After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
This verse points to the beginning of the road to crucifixion. The soldiers, having finished their mockery and humiliation, removed the false royal robe and put Jesus’ own clothes on Him, so that they might lead Him away to be crucified. That action, which seemed like an ordinary procedure, in fact symbolized the passage from human ridicule to the fulfillment of divine salvation. Jesus accepted the cross not as compulsion, but as the way of love, taking upon Himself the sin of humanity. It was the moment when human lawlessness reaches its peak, and God’s mercy its perfection. Outwardly they were leading the Lord as a condemned man, but in truth He was bearing the sin of the whole world, turning the cross into the symbol of salvation.