Pilate does something that at first seems strange. Generally the Jews became very angry with the Romans when they treated Jews harshly. Pilate's plan was to whip and physically abuse Jesus and then release Him. In Luke 23:16 Pilate says this is his plan. So Pilate would thoroughly hurt Jesus as punishment for whatever it is that He did. Then he would release a beaten Jesus, thinking this would be enough punishment and so be able to let Him go.

The guards enjoy their attack on Jesus. It let them blow off some of the steam that came with guarding a city like Jerusalem. There were a type of people called "sicarii" which were knife-wielding assassins. They would approach Romans and Roman sympathizers to jab them in the back with their knives. No doubt that put a lot of stress on those soldiers and ill-will against Jews.

To add insult to injury they placed a crown of thorns upon Jesus' head. This crown was probably made with the thorns of the date palm which would easily have punctured His skin. From a distance these thorns would probably look like shining radiance, while doing the exact opposite to the wearer. The robe that was put on Jesus was to be mock Him. Together with the crown they would have made Jesus look like a king-wannabe.

To top off the mockery, instead of declaring the usual "Hail, Caesar", the soldiers give a "Hail, King of the Jews" to Jesus. And instead of bowing or kneeling as to a real king, they instead struck Him in the face. Jesus was thoroughly mocked and abused by these men.