Scripture · Matthew 3:13-17
Isaiah 53:5 · Christ crowned with thorns beside a mocking soldier
The Mocking of Christ
But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
The soldier leans close enough to crowd Christ’s face, but Christ looks out toward the viewer. A red robe, a reed, and a crown of thorns turn the signs of kingship into instruments of ridicule.
What does The Mocking of Christ show?
The dark background presses the two figures forward. The soldier’s helmet catches a narrow gleam at the left, and his hand grips Christ’s shoulder at the right. A reed rises before Christ’s chest; a drop of blood appears below the woven thorns.
The scene recalls Matthew 27:27–31, where the soldiers dress Jesus in a scarlet robe, crown Him with thorns, and mock Him as king. Bloch brings that public humiliation into a close encounter between two faces. The soldier’s open mouth and Christ’s steady outward gaze give the viewer different kinds of attention to confront.
This is the colored 1880 version belonging to Ordrup Church in Denmark. Bloch also painted a more muted version in the same year, now held by Brigham Young University. The bright red robe and the details of the soldier distinguish the painting reproduced here.
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What does Isaiah 53:5 mean?
Isaiah 53:5 interprets the servant’s wounds in relation to others: their transgressions, their iniquities, their peace, and their healing. In the preceding verse, onlookers have mistaken his suffering for punishment belonging only to him. The passage asks them to understand it differently.
The pairing follows the Christian reading of Isaiah’s servant through the Passion of Jesus. The painting shows the mockery before the crucifixion rather than the piercing itself. Read together, image and verse turn attention from the soldier’s contempt to the peace and healing Christians understand Christ’s suffering to bring.
Bloch depicts the humiliation before the crucifixion; Isaiah 53:5 places the servant’s suffering beside the peace and healing of others.
Sources
Ordrup Church — About the church. The owning church identifies its 1880 Bloch painting of the thorn-crowned Savior.
BYU — New Bloch at BYU. The institution distinguishes its gray-toned 1880 version from Bloch’s more colorful treatment.
Niels Lyksted — Photograph of the SMK Bloch exhibition. A firsthand installation photograph identifies the colored painting as the Ordrup Church work.
Matthew 27 — Berean Standard Bible. Verses 27–31 describe the robe, crown, staff, and mockery.
Isaiah 53 — Berean Standard Bible. The servant’s suffering in relation to the peace and healing of others.
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