Powerpoint Pictures: Crown; Robe; Sceptre, Person Bowing

Imagine that the Queen came into this room looking all Queen-like.  What would you expect her to look like?

What would she be wearing? [A Crown; A Robe]

What might she be holding? [A Sceptre]

What would you do when she came in? [Bow Down]

You’d never dream of sticking your tongue out at her or turning your back to her.  That is not how you treat royalty!

Well Pilate had condemned Jesus to death.  Death on the cross for being a rival king.

Even though Jesus had done nothing wrong, and Pilate knew it, he still went ahead and handed Jesus over to the soldiers to do what they did best.

As these soldiers looked at Jesus, they didn’t think He looked very king-like.

So they dressed Him up.

They gave him a crown, a purple robe, and put a staff in his hand.  They made Jesus look like a king.

But the crown they gave him wasn’t a gold crown with precious gems on it, but a crown of thorns.  Then they made fun of him.  They took the mickey out of him, pretending to bow down and worship Him, and hitting Him with the staff.

“And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him.  Then they led him out to crucify him.” (Mark 15:20)

What an awful way to treat a king!

The problem was, the soldiers didn’t believe that Jesus was a king, and they weren’t the only ones.