Mark 15:18
in Mark 15And they began to salute Him: “Hail, King of the Jews!”
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
and they began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
KJV
And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
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This verse in Mark 15
Commentary
9 notes on this verse(ubi sup.) 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!
This site's exposition
into the hall, called Pretorium
on Mark 15:16-19
The soldiers led him away into the hall, called Pretorium, and call together the whole band, likely several hundred men, turning a Roman garrison's guardroom into a stage for organized cruelty. They clothed him with purple, likely a soldier's scarlet cloak read as royal purple, platted a crown of thorns, and mocked him with Hail, King of the Jews, striking him on the head with a reed and spitting on him while bowing their knees in a grotesque parody of homage. The bench reads the whole scene as unintended prophecy, Gentile soldiers performing before Jesus the very worship the nations would one day owe him in truth.
The record, by era
The Medieval Church4 voices
But the soldiers led Him into the courtyard of the praetorium, and called together the entire cohort, and they clothed Him in purple, and after weaving a crown of thorns, they placed it on Him, and began to salute Him: Hail, King of the Jews. …
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. Let us also put on the purple and royal robe, because we must walk as kings treading on serpents and scorpions, and 1 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.
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. 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 people, for when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in, then shall all Israel be saved. (Rom. 11:25.)
The military class, always finding consolation in acts of violence and insult, now too displayed its customary character. For if the Jews, who had heard so many teachings from Christ and had received from Him so often and so many benefactions, inflicted upon Him so …
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
And began to salute him, hail, king of the Jews! In a mock way, wishing him long life and prosperity, as if he was a king just come to his throne, and this was his coronation day.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
The passage we have now read, is one of those which show us the infinite love of Christ toward sinners. The sufferings described in it would fill our minds with mingled horror and compassion, if they had been inflicted on one who was only a man like ourselves. But when we reflect that the sufferer was the eternal Son of God, we are lost in wonder and amazement.
A commentator
J.C. Ryle1816–1900
Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition) (1857)
proposed
The passage we have now read, is one of those which show us the infinite love of Christ toward sinners. The sufferings described in it would fill our minds with mingled horror and compassion, if they had been inflicted on one who was only a man like ourselves. But when we reflect that the sufferer was the eternal Son of God, we are lost in wonder and amazement. And when we reflect further that these sufferings were voluntarily endured to deliver sinful men and women like ourselves from hell, we may see something of Paul's meaning when he says, "The love of Christ passes knowledge." "God commends His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." (Ephes. 3:19; Rom. 5:8.) We shall find it useful to examine separately the several parts of our Lord's passion. Let us follow Him step by step from the moment of His condemnation by Pilate to His last hour upon the cross. There is a deep meaning in every jot and tittle of His sorrows. All were striking emblems of spiritual truths. And let us not forget as we dwell on the wondrous story, that we and our sins were the cause of all these sufferings. "Christ suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." (1 Peter 3:18.) It is the death of our own Surety and Substitute that we are reading. First of all we see Jesus delivered into the hands of the Roman soldiers, as a criminal condemned to death. He before whom the whole world will one day stand and be judged, allowed Himself to be sentenced unjustly, and given over into the hands of wicked men. And why was this? It was that we, the poor sinful children of men, believing on Him, might be delivered from the pit of destruction, and the torment of the prison of hell. It was that we might be set free from every charge in the day of judgment, and be presented faultless before God the Father with exceeding joy.
The words behind it
8 Greek wordsEvery Greek word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Greek | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| καὶ | kai | and | G2532 → | 9120 times |
| ἤρξαντο | erxanto | they began | G757 → | 85 times |
| ἀσπάζεσθαι | aspazesthai | to salute | G782 → | |
| αὐτόν· | auton | Him; | G846 → | 5565 times |
| χαῖρε | chaire | Hail | G5463 → | |
| βασιλεῦ | basileu | King | G935 → | 114 times |
| τῶν | ton | of the | G3588 → | 19766 times |
| Ἰουδαίων. | ioudaion | Jews! | G2453 → | 192 times |
καὶand
kaiG2532 →9120 times
ἤρξαντοthey began
erxantoG757 →85 times
ἀσπάζεσθαιto salute
aspazesthaiG782 →
αὐτόν·Him;
autonG846 →5565 times
χαῖρεHail
chaireG5463 →
βασιλεῦKing
basileuG935 →114 times
τῶνof the
tonG3588 →19766 times
Ἰουδαίων.Jews!
ioudaionG2453 →192 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Mark 15:2So Pilate questioned Him, “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
it leads to
- Matthew 2:2
asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”
- Matthew 27:11–14
Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: “Are You the King of the Jews?” “You have said so,” Jesus replied.
- 1 Timothy 6:13
I charge you in the presence of God, who gives life to all things, and of Christ Jesus, who made the good confession in His testimony before Pontius Pilate:
- Mark 15:26
And the charge inscribed against Him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS.
- Luke 23:2–3
And they began to accuse Him, saying, “We found this man subverting our nation, forbidding payment of taxes to Caesar, and proclaiming Himself to be Christ, a King.”
- Matthew 2:2
Through
Genesis 37:10He told his father and brothers, but his father rebuked him and said, “What is this dream that you have had? Will your mother and brothers and I actually come and bow down to…
it leads to
- Genesis 27:29
May peoples serve you and nations bow down to you. May you be the master of your brothers, and may the sons of your mother bow down to you. May those who curse you…
- Isaiah 60:14
The sons of your oppressors will come and bow down to you; all who reviled you will fall facedown at your feet and call you the City of the LORD, Zion of the Holy…
- Philippians 2:10–11
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
- Genesis 27:29
Where this verse is studied
About Mark
This page draws on 9 works. Open the list of works
This page draws on Bede, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Bede, On the Gospel of Mark; J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Mark (lightly modernized text, Grace Gems edition); Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; John Gill, Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748); Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible; Pseudo-Jerome, Catena Aurea by Aquinas; Theophylact of Ohrid, Catena Aurea by Aquinas and Theophylact of Ohrid, Commentary on Mark.