Mark 15:20

The vainglory of soldiers, ever rejoicing in disorder and in insult, here displayed what properly belonged to them. Wherefore it is said, "And the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Praetorium, and they call together the whole band," that is, the whole company of the soldiers, "and they clothed Him with purple as a king."

For since He had been called King of the Jews, and the scribes and priests had objected to Him as a crime that He usurped rule over the Jewish people, they in derision strip Him of His former garments, and put on Him a purple robe, which ancient kings used to wear.

But we must understand that the words of Matthew, they "put of Him a scarlet robe," Mark expresses by "clothed Him in purple"; for that scarlet robe was used by them in derision for the royal purple, and there is a sort of red purple, very like scarlet. It may also be that Mark mentions some purple which the robe had about it, though it was of a scarlet colour.

But instead of the diadem, they put on Him a crown of thorns, wherefore it goes on, "And platted a crown of thorns, and put it about His head." And for a royal sceptre they give Him a reed, as Matthew writes, and they bow before Him as a king, wherefore there follows, "And began to salute Him, Hail, King of the Jews!" And that the soldiers worshipped Him as one who falsely called Himself God, is clear from what is added: "And bowing their knees, worshipped Him," as though He pretended to be God.

His shame took away our shame; His bonds made us free; by the thorny crown of His head, we have obtained the crown of the kingdom; by His wounds we are healed.

It appears that Matthew and Mark here relate things which took place previously, not that they happened when Pilate had already delivered Him to be crucified. For John says that these things took place at Pilate's house; but that which follows, "And when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple from Him, and put on Him His own clothes," must be understood to have taken place last of all, when He was already being led to be crucified.

But in a mystic sense, Jesus was stripped of His clothes, that is, of the Jews, and is clothed in a purple robe, that is, in the Gentile church, which is gathered together out of the rocks. Again, putting it off in the end, as offending, He again is clothed with the Jewish purple, [Rom 11:25] for when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, then shall all Israel be saved.

Or else, by the purple robe, with which the Lord is clothed, is meant His flesh itself, which He gave up to suffering, and by the thorny crown which He carried is meant, the taking upon Him of our sins.

Let us also put on the purple and royal robe, because we must walk as kings treading on serpents and scorpions, and having sin under our feet. For we are called Christians, that is, anointed ones, just as kings were then called anointed. Let us also take upon ourselves the crown of thorns, that is, let us make haste to be crowned with a strict life, with self-denials and purity.

But they smite the head of Christ, who deny that He is very God. And because men are wont to use a reed to write with, they, as it were, smite the head of Christ with a reed, who speak against His divinity, and endeavour to confirm their error by the authority of Holy Writ. They spit in His face, who spit from them by their accursed words the presence of His grace. There are some also in this day, who adore Him, with a sure faith, as very God, but by their perverse actions, despise His words as though they were fabulous, and think the promises of that word inferior to worldly allurements. But just as Caiaphas said, though he knew not what it meant, "It is expedient for us that one man should die for the people," [John 11:50] so also the soldiers do these things in ignorance.

After the condemnation of Christ, and the insults heaped upon Him when He was condemned, the Evangelist proceeds to relate His crucifixion, saying, "And led Him out to crucify Him."

Here Abel is brought out into the field by his brother, to be slain by him. Here Isaac comes forth with the wood, and Abraham with the ram caught in the thicket. Here also Joseph with the sheaf of which he dreamed, and the long robe steeped in blood. Here is Moses with the rod, and the serpent hanging on the wood. Here is the cluster of grapes, carried on a staff. Here is Elisha with the piece of wood sent to seek for the axe, which had sunk, and which swam to the wood; that is, mankind, which by the forbidden tree, fell down to hell, but by the wood of the cross of Christ, and by the baptism of water, swims to paradise. Here is Jonah out of the wood of the ship sent down into the sea and into the whale's belly for three days [ed note: The Gloss a ordinaria has here preserved the right reading, de ligno navis foris, which had been lost both in the editions of St. Jerome and in the Catena.]. There follows: "And they compel Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross."

Now John says that He Himself bare His cross, for both took place; for He first bore the cross Himself, until some one passed, whom they compelled, and who then carried it. But he mentioned the name of his sons, to make it more credible and the affirmation stronger, for the man still lived to relate all that had happened about the cross.

Now since some men are known by the merits of their fathers, and some by those of their sons, this Simon, who was compelled to carry the cross, is made known by the merits of his sons, who were disciples. By this we are reminded, that in this life, parents are assisted by the wisdom and the merits of their children, wherefore the Jewish people is always held worthy of being remembered on account of the merits of the Patriarchs, Prophets and Apostles. But this Simon who carries the cross, because he is compelled, is the man who labours for human praise. For men compel him to work, when the fear and love of God could not compel him.

Or, since this Simon is not called a man a Jerusalem, but a Cyrenian, (for Cyrene is a city in Libya,) fitly is he taken to mean the nations of the Gentiles, which were once foreigners and strangers to the covenants, but now by obedience are heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ. Whence also Simon is fitly interpreted "obedient", and Cyrene "an heir". But he is said to come from a country place, for a country place is called "pagos" in Greek, wherefore those whom we see to be aliens from the city of God, we call pagans. Simon then coming out from the country carries the cross after Jesus, when the Gentile nations leaving pagan rights embrace obediently the footsteps of our Lord's Passion. There follows: "And they bring Him unto the place Golgotha, which is being interpreted, the place of Calvary." There are places without the city and the gate, in which the heads of condemned persons are cut off, and which receive the name of Calvary, that is, of the beheaded. But the Lord was crucified there, that where once was the field of the condemned, there the standards of martyrdom might be lifted up.

But the Jews relate that in this spot of the mountain the ram was sacrificed for Isaac, and there Christ is made bald, that is, separated from His flesh, that is, from the carnal Jews. There follows: "And they gave Him to drink wine mingled with myrrh."

This we must understand to be what Matthew expresses by, "mixed with gall"; for he put gall for anything bitter, and wine mingled with myrrh is most bitter; although there may have been both gall and myrrh to make the wine most bitter.

Or, they may have brought different things, in order [ed. note. some problem with translation of "in order"], some vinegar and gall, and others wine mixed with myrrh.

Or else, "wine mingled with myrrh," that is, vinegar; by it the juice of the deadly apple is wiped away.

Bitter the vine which bore the bitter wine, set before the Lord Jesus, that the Scripture might be fulfilled which saith, "They gave me gall to eat, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink." [Ps 69:22]

That which follows, "But He received it not," must mean, He received it not to drink, but only tasted it, as Matthew witnesses. And what the same Matthew relates, "He would not drink," Mark expresses by, "He received it not," but was silent as to His tasting it.

He also refused to take sin for which He suffered, wherefore it is said of Him, I then paid the things that I never took. [Ps 68:5] There follows: "And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take." In this place salvation is figured by the wood; the first wood was that of the tree of knowledge of good and evil; the second wood is one of unmixed good for us, and is the wood of life. The first hand stretched out to the wood caught hold of death; the second found again the life which had been lost. By this wood we are carried through a stormy sea to the land of the living, for by His cross Christ has taken away our torment, and by His death has killed our death. With the form of a serpent [ed. note: This clause is not in Pseudo-Jerome; its obscurity may be cleared up by comparing it with a passage in St. Augustine "s sixth sermon, where it is said that the serpent signifies death, and that Moses" rod was changed into a serpent because our Lord took upon Himself death for us. In St. Gregory Nyasen, the serpent is said to signify sin, de vita Mosis, p.193, v. also St. Ambrose, de Spiritu Sancto 3, 50.] He kills the serpent, for the serpent made out of the rod swallowed up the other serpents. But what means the shape itself of the cross, save the four quarters of the world; the East shines from the top, the North is on the right, the South on the left, the West is firmly fixed under the feet. Wherefore the Apostle says: "That we may know what is the height, and breadth, and length, and depth." [Eph 3:18] Birds, when they fly in the air, take the shape of a cross; a man swimming in the waters is borne up by the form of a cross. A ship is blown along by its yards, which are in the shape of the cross. The letter Tan is written as the sign of salvation and of the cross.

Or else, in the transverse beam of the cross, where the hands are fixed, the joy of hope is set forth; for by the hands we understand good works, by its expansion the joy of him who does them, because sadness puts us in straits. By the height to which the head is joined, we understand the expectation of reward from the lofty righteousness of God; by the length, over which the whole body is stretched, patience, wherefore patient men are called long-suffering; by the depth, which is fixed in the ground, the hidden Sacrament itself. As long therefore as our bodies work here to the destruction of the body of sin, it is the time of the cross for us.

But their casting lots for His garments was also meant as an insult, as though they were dividing the clothes of a king; for they were coarse and of no great value. And John's Gospel shews this more clearly, for the soldiers, though they divided every thing else into four parts, according to their number, cast lots for the coat, which "was without seam, woven from the top throughout." [John 19:23]

Now the garments of the Lord are His commandments, by which His body, that is, the Church is covered; which the soldiers of the Gentiles divide amongst themselves, that there may be four classes with one faith, the married, and the widowed, those who bear rule, and those who are separate. [ed. note: The Catena, Gloss a ordinaria, and editions of St. Jerome, which often correct each other, here agree in the reading "praepositi et separsti." It appears to be only another instance of this writer's obscurity.] They cast lots for the undivided garment, which is peace and unity. It goes on: "And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him." Mark has introduced this truly and rightly, for at the sixth hour darkness overspread the earth, so that no one could move his head.

If Jesus was given up to the Jews to be crucified, when Pilate sat down at his tribunal about the sixth hour, as John relates, how could He be crucified at the third hour, as many persons have thought from not understanding the words of Mark. First then let us see at what hour He might have been crucified, then we shall see why Mark said that He was crucified at the third hour. It was about the sixth hour when He was given up to be crucified by Pilate sitting on his judgment seat, as has been said, for it was not yet fully the sixth hour, but about the sixth, that is, the fifth was over, and some of the sixth had begun, so that those things which are related to the crucifixion of our Lord took place after the finishing of the fifth, and at the commencement of the sixth, until, when the sixth was completed and He was hanging on the cross, the darkness which is spoken of took place. Let us now consider, why Mark has said, "It was the third hour." He had already said positively, "And when they had crucified Him, they parted His garments;" as also the others declare, that when He was crucified His garments were divided. Now if Mark had wished to fix the time of what was done, it would have been enough to say, "And it was the third hour," why did He add, "and they crucified Him," unless it was that he wished to point to something which had gone before, and which if enquired into would be explained, since that same Scripture was to be read at a time, when it was known to the whole Church at what hour our Lord was crucified, by which means any error might be taken away, and any falsehood be refuted. But because he knew that the Lord was fixed to the cross not by the Jews but by the soldiers, as John very plainly shews, he wished to intimate that the Jews had crucified Him, since they cried out, "Crucify Him," rather than those who executed the orders of their chief according to their duty. It is therefore implied, that it took place at the third hour when the Jews cried out, "Crucify Him," and it is most truly shewn that they crucified Him, when they so cried out. But in the attempt of Pilate to save the Lord, and the tumultuous opposition of the Jews, we understand that a space of two hours was consumed, and that the sixth hour had begun, before the end of which, those things occurred which are related to have taken place from the time when Pilate gave up the Lord, and the darkness overspread the earth. Now he who will apply himself to these things, without the hard-heartedness of impiety, will see that Mark has fitly placed it at the third hour, in the same place as the deed of the soldiers who were the executors of it is related. Therefore lest any one should transfer in his thoughts so great a crime from the Jews to the soldiers, he says "it was the third hour, and they crucified Him," that the fault might rather by a careful enquirer be charged to them, who, as he would find, had at the third hour cried out for His crucifixion, whilst at the same time it would be seen that what was done by the soldiers was done at the sixth hour. [ed. note: For another explanation of this see Williams on the Passion, p. 257]

Therefore he wishes to imply that is was the Jews who passed sentence concerning the crucifixion of Christ at the third hour; for every condemned person is considered as dead, from the moment that sentence is passed upon him. Mark therefore shewed that our Saviour was not crucified by the sentence of the judge, because it is difficult to prove the innocence of a man so condemned.

Still there are not wanting persons who assert that the preparation, mentioned by John, "Now it was the preparation about the sixth hour," was really the third hour of the day. For they say that on that day before the sabbath day, there was a preparation of the passover of the Jews, because on that sabbath, they began the unleavened bread; but however that the true passover, which is now celebrated on the day of our Lord's Passion, that is, the Christian not the Jewish passover, began to be prepared, or to have its "parasceue", from that sixth hour of the night, when His death began to be prepared by the Jews; for "parasceue" means preparation. Between that hour therefore of the night and His crucifixion occurs the sixth hour of preparation, according to John, and the third hour of the day, according to Mark. What Christian would not give in to this solution of the question, provided that we could find some circumstance, from which we might gather that this preparation of our Passover, that is, of the death of Christ, began at the ninth hour of the night? For if we say that it began when our Lord was taken by the Jews, it was still early in the night, but if when our Lord was carried away to the house of the father in law of Caiaphas, where also He was heard by the chief priests, the cock had not crowed; but if when He was given up to Pilate, it is very plain that it was morning. It remains therefore that we must understand the preparation of our Lord's death to have commenced when all the Chief Priests pronounced, "He is guilty of death." For there is nothing absurd in supposing that was the ninth hour of the night, so that we may understand that Peter's denial is put out of its order after it really happened. It goes on: "And the superscription of His accusation was written over, THE KING OF THE JEWS."

They wrote this superscription, as the reason why He was crucified, thus wishing to reprove His vainglory in making Himself a king, that so the passers by might not pity Him, but rather hate Him as a tyrant.

He wrote it in three languages, in Hebrew, "Melech Jeudim"; in Greek, [ ]; in Latin, "Rex confessorum". These three languages were consecrated to be the chief, in the superscription on the cross, that every tongue might record the treachery of the Jews.

But this superscription on the cross shews, that they could not even in killing Him take away the kingdom over them from Him who was about to render unto them according to their works. There follows: "And with Him they crucify two thieves, the one on His right hand, the other on His left."

They did this that men might have a bad opinion of Him, as though He also were a robber and a malefactor. But it was done by Providence to fulfil the Scriptures. There follows: "And the Scripture was fulfilled which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors."

Truth was numbered with the wicked; He left one on His left hand, the other He takes on the right, as He will do at the last day. With a similar crime they are allotted different paths; one precedes Peter into Paradise, the other Judas into hell. A short confession won for him a long life, and a blasphemy which soon ended is punished with endless pain.

Mystically, however, the thieves crucified with Christ signify those, who by their faith and confession of Christ undergo either the struggle of martyrdom, or some rules of a stricter discipline. But those who do these deeds for the sake of endless glory, are signified by the faith of the right hand robber; those again who do them for worldly praise copy the mind and the acts of the left hand robber.

Or else; the two robbers were meant to point out the two people, that is, the Jews and the Gentiles, for both were evil, the Gentile as transgressing natural law, but the Jew by breaking the written law, which the Lord had delivered to them; but the Gentile was penitent, the Jew a blasphemer unto the end. Between whom our Lord is crucified, for He is the corner stone, which binds us together.

36. We have now reached the point at which we may study the Lord’s passion, strictly so called, as it is presented in the narrative of these four evangelists. Matthew commences his account as follows: “Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon 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!” At the same stage in the narrative, Mark delivers himself thus: “And the soldiers led Him away into the hall called Prætorium; and they called together the whole band. …

37. Matthew, accordingly, goes on with his narrative in these terms: “And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear His cross.” In like manner, Mark says: “And they led Him out to be crucified. And they compelled one Simon, a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear His cross.” Luke’s version is also to this effect: “And as they led Him away, they laid hold upon one Simon a Cyrenian, coming out of the country; and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.” On the other hand, John records the matter as follows: “And they took Jesus, and led Him away. …