Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the inner courtyard of governor’s headquarters and had the whole cohort gather around him.  There, they once again stripped him naked, and – after first dressing him in a scarlet chlamus [a short, military cloak; see Matthew 27:28], they once again draped the purple robe about his shoulders [called a “porphura; see Mark 15:17] and once again placed the crown of thorns upon his head.  Then they placed a reed in his right hand and mockingly knelt before him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”  And they spat on him, and took the reed from his hand and struck him on the head with it.  Then they stripped him of the robe and cloak, put his own clothes on him again, and led him away to be crucified. [Matthew 27:27-31 & Mark 15:16-20]

And as they led Jesus away, they came upon a man who was coming in from the country – Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander & Rufus).  And they seized him, and laid Jesus’ cross upon his shoulders, and compelled him to walk behind Jesus while carrying the cross. [Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21 & Luke 23:26]

And a great number of the people followed him; among them women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him.  But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but rather weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’  For then they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’ For if they do this already when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” [Luke 23:27-31]

 

 

*Meanwhile, having seen that Jesus had indeed been condemned to death, Judas Iscariot returned to the high priests, repented before them, threw their thirty silver pieces back into the Temple, and reportedly committed suicide by hanging himself … [Matthew 27:3-5]

 

Filed under: Exhuming Easter by Scaughdt