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Mocking of Jesus
The mocking of Jesus occurred several times, after his trial and before his crucifixion according to the canonical gospels of the New Testament. It is considered part of the passion of Jesus.
According to the gospel narratives, Jesus had predicted that he would be mocked (Matthew 20:19, Mark 10:34, and Luke 18:32). The mocking of Christ took place in three stages: immediately following his trial, immediately following his condemnation by Pontius Pilate, and when he was being crucified.
The New Testament narratives of Jesus being mocked are filled with irony, while the mockery focuses on the prophetic and kingly roles of Jesus.
After the condemnation of Jesus by the Sanhedrin, some spat on him (Mark 14:65). He was blindfolded and beaten, and then mocked: "Prophesy! Who hit you?" (Luke 22:63). This was done by those men who "held Jesus" (Luke 22:63, King James Version). The New International Version translates this as "the men who were guarding Jesus", but Joel B. Green takes the phrase to refer to the "Chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders" mentioned in verse 52.
Green suggests that Jesus suffers the mockery that is typical of prophets, and that his suffering suggests his "solidarity with God's agents who speak on God's behalf and are rejected." Susan R. Garrett sees Mark's inclusion of the mockery as an example of irony, since Jesus is indeed a prophet, at the very moment his prophecy that Peter would deny him was being fulfilled. The prophetic assignment is not always portrayed as positive in the Bible, and prophets were often the target of persecution and opposition.
After his condemnation by Pontius Pilate, Jesus was flogged and mocked by Roman soldiers. They clothed him with a "purple" (Mark 15:17) or "scarlet" (Matthew 27:28) robe symbolizing a royal gown since purple was a royal color, put a crown of thorns on his head symbolizing a royal crown, and put a staff in his hand symbolizing a scepter. They knelt before him and said, "Hail, king of the Jews!" (Matthew 27:29). This was done as a mockery of Jesus's kingship. After this, they spat on him, and struck him on the head with the staff repeatedly.
Peter Leithart notes that at the end of the scene, the soldiers "reverse the whole coronation with an anti-coronation. They spit in contempt instead of kneeling in reverence, pull the scepter from Jesus's hand and beat His crowned head with it, strip off the scarlet robe and replace it with Jesus's own robe." Leithart goes on to suggest that, at this point, the Romans "remove the veil of irony and reveal what they really think" about the Jews and their God.
Robert J. Miller suggests that the gospel account is deeply ironic since Jesus is exercising his kingship through submission and suffering: "the Roman legionnaires have unwittingly furthered God's secret purposes by dressing Jesus up as a king." In fact, the irony operates on two levels. James L. Resseguie points out that there is verbal irony in the way the soldiers "mock Jesus as a dismal failure and a pretend king" (that is, the soldiers are themselves being ironic) as well as dramatic irony in that the readers "know that the acclamation rings true in ways that the soldiers could not possibly understand."
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Mocking of Jesus
The mocking of Jesus occurred several times, after his trial and before his crucifixion according to the canonical gospels of the New Testament. It is considered part of the passion of Jesus.
According to the gospel narratives, Jesus had predicted that he would be mocked (Matthew 20:19, Mark 10:34, and Luke 18:32). The mocking of Christ took place in three stages: immediately following his trial, immediately following his condemnation by Pontius Pilate, and when he was being crucified.
The New Testament narratives of Jesus being mocked are filled with irony, while the mockery focuses on the prophetic and kingly roles of Jesus.
After the condemnation of Jesus by the Sanhedrin, some spat on him (Mark 14:65). He was blindfolded and beaten, and then mocked: "Prophesy! Who hit you?" (Luke 22:63). This was done by those men who "held Jesus" (Luke 22:63, King James Version). The New International Version translates this as "the men who were guarding Jesus", but Joel B. Green takes the phrase to refer to the "Chief priests, the officers of the temple police, and the elders" mentioned in verse 52.
Green suggests that Jesus suffers the mockery that is typical of prophets, and that his suffering suggests his "solidarity with God's agents who speak on God's behalf and are rejected." Susan R. Garrett sees Mark's inclusion of the mockery as an example of irony, since Jesus is indeed a prophet, at the very moment his prophecy that Peter would deny him was being fulfilled. The prophetic assignment is not always portrayed as positive in the Bible, and prophets were often the target of persecution and opposition.
After his condemnation by Pontius Pilate, Jesus was flogged and mocked by Roman soldiers. They clothed him with a "purple" (Mark 15:17) or "scarlet" (Matthew 27:28) robe symbolizing a royal gown since purple was a royal color, put a crown of thorns on his head symbolizing a royal crown, and put a staff in his hand symbolizing a scepter. They knelt before him and said, "Hail, king of the Jews!" (Matthew 27:29). This was done as a mockery of Jesus's kingship. After this, they spat on him, and struck him on the head with the staff repeatedly.
Peter Leithart notes that at the end of the scene, the soldiers "reverse the whole coronation with an anti-coronation. They spit in contempt instead of kneeling in reverence, pull the scepter from Jesus's hand and beat His crowned head with it, strip off the scarlet robe and replace it with Jesus's own robe." Leithart goes on to suggest that, at this point, the Romans "remove the veil of irony and reveal what they really think" about the Jews and their God.
Robert J. Miller suggests that the gospel account is deeply ironic since Jesus is exercising his kingship through submission and suffering: "the Roman legionnaires have unwittingly furthered God's secret purposes by dressing Jesus up as a king." In fact, the irony operates on two levels. James L. Resseguie points out that there is verbal irony in the way the soldiers "mock Jesus as a dismal failure and a pretend king" (that is, the soldiers are themselves being ironic) as well as dramatic irony in that the readers "know that the acclamation rings true in ways that the soldiers could not possibly understand."