As we come to the final hours of Jesus life, the intensity of the opposition and persecution against Jesus grows, the violence aimed at Jesus increases and yet the narrative decreases. Matthew, Mark and John all tell us that Jesus was flogged but there are absolutely no details given. In fact, in each of these gospels it is less than ½ of one verse which tells us that Jesus was physically beaten and tortured. In Matthew it says, after flogging Jesus, Pilate handed him over to be crucified. John says, Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged and we heard what Mark said, after flogging Jesus he handed him over to be crucified. What usually happens is that we read these few words and just keep going on in the story, but today we aren’t going to do that. As painful as it is, as uncomfortable as it is, we are going to stop and take a moment to look at what Jesus endured here because we need to remember that he endured this, he was flogged and tortured and humiliated, for us.
I have always wondered why such a powerful and painful moment in Jesus life was handled by the gospel writers with just a few words – 13 to be exact. Maybe they didn’t feel the need to talk about the details because everyone would have known exactly what Jesus endured when he was flogged because flogging was a very common and public form of punishment. But I also wonder if they didn’t record any of the details because it was just too painful for them to write about. Jesus was someone they knew and loved and Jesus was someone they should have defended or maybe even been willing to be flogged next to him, so maybe their failure in this moment was just too painful for them to write about in detail. We don’t know, but when we think of what Jesus endured in this hour, we will never look at these 13 words the same way again.
Flogging was common in Jesus day and it was a very public form of punishment and the reason they flogged people in front of the crowds was because it was supposed to be a deterrent to keep others from committing the same crime. If you watched someone being flogged, the pain and agony you saw them endure was supposed to keep you from every following in their footsteps. Flogging, basically, is whipping a person. A prison would be striped and forced to bend over a post with their hands tied in front of them so that their back would be exposed. Soldiers would then begin to rhythmically whip the person again and again and again so the pain of the blows would not stop. Roman soldiers were trained how to flog someone in order to achieved maximum pain and yet not kill the person. The whole point of flogging was to inflict pain and suffering not bring about death.
The flagrum, or whip, was usually made of leather, but woven into the leather would be pieces of stone, metal or bone which would tear flesh off of a person’s back with every blow. Some flagrums had nail like talons at the end of the straps which were particularly effective at ripping away the flesh. The church historian Eusebius said that in Roman flogging the prisoner’s veins would be laid bare and that their very muscles and tendons would be exposed. Again, the whole point of flogging someone was to inflict as much pain as possible and yet keep that person alive for further torture or execution.
While there were different levels of flogging from mild to severe, we don’t know what Jesus suffered. Needless to say, even a mild flogging would be horrible to endure and yet Jesus did and as the pain seared through is back and arms and legs, I have to wonder if he heard these words of the prophet Isaiah, I offered my back to those who beat me (Isaiah 50:6) and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 535b). You see, even the flogging of the Messiah was something the prophet Isaiah predicted 600 years earlier, and Jesus knew this. Which means that Jesus knew there was a purpose to what he was enduring and that purpose was to bring healing and salvation to the world.
As painful and difficult as this is to hear, the torture of Jesus wasn’t limited to physical pain and suffering, the Roman soldiers also inflicted emotional pain and suffering by humiliating Jesus in front of the crowds. After Jesus was flogged they stood him upright and placed a purple robe on him. Now think how physically painful just that must have been. Jesus entire back has been ripped open and anything placed on his back and shoulders would have been painful. So they place a robe on Jesus not to protect him but to humiliate him. Jesus had claimed to be King of the Jews, so here the soldiers mock him by placing a purple robe upon his bloody body. Purple was the color of royalty, the color of kings, but they mock him by placing it on his beaten and tied up body. They aren’t finished yet, however, because they then take a thorn branch and twist it into a crown and shove it on Jesus head. Again, think of the physical pain that must have caused as long thorns tear into the skin of Jesus scalp and forehead, and think about how the blood must have flowed into his face and eyes, and then think about the laughter of the soldiers and the people as they shout out, Hail, King of the Jews. They are simply humiliating Jesus here. He had claimed to be king and they are mocking him and making fun of his claims and doing it in a excruciatingly painful way and again Jesus stands silent fulfilling the words of Isaiah, he was oppressed and afflicted and yet did not open his mouth (Isaiah 53:7).
One of the things to remember as we see the events of these 24 hours unfold is that there is not only a physical and worldly struggle going on here, but there is a spiritual battle as well. There is a spiritual battle between the fullness of God’s power and love and all the evil and darkness of this world. In the gospel of John it says that Jesus is the full light of God and that the light has come into this world, but then it says (John 1:5) the light shines in the darkness but the darkness has not understood it, or the darkness has not overcome it, but it sure tried. From the moment of God’s arrival in Jesus, the forces of evil had been working to overcome this light. After Jesus was born, Herod tried to have him killed by unleashing the evil of this world and having all the boys Jesus age murdered. When Jesus started to teach and preach and perform miracles there were forces and even Satan himself who tried to silence him, and now in the courtyard we see the full force of evil come against Jesus as he is tortured and humiliated.
One of the things that the light of God does is expose the depth and power of darkness – we have seen this over and over again in the last 24 hours of Jesus life in the form of betrayal, lies, and injustice, and now we see it in the form of physical torture and emotional humiliation. All the forces of evil are coming full force against Jesus because there is a spiritual battle between God’s light and love and all the darkness of evil. This hour shows us the real power and depth of evil and as uncomfortable as it makes us feel, this darkness is still with us.
The same darkness and evil we see in this hour we have seen splashed across the news in just the last month. We have seen it when good men who were once honest soldiers go on murderous rampages or urinate on enemy corpses. We have seen it in hardcore violence committed in drug crimes all along our southern border. We have seen it in unspeakable crimes against children as they are used for prostitution, sold into slavery, or locked up and abused for years in our own cities and towns. Torture, humiliation, abuse and violence are all around us today and the truth we don’t want to admit is that the darkness that leads to such attitudes and behavior lies within us as well.
Under the right, or maybe I should say wrong, circumstances, we are all capable of doing things we would never think of doing. That’s one of the tragedies that’s coming out of the story of the soldier who went on the violent rampage in Afghanistan. Many of his family, friends and neighbors have said this was a good man. He had a lot of stress and pressure and in his life, but was still a good man. They are all having a hard time thinking that he could have done what he is accused of doing and yet what he shows us is that there is evil and darkness and brokenness that lies within us all and while we don’t like to admit it, given the right, or wrong, mix of economics, stress, pressure, pain and problems any one of us could end up doing things we would never think we were capable of doing. We need to be honest about this and face this reality in our lives because it will humble us before God. What Jesus shows us in this hour is that the power of evil is strong and it is everywhere and yet we also need to see in this hour that the love and the power of God is stronger.
In this moment of torture, humiliation and pain Jesus doesn’t respond by lashing out against the evil and destroy his enemy, which he could have done. Instead Jesus endures with love and shows us that the power of God and the power of sacrificial love is stronger than all the forces of darkness and evil combined and this is what we need to take away from this hour. This painful hour of Jesus last day needs to teach us 3 things:
the power of evil is real
the love God has for us is strong, and
the power of sacrificial love in our lives can change the world.
The torture and humiliation of Jesus shows us clearly the brokenness of all humanity. While we have seen it before with the disciples running away in Gethsemane and with the Sanhedrin accusing Jesus falsely and Peter denying him three times and the crowds choosing Barabbas, this hour where Jesus is flogged and humiliated shows us just how strong evil really is. When we stop and consider what Jesus endured we not only see the evil in the world, but the darkness and brokenness of our own lives. As much as we may not want to admit it, we are all capable of turning on God and doing things we would never think of doing. There is evil in our world, and there is evil in our lives and this scene needs to not only fill us with remorse in needs to cause us to cry out to God for our own mercy and forgiveness.
These events also speak to the amazing love of God seen in Jesus as he endures both physical and emotional pain for us. When Jesus stands before the crowds with a purple robe and crown of thorns and they mock him and jeer him and as we begin to more fully understand the pain and suffering he endured we need to remember he endured all of this because he loves us - you and me. God loves us so much that he was willing to endure this so that we could experience the power of God’s mercy and grace. When Jesus looks out at the crowd from under a crown of thorns, what his heart was saying was; look what I am willing to do for you. Look at how much I love you. Maybe it’s this image of Jesus that we need to think of when we hear these familiar words, God so loved the world that he gave his one and only this son (John 3:16). This is what God’s love looks like and this is what it means for God to give his Son.
And then last, but certainly not least, what Jesus shows us here is the power of sacrificial love and not just the sacrificial love of Jesus which brings salvation, but our love as well. When Jesus washed his disciples’ feet he said that he had given them an example of love and service that they needed to follow. Elsewhere Jesus said that if we want to follow him we have to take up a cross and I think in some way Jesus is saying the same thing here. This is what sacrificial love looks like. It is painful and it is hard and it doesn’t think at all about what is in it for us, but we endure it because we know that it will bring life to others. The sacrificial love of Jesus we see in this moment needs to motivate us to sacrifice in love for those around us. How can we work to overcome the darkness of this world by loving God and others? What is God calling us to give and sacrifice in love? And how can that sacrifice change our world?
The painful sacrifice of Jesus we see here doesn’t just fulfill the words of the prophets and it doesn’t just bring us eternal life with God, it needs to motivate our lives and words and actions today and tomorrow. In this hour and in these 13 words we need to see the powerful example Jesus has given us to follow. So let us love God and love others as Christ Jesus has loved us.
Next Steps:
24 Hours that Changed the World ~ The Torture and Humiliation of the King
1. Where do you see the reality of evil, darkness and brokenness in our world? What events have you seen this week that reveals the reality of evil?
Pray for God’s light and love to touch these situation and people.
2. Which Christian practices (prayer, worship, fasting…) can help guard our hearts and lives against such evil?
Which practice can you apply to your life this week?
3. The sacrificial love of Jesus seen in this hour needs to move us to love others in the same way. In the face of evil, opposition and persecution, how will you love as Jesus loves?
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