By ridiculing Jesus' prophet status—challenging him to a child's game of guessing—his opponents may imply that they have condemned him as a false prophet according to the rules of Deuteronomy 18:20 (Hill 1979:52). His very condemnation and likely imminent execution disproved for them his prophecies about the temple and his own imminent enthronement (26:61, 64; Gundry 1982:547; R. Brown 1994:575, 580). The informed reader, by contrast, knows that Jesus predicted accurately both his mistreatment and the temple's destruction; the reader thus sees Jesus as the truest prophet of all (Deut 18:15-18; compare Mt 2:16; 4:2; 5:1; 17:1-5), meaning that it was his accusers who merit judgment (Deut 18:19). Yet when they treat Jesus as a false prophet (compare Mt 5:12) and offer unrequited blows to the cheek (5:39; 26:53), they demonstrate Jesus' integrity to the audience familiar with his teachings; earlier prophets had also been struck on the cheek for their prophecies (1 Kings 22:24; Is 50:6; compare Mt 5:12). Likewise, Jesus' opponents mock him "as a false prophet at the very moment when his prophecy about Peter is being fulfilled" (26:69-75; Donahue 1976:78-79, on Mk 14:65-66).

This sort of irony runs throughout the narrative. The religious leaders condemn Jesus for blasphemy for claiming simply what God had claimed about him all along (Mt 3:17; 17:5; see Kingsbury 1983:151). From Jesus' condemnation as "God's Son" (26:63-68) to the centurion's recognition that Jesus really is God's Son (27:54), the dominant christological title will be "King of the Jews" (so Kingsbury 1983:151). This title constitutes a double irony: those who apply it intend it ironically, but the Gospel tradition inverts the irony so that they have described him accurately. God's irony is vital: even in the deepest of trials, God provides hints of his coming triumph to those with the eyes of faith. If Jesus accurately prophesied his hardships, one can likewise depend on the victory he promised.