Empire continues to respond to Jesus and his kingship following his sentencing by Pilate as the soldiers gather to give him a hard time. Mark (15:16-21) tells us that they called a whole battalion together, which could have been in the region of 500 men. Whether Mark intends for this to be taken literally as the whole cohort or just as a figurative term we cannot tell. What it does tell us is that a greater number gathered around Jesus to abuse him.

The abuse is based on Jesus’ king...