Mocked and Scourged

Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again" (Matthew 20:18-19).

Flogging (scourging) was a legal preliminary to Roman execution. Women, Roman officials, and soldiers were exempt. The instrument used was a short whip with several single or braided leather thongs of various lengths in which small iron balls, pieces of bone, or rocks were woven at intervals. A man stood stripped of his clothing. His hands were tied to an upright post. His back, buttocks, and legs were whipped by one or two soldiers. The severity of the scourging depended on the mood of the soldiers.

Scourging was intended to weaken the victim into a state just short of death. As the soldiers repeatedly struck the victim with full force, the iron balls would cause deep bruising, and the leather thongs, bones, and rocks would cut into the skin and underlying tissues. Continued whipping would tear into the underlying skeletal muscles, producing ribbons of bleeding flesh. Pain and blood loss generally led to shock. The extent of shock and blood loss determined how long the victim would survive crucifixion.

Mocking, in Jesus’ case, involved putting a scarlet robe on His raw and bleeding back and allowing the fluid to soak and dry into the fabric, then stripping it from His back, reopening the wounds. They wove a crown from the branches of a thorn bush and beat it into His scalp. They placed a reed into His hand and bowed before Him saying, “Hail, King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:26-30). Such treatment of a person was physically painful, emotionally humiliating, and mentally exasperating.

We call this treatment ‘The Passion of Christ’. The word ‘passion’ means “the willingness to suffer for what you love.” Jesus was permitted to suffer at the hands of godless men (Jewish and Roman) because of God’s great love for us. (John 3:16) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. (John 15:13) Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends. (Romans 5:8) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 

Jesus did for us what we could not do for ourselves - He suffered to save us from the power and the penalty of our sin, and He did it all because of His great love for us. The Passion of Christ is God’s love demonstrated for you and me.

“Such love is too great for us, Father. That Jesus would willingly submit to such treatment in order to secure our salvation is a love we cannot understand. But I thank You, Lord, that it is Your love graciously given to me that saves me from all sin. Thank You, Jesus. Amen.”

Pastor