It’s the onlooker mentality moved up a notch. If something unusual is going on, we want to see what it is, and will stop or slow down to take a look, regardless of whether that is inappropriate or even dangerous. Having a laugh at someone else’s expense, especially when and because they are in a vulnerable position, accelerates our adopting that mindset.
In a sense, the soldiers are only doing their job and, given the macabre nature of this part of it, we could even say that it is not unreasonable for them to try and lighten their mood. Why not have a laugh at the expense of this poor victim, and especially as he is anyway a condemned criminal?
I wonder if we ever join in with mocking somebody who has been placed in a vulnerable position, whether, or not, the person concerned has played any intentional part in getting to the place in which they find themselves.
The allegation is that Jesus has claimed to be king, and so a purple cape and an ironic crown, formed of thorns, do the trick in terms of creating the picture of a king to be mocked.
It is, however, a timely reminder that, in the person of Jesus, God knows what it feels like to suffer because of being there and having the experience of which this incident is just a part.
As Lamar Williamson, Jr. (Mark) notes, it is the case that a – “probable reason for the prominence of mockings in Mark is that this Gospel was written for Christians who were themselves undergoing ridicule and abuse for their faith. They could identify with Jesus, because Jesus had identified with them.”
I wonder how we would stand up to persecution. I wonder how we stand up to being laughed at or having our thinking and beliefs dismissed because we are people of faith. I wonder even how appropriately (and graciously) we respond to criticism.
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