Purple Robe

(Today’s audio reading of this blog is at Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/3N7S3F3tKe31vxHXyw7Icm)

They dressed him in a purple robe. (Mark 15:17)

The cross means incredible mockery. The donning of the purple robe, mentioned in Mark 15, should not be a surprise. The New Living Translation says that after calling out the entire regiment to witness this, they fell to their knees in mock worship as he stood there with the purple robe and the crown of thorns. Then when they finished with the mockery—got tired of their sport, not realizing that what He was doing was for their ultimate rescue—they put his own clothes back on him. Then they led him away to be crucified.

The purple robe was yet another symbol of how far they missed it. They mocked his kingship, not realizing he was indeed King of Kings, whose kingdom, he said, “is not of this world.” They didn’t let up until they had their fill of their fun. They saluted him and taunted him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” (Mark 15:18). He willingly submitted to their mockery and cruel fun and games. He didn’t stop them from thinking they were exercising ultimate power over him. For their good, our good, my good, He endured everything involved in the events of the torturous execution. They thought that they were ruling over him, making him their subject, rather than recognizing that he, as king, was ruling over the whole universe.

The ‘trial’ was a mockery. Should we expect that the events post-trial should be any different?! His human dignity was stripped away, while they treated him like any other “criminal.” But they didn’t realize that “this criminal” was the only sinless person who ever lived. It is well known that many criminals say they are innocent. Some actually are exonerated. But this one with the purple robe on truly was innocent of any crime.

His purple-robed submission was another example of mission fulfillment. It was an extension of his heart cry and bottom-line motivation: “Father, not my will be done, but yours.”

“Father, we shiver when we think of the mockery that Jesus experienced on our behalf—yet realizing in amazement how he did it without complaining or bailing out on His mission!”