(Bible Study - January 2001)
In our last study, we expressed the opinion that the scourging which our Lord endured required our special attention. It was effectively, as was normally the case, the prelude to crucifixion. Although Pilate hoped that this in itself would satisfy the bloodthirstiness of the Jews, it was not to be: they wanted nothing less than the Lord's death for they hoped they would be rid of him once and for all. For those of us who are his disciples, we should constantly dwell on him, his experiences and his example. Among the final words Jesus spoke to his apostles, there were these: "Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me; because I live, ye shall live also" (John 14:19 RV, as all quotes). With the disappearance of the Lord from the human scene he was, as the result of his ascension to heaven, no longer visible. This was also true for his followers; however, in their case, they had the eye of faith. It was this unique faculty that they, and we, have to exercise.
Look unto Jesus
For us our Lord must be a living reality, a constant and deepening influence in our
lives. The great epistle to the Hebrews stressed the need to contemplate our Lord. We read
at the beginning of chapter 3, "Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the
heavenly calling, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, even
Jesus." While the context of this verse is in itself interesting, it is more
particularly the exhortation in Hebrews 12 with which we must at present be concerned. In
the previous chapter we have been presented with the gallery of the men and women of faith
of whom we can unquestionably learn much. Inevitably, however, we are brought to the
contemplation of our Lord, the supreme example of humility and faith. So in Hebrews 12:1,
we are told to look unto Jesus. The term in the original (aphorontes)
carries the meaning of looking away from anything that may distract us so that we can
concentrate effectively upon the object in mind. We are all well aware of how much can
come between us and our vision of Christ.
What the author has immediately in mind is the Lord, who had to submit to the cross, despising the shame. He was sustained by the joy set before him, a subject we hope to consider in due course. For the moment, we are concerned not with the joy, but the price which had to be paid to achieve it. Accordingly, we are instructed to "consider him that hath endured such gainsaying of sinners against themselves (himself, AV) (1) that ye wax not weary, fainting in your souls. Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin." The exhortation is clear -- the weariness and discouragement which are a part of our mortal condition can be overcome when we focus on Jesus and his sufferings. The mention of "blood" is unmistakable -- it picks up the reference to the cross in v. 2.
The chastening of the Lord
Moreover, with the Lord’s example still in mind, we are reminded, "My
son, regard not lightly the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art reproved of
him, for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he
receiveth" (vv. 5,6).
It is surely significant that we find here in v. 6 the same word for "scourge" (mastigoo) which the Lord uses in Matthew 20:19, a passage we examine below. Scourging is a part of the necessary discipline we must experience to be authentic sons and daughters of the living God. Accordingly, we do well to respond to the admonition in Hebrews 12 and to reflect upon the scourging our Lord experienced. As we consider the experience of our Lord, we are enabled to see our own chastening in a proper perspective which often is but "a light affliction" (II Cor. 4:17); even if the burden in life may at times appear almost intolerable, we know with Paul that it is but "for a moment" and is the necessary condition of the "eternal weight of glory" which awaits the faithful followers of the Lord Jesus.
Scourging
As for the physical scourging endured by our Lord, all commentators are unanimous in
declaring this to have been a horrendous experience. The comments made by J. Strachan are
especially revealing: "Under the Roman system of scourging, the culprit was
stripped and tied in a bending posture to a pillar, or stretched on a frame and the
punishment was inflicted with a scourge made of leathern thongs weighted with sharp pieces
of bone or lead." (2) David Smith describes our Lord’s scourging in these
terms: "The scourge was a frightful instrument -- a whip with several thongs, each
loaded with acorn-shaped balls of lead or sharp pieces of bone. Six lictors took the
victim, stripped him, bound him to a post and plied the cruel lash. Each stroke cut into
the quivering flesh; the veins and sometimes the very entrails were laid bare, and often
the teeth and eyes were knocked out. It is no wonder that not unfrequently the sufferer
expired under the torture." (3) For some of the details of this terrifying
picture, Smith and others rely upon a passage in Josephus. (4) When scourging preceded
crucifixion, the cruel process could be halted to ensure that the victim survived. This
evidently was the case when our beloved Lord was scourged.
He knew that this daunting experience awaited him as is evidenced by his own declaration: "Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be delivered unto the chief priests and scribes; and they shall condemn him to death. And shall deliver him unto the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify..." (Matt. 20:18-19); the scourging is also mentioned in Mark 10:34, and Luke 18:33. Thus we have further evidence of the unique foreknowledge possessed by the Lord Jesus. He had read with insight passages such as "I gave my back to the smiters..." (Is. 50:6). Indeed it was precisely this foreknowledge which must surely explain his anguished prayer in Gethsemane, "O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass away from me" (Matt. 26:39).
Mocking
As we look once more at his words in Matthew 20:19, we note that he is to be the
subject of mockery by the Gentiles. So it was that when Pilate handed the Lord over to his
soldiers, these called others to share in their heartless buffoonery: "Then the
soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the palace, and gathered unto him the whole
band" (Matt. 27:27).
As the Lord had gone under escort to appear before Herod, the soldiers who accompanied him witnessed the scene in which Herod’s men sought to make sport of him (Luke 23:11). This may well have given them the idea of exposing him to further ridicule. As for the others invited to enjoy the spectacle, it has been pointed out that the forces in Jerusalem were greatly increased at Passover time to deal with any possible trouble. It was doubtless some of these who were called upon by Pilate’s own body guard to join in the callous play-acting. The soldiers constantly in attendance on the governor would be fully aware of the Lord’s claim to be a king. Their raucous laughter can be heard without much straining on our part: "What, him a king, a king of the Jews! What a joke!"
After he had been scourged and his clothes put back on, he was stripped once more and then they "put on him a scarlet robe" (Matt. 27:28). Though the precise nature of this robe seems to be a matter of doubt, it was most probably the scarlet cloak worn by one of the soldiers. Its purpose is obvious: it forms part of the pseudo-royal insignia designed to ridicule the Lord’s claim to kingship. In keeping with this, they put a crown of thorns upon his head. This was no diadema, for obviously none would be available. It was a stephanos, a wreath and it appears that Tiberius, the reigning emperor, habitually wore one made of laurel. Although we do not know precisely what plant provided the thorns, they must have been taken from some plant near to hand and was obviously designed to compound the Lord's torment.
Our King indeed
To complete the mock coronation scene, Matthew tells us, and he alone, that the
soldiers put a reed in the Lord’s right hand (27:29). Then in this grotesque parody,
they knelt before the Lord and mockingly proclaimed, "Hail, king of the
Jews!" To demonstrate further their contempt for this Jewish king, they spat in
his face, took the reed from his hand and struck his head with it. Here is the second time
that our Lord suffered such an indignity, for the Jewish hierarchy had previously spat in
his face (see Matt. 26:67; Mark 24:65). It is in this vile demonstration that the Jewish
aristocracy showed how much they had in common with the Roman soldiery.
To complete his record, Matthew relates that the soldiers took off the "royal" regalia and put on the Lord his own clothes, before taking him off to be crucified (27:31). Throughout this unspeakable ordeal there was not a word of protest from our Lord. He made up his mind in Gethsemane to fulfil his Father’s will and now, in total submission and humble resignation, he places himself into the hands of humankind at its cruelest. We know, however, that a very different, marvelously different, kind of "coronation" awaits our Lord. "And when he again bringeth in the firstborn into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him" (Heb. l:6). What a glorious celebration that will be and in order to be a part of it, let us constantly contemplate the cross and all that it accomplished for our redemption.
Tom Barling, Teighmouth, UK
Notes:
l. In view of the context, the reading "himself" appears preferable; the
RV points out in a footnote that "himself" is well supported.
2. See the article "Scourge" in Hastings Dictionary of the Bible,
vol. iv.
3. The Days of His Flesh, London l905, p. 486-7.
4. The Wars of the Jews, Book 2, ch. 21, para. 5.