Following His trial by the Sanhedrin, Jesus is taken to Pontius Pilate by the Jewish leaders to obtain from him the required Roman sanction of sentencing Jesus to death. To pacify the angry mob, Pilate sentences Jesus to be crucified but before the sentence is carried out, he has Him “scourged.”

What did it mean to be scourged?

The Gospel writers don’t give us any details, so we must turn to historical fact if we are to understand it better.

The scourge was a leather whip consisting of several leather thongs attached to a wooden handle. Imbedded within each thong were fragments of bone, pottery, and metal balls or spikes. This form of punishment was often used by the Romans to interrogate a prisoner, but because of its brutality, it was forbidden by law to inflict it upon women or Roman citizens.

There were three levels of scourging and which one you received depended on the crime committed.

The first was “Fustigatio”, the least severe and issued as a warning to not repeat your offence. Then came “Flagellatio” which was administered for a serious crime, aimed at punishing you by inflicting great pain.

But the severest of all was “Verberatio” which involved tying the victim to a post and then being whipped by multiple soldiers. Verberatio would flay the victim’s back from shoulders to waist and expose body organs. It was so brutal that the soldiers were often carried away by their bloodlust, delivering many more lashes than prescribed with the victim often dying before he could be crucified.

It is most likely that Jesus received Verberatio.

700 years earlier the prophet Isaiah, in his beautiful portrait of the Suffering Servant foretold this event when he predicted:

“The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

The thing is, Jesus was guilty of no crime, so why did He endure it?

He did it for you and for me, that we might be healed of our sin.

Today’s Bible reading: Mark 15:1-5