John 19:1-3 — Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, and said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

I know it’s not seasonal, but we’re preparing some great songs in our choir rehearsals that speak of the crucifixion, the events that led up to it, and the blood of Christ. The image of the crown of thorns is resting with me tonight.
Pilate, blocked in his attempt to release Jesus tries whether a lesser punishment than crucifixion will satisfy the bloodlust of the crowd who have been whipped up into a frenzy by the priests. It is typical of Pilate; a weak man makes weak decisions. But what about the soldiers? We might ask ourselves, “what kind of men could treat a fellow man like this?” Alexander MacLaren has the proper response:

These rough legionaries were cruel and brutal, and they were unconscious witnesses to His Kingship as founded on suffering; but they were innocent as compared with the polished gentleman on the judgment-seat who prostituted justice, and the learned Pharisees outside who were howling for blood.

I don’t find the legionaries too hard to understand. But then I don’t find Pilate or the priests or the people hard to understand either. We see people like one or other of these groups every day. If you want to see people brutalizing prisoners try searching the web for information about Rikers Prison. If you want to see Judges too weak to take the right decision, just consider recent Supreme Court decisions. If you want to see mob rule, just look at recent events in Ferguson Missouri.
It’s easy to see the soldiers, the Governor and the people as patterns repeated throughout history right up until today … but there’s one pattern never repeated yet.
When I think of that crown of thorns, I still find Jesus to be beyond my understanding:

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. … He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. (Isaiah 53:4-5)

Jesus chose the crown of thorns. Never forget that He freely gave up His place in heaven. He never turned away from His responsibilities. He never turned His face away from Jerusalem. He refused to give Pilate an easy escape.
I guess that unblinking characteristic of Jesus is one of the things we aspire to, as we grow up into Jesus’s pattern. What I know is that living in Christ means dying in Christ to. That might mean wearing my own crown of thorns …