Matthew 27:3-30
3 When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. 4 “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”
“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”
5 So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
6 The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” 7 So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. 8 That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. 9 Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, 10 and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”[a]
Jesus Before Pilate
11 Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“You have said so,” Jesus replied.
12 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate asked him, “Don’t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you?” 14 But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge—to the great amazement of the governor.
15 Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. 16 At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus[b] Barabbas. 17 So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” 18 For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
19 While Pilate was sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: “Don’t have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great deal today in a dream because of him.”
20 But the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus executed.
21 “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” asked the governor.
“Barabbas,” they answered.
22 “What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called the Messiah?” Pilate asked.
They all answered, “Crucify him!”
23 “Why? What crime has he committed?” asked Pilate.
But they shouted all the louder, “Crucify him!”
24 When Pilate saw that he was getting nowhere, but that instead an uproar was starting, he took water and washed his hands in front of the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “It is your responsibility!”
25 All the people answered, “His blood is on us and on our children!”
26 Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Then the governor’s soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand as a scepter. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. “Hail, king of the Jews!” they said. 30 They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again.
Additional readings:
Mark 15: 1-21
Luke 23: 3-26
John 18: 28 - 19:3
PRAY
My people, what wrong have I done to you?
How have I offended you? Answer me!
Through baptism, I led you from slavery to freedom,
but you lead your Saviour to the cross.
How have I offended you? Answer me!
Through baptism, I led you from slavery to freedom,
but you lead your Saviour to the cross.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
I led you through the wilderness.
I fed you with the bread of life,
the manna from heaven,
but you lead your Saviour to the cross.
I fed you with the bread of life,
the manna from heaven,
but you lead your Saviour to the cross.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
I planted you as my fairest vineyard,
I grafted you into the one true vine,
I gave you the water of salvation,
but you give me gall and vinegar to drink,
and leave me thirsting upon a cross.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
I gave you a royal sceptre,
but you give me a crown of thorns.
I raised you up to newness of life,
but you raise me high upon a cross.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
What more could I have done for you?
I gave you my peace and my truth,
but you fight in my name,
and divide my Church.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
I come in your brother and sister,
hungry, yet you give me no food,
thirsty, yet you give me no drink,
a stranger, and you do not welcome me,
naked, and you do not clothe me,
sick and in prison, and you do not visit me.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us
I grafted you into the one true vine,
I gave you the water of salvation,
but you give me gall and vinegar to drink,
and leave me thirsting upon a cross.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
I gave you a royal sceptre,
but you give me a crown of thorns.
I raised you up to newness of life,
but you raise me high upon a cross.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
What more could I have done for you?
I gave you my peace and my truth,
but you fight in my name,
and divide my Church.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us.
I come in your brother and sister,
hungry, yet you give me no food,
thirsty, yet you give me no drink,
a stranger, and you do not welcome me,
naked, and you do not clothe me,
sick and in prison, and you do not visit me.
Holy God, holy and merciful,
holy and just, have mercy upon us
Jesus is crowned with thorns by Victor Hoagland, C.P.
The soldiers led him inside the palace, that is, the praetorium, and assembled the whole cohort. They clothed him in purple and, weaving a crown of thorns, placed it on him. They began to salute him with, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and kept striking him on the head with a reed and spitting on him Mark 15, 16-19
Besides Mark’s gospel, two other gospels (Matthew and John) report that Jesus was handed over to the Roman soldiers who mocked him as a king. They took him into a courtyard, probably outside their barracks, put a ragged purple cloak on him and a reed in his hand, and then pressed a crown of thorns onto his head. Kneeling before him in false homage, they ridiculed him: “Hail King of the Jews!” And in brutal sport, they spat on him and struck his head.
After this mockery, John’s gospel says that Pilate brought the pitiable figure of Jesus before the crowd and said, “Behold, the man.”
“Behold, the man.” Here was God’s Son: so disguised, so hidden, so weak, mocked as king and wearing a crown of thorns! And evil seems to have its way with him. Yet one who sees in faith sees Jesus still a king. Evil’s seeming rule endures only a little while, an “hour,” a fleeting moment in God's time. It does not master Jesus Christ, the king.
“Behold, the man.” Yes, Lord, I see you brought low, and I believe you are a king. Help me to recognize your power whenever evil seems to conquer good, whenever the good are brought low. Give me faith to believe, even when evil seems to reign, that your kingdom will come.
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