The Soldiers Mock Jesus.This narrative in its brief intensity is very poignant. Some scholars suggest that Jesus is treated like the central figure in a scene from a mime (was there a popular play, The King with the Crown of Thorn?). Others detect a resemblance to the mocking of the human sacrificial victim in the Persian Sacæ a or other Oriental festival. But the accusation against Jesus would prompt the mockery. He has claimed to be king. He shall wear a triumphal crown like Cæ sar's. It shall be made of thorns.
Mark 15:16. The præ torium seems to be the residence of the governor and his bodyguard. It was probably the fortress Antonia on the north-west of the Temple precinct (see Swete).