A chiasm is a literary structure where vocabulary of the first section of a passage is repeated in reverse order in the second. The center of the chiasm is typically the climax of the passage. In John 18:28-19:16a the center and climax is the Roman soldiers after they had put a crown of thorns and a purple robe on Jesus, “began to come up to Him and say, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and to give Him slaps in the face (John 18:3).