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Matthew 27, as we work our way 
through Matthew's passion narrative in these Lord's Supper meditations. Our focus tonight is verses 27 
to 31, the malicious mockery of the soldiers. But I want to 
read beginning in verse 11, and then we'll read to verse 31. 
Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, saying, 
Are you the king of the Jews? Jesus said to him, It is as you 
say. And while he was being accused 
by the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then Pilate 
said to him, Do you not hear how many things they testify 
against you? But he answered him not one word, 
so that the governor marveled greatly. Now at the feast, the 
governor was accustomed to releasing to the multitude one prisoner 
whom they wished. And at that time they had a notorious 
prisoner called Barabbas. Therefore, when they had gathered 
together, Pilate said to them, whom do you want me to release 
to you, Barabbas or Jesus who is called Christ? For he knew 
that they had handed him over because of envy. While he was 
sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him saying, 
have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered 
many things today in a dream because of him. But the chief 
priests and elders persuaded the multitudes that they should 
ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. The governor answered 
and said to them, which of the two do you want me to release 
to you? They said, Barabbas. Pilate said to them, what then 
shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ? They all said 
to him, let him be crucified. And the governor said, why, what 
evil has he done? But they cried out all the more 
saying, let him be crucified. When Pilate saw that he could 
not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult was rising, he 
took water and washed his hands before the multitude saying, 
I am innocent of the blood of this just person. You see to 
it. And all the people answered and 
said, his blood be on us and on our children. Then he released 
Barabbas to them. And when he had scourged Jesus, 
he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor 
took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the whole garrison 
around him. And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on 
him. When they had twisted a crown of thorns, they put it on his 
head and a reed in his right hand. And they bowed the knee 
before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews. Then 
they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 
And when they had mocked him, they took the robe off him, put 
his own clothes on him and led him away to be crucified. Amen. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
what a sober passage of Holy Scripture and what a great demonstration 
of the love of the Savior for his people. that He would go 
to these lengths for us is truly amazing. And so God, we pray 
now for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to shine the light upon 
this passage of scripture, to encourage our hearts, to strengthen 
us in the inner man, to cause us to stand in awe of the Son 
of God. And Lord, we pray again, forgive 
us for all sin and everything that darkens our understanding. 
And we pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen. Well, remember 
that Jesus first stands trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin, 
which was the highest political and religious court in Israel 
at that time. And then he stood trial before 
Pontius Pilate. Pilate, of course, had the authority 
to deliver up Jesus to be executed. So, essentially, the plan is 
going just as the Jews had wanted. But the trials before the Sanhedrin 
and Pilate were essentially the same. There were false charges, 
groundless accusations, a disregard for Jesus' innocence, and ultimately 
a capital sentence. And after the verdict was rendered, 
we see the mistreatment of the Son of God. If you go back for 
just a moment in chapter 26, in the trial before the Sanhedrin, 
notice what we find in verse 65. Then the high priest tore 
his clothes, saying, He has spoken blasphemy. What further need 
do we have of witnesses? Look, now you have heard his 
blasphemy, what do you think? They answered and said, he is 
deserving of death. Then they spat in his face and 
beat him. And others struck him with the 
palms of their hands saying, prophesy to us Christ, who is 
the one who struck you? So in that instance, it was the 
actual men of the council. These men were acting like beasts 
and mistreating the son of God. We see the same thing with reference 
to these soldiers as the capital sentence has been handed down. 
So I wanna look first at the participants in the crime, verse 
27, and then secondly, the specific elements of the crime in verses 
28 to 31. But with reference to the participants, 
Pontius Pilate, remember he tries to maintain his innocence. He 
tries to distance himself from this court. He's trying to make 
sure that he is not seen as culpable or as responsible for this great 
travesty of justice. He didn't act in accordance with 
his knowledge of Jesus' innocence. Notice in verse 24, when Pilate 
saw that he could not prevail at all, but rather that a tumult 
was rising, he took water and washed his hands before the multitude, 
saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just man. You see 
to it. So Pilate recognized Jesus' innocence. As well, he disregarded his wife's 
warning. Look at verse 19. While he was 
sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him saying, 
have nothing to do with that just man, for I have suffered 
many things today in a dream because of him. And as well, 
he has disregarded, or rather, he has disregarded that knowledge 
of the accusers of our Lord Jesus, that they were driven not by 
a pursuit of justice, but rather by envy. Notice in verse 18, 
for he knew that they handed him over because of envy. So 
when we move to verse 27, notice it's then the soldiers of the 
governor. These men are under his control. They are under his direction. 
And the governor's praetorium should have been a place of justice, 
it should have been a place of protection, it should have been 
a place of safe haven for even criminals. They should not be 
mistreated in this manner. But it had become a theater for 
abuse. and a place where Jesus is treated so poorly and so badly. But then notice as well the Roman 
soldiers. Notice what it says. The soldiers 
of the governor took Jesus into the praetorium and gathered the 
whole garrison around him, or the whole cohort. Now these soldiers 
were more than likely auxiliaries recruited from non-Jewish population 
in Israel and they were under Pilate's command. And the number 
is the whole cohort. And this is a technical term 
in our literature, and it probably always refers to cohort. The 
10th part of a legion, and thus it was normally 600 men. And R.T. France makes this observation. Imagine, you've got godless soldiers 
who are looking to engage in sport and mockery, and they have 
a man who is proclaiming that he is a king. So Franz says, 
to have a supposedly self-proclaimed king in their power offered unusually 
good sport. And for non-Jewish soldiers to 
have such an opportunity of abusing a Jewish dignitary with impunity 
was a chance not to be missed. So they enter into this with 
great relish. This is not something they are 
hesitant. They're chomping at the bit, 
as it were, and ready to sink their fangs into him. In fact, 
John Gill makes that observation based on the Psalter. He says, 
think in what hands and company our dear Lord now was, how he 
was encompassed with dogs and enclosed with the assembly of 
the wicked indeed. Psalm 22, 16 tells us that. For dogs have surrounded me, 
the congregation of the wicked has enclosed me. So you've got 
the governor, you've got this cohort, and of course they're 
operating at the behest of the Jewish leaders. those men that 
had conspired to commit execution, those men who had been plotting 
all the way back to chapter 12 in Matthew's gospel on how they 
might destroy the Lord Jesus Christ. So what we find in terms 
of the malicious mockery of the Son of God is absolutely wretched 
and it is absolutely vile. But again, as we move our way 
through this, it demonstrates the love of Jesus. It demonstrates 
the mercy of God for us in that He was not or He did not relinquish 
or did not spare in delivering up His own Son for us. Now notice, 
secondly, the specific elements of the crime. They engage first 
in mock homage, secondly, in violent abuse, and then thirdly, 
the preparation for the cross. And with reference to mock homage, 
this is psychological abuse. And with reference to the violence, 
that's physical abuse. Again, this is what soldiers 
do. And in this context, it's wretched, 
it's vile, but in a context of war, that is the way that they 
would have engaged the enemy. psychologically abused them, 
and then physically abused them. That is what soldiers are engaged 
in. The fact that they're doing it 
to the holy, harmless, undefiled one, the fact that they are doing 
it to the one that the governor in Judea three times proclaims, 
I find no guilt in this man, just underscores the wretchedness 
of the situation. But notice in the first place, 
this mock homage. They first give him the attire 
of a king in verses 28 and 29. Notice verse 28, and they stripped 
him and put a scarlet robe on him. This was likely a robe from 
one of the officers present. And again, it's calculated the 
whole scene is to be a mock enthronement. They are making fun of him. They 
are belittling him. They are poking fun at this son 
of God. And then notice specifically 
the crown of thorns. They stripped him and put a scarlet 
robe on him, the scarlet robe. And then when they had twisted 
a crown of thorns, they put it on his head. Again, some have 
explained that that crown of thorns wasn't meant to be for 
pain, but rather it was simply to be part of the mockery. No, 
these were long thorns, and it was embedded into the head of 
the Son of God. And with reference to this, it 
is a horrific way to treat a man who's already been scourged. 
Remember when a pilot gives the execution order, he has Jesus 
scourged. Now add to that the fact that 
Jesus was sleep deprived. You may think that's a bit odd 
to point out. Remember, true humanity. He wasn't just pretending 
to be a man. He was fully or very man. Just as he was very God, he was 
very man. Well, remember, Gethsemane takes 
place at night. He is arrested in the garden 
in the early morning hours of Friday. He then stands before 
the Sanhedrin in the early morning hours of Friday. And then it's 
morning time when he is brought by the Sanhedrin to Pontius Pilate. So he's sleep deprived. He's 
been scourged. Now they're mocking him by putting 
the scarlet robe upon him. And then they take this crown 
of thorns and they embed it into his head. So the gross indignity 
and the gross violence that is being perpetrated on the Son 
of God is horrific. Gil says, with reference to this 
crown, both to reproach Him as a king and to torture Him as 
a man. I mentioned at one point, moving 
through the Passion narrative, that none of the Gospel writers 
engage in a long extended treatment of the physical suffering of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. but they do give us enough of 
it so that we can appreciate what the prophetic testimony 
gave us in Isaiah 53. He was a man of sorrows and he 
was acquainted with grief. It was the case that he was treated 
as a criminal, and that ultimately for us and for our salvation. They then put this reed in his 
hand, which they will ultimately take from him again, and bash 
it into his head. It was a piece of cane, most 
likely bamboo or something similar. Now notice, they not only mock 
him by the attire they place on him, but notice the mock homage 
they give to him in verse 29b. And they bowed the knee before 
him and mocked him saying, hail king of the Jews. Now, one of 
the difficulties as we move our way through written narrative 
is that we don't really feel the impact. This wasn't just 
that way. Okay, hail him, King of the Jews. 
And off they went into the next statement that Matthew records 
for us. They are engaged in vicious savagery 
directed toward the Son of God. The other instances of Gentiles 
bowing before the Lord Jesus is in Matthew 2 at verse 11, 
when the Magi come. at the incarnation, at the mutivity 
of our Lord, and then again in chapter 15, when that woman bows 
before the Lord Jesus Christ. But Davies and Allison, capitalizing 
on the chapter 211, the Magi coming before the Savior, and 
this, they make this observation. If at the beginning of the gospel 
Gentiles reverently bow down before Jesus and offer him treasures, 
at the end Gentiles mockingly bow down before Jesus, hail him 
as king of the Jews, and give him bogus signs of a kingship, 
robe, crown, staff. The one scene is a burlesque 
of the other. And then they repeatedly mock 
him by claiming, Hail King of the Jews, just like they would 
have, but not mockingly, when they hailed Caesar or Ave Caesar. And so this is a big sham as 
far as they are concerned. And just by way of a practical 
observation or a practical implication, we don't like it when people 
make fun of us, do we? We don't like it when people 
don't treat us with the great esteem we think that they should. 
We don't like it when people treat us lightly and they don't 
afford us the respect that we feel is requisite. Look at what 
the Son of God goes through on behalf of the mission to redeem 
his people from their sins. When we contemplate the incarnation 
of the Lord, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and 
we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the 
Father, full of grace and truth, we stand amazed. But when we 
see that one go to the lengths that he went to on our behalf, 
We ought to stand in awe at the incarnation in a way that we 
hadn't before. Christ goes to these lengths 
for us men and for our salvation. And again, the enthronement or 
rather the whole scene is a mock enthronement scene of the King 
of the Jews. Spurgeon said, surely the world 
never saw a more marvelous scene than the King of Kings thus derided 
as a mimic monarch by the meanest of men. And France says the whole 
scene is a mock enthronement with improvised cheap substitutes 
doing duty for the royal robe, crown, and scepter, and physical 
abuse substituted for royal homage. After the brutal torture of the 
Roman flogging, Jesus would be in no state to resist even if 
he had wished, and his already battered physical condition would 
only add to the pathetic appearance of the Jewish king. So again, 
brethren, he's not fresh. He didn't have a good night of 
sleep. He didn't have bacon and eggs and a nice breakfast and 
he's ready to deal with this mockery, but rather he'd been 
up all night. He had been treated in a similar 
fashion by men from the Sanhedrin. That the Roman soldiers do this 
is disgusting, but that the Jewish Sanhedrin did that was absolutely 
disgusting. It is a vicious, vile way for 
persons to engage after the sentence has been handed down. I think 
I've showed you before in Deuteronomy 25, the instructions with reference 
to corporal punishment. If there was a criminal violator 
in the Commonwealth of Israel, there were certain ways to deal 
with them. If he was a capital offender, then he would be executed. 
But if he was a criminal offender that was not a capital offense, 
he could be corporally punished. That means beaten with a rod. But even in that, there was that 
prohibition against exceeding 40 lashes, such that the dignity 
of even the criminal would remain intact. And yet with reference 
to the Son of God, all that's gone. With reference to the Son 
of God, He's already pressed physically, and now He is receiving 
this sort of mistreatment from these wretches. Now notice the 
violent abuse. In the first place, the soldiers 
spat on him. Kids, that means they spit on 
the Son of God. It is a wretched and horrible 
thing to do to another human being. Verse 30, then they spat 
on him. But even in this, we have reminiscence 
of Old Testament prophecy. I think I've told you before, 
there are four servant songs in the prophet Isaiah. There 
are various facets of the ministry of the Messiah. The most well-known 
to all of us is Isaiah 53, which underscores substitutionary atonement 
in vivid detail. But there's another servant song 
in Isaiah 50. And in Isaiah 50 at verse 6, 
the servant makes this statement. I gave my back to those who struck 
me and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard. I did not 
hide my face from shame and spitting. And so even in this, we see the 
fulfillment of scripture. We see that what was referenced 
by the prophet in terms of the suffering servant comes to fruition, 
even down to the jots and the tittles and the details relative 
to his coming for his people. Now, with reference to the protocol, 
you're supposed to kiss the king. Remember when Samuel meets Saul 
in 1 Samuel 10.1, he gives him a kiss. In Psalm 2, David tells 
all the kings and the judges of the earth around Israel to 
kiss the sun. But these wretches, instead of 
kissing the sun, actually spat upon him. Calvin makes this observation, 
and he's right on. He says, our filth deserves that 
God should hold it in abhorrence, and that all the angels should 
spit upon us. That's really what should happen. 
As vile offenders against the majesty of God, as transgressors 
of the holy law of God, as those who lack conformity unto that 
law of God, Calvin's right. The angel should spit upon us. But Christ, in order to present 
us pure and unspotted in presence of the Father, resolved to be 
spit upon and to be dishonored by every kind of reproaches. So you see the purpose of the 
Son of God being fulfilled. In fact, go back to chapter 20 
for just a moment. Well, chapter 16. Our Lord Jesus 
announces what he is going to do in terms of his journey to 
Jerusalem. Matthew 16 verse 21, from that 
time, Jesus began to show to his disciples that he must go 
to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief 
priests and scribes and be killed and be raised the third day. 
This is the instance where Peter says, Oh no, that's not going 
to happen. And of course, Jesus rebukes him and says, get behind 
me, Satan. Earlier, he had pronounced him 
blessed of the Lord God Almighty. And then he says, upon this rock, 
I will build my church. Now he says, get behind me, Satan. 
Why? Because he's trying to stop up 
the divine plan in terms of the salvation of God's people. And 
then notice in chapter 17 at verse 22. Now while they were 
staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, the son of man is about 
to be betrayed into the hands of men and they will kill him. 
And the third day he will be raised up. And they were exceedingly 
sorrowful. So again, he announces this on 
his journey to Jerusalem. But then look at chapter 20 where 
he expands a bit and we see the fruition of that or realization 
of that in what we're seeing in Matthew 27. So in 2017, now 
Jesus going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside 
on the road and said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, 
and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the 
scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and deliver him 
to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify, and the 
third day he will rise again. Now, brothers and sisters, if 
you knew that on your trip to Jerusalem, when you arrived there, 
that was the kind of treatment you would receive, most likely 
you would stop the trip. Most likely you would say, well, 
I'm not going to carry on with this anymore. But the one thing 
that is unique concerning the Son of God, well, one of the 
things that is unique concerning the Son of God is His resolute 
determination. And this harkens back to what's 
called the covenant of redemption, where the Lord Jesus, the Son 
of God, willingly undertakes, on behalf of sinners, to be their 
surety, to be their mediator, to be all that is demanded by 
the Father of Him, and that means even the mockery and the savagery 
in terms of treatment at the hands of the Sanhedrin, and now 
with reference to the Roman soldiers. The soldiers, back to Matthew 
27, not only mock Him, but they physically abuse Him. Notice 
verse 30, then they spat on him and took the reed and struck 
him on the head. Again, the idea is not it was 
just one sort of whack and that was it. The verb tense indicates 
it was continuous. They were beating him. They were 
mocking him. They were laughing. They were 
enjoying this. They were having their sort of 
desires met by the savage treatment of this one who had said that 
he was, in fact, the king of the Jews. Matthew Henry says, 
that which they had made the mock ensign of his royalty, they 
now make the real instrument of their cruelty and his pain. So it's a horrible scene, but 
then notice thirdly and finally under the elements of the crime, 
the preparation for the cross. Verse 31, and when they had mocked 
him, they took the robe off him. So they put this scarlet robe 
on him, and now they take it off him, and then they put his 
own clothes back on him. Now, typically at this particular 
scene, the person that was going to be crucified would march to 
the place of crucifixion naked. But they put his clothes back 
on him probably to sort of assuage the sensitivities of the Jews 
who had problems with public nakedness. But notice, dropping 
down, that Christ ultimately is hung upon the cross naked. Because in verse 35, then they 
crucified him and divided his garments, casting lots, that 
it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. They divided 
my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. Now 
typically, the artists, when they have depicted, this scene, 
which I don't believe is authorized in terms of the second commandment, 
but typically when they do envisage this scene and they take paintbrush 
to canvas, they usually clothe the Son of God. There's nothing 
indicated in the scripture that he was clothed. It was not the 
practice, it was not the common situation where one would be 
clothed. He was exalted there as the son 
of God in all of the indignity associated with manhood. And 
so Christ went to these lengths for us. So they take the royal 
robe off, they then clothe him, and then they lead him to crucifixion. Notice, when they had mocked 
him, they took the robe off him, put his own clothes on him, and 
then led him away to be crucified. So what we have in this particular 
scene is savagery, but it's also glorious in the sense that Christ 
fulfills scripture, that Christ goes to these lengths for us, 
and that Christ fulfills the obligations placed upon him by 
the father in terms of the covenant of redemption. Isaiah 53 7 tells 
us he was led as a lamb to the slaughter. So, in conclusion, 
I want to draw out some practical lessons. In the first place, 
the gravity of the scene. The gravity of the scene. Now, 
as we move through this, or perhaps as we read through this in our 
daily Bible reading, it's easy just to read through something 
and not really spend any time meditating upon it or contemplating 
it or thinking through it. We're not supposed to be papists 
and revel in the actual physical gore. We're not supposed to have 
the stations of the cross where we wave incense before them and 
ponder each step of the crucifixion in all of its gruesome detail. 
You don't find that. You don't see that in the gospel 
records. But insofar as information is 
given, it does well for us to ponder the implications involved 
in such things. So in terms of the gravity of 
the scene, in the first place, I think it underscores the wretchedness 
of sinful men. And again, if the Roman soldiers 
are wretched, the Sanhedrin is doubly wretched. Not because 
of any other reason than that they were the religious leadership 
in Israel at that time. They were the highest council, 
the political and religious council of Israel at that time. They 
spat on him, they mocked him, they beat him, they engaged in 
these sorts of things, as does or as did the Roman soldiers. D.A. Carson makes the observation, 
here we have humanity at its worst, a scene of vicious mockery. The Jews have mocked Jesus as 
Messiah, here the Roman soldiers ridicule him as king. When you 
see the recent things that you have seen, the injustices done 
in terms of Antifa or BLM, when you see persons victimized on 
the streets for doing nothing other than being on the streets, 
it should cause us to reflect on just how bad man is. It should 
cause us to reflect on just how much man needs the gospel of 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Persons shouldn't be taking bricks 
and throwing them at other persons. Persons should be bowing to Jesus 
Christ and confessing Him as Lord and Savior. So it underscores 
the wretchedness of sinful man, but also in terms of the gravity 
of the scene, it underscores the abundant mercy of God towards 
sinners. Now, it's a matter of perspective. 
In Psalm 136, the psalmist rehearses the mercy of the Lord. And he 
mentions the casting of Pharaoh's armies into the depths of the 
Red Sea. And we wonder, how is that the 
mercy of the Lord? Well, it's not if you're an Egyptian, 
but it is if you're an Israelite. It's a matter of perspective. 
When we see the Son of God going through these gross indignities, 
we see the benefactors as ourselves. Calvin makes the observation 
here. Here too is brightly displayed 
the inconceivable mercy of God towards us in bringing his only 
begotten Son so low on our account. So low on our account. See, we 
confess that He lived for us, He died for us, He was raised 
again for us. I'm simply suggesting from time 
to time, not Roman Catholicism way, but in terms of a good Protestant 
approach to what is written in terms of Scripture, we ponder 
the implications involved in the sufferings of the Messiah 
on behalf of His people. Secondly, I want to underscore 
the glory of the scene. Not only the gravity in terms 
of the wretchedness of man and the mercy of God, but the glory 
of the scene. In the first place, the fulfillment 
of Scripture. We have the fulfillment of Isaiah 
the prophet, chapter 50, verse 6, and then chapter 53, verse 
7. Both of those servant songs portraying 
various aspects or facets of the work of the Lord Jesus on 
our behalf. So we see the fulfillment of 
Scripture and the words of Jesus. We looked at that in 16, 17, 
and 20. He announces that He must go, 
He must be tried, He must be delivered up, He would be mocked, 
He would be scourged, He would ultimately be crucified. And 
so His words were in fact true. Secondly, the glory of the scene 
underscores the true humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. I mentioned 
this morning, He wasn't an apparition. He didn't just appear to be a 
man. He wasn't a phantom. He wasn't some sort of an ethereal 
thing, but rather he was flesh and blood just like we are. Everything 
that is true of man, pain receptors, nerve endings, brain activity, 
all of that was true of the Son of God. A real soul, a real will, 
everything that makes man, man, Jesus had. except without sin, 
to be sure. Our confession tells us, in 2nd 
London Confession, chapter 8, of Christ the mediator. After 
highlighting the gloriousness of the hypostatic union in paragraph 
2, it then tells us of his equipping as the mediator for his people 
in paragraph 3, And then in paragraph four, it tells us, enduring most 
grievous sorrows in his soul and most painful sufferings in 
his body was crucified and died. This is true of humanity. Yes, he's divine. Yes, he's God. Yes, he's co-eternal, distinct 
from, and consubstantial with the Father, but he's also true 
humanity. And what we have here is underscoring 
that. And then thirdly, in terms of 
the irony of the scene, the glory of the scene, the irony. We know 
better, don't we? We know that there was a true 
enthronement. We know that he really is King 
of King and Lord of Lords. In Matthew 28, 18, we have the 
real enthronement when he says, all authority in heaven and on 
earth has been given to me. France again says Matthew expects 
his readers to catch the ironical truth of the honors heaped upon 
Jesus in jest and mockery. Even in a setting of public humiliation 
and torture, this really is the King of the Jews. This really 
is the Messiah. This really is the one who came 
for us men and for our salvation. He says this really is the king 
of the Jews, the temple builder, the Savior, the Son of God. Turn 
back to the book of Revelation where everything we see predicated 
of these men or predicated by these men of the Son of God in 
mockery is actually predicated of Jesus in truth in terms of 
the book of Revelation. Notice in chapter 1, verse 13, 
he is clothed with royal robes. According to Revelation 19.13, 
those royal robes are dipped in blood. Secondly, turn over 
to Revelation 14. He wears a crown of glory. Revelation 14, 14, Then I looked, 
and behold, a white cloud, and on the cloud sat one like the 
Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand 
a sharp sickle. Same thing is repeated in chapter 
19 at verse 12. His eyes were like a flame of 
fire, and on his head were many crowns. Thirdly, here in Revelation 
19, he wields the scepter of unbounded sovereignty. So they 
put this reed in his hand that they ultimately take back from 
him and then commence to bash him in the head with. But look 
at chapter 19 in Revelation at verse 15. Now out of his mouth 
goes a sharp sword that with it he should strike the nations. 
And he himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He himself 
treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Notice, 
fourthly, according to chapter 19 and verse 16, he is the King 
of kings and the Lord of lords. As well, fifthly, go back to 
Revelation chapter 5. He will be admired by, revered 
by, and worshiped by not only Jews, but Gentiles. All those 
washed in the precious blood, all those redeemed by His life, 
death, and resurrection, they will stand and worship that one 
forever and ever. Notice in Revelation 5 at verse 
8. Now, when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures 
and the 24 elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp 
and golden bulls full of incense, which are the prayers of the 
saints. And they sang a new song, saying, you are worthy to take 
the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain and have redeemed 
us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people 
and nation, and have made us kings and priests to our God, 
and we shall reign on the earth. So everything that these soldiers 
and the Sanhedrin engaged in by way of mockery, we know the 
irony. We know that what they are doing 
foreshadows or typifies or declares to us, those with the eyes of 
faith, that he was in fact the king. And this was the mission 
in terms of his kingship in order to save his people from their 
sin. And then the final note at this point is the judgment 
of Christ over all mankind. Turn to Revelation chapter 20. 
Revelation chapter 20. This is a prerogative of a king. The king not only engages in 
administration, the king not only engages in defense, but 
the king also engages in judgment. And you see that in Revelation 
20 at verse 11. Then I saw a great white throne 
and him who sat on it from whose face the earth and heaven fled 
away. And there was found no place for them. And I saw the 
dead small and great standing before God and books were open. 
And another book was open, which is the book of life. And the 
dead were judged according to their works by the things which 
were written in the books. The sea gave up the dead who 
were in it, and death and Hades delivered up the dead who were 
in them. And they were judged, each one according to his works. 
Then death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is 
the second death. and anyone not found written 
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire." So everything 
that they do in terms of mockery is what we see fleshed out in 
the life and ministry of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 
And then finally, the gratitude that we ought to have for the 
scene. We're not thankful because they 
mocked him. We're thankful that he was mocked 
for us. We're not thankful that the Sanhedrin 
and the soldiers acted in this wretched fashion, but we are 
thankful that the Son of God went to these lengths for us 
and for our salvation. Royal makes this observation. 
Christ's sufferings on the cross were vicarious. Now vicarious 
simply means substitutionary. That's why when the Pope of Rome 
refers to himself as the vicar of Christ on earth, that is blasphemous. He is portraying himself as the 
substitute for Christ on earth. That's not what we're supposed 
to see. But vicarious is what Christ's 
sufferings were. He says, we are intended to see 
this truth in every part of his passion. We may follow him all 
through, from the bar of Pilate to the minute of his death, and 
see him at every step as our mighty substitute, our representative, 
our head, our surety, our proxy. the divine friend who undertook 
to stand in our stead and by the priceless merit of his sufferings 
to purchase our redemption. Was he scourged? It was that 
through his stripes we might be healed. Was he condemned though 
innocent? It was that we might be acquitted 
though guilty. Did he wear a crown of thorns? 
It was that we might wear the crown of glory. Was he stripped 
of his clothing? It was that we might be clothed 
in everlasting righteousness. Was he mocked and reviled? It 
was that we might be honored and blessed. This is what I mean 
by gratitude for the scene. Everything that Christ does here 
answers for us, answers to us, and causes great benefit for 
us. Spurgeon. says, oh that we were 
half as inventive in devising honor for our king as these soldiers 
were in planning his dishonor. Let us render to Christ the real 
homage that these men pretended to offer him. Let us crown him 
Lord of all and in truest loyalty bow the knee and hail him king. I think that is a great admonition. I think that is a great emphasis. 
And brothers and sisters, as we eat this bread, as we drink 
this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. It is our 
great privilege. It is our great blessing. And 
it is our great joy to do so as we acknowledge the one who 
went to these lengths to save us from our sins. Well, let us 
pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank 
you so very much that Christ went to these lengths for us. 
And God, I pray that you would cause us to respond in kind, 
cause us to crown Him with many crowns, to praise Him and to 
honor Him and to glorify Him, to hail Him King. not only of 
Jews, but of Gentiles, to see him as Israel's Messiah, to see 
him as the one who is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000, 
to see in his sufferings and in his death and in his resurrection 
and in his life, our life, our blessing, our eternal happiness. And God, as we eat now and as 
we drink now, help us to do so in remembrance of him. And we 
pray through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We can turn back 
to Matthew