Pathway To The Passion
Part 5- Scourging & Crucifixion
So far in this series we have looked at Jesus at the Last Supper, in the Garden at Gethsemane, Peters denial, and how his arrest and trials were illegal.
Though the Gospels give us a good picture of the events of the last day of Christ, they do not give great details as to the amount of suffering he endured shortly before and during the Crucifixion.
We are going to begin a walk down the same path Jesus walked. It was not a pleasant path but must be understood to better understand what God has done for us.
SCOURGING
Matthew 27:26
26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. He ordered Jesus flogged with a lead-tipped whip, then turned him over to the Roman soldiers to crucify him.
There were 2 types of flogging or scourging in Jesus’ time. Jewish and Roman.
Deuteronomy 25:1-3
2 If the person in the wrong is sentenced to be flogged, the judge will command him to lie down and be beaten in his presence with the number of lashes appropriate to the crime. 3 No more than forty lashes may ever be given; more than forty lashes would publicly humiliate your neighbor.
Jews were afraid of breaking the law so typically they would give only 39 lashes and be very careful to count. The lash was a regular lash.
Roman scourging was very different.
There was no set amount of lashes to be given. It was not uncommon for people to die during this punishment. Victims were stripped naked, bent over a stump with hands and ankles shackled to the stump. If someone became unconscious during it, they were revived and the punishment continued. The Romans usually called their flogging “halfway death”
The instrument used was called a flagellum. It was about 18’ long with leather thongs at the end of it. In these thongs were pieces of glass, bone, and sharp metal. The purpose of the flagellum was to reduce the body to strips of raw flesh and massive bleeding wounds.
The purpose of the scourging was to inflict as much pain as possible.
Most Hollywood movies do not give an accurate depiction of this. The closest was probably Mel Gibson’s “The Passion”, but even as graphic as it was probably does not compare to the real thing.
CRUCIFIXION
Jesus was then led away to be crucified. He would have been paraded through the streets of Jerusalem out to Golgotha. Crucifixion was meant to be public. Most artist paintings depict Jesus carrying the entire cross through the streets of Jerusalem. Jesus physically would not have been able to carry the entire cross. No doubt he would have been severely weakened by the scourging and probably dehydration from blood loss. The upright beam itself would have been about eight feet long. It was probably taken in advance to the crucifixion site by Roman soldiers. Jesus would have carried the smaller cross-beam section.
Matthew 27:32
32 As they were on the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. 33 Then they went out to a place called Golgotha (which means Skull Hill).
Just as Simon helped carry Jesus’ cross, we to are to carry a cross for Jesus. We are to spread the message of the Gospels.
In the modern world we have come to look at the cross as a thing of beauty. In artwork, jewelry, and as a symbol of what Jesus did for us. People in Jesus’ time had a totally different view of what the cross meant. To them the cross was a symbol of Roman oppression, of pain and suffering, and of death. I think they might be puzzled at our modern view of the cross.
Meaning of crucifixion
Death by crucifixion was meant as a slow, humiliating and agonizing way to die. Some records indicate people living for as long as 9 days.
Crucifixions were meant to serve as a warning to anyone who witnessed them
“This is what happens when you challenge Roman”
“This is what happens when you break the law”
This is what happens when you make trouble for us”
Much in the same way in the age of pirates that bodies were hung at the entrance of a towns harbor to serve as a warning.
Where did crucifixion come from?
Crucifixion was not invented by the Romans. It actually predates them by several hundred years.
Most likely developed by the Persians who thought nothing should contaminate the ground from a criminal. Crucifixion was developed so they could be executed without ever having to touch the ground.
The method was passed from the Persians, to the Egyptians, and eventually to the Romans.
Method of crucifixion
Jesus would have been laid down on the crossbeam. The executioner would hammer nails into both wrists after finding the spot where they would not pierce any vital artery.
The crossbeam would then be lifted up to the eight foot post.
A sign stating what he was guilty of would be placed above his head.
Both feet would then be pushed up right foot over the left and a single nail driven through both feet.
The Romans had learned about proper placement of the feet. This allowed the victim to push themselves up, otherwise death would be too quick for their satisfaction.
The position of the body would make it very difficult to breath.
The person being crucified would have keep pushing themselves up and down in order to be able to breath.
Eventually the body would be overcome by exhaustion and the person would die from suffocation.
Jesus hung on the cross for six hours until his death.
Matthew 27:42
42 “He saved others,” they scoffed, “but he can’t save himself! So he is the king of Israel, is he? Let him come down from the cross, and we will believe in him!
Jesus’ act of not coming down from the cross was not a display of weakness of proof that he was not the Son of God.
It was proof of his perfect obedience to Gods plan for him.
He could have come down if he wanted to and silenced every person there, but he choose to fulfill his mission to save us instead of himself.
Acts 3:18
18 But God was fulfilling what all the prophets had declared about the Messiah beforehand—that he must suffer all these things.
Isaiah 53:10
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and fill him with grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have a multitude of children, many heirs. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s plan will prosper in his hands. 11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of what he has experienced, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
Isaiah 53:5
5 But he was wounded and crushed for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace. He was whipped, and we were healed!
There are six varieties of wounds that a person can receive in their body.
Abrasive wound - Where the skin is scraped off. This can result from stumbling or by carrying a rough object or by a glancing blow
Confused wound - caused by a heavy blow.
Incised wound - produced by a knife or spear or other sharp instrument.
Lacerated wound - where the flesh is torn open leaving jagged edges.
Penetrating wound - where the flesh is pierced right through.
Punctured wound - made by a pointed or spiked instrument.
Jesus suffered all these wounds. Yes, Jesus suffered real physical pain. But what Jesus suffered physically by itself does not give the power to the cross. We must add with it the spiritual pain and suffering that Jesus endured on the cross. This is what made Jesus’ death on the cross different than any other.
At the cross we see a man at his worst, but God at his best.
When Jesus was on the cross, you were on his mind.
We now can understand better how much Jesus suffered and endured. But you still may be asking yourself why God did this?
John 3:16-18
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God did not send his Son into the world to condemn it, but to save it.
18 “There is no judgment awaiting those who trust him. But those who do not trust him have already been judged for not believing in the only Son of God.
An article in a National Geographic magazine provides a penetrating picture of God’s love for us. After a forest fire raged through a section of Yellowstone Park, one of the rangers found the charred body of a bird at the base of a smoking tree stump. When he knocked it with a stick, three tiny little birds scurried from under their dead mother’s wings. The remains of a half burnt nest nearby told the rest of the story. When the raging flames spread up the tree, the half burnt nest fell to the ground and the mother lay near it so her young birds could find protection under her wings. As the flames flared around her, she gave her life that her babies might live....
Jesus loves us in this same way
Jesus gave up his life to please his Father
Jesus gave up his life so that we may live
Jesus gave up his life so that you may live
How many will give up their life for him?
