The soldiers did not believe Jesus was a king even though “they bowed the knee before Him” and proclaimed, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They were being sarcastic. Their ritual of mock worship was purely cheap entertainment for weak-minded prison guards who had nothing better to do than kick a Savior when He’s down. Their shameful display was intended to get a few crumby laughs at Jesus’ horrible expense. After scourging the Lord to a shredded and unrecognizable mass of blood and flesh, they jammed thorns into His scalp, spit on Him, and beat His head with a stick. Pilate’s thugs not only tortured Jesus physically with spit, whips, thorns, and sticks, they also added insult to injury with sarcasm, (Matthew 27.27-31).
