The horrific practice of flogging
Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one.
2 Corinthians 11:24
In this passage in 2 Corinthians, Paul recounted a litany of the many ways he had suffered for the sake of the Gospel. Perhaps foremost on the list that caused the most pain was flogging. The Jews had a practice of giving 39 lashes (Deuteronomy 25:1-3). I guess someone along the way thought that 40 were enough to kill a man. Paul’s flogging likely came at the hands of Jews, who probably found great joy in doing this to a person they viewed as a traitor to his Jewish roots.
Jesus, on the other hand, was flogged by Romans. This took place after Pilate offered the people a choice of giving freedom to either Barabbas or Jesus (Matthew 27:15-26, Mark 15:6-15, and John 18:38-19:1). Their scourging weapon was designed to remove flesh from a criminal before execution. Made up of three or more strands of braided leather with bone or metal objects at the end, it did maximum damage quickly.
Some speculate that Jesus received 13 lashes (13 X 3 strands = 39), but history doesn’t record it, and this count was a Jewish practice. Romans were more ruthless. Needless to say, while Jesus was on his way to be crucified, He was probably bleeding profusely with shredded skin hanging loosely and bones showing through His back.
Perhaps most of you have seen the movie, The Passion of the Christ. If you did, you will no doubt remember one of the most gruesome moments of the movie. One of the Roman soldiers whipped Jesus to the point where some of the sharp pieces at the end of the flogging strips caught on His skin. The soldier waited a moment, and then yanked it, ripping His skin to shreds. This is the hooked addition to the whip called the scorpion. I cringed when I saw this. After watching this accurate depiction of what flogging did to human flesh, the gruesome torture of Jesus suddenly became very real to me.
This is what Jesus endured because it was the Father’s will (Matthew 26:42). His flogging was followed by crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and ascension. Those who believe in this truth with their hearts and speak it with their mouths have a glorious eternity ahead (Romans 10:9). Make sure you and those around you believe.
His unbearable pain brought us eternal peace:
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
