Mocked and Led to be Crucified - Mark 15:20

Mark wrote how, “Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshiped him”, and in chapter fifteen and verse twenty of his book, Mark shared how the soldiers, “mocked” Jesus and “led him out to crucify him” where we read:

And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him,

and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.

The verse reads, “And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, ...”. Mark began with the words, “and when” which means “and at the time and moment” “they had mocked him” or “the Roman soldiers trifled, played with and jeered at Jesus”, “they took off” which means “the Roman soldiers stripped and unclothed” “the purple from him” or “the fabric colored with purple dye from Jesus”. Mark shared when the Roman soldiers finished their “playing with and jeering at” Jesus, they stripped off the “purple” garment they previously put on Him.

The verse continues, “... and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him.” Mark added the words, “and put his own clothes” which means “and placed and clothed Jesus with His own garments” “on him” or “upon Jesus”, “and led him out” which means “and brought Jesus forth” “to crucify him” or “to be driven down with stakes, palisade, destroyed in the flesh and power and extinguished completely Jesus”. Mark shared how the Roman soldiers put Jesus' garments back on Him and “carried” Him out to be “crucified”.

When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we see how the Roman soldiers completed their cruel “mocking” of Jesus, took off the “purple” clothing they put upon Him, put His own garments back on Him and “led” Him to be “crucified”. This deliberate behavior by the Roman soldiers was known in advance by Jesus Himself and His Heavenly Father God. God allowed Jesus to endure this horrific suffering because people needed to be “saved” from their sinful lives which separated them from a relationship with God. When a person considers carefully what Jesus endured on their behalf so they could live eternally with God, they should yield their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.

Next time Mark shares how, “they compel one Simon a Cyrenian … to bear his cross”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

Look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".