The repetition of abuse against Jesus showed that each blow was no accidental slip up; no unintentional insult.  Spitting was not just an objectionable habit - this was the Eastern way to show personal disgust - that the spat-on person was declared rejected (Isaiah 50:6), the lowest of the low.  Even the purple robe was too good for Jesus, in their eyes.  There was no dignity left, no part of His body unstained with blood.  His precious head was not just pierced with thorns, but also battered with poles.  And then they still had to crucify Him.

'Falling on their knees' sounds worshipful, but it was the opposite.  They derided His Sovereignty.  God's prophetic Word meant nothing to them, the evidence of the miracles was meaningless (John 14:11).  He meant nothing to them, except the amusement they could gain from mocking Him (Psalm 22:7).  Their attitude was in no way motivated by the intrinsic value of the Lord Jesus Christ but by their belief that  they were authors of their own destiny: in one sense they were right – refusing to honour the Son, dishonours the Father and disqualifies them from His eternal presence (John 5:22-23).  

There was no ambulance for Jesus, no stretcher to carry the Son of God to His execution.  He had to walk, and initially carry His own cross (John 19:17).  Nobody helped Him, everybody deserted Him; and yet He was bearing all of our sins as He climbed through the narrow streets and up that weary hill.  The sheer inhumanity is staggering.  The perversion of justice had reached deadly proportions. And nobody cared ... except Jesus, who chose that painful climb because He cared so much for you and me (Luke 9:51).  Jesus chose to endure it because He loved ... the atheist and agnostic, the cynic the proud and the blasphemer, the abuser and the sadist.  Jesus loved those who perverted the course of justice, and those who manipulated in politics, as well as the millions of ordinary people who sin each day. He loved us all so much that He wanted to endure it all for us. What a Saviour!

The silver crosses that dangle as fashion accessories around pretty necks: they do no justice to the enormity of the atrocity Jesus accepted.  Nor does the repetition of religious words or songs if there is no deep love for Jesus.  Piety, and even morality, without humbly submitting to the Sovereignty of God and the grace of Christ, misses the point of God's Word … and the purpose of life … and the path to eternity.  The sins of the soldiers are our sins, although differently expressed; the wounds to the Saviour are from us.  We do not know how many, if any, of the execution squad repented (Mark 15:39).  But we must repent of nurturing our own self-seeking and loveless heart and throw ourselves on God's mercy.  Peter had to do that and so must we: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time." (1 Peter 5:6)