Daily Devotional For Thursday, March 19, 2026
Good day Southside. Today’s devotional comes from Matthew 27:27-31:
“Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. (28) They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. (29) And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, ‘Hail, King of the Jews!’ (30) They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. (31) After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him” (NASB).
The fulfillment of Jesus’ prophecy in Matthew 20:18-19 has begun. The Praetorium refers to the official residence of the Roman governor, Pilate. This also housed the Praetorium Guard, the most elite of Roman soldiers, whose primary duty was to protect the Roman governor and squelch any riots in the city. In this case, their barrack would have been in what was called the Antonum Fortress. “Cohort” in verse 27 refers to around 600 Roman soldiers.
These Praetorium Guard mocked Jesus as a “king.” They dressed Jesus up for the mocking according to Mark 15:17. They put a purple robe on Him. They made a crown of thorns for His head and they would have put a reed in His hand as His scepter. They then took this “scepter” and hit Him with it. Mocking means they bowed down to Jesus as if He were a king as they laughed, teased and mocked Him. In verse 29, they repeat Pilate’s words in Matthew 27:11. Why did they take the scarlet robe off of Jesus? Rome forced condemned criminals to carry the 70 pound crossbeam naked to the crucifixion site. The fact they gave Jesus back these items of clothing was probably because Jews felt it was shameful to appear naked in public. Remember Noah in Genesis 9:20-25?
Unfortunately, history is never short of brutal methods to torture and inflict pain on someone. There are those who have made a science out of it just for fun. We see this with sadists, psychopaths and sociopaths. And in many of these countries, these sick people come to power and because they have no humanity, they destroy the humanity of others just for the fun of it.
No movie has really come close to depicting the horrors of crucifixion. The movie The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson tried. The grim, dark, and sordid details of it are something our minds could not handle. Crucifixion was so horrible that in Jesus’ day most people would not even discuss it. Roman orator and writer Cicero wrote these words: “The idea of the cross should never come near the bodies of Roman citizens; it should never pass through their thoughts, eyes or ears” (Source: Cicero, Pro Rabirio 5.16, as quoted in Walter Kasper, Jesus the Christ, p. 101).
Crucifixion was never used on Roman citizens but if Rome decided to execute a Roman citizen, it was swift through beheading. This is how Rome martyred the Apostle Paul because he was a Roman citizen. Jews did not want to talk about crucifixions also due to being crucified as being cursed based on Deuteronomy 21:22-23. Because crucifixion was horrible and atrocious, and was common in the first century, the four Gospel writers do not spend much time talking about the details of Jesus’ death. Readers would know without having to be told.
Modern Christians have become insensitive to crucifixion due to such poor portrayals of it in different media. There is a painting of it by Salvador Dali you can see at this link: Crucifixion of Jesus. This link tells you why he painted it the way he did for example with no nails. While art critics are not too fond of it, when it was on display at the National Gallery of London, it was the number one art work Londoners wanted to see. As we read all four Gospels, the reader will notice that each one slows down as they tell this story. Matthew focuses more on the mocking the Romans did to Jesus to show how we are to handle it ourselves. In the end, 600 Roman soldiers mockingly knelt before Jesus which is something the 8.3 billion people in the world should do humbly.
Reflection Assignment: When we read this, it is easy for us to think of a time we were mocked, but this is different. How? Some people will say, “Oh, I got crucified with that.” Not the same, is it? How often do you take the time to envision Jesus in horrible agony on the cross dying for your personal sins? We love the Resurrection, but we first need to focus on the crucifixion. Why?
Scripture To Meditate On: Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Dear Lord, when the Apostle Paul writes what he does in Galatians 2:20 above, his words can roll off my tongue like rain water on a leaf. But the main issue is – am I really and willing to take up my cross daily, and crucify my flesh daily no matter how painful it is? The answer is probably, “No!” Lord, I want to get there. Please help me to kneel before You in humble adoration and thanksgiving. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly