John 19:1, Flogged

1Then Pilate took Jesus and flogged him.

This simple verse in John can be too easily overlooked. Having his original plan to release Jesus backfire, Pilate hopes that having Jesus flogged—a lesser punishment than crucifixion—will placate Jesus’ accusers. Roman flogging, however, had no limits to the number of whips a person would receive. Often times the victim died from the flogging itself. I don’t think I ever realized the brutality of flogging until I watched The Passion of the Christ.

There were three types of Roman flogging with the most brutal being the one that preceded crucifixion. J. Blinzer describes the flogging: “The victim was stripped, bound to a post or pillar, and beaten by a number of torturers until the latter grew tired and the flesh of the victim hung in bleeding shreds. In the provinces such as Judea this was the task of soldiers. In the case of slaves or criminals such as Jesus, scourges or whips were used, the leather thongs often fitted with a spike or several pieces of bone or lead joined to form a chain. It is not surprising to hear that prisoners not infrequently collapsed and died under this procedure.” Was Pilate capable of administering such a horrific sentence for Jesus? History shows that to be exactly the case. He was a brutal governor of Judea.

Old Testament scriptures gives us insight into the flogging of Jesus. Deuteronomy 25:1-3 says, “If there is a dispute between men and they come into court and the judges decide between them, acquitting the innocent and condemning the guilty, then if the guilty man deserves to be beaten, the judge shall cause him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with a number of stripes in proportion to his offense. Forty stripes may be given him, but not more, lest, if one should go on to beat him with more stripes than these, your brother be degraded in your sight.” Tradition records that Jesus received no more than forty lashes based on this passage. None of the gospels record a number. Matthew and Mark record that Pilate had Jesus scourged. Luke leaves out the reference entirely.

Isaiah 50:6 says, “I gave my back to those who strike,” and Isaiah 53:3-5 says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah explains that behind the flogging of Jesus was not only the hand of God but the willing submission of Jesus.

Lord Jesus, thank you that you submitted your will to the Father and were crushed for our iniquities. Amen.