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SCOURGED AND PIERCED
LORD’S DAY, MARCH 20
Mark 15:15-21

John 19:1-3

 

“…when he had scourged him,

to be crucified.”

 

SCOURGED AND PIERCED
 
Pilate had Jesus scourged. The Roman scourge was much worse than the Singapore “rotan” or cane. No one dies from the Singapore cane, but the Roman scourge often leaves a person half-dead. That was why the Romans never flogged their own citizens (cf. Acts 16:37). It was too cruel. The instrument used for scourging was the flagellum: a whip of leathery thongs with sharp pieces of metal or bone attached to their tips. Each strike would tear out the victim’s skin and flesh. The scourging would systematically rip open the victim’s back, eventually exposing the spine and rib cage. It is no wonder that Jesus was unable to carry His cross on His back. After bearing the wooden beam for a short distance, stumbling as He went, the Roman guard had to force Simon of Cyrene to bear the cross for Him (Matt 27:32). This scourging was prophesied by Isaiah: “he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isa 53:5; 1 Pet 2:24).
 
After they scourged Jesus, they beat Him some more and mocked Him. The soldiers made fun of Him by dressing Him up like a king with a purple robe, and a crown of thorns. The crown was made from twigs with protruding thorns of an inch or two long. These thorns were very stiff and hard. They come from Acacia trees and their thorns are often the cause of punctured tyres. The crown of thorns was placed on Jesus’ head and pressed into His scalp. Heavy drops of blood ran down His face and neck. He shed His blood, for “without shedding of blood is no remission” (Heb 9:22). Jesus did not resist, but suffered silently. By the time Jesus took His first steps towards Calvary, His body was already broken and bloody, and His face bruised black and blue.
 
THOUGHT: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1 Pet 2:24)

PRAYER: (Pray that we do not have to resist unto blood.)

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