the court, which is the Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothe him with purple, and platting a crown of thorns, they put it on him; and they began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote his head with a reed, and spat upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off from him the purple, and put on him his garments. And they lead him out to crucify him." — Mark 15:16-20 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: The vainglory of soldiers, always rejoicing in disorder and insults, here displayed their true character.

Therefore, it is said, And the soldiers led Him away into the hall called the Praetorium, and they call together the whole band—that is, the whole company of soldiers—and they clothed Him with purple as a king.

The Venerable Bede: Since He had been called King of the Jews, and the scribes and priests had accused Him of the crime of usurping rule over the Jewish people, they, in mockery, stripped Him of His former garments and put a purple robe on Him, which ancient kings used to wear.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But we must understand that what Matthew describes as, they put on Him a scarlet robe, Mark expresses as, clothed Him in purple. For they used that scarlet robe as a mockery of the royal purple, and there is a kind of reddish-purple, very similar to scarlet. It may also be that Mark mentions some purple that was part of the robe, even though it was scarlet in color.¹

The Venerable Bede: But instead of a diadem, they put a crown of thorns on Him, which is why the text continues, And platted a crown of thorns, and put it about His head. And for a royal scepter, they gave Him a reed, as Matthew writes, and they bowed before Him as a king, which is why it follows, And began to salute Him, Hail, King of the Jews! That the soldiers worshiped Him as someone who falsely called Himself God is clear from what is added: And bowing their knees, worshipped Him, as if He were pretending to be God.

Pseudo-Jerome: His shame took away our shame; His bonds made us free; by the thorny crown on His head, we have obtained the crown of the kingdom; by His wounds we are healed.

St. Augustine of Hippo: It seems that Matthew and Mark are here relating events that took place earlier, not that they happened after Pilate had already handed Him over to be crucified. For John says that these things took place at Pilate's house. But what follows, And when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him, and put on Him His own clothes, must be understood to have happened at the very end, when He was already being led to be crucified.

Pseudo-Jerome: But in a mystical sense, Jesus was stripped of His clothes (that is, the Jews) and is clothed in a purple robe (that is, the Gentile church), which is gathered together from the rocks. Then, taking it off in the end because it has become offensive, He is again clothed with the Jewish purple, for when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, then shall all Israel be saved (Romans 11:25).

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, the purple robe with which the Lord is clothed signifies His flesh itself, which He gave up to suffering, and the thorny crown He carried signifies His taking our sins upon Himself.

Theophylact of Ohrid: Let us also put on the purple and royal robe, for we must walk as kings, treading on serpents and scorpions and having sin under our feet. We are called Christians—that is, anointed ones—just as kings were then called anointed. Let us also take upon ourselves the crown of thorns; that is, let us hasten to be crowned with a disciplined life of self-denial and purity.

The Venerable Bede: But those who deny that He is truly God strike the head of Christ. And because people are accustomed to using a reed to write, those who speak against His divinity and try to confirm their error by the authority of Holy Scripture, in a sense, strike the head of Christ with a reed.

Those who, by their accursed words, spit away the presence of His grace are spitting in His face. There are also some today who adore Him with a sure faith as truly God, but by their perverse actions, they despise His words as if they were fables and consider the promises of His word to be inferior to worldly temptations.

But just as Caiaphas said, though he did not know what he meant, It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people (John 11:50), so also the soldiers did these things in ignorance.

1. de Con. Evan., iii, 9