The Spit of the Soldiers... The whipping was the first deed of
the soldiers. The crucifixion was the third. (No, I didn’t skip
the second. We’ll get to that in a moment.) Though his back was
ribboned with wounds, the soldiers loaded the crossbeam on
Jesus’ shoulders and marched him to the Place of a Skull and
executed him. We don’t fault the soldiers for these two actions.
After all, they were just following orders. But what’s hard to
understand is what they did in between. Here is Matthew’s
description: Jesus was beaten with whips and handed over to the
soldiers to be crucified. The governor’s soldiers took Jesus
into the governor’s palace, and they all gathered around him.
They took off his clothes and put a red robe on him. Using
thorny branches, they made a crown, put it on his head, and put
a stick in his right hand. Then the soldiers bowed before Jesus
and made fun of him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” They spat
on Jesus. Then they took his stick and began to beat him on the
head. After they finishe