Words

Continuing our analysis of the narrative. today we will look at the setting. If you need to catch up, here are links to the first three parts of the analysis.

Part One - Introduction | Part Two - Rhetoric | Part Three - Irony

Setting

The architectural setting of this particular pericope plays a role in how it should be understood. It takes place at the praetorium, which calls to mind a military headquarter.¹ This is the place that the Jewish authorities have brought Jesus to find justice through crucifixion. The location sets the stage for Pilate’s movement from inside to outside and back again. This constant movement from one place to another “gives the external expression to the struggle taking place within his soul….”²

There are numerous props, most of which are used in the mockery of Jesus. The crown of thorns, the purple robe, and the judgment seat are all present when Jesus is presented as the mock king. They aid in the irony that the evangelist sees in this event. Typically the king would have a crown and a robe and would sit in judgment; Jesus has a crown, but it is of thorns, he has a purple robe, but it was given to him in jest, and there is a judgment seat, but Pilate sits at it. Ironically, Jesus is still the king, and it is in his humiliation that his glory is shown.

The religious setting and chronological setting of this scene is the Passover festival. Specifically this event takes place on the day of preparation for the Passover and part of it occurs at the 6^th hour. It is significant, once again, in the irony of the evangelist –for on the very day that the Jews celebrate the faithfulness of God to redeem, they demand the death of the one who demonstrates that faithfulness. At the very hour the begin preparations to sacrifice the lamb, they are calling out for the death of God’s Lamb, Jesus.³ Ironically, it is through his death that he fulfills the promises of God to the world, demonstrating God’s faithful dealings with his people. The evangelist uses the religious setting to illustrate theologically what is truly happening in this pericope.

¹ Carson 1991, 587.

² Brown 1970, 858.

³ Moloney 1998, 496.

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