Matthew 27:29Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

How do we respond to this, we who become outraged over the slightest offense toward ourselves, while Christ endured such profound sufferings? The abuse He suffered was the height of degradation. Not just a single part but His entire body was afflicted: the head from the crown, the stick, and the blows; the face from the spitting; the palms from the lashes; the body as a whole from the scourging, the tattered cloak, and the feigned worship; the hand from the stick He was given to hold instead of a scepter; the mouth from the offering of vinegar. What could be more burdensome than this? What could be more offensive? Indeed, the events that transpired exceed all description. Fearful of omitting any act of insolence, those who took the prophets’ lives used the judge to bring about Christ's death. They enacted everything: killing with their own hands, judging and condemning Him both in their court and before Pilate, declaring, “His blood be upon us and upon our children;” they attacked with zeal, mocked, bound Him, stripped Him, and made themselves complicit in the soldiers' insults. They nailed Him to the cross, reviling Him, spitting upon Him, and mocking Him. Pilate did not add anything to their culpability; they alone were the accusers, the judges, the executioners, and everything else. This has been relayed to us in the congregation. To counter the claim of the Gentiles—that we only highlight the glorious signs and wonders while concealing the humiliating events—the grace of the Holy Spirit has orchestrated that this account be proclaimed during a national celebration, particularly on the solemn evening of the Passover when multitudes gather. It is then communicated loudly, and despite this universal proclamation, we affirm that Christ is God; among other reasons, we worship Him for choosing to humble Himself for us, to bear such suffering, and to impart every virtue. Yet, it remains vital that we continually engage with this narrative, for it yields immense benefit and profit. Indeed, when one witnesses how they deride Him verbally and physically, how they bow before Him in mockery, how brutally they strike Him and force Him to endure such extreme pain—even if one were as unyielding as stone, one would soften to the core, melting as wax, and expelling all arrogance from the heart.

In the contest for the soul, He triumphantly dons a crown of thorns upon His sacred head, having lifted the original curse from the earth and restored it through His divine presence, cleansing creation from the thorns brought forth by sin.

The scarlet robe represented our human nature, which He took upon Himself, stained with blood and susceptible to violence, and He sanctified it by donning it. The crown of thorns signified the transgressions arising from worldly anxieties, sins that Christ, through His divine nature, obliterates, as the Godhead is symbolized by the head. The cane represents our fragile and corporeal flesh, which the Lord embraced, as David proclaimed: ‘the right hand of the Lord hath lifted me up’ (Ps. 117:16). By enduring the blasphemies hurled at Him, the Lord freed us from the serpent’s deceit that first entered through the ears of Eve.

In His scarlet robe, He distances Himself from the atrocities committed by the Gentiles; with the crown of thorns, He addresses the age-old curse; and with the staff, He strikes at the venomous creatures, or similarly, He holds the staff to document the transgressions of the Jews.

They knelt before Him, tauntingly exclaiming, “Rejoice, O King of the Jews.” After spitting on Him, they took the cane and struck Him on the head, demonstrating unparalleled patience and an indescribable wrath. (John 19:3) notes that He also endured blows to His hands. The wicked unleashed a torrent of abuse upon Him to placate the Jews who despised God. John alone (John 19:4-16) details the subsequent events that others neglected, stating, “Pilate went out again and said to them, ‘Behold, I will take Him away from you,’” until it reached the point where it is written, “Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified.” It is clear that Pilate first delivered Jesus Christ to crucifixion twice; initially - feigning concern for the aforementioned reasons, and after exhausting all efforts, he realized they were utterly resolute. In the end, they warned him: “If you let Him go, you are not Caesar’s friend; anyone who claims to be a king opposes Caesar” (John 19:12), prompting him to genuinely hand Jesus over to them for crucifixion. Thus, he delivered Him up on two occasions. Pilate made numerous attempts to absolve Jesus of all wrongdoing, striving in every possible way to prevent His execution, but he was constrained by a judicial decree, needing to resist the unjust, unwilling to betray the innocent, who, in his own words, bore no guilt deserving of death (John 12:6). It is evident from his own declarations that Pilate could not betray Jesus Christ: “Do you not realize that I have the authority to crucify You, and I have the authority to release You” (John 19:10)? Hence, Jesus did not acquit him from blame, stating: “He who delivered Me to you bears a greater sin” (John 19:11), implying a greater sin than that of Pilate himself. Pilate was not justified in accusing Jesus Christ of claiming royal authority. Upon hearing such claims, he should have summoned the accusers, demanded evidence, and searched for proof of any intention by Jesus to seize power, such as assembling armies, gathering wealth, or preparing weapons. Yet he succumbed to cowardice upon hearing these accusations and, without further investigation, accepted and was bewildered by them. The more brazen and ruthless the Jews were, the more timid and cowardly he became, resulting in his capriciousness and compliance. The previous account, as mentioned in John, is also relevant to the matters at hand, as it provides valuable context for this narrative.

He is also struck on the head. It seems that the strikes of the staff inflicted minimal harm upon Him; this is typically interpreted as a reminder that the physical frailty of the Gentiles, once held by Christ, is now consoled by God the Father, who is the head (See 1 Cor. 11:3). Amid all this derision, while Christ is mocked, He is also revered.

Once we were like thorns, that is, sinners; however, upon believing in Christ, we have been transformed into a crown of righteousness, no longer causing wounds to the Savior but instead adorning His head with the confession of faith, acknowledging the Father through the Son, for the head of Christ is God, as the apostle states (1 Cor. 11:3). This crown is what David foreshadowed in the Psalms when he declared, "I have laid upon His head a crown of pure gold" (Ps. 20:4). We were once thorns, but as we were deemed Christ's crown, we became precious stones. For He who can raise children of Abraham from stones (Matt. 3:9) also transforms thorns into jewels. Moreover, our reading indicates that a staff was placed in the Lord’s right hand. Listen to David's insight concerning Christ: "My tongue," he says, "is the cane of a shorthand writer" (Ps. 44:2). By embracing suffering, He took a staff in His right hand, which serves either to grant heavenly pardon for our transgressions or to inscribe His law upon our hearts, as He promised through the prophet: "I will put My law in their inward parts, and on their hearts I will write it" (Jeremiah 31:33). Additionally, this staff can be interpreted in various ways, for its spiritual significance is rich. The staff, hollow and without substance, represents the Gentile nation, which once lacked the essence of divine law, being devoid of faith and grace. This nation, symbolized by the staff, was placed in the right hand of the Lord, while the Jewish nation, who persecuted Him, stood on the left. Isaiah similarly indicates that the term "staff" refers to the Gentiles when he proclaims about the Lord, "He will not break the broken cane" (Isaiah 42:3), implying that the Gentile nations, once oppressed by the devil, were not abandoned by Christ but rather empowered. The bowing of the knees from those who worshipped signifies the faith and salvation of believing nations, who daily worship the eternal King, Christ, on bended knees.

They shouted in triumph, "Long live the Emperor," directed toward the Roman ruler, and turned to Jesus with the chant, "Long live the King of the Jews." According to St. Matthew's Gospel, the soldiers continued to kneel before Jesus, hurling their jests with expressions of anger.

Those burdened by anxieties, wealth, and worldly delights (Lk. 8:14), upon receiving the word of God, fail to produce fruit and, by weaving thorns, crown and dishonor Jesus thereby. Yet He who bore our thorns annihilates them with His own brow. They also placed a staff in His right hand for those who perceived His reign to be illusory.