Scourged (). The Latin verb flagellare. Pilate apparently lost interest in Jesus when he discovered that he had no friends in the crowd. The religious leaders had been eager to get Jesus condemned before many of the Galilean crowd friendly to Jesus came into the city. They had apparently succeeded. The scourging before the crucifixion was a brutal Roman custom. The scourging was part of the capital punishment. Deissmann (Light from the Ancient East, p. 269) quotes a Florentine papyrus of the year 85 A.D. wherein G. Septimius Vegetus, governor of Egypt, says of a certain Phibion: “Thou hadst been worthy of scourging … but I will give thee to the people.”

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

26 Then he released to them Barabbas. Our three Evangelists do not mention what is related by John, (Joh 15:13,) that Pilate ascended the judgment-seat to pronounce sentence from it; for they only state that the clamor of the people and the confused tumult prevailed on him basely to deliver up Christ to death. But both of these things must be observed, that a compliance was forced from him contrary to his will, and yet that he exercised the office of a judge in condemning him whom he pronounces to be innocent. For if the Son of God had not been free from all sin, we would have had no right to look for satisfaction from his death; and, on the other hand, if he had not become our surety, to endure the punishment which we had deserved, we would now have been involved in the condemnation of our sins. So then God determined that his Son should be condemned in a solemn manner, that he might acquit us for his sake.

But even the severity of the punishment serves to confirm our faith, not less than to impress our minds with dread of the wrath of God, and to humble us by a conviction of our miseries. For if we are desirous to profit aright by meditating on the death of Christ, we ought to begin with cherishing abhorrence of our sins, in proportion to the severity of the punishment which he endured. This will cause us not only to feel displeasure and shame of ourselves, but to be penetrated with deep grief, and therefore to seek the medicine with becoming ardor, and at the same time to experience confusion and trembling. For we must have hearts harder than stones, if we are not cut to the quick by the wounds of the Son of God, if we do not hate and detest our sins, for expiating which the Son of God endured so many torments. But as this is a display of the dreadful vengeance of God, so, on the other hand, it holds out to us the most abundant grounds of confidence; for we have no reason to fear that our sins, from which the Son of God acquits us by so valuable a ransom, will ever again be brought into judgment before God. For not only did he endure an ordinary kind of death, in order to obtain life for us, but along with the cross he took upon him our curse, that no uncleanness might any longer remain in us.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(26) When he had scourged Jesus.The word used by St. Matthew, derived from the Latin flagellum, shows that it was the Roman punishment with knotted thongs of leather (like the Russian knout or the English cat), not the Jewish beating with rods (2Co. 11:24-25). The pictures of the Stations, so widely used throughout Latin Christendom, have made other nations more familiar with the nature of the punishment than most Englishmen are. The prisoner was stripped sometimes entirely, sometimes to the waist, and tied by the hands to a pillar, with his back bent, so as to receive the full force of the blows. The scourge was of stout leather weighted with lead or bones. Jewish law limited its penalty to forty stripes, reduced in practice to forty stripes save one (2Co. 11:24; Deu. 25:3), but Roman practice knew no limit but that of the cruelty of the executioner or the physical endurance of the sufferer.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

SCOURGING BY PILATE AND DELIVERY FOR CRUCIFIXION, Mat 27:26-31.

The purpose of this whole scene of course is to burlesque Jesus’s claim to royalty. A notable king forsooth is this, for whom the proper crown is a garland of thorns, the sceptre a reed, the robe an old cast off cloak. Mock homage, interspersed with insults and injuries, completes the wretched drama.

26. Scourged Jesus The Greek word here used is borrowed from the Roman flagellum, which was the scourge with which slaves were chastised before execution. It was composed of ox nerves, extremely sharp, interwoven with sheep bones, so as to lacerate the flesh.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘Then he released Barabbas to them, but he scourged Jesus and delivered him to be crucified.’

But Pilate could not escape the blame as easily as that, and Matthew clearly indicates his guilt in these words. In the end it is Pilate who frees Barabbas, and then has Jesus scourged, and finally handed over to his executioners so that He might be crucified (compare Jesus’ prophecy that this would be so in Mat 20:19). His hands were therefore guilty, and washing his hands could never remove that stain.

Scourging was carried out with a many-thonged whip into which metal pieces and sharp bones had been intertwined. It would regularly bare a man’s back down to the bone. Few could survive it for long. But it was standard for any who were to be crucified. In a strange way it was merciful because it hastened death, but even so someone who was being crucified often survived for days unless their legs were broken, this latter preventing them from gaining the brief support that could enable them to survive a little longer. It was the cruellest of deaths, causing dreadful cramps and unbelievable strains on the muscles and tendons, as the body was twisted unnaturally, with the weight mainly on the arms, and the strains never truly eased. But a kind of saddle of wood under the buttocks enabled the crucified man to take part of the weight off his arms for a while, only to transfer much of it elsewhere until the pain in the legs or the resulting cramps also became too much. The man moved from one agony to another until he finally expired, often after suffering for days. Archaeologists have come across the body of a young man who was crucified in the first century AD. He had been nailed to the cross or stake (different forms were used) by his forearms, and his legs had been nailed with one nail. His legs were bent and had been broken and his whole body clearly revealed that he had suffered severely. Yet the remarkable thing is the way in which this physical agony is not mentioned in any of the Gospels (although to the early readers it may not have been necessary, as to them it was a fairly common sight). Concentration is on the significance of His death, and on His travail of soul.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Jesus condemned, and mocked by the soldiers:

v. 26. Then released he Barabbas unto them; and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.

v. 27. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto Him the whole band of soldiers.

v. 28. And they stripped Him, and put on Him a scarlet robe.

v. 29. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they bowed the knee before Him, and mocked Him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

v. 30. And they spit upon Him, and took the reed, and smote Him on the head.

It was not a trial which here came to an end, but a travesty upon justice; Barabbas is released, but Jesus condemned. A type of the redemption, even at that: The innocent found guilty, the guilty released. But Pilate adds insult to injury and gives further evidence of the cruelty of small natures by having Jesus scourged, His naked back bent over a post, to which He was tied, and cut to pieces with leather thongs, as it was thus stretched out on the rack of pain. And having thus, as he hoped, fully regained the confidence of the Jews, he spoke the formal sentence of condemnation upon Jesus, sentencing Him to the death of the cross. This was a signal for the soldiers of the procurator, the prisoner was now delivered to their mercy. They first led Him into the judgment-hall of the palace, which was called praetorium from the fact that the praetor, or Roman magistrate, administered justice in this room in the absence of the higher officer of the empire. Here all the members of the Pretorian guard assembled to have their sport with the helpless victim. For a second time they stripped Him, throwing about Him, instead of His clothes, the scarlet mantle of a soldier, which had some resemblance to the robe of a king or emperor. They braided a crown of sharp thorns and pressed it down upon His head, thus lacerating the skin. They placed an old rod into His hand instead of a scepter. In mock solemnity and with feigned seriousness, they bowed their knees before Him, giving Him homage as King of the Jews. It was an insult to Christ, but also incidentally to the Jews. Their real nature came out in the climax of their torture, when they grew tired of acting, and spit in His face, while some of them took the mock scepter and drove the thorns still more deeply into the sensitive skin of the forehead by sharp blows. And in all these things the prophecies of the Old Testament, reinforced with those of Christ Himself, were fulfilled for the sake of mankind’s redemption.

Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann

Mat 27:26. And when he had scourged Jesus The Romans usually scourged the criminals whom they condemned to be crucified: this was the reason why Pilate ordered our Lord to be scourged, before he delivered him to the soldiers to be crucified. St. Matthew and St. Mark insinuate, that the scourging was performed on the pavement; for they tell us that, after it was over, the soldiers took Jesus into the praetorium, and mocked him; we may therefore suppose that the priests and the multitude required the governor to scourge him openly in their sight, and that he, to pacifythem, consented, contrary to his inclination; which, as he believed Jesus to be innocent, must have led him to shew him all the favour in his power; and probably he thought that this previous punishment would have excited the pity of the Jews, and have prevented the crucifixion of Jesus. See Elsner and Wetstein.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

Mat 27:26 ] a late word adopted from the Latin, and used for . Comp. Joh 2:15 ; see “Wetstein. It was the practice among the Romans to scourge the culprit (with cords or thongs of leather) before crucifying him (Liv. xxxiii. 36; Curt. vii. 11. 28; Valer. Max. i. 7, Joseph. Bell. v. 11. 1, al. ; Heyne, Opusc. III. p. 184 f.; Keim, III. p. 390 f.). According to the more detailed narrative of Joh 19:1 ff., Pilate, after this scourging was over, and while the soldiers were mocking Him, made a final attempt to have Jesus set at liberty. According to Luk 23:16 , the governor contemplated ultimate scourging immediately after the examination before Herod, a circumstance which neither prevents us from supposing that he subsequently carried out his intention (in opposition to Strauss), nor justifies the interpretation of our passage given by Paulus: whom He had previously scourged (with a view to His being liberated).

] namely, to the Roman soldiers, Mat 27:27 . These latter were entrusted with the task of seeing the execution carried out.

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

DISCOURSE: 1409
THE INDIGNITIES OFFERED TO OUR LORD

Mat 27:26-31. Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the Governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, king of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

AT this season [Note: The Passion Week.] we are naturally led to contemplate the sufferings of our blessed Lord. In general, we think it desirable to fix your minds on some one point; because that, if duly opened, will afford ample matter for one discourse: but now we will rather call your attention to this assemblage of facts; not so much for the purpose of elucidating each particular indignity that was offered him, as, from a collective view of them, to shew you the Lord Jesus Christ,

I.

As the predicted Messiah

There was scarcely an incident relating to his death which was not the subject of a distinct prophecy
[It was foretold that he should be scourged. The Prophet Isaiah says, that the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed [Note: Isa 53:5.]. And though the Psalmist appears to speak of Israel at large, yet I think he has also an eye to Gods servant Israel, the Messiah, in particular, when he says, The plowers plowed upon my back; they made long their furrows [Note: Psa 129:3. with Isa 49:3.]. The various indignities of mocking and reproaching, and the spitting in his face, were also specifically mentioned: I gave my back to the smiters, (where the scourging is again referred to,) and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting [Note: Isa 50:6.]. And the Prophet Micah says, They shall smite the Judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek [Note: Mic 5:1.]. And, in reference to these things, the Psalmist says, Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none: and for comforters, but I found none [Note: Psa 69:20.]. His crucifixion was plainly declared in the erection of the brazen serpent in the wilderness [Note: Joh 3:14-15.]; as was also the place where it should be carried into effect, by the burning of the sacrifices without the camp [Note: Lev 4:12.]. These things were also distinctly foreseen, and plainly predicted, by our blessed Lord; predicted, too, as subjects of prophecy, which were assuredly to be fulfilled: He took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go to Jerusalem; and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on, and they shall scourge him, and put him to death [Note: Luk 18:31-33.].]

And these things were all literally fulfilled in him
[His scourging is first mentioned in my text. But this was inflicted to prevent his crucifixion. Pilate hoped, by scourging Jesus, to pacify the anger of the Jews against him, and to move them to compassion towards him [Note: Luk 23:16; Luk 23:22. with Joh 19:1; Joh 19:4; Joh 19:6.]: so that the very mercy of his judge, no less than the fury of his persecutors, contributed to fill up the destined measure of his sufferings.

The various insults and indignities that were offered him are next mentioned. And where were they inflicted? In the very hall of Pilate himself, and by the very soldiers who were under his command! The discipline maintained amongst the Roman soldiers was exceeding strict: yet did they, under the very eye of the Governor, not execute his wishes, but go in direct opposition to them, to please and gratify the Jews: and thus they, voluntarily, and of their own mind, and in direct violation of their military duty, at the risk of being called to a severe account for it, go beyond the laws, and add punishments which the law did not prescribe, that so the Scriptures of the prophets might, unwittingly indeed on their part, be in every thing fulfilled.

His crucifixion closes the scene. But that was not a Jewish punishment: it was a penalty inflicted only by the Roman law: yet, though the law by which he was judged was Jewish, the punishment inflicted on him was Roman. But so the prophecies had foretold: and it was not possible that one word of them should fail of its accomplishment. The Roman Governor, without whose authority it could not be executed, did all in his power to prevent it; but could not prevail. He would gladly have embraced the opportunity, which custom had sanctioned, of pardoning one of the prisoners: but the Jews chose rather to have a murderer spared, than Him; a murderer, whose guilt was fully proved, rather than Jesus, whom the judge himself, after the fullest investigation, affirmed to be innocent. But so God had ordained; and so it came to pass.

Behold, then, how clear and indisputable is his Messiahship! Things were foretold which had no relation to each other, and which, in the common course of events, were inconsistent with eachother. But in him they all combined; and they came to pass, not through the well-adjusted efforts of friends to fulfil them, but through the unwitting agency of enemies, and through the very efforts which were made to prevent the accomplishment of them. I ask, then, with confidence, Is not He the Christ [Note: Joh 4:29.]?]

Let us now view him in another light; namely,

II.

As our surety and substitute

Having undertaken for us, he must bear all that our sins had merited
[Shame, and misery, and death, were our proper and deserved portion. Even in this world the way of transgressors is hard, and there is no peace to the wicked; and the sentence of death hangeth over us: and, in the eternal world, the wicked will awake to shame and everlasting contempt [Note: Dan 12:2.]. (Who can conceive the contempt and indignation that will then be felt against them by God himself, and by the saints who will sit with him as his assessors in judgment? The sentence that will be denounced against them in that day amply declares that point: Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels.) As for the misery that awaits us, no finite imagination can conceive it, when we shall lie down in the lake of fire and brimstone, and spend a never-ending eternity in weeping, and wailing, and gnashing of teeth. In a word, the curse of the law [Note: Deu 21:23.], the wrath of God, and the damnation of hell, which are the bitter ingredients of the second death, are the sinners doom.]

Now these, as far as was necessary for our redemption, he bore for us
[As for the idea of every individual part of his sufferings making an atonement for every corresponding circumstance in our sins, I look upon it as altogether fanciful and absurd. But the great leading points of his sufferings and of our deserts do fully correspond with each other. Every mark of ignominy was shewn him, both in these his preparatory sufferings, and in his death itself, which was inflicted only on slaves, and which was declared by the Jewish law accursed. And who ever beheld sorrow like unto his sorrow [Note: Lam 1:12.]? Truly beyond any other person that ever existed upon earth was he despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief [Note: Isa 53:3.]: the whole nation despised and abhorred him [Note: Isa 49:7.]; and his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men [Note: Isa 52:14.]. Finally, in his death, he became a curse for us, that he might deliver us from the curse to which we were doomed [Note: Gal 3:13.]. Thus did he not merely die in our stead, the just for the unjust [Note: 1Pe 3:18.], as a common victim in the place of the offender, but he fully discharged our debt in every particular; so that neither law nor justice can demand any thing further at our hands. Methinks we were lying, like Isaac, bound upon the altar, the knife being lifted up to inflict the deadly stroke, and the wood and fire prepared ready to consume us; but Jesus, as the ram caught in the thicket, undergoes the whole for us, and restores us to the bosom of our Father and our God. By his stripes we are healed [Note: 1Pe 2:24.]; and by his death we live for ever [Note: 1Th 5:10.].]

Once more we may, in the midst of these sufferings, contemplate him,

III.

As our great example

What he endured shews us what we also shall have to bear
[God has predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son [Note: Rom 8:29.]: and our blessed Lord has told us, that, as men hated and persecuted him, so they will hate and persecute us [Note: Joh 15:20.]. The servant cannot expect to be above his master: it is sufficient for him, if he be as his lord. If they have called the Master of the house Beelzebub, much more will they those of his household [Note: Mat 10:24-25.]. We may see therefore, in the universality, contemptuousness, and acrimony of his persecutors, what his followers must expect, even unto death. We are expressly told, that we are called to the same, because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps [Note: 1Pe 2:21.]: and, seeing that he has suffered for us without the gates of Jerusalem, we must go forth to him without the camp, bearing his reproach [Note: Heb 13:12-13.].]

It shews us, too, in what way we must bear it
[In the whole of these sufferings, we hear not one word of complaint. No, verily: though he was so oppressed and afflicted, yet opened he not his mouth. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so opened he not his mouth [Note: Isa 53:7.]. This especially is marked out for our imitation by St. Peter. Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should follow his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, threatened not, but committed himself to Him that judgeth righteously [Note: 1Pe 2:21-23.]. To this effect we are instructed by our Lord, and all his holy Apostles: instead of rendering evil for evil unto any man, we must love our enemies, bless them that curse us, do good to them that hate us, and pray for them that despitefully use us and persecute us [Note: Mat 5:44.]. Nor let this be thought impossible. It was done by Stephen, in the very hour of martyrdom [Note: Act 7:60.]: and it was nobly carried into effect by St. Paul, throughout the whole of his ministrations: We are made a spectacle, says he, unto the world, and to angels, and to men. Even unto this present hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain dwelling-place; and labour, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we suffer it; being defamed, we entreat. We are made as the filth of the world, and the off-scouring of all things, unto this day [Note: 1Co 4:9-13.]. Here you see practical Christianity: and, if you come from the hall where Jesus so meekly bare all his ignominious treatment, and learn so to walk as he walked, you will not have beheld this sight in vain. Consider then, I pray you, brethren, Him who endured such contradiction of sinners against himself; that you, under similar treatment, may never be weary nor faint in your minds [Note: Heb 12:3.].]

Let me not conclude without further remarking on this subject,
1.

How astonishing is the love of Christ to sinful man!

[Our blessed Lord, as I have shewn, foresaw from the beginning all that should come upon him: yet, instead of drawing back, he longed for the period even to be baptized with this bloody baptism, and was quite straitened till it should be accomplished [Note: Luk 12:50.]. What manner of love was this! When shall we learn to estimate it aright? O, brethren, seek to comprehend its breadth and length, and depth and height! for it is by that, and by that only, that you can be filled with all the fulness of God [Note: Eph 3:18-19.] ]

2.

How infatuated must they be who do not seek those blessings, for the obtaining of which all these things were endured!

[Who would believe that men professing to receive this record as true, and to hope for mercy through these very sufferings, should yet be as careless about their souls, as if they were of no value; and as indifferent about eternity, as if there were no future state of existence? Look at the Saviour, brethren, and reflect, Who he is; and what he has done; and what he has suffered; and for what end all these things have been effected! Had your souls been of little value, would all these things have come to pass? Had the future state of existence been a matter of such indifference, would the Son of the Living God have suffered all this for you? Go to the garden of Gethsemane; go to the hall of judgment; go to Mount Calvary; and learn the value of immortal souls: go, I say, and learn the folly and madness of neglecting this Saviour, through whom alone any soul of man can be saved. I pray you beloved, be in earnest, whilst yet the sufferings of Gods dear Son may avail for you. But if ye will not seek after him, then think what your portion must be in the eternal world. For, if these things were done in the green tree, judge ye, what must be done in the dry [Note: Luk 23:31.]?]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

26 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Ver. 26. And when he had scourged Jesus ] So to satisfy their cruelty, and move them, if it might be, to pity. But though they relented not at the sight, it’s fit we should. Would it not grieve us at the heart, if we should see the king’s son basely whipped by our adversaries, only for our affairs? Christ was scourged when we had offended, that he might free us from the sting of conscience, and those scourges and scorpions of eternal torments, that he might make us a plaster of his own blessed blood, a for by his stripes we are healed, by the bloody weals made upon his back we are delivered. We hold it a thing almost beyond belief, that the applying of medicines to the sword that wounded a man shall make the wounds heal in a man. But here is a mystery that only Christian religion can tell of, and of which there never was precedent in nature, that the scourging and wounding of one man should cure another. See Trapp on “ Joh 19:1 “

a Sanguis medici factus est medicina phrenetici.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

26. ] . is a late word, adopted from the Latin. The custom of scourging before execution was general among the Romans. After the scourging, Joh 19:1-16 , Pilate made a last attempt to liberate Jesus which answers to , Luk 23:16 .

] to the Roman soldiers, whose office the execution would be.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Mat 27:26 . : Pilate, lacking the passion for justice, judges not according to the merits but according to policy. When he discovered that Jesus was not a popular favourite, in fact had no friends, he had no more interest in Him, but acted as the people wished, loosing Barabbas and delivering Jesus to be crucified, after having first subjected Him to scourging ( = flagello , a Latinism probably borrowed from Mk.). Such was the barbarous practice of the Romans. It is alluded to by Josephus (B. J., Mat 27:11 ; Mat 27:1 ) in these terms: . Brandt thinks that the alleged custom of releasing a prisoner had no existence, and that the story in the Gospels arose out of an occurrence at a later time, the release of a prisoner the son of a Rabbi concerned in a tumult. The Christians said: they release the son of the Scribe and they crucified our Jesus, and at last the incident was read back into the story of the Passion ( E. G. , pp. 94 105).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

scourged. Greek. phragelloo. Occurs only here, and Mar 15:15.

delivered Him = handed Him over.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

26.] . is a late word, adopted from the Latin. The custom of scourging before execution was general among the Romans. After the scourging, Joh 19:1-16, Pilate made a last attempt to liberate Jesus-which answers to , Luk 23:16.

] to the Roman soldiers, whose office the execution would be.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Mat 27:26. , having scourged) after passing sentence.[1190]

[1190] The delivering up of Jesus to the will of the Jews was immediately connected with the setting of Barabbas free, and both were followed by the scourging, accompanied with the mocking of our Lord. In the presence of Caiaphas, it was not till after the capital sentence, that the mocking followed; and, on the same principle, the soldiers could not at pleasure vent their wanton ribaldry on Jesus, before that Pilate delivered Him up to the will and pleasure of the Jews.-Harm., p. 553.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

Chapter 87

Then the Soldiers

Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.

(Mat 27:26-32)

Here is a short, but very solemn description of the scourging, mockery, and shame inflicted upon our Lord Jesus Christ by the Roman soldiers before he was crucified. May God the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with reverence and gratitude as we are again reminded of all that our Redeemer endured at the hands of wicked men, and are reminded again that he endured it all for us according to the will and appointment of God, that he might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto himself a people zealous of good works. The Lord of glory was humiliated, scourged, and mocked by men, that we might be exalted, embraced, and honored by God.

The Scourging of our Savior

Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified (Mat 27:26). When Pilate had scourged the Savior, he delivered him to be crucified. Barabbas was released; and the Lord Jesus took his place, was scourged, and crucified in the place of a vile criminal, a man who was condemned as one worthy of death. Thus, by an act of divine providence, we are given a vivid picture of our own salvation by substitution. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2Co 5:21).

Luke tells us that Pilate tried to appease the Jews by scourging the Lord Jesus rather than crucifying him (Luk 23:22). But the Jews wanted his death. Therefore, we read here that the order was given first for our Lord to be scourged and then crucified. The indignities heaped upon the Lord Jesus, as the prelude to his crucifixion, must never be considered lightly. These things were also a part of his physical sufferings and deep anguish of soul as our Substitute, and demand our reverent attention.

Christ was scourged when we had offended, that he might free us from the sting of conscience, and those scourges and scorpions of eternal torments, that he might make us a plaster of his own blessed blood, for by his stripes we are healed, by the bloody weals (welts) made upon his back we are delivered. (John Trapp)

This act of scourging was almost as cruel, inhumane, and barbaric as crucifixion. It was done with a whip with multiple strands. The cords were made of something like rawhide. Each strand had numerous pieces of bone fragments tied into it. When the whip was dragged across a mans back, it literally plowed it up. One lash would be indescribably painful. Our Lord Jesus received thirty-nine lashes from the scourge! Thus the Scriptures were fulfilled The plowers plowed upon my back: they made long their furrows (Psa 129:3). I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting (Isa 50:6). But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed (Isa 53:5). And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again (Mat 20:19).

This scouring of Christ was an emblem of the scourges and strokes of divine justice, which he endured in his soul as our Surety, when he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted by the sword of divine justice as our Substitute. But scourging was not enough. We could never be saved if our Lord had only been scourged for us. He must be slain for us, and slain in a manner identifying him as one cursed of God. Therefore, once Pilate had scourged him, he delivered him to be crucified. No peace could be made, except by the blood of his cross (Col 1:20).

The Sport of the Soldiers

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him (Mat 27:27-31).

Notice the first word of Mat 27:27 – Then. Normally, a convicted felon, even in those barbaric times, was given some time between being sentenced to death and his execution. Usually, he had a few days to be visited by family members. But the Son of God was hurried off by the soldiers to be tormented as soon as he had been scourged. While they were preparing the place of execution, an entire band of Roman soldiers (At least 500. Perhaps 1200 or 1300.) got together in Pilates palace to have a little fun with this man who was to be executed.

The Lord of glory became an object of sporting torment for a band of depraved men! Yet, even this was according to the will of God for the fulfillment of Scripture, both to assure us that Jesus is the Christ and that he has ransomed our souls by his great sacrifice for sin. These barbarians, hardened by a lifetime of bloodshed, tried to make our Lords death a thousand deaths in one. These things are written for our comfort and learning. May God the Holy Spirit both teach us and comfort our hearts by them. We are specifically told by Matthew of seven things, seven acts of barbarism these soldiers did to the Son of God.

1st. They stripped him (Mat 27:28). It appears that the only thing in this world that belonged to him, were the clothes on his back; but now he was stripped even of them. The shame of nakedness came into the world with sin (Gen 3:7). Therefore, when Christ came to be made sin for us, to satisfy the justice of God for it, and to put it away, he was stripped naked and put to public shame! He was put to shame that we might be given honor. He was stripped that we might be clothed with the white raiment of his perfect righteousness (Rev 3:18).

2nd. They put on him a scarlet robe (Mat 27:28). They took some old red coat of one of the soldiers, or some old red blanket, and draped it over Immanuel in mockery, because he claimed to be the King. Thus, they derided him. Yet, in their derision of him, they fulfilled the will of God and the Word of God. This is he of whom the prophet declares, he was red in his apparel (Isa 63:1-2), who washed his garments in wine (Gen 49:11). Our sins are described as being both scarlet and crimson. Thus, as he was about to be made sin, our Lord was here providentially draped in the scarlet robe as our sin-bearer.

3rd. they platted a crown of thorns and put it on his head (Mat 27:29). Continuing to mock his claims as the Messiah and King of Israel, they made a crown for his head, but a crown of thorns designed by them to torture him. Had they made the crown merely for laughter, they would not have chosen thorns. It was made specifically to cause our blessed Savior as much pain as possible. What horrible pain it must have caused when shoved into his sacred head!

Yet, this too was done according to the purpose of our God. Thorns are the result of sin and part of Gods curse upon it (Gen 3:18). Therefore, when Christ was being made a curse for us and would remove the curse from us, he wore the emblem of the curse. This was a fulfillment of the typical ram caught in the thicket that Abraham sacrificed for Isaac (Gen 17:13). These thorns drew forth blood upon the brow of our great High Priest, which flow down from his head as precious ointment (Psa 133:2).

4th. They put a reed in his right hand (Mat 27:29. Again, this was mockery of our Master. They gave him a bamboo scepter, as if to imply that his claim to a throne and his kingdom was no more than a reed shaken in the wind. How mistaken they are who fail to see that Jesus Christ is King forever! Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy kingdom is a right sceptre (Psa 45:6).

5th. They bowed the knee before him and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews (Mat 27:29). Like Josephs brethren, they said, Shalt thou indeed reign over us? Like multitudes today, they mocked his claims to sovereignty and dominion. But mans mockery will not last for long.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Php 2:9-11).

6th. They spit upon him (Mat 27:30). Robert Hawker wrote, Their spitting on him was intended to manifest the highest indignation and contempt. Among the Jews it was the greatest indignity, imaginable. If a father spit in his daughters face, so filthy was she considered thereby, that like the leper, the law enjoined the being shut out of the camp seven days (Num 12:14). I do not know which is more shocking: that men should dare spit upon his holy face, or that the Son of God should stoop to being spit upon as one who is utterly contemptible! Yet, to this great depth our God condescended for the salvation of our souls. For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich (2Co 8:9).

7th. They took the reed, and smote him on the head (Mat 27:30). They beat him on the head, while he was wearing the crown of thorns, inflicting all the pain they could upon him. Why? Why was all this done? Why did the Lord of glory submit to it? FOR US! The Son of God endured this misery, this shame, this torture, that he might purchase for us everlasting life, and joy, and peace, and glory! But these things were not sufficient to save us. These torments could never satisfy the justice of God. He must be crucified. Therefore, we read, And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him (Mat 27:31). They put his own clothes back on him, that all might recognize him, and led him away, as a lamb to the slaughter, to crucify him.

Carefully read what the Lord Jesus said by the Spirit of prophecy in Psalms 22, 49 about the sorrow of his soul in suffering these things, and worship him who loved us and gave himself for us. John Trapp admonished, We should read with regret for our sins, the weapons and instruments of all his sufferings; and see through his wounds the naked bowels, as it were, of his love to our poor souls. As our blessed Savior was led away to suffer for us, that he might sanctify us with his own blood, suffering without the gate, let us go forth unto him without the camp bearing his reproach (Heb 13:12-13).

The Service of Simon

And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross (Mat 27:32). This man Simon was one of the Lords disciples (Mar 15:21; Rom 16:13). Whether the soldiers knew that or not we do not know. But he was compelled to carry the Masters cross, because they feared they might be robbed of their final sport of crucifying him. However, even in this, our God was ruling and overruling to teach us spiritual lessons. If we would follow Christ, we must take up his cross and do so daily (Luk 14:25-33). And it is certain the cross of Christ is so contrary to our flesh that, if we take up his cross and follow him, we must be compelled to do so by the grace of God.

Oh, that we were as willing to bear Christs cross as Christ was to bear our sins on his cross! If anything happens to us by way of persecution or ridicule for our Lords sake, and the gospels, let us cheerfully endure it. As knights are made by a stroke from the sovereigns sword, so shall we become princes in Christs realm as he lays his cross on our shoulders. (C. H. Spurgeon)

The Substitute for Sinners

All that our Lord Jesus Christ suffered, he suffered vicariously, as the sinners Substitute, because he was made sin for us. This is a matter of the deepest importance. Until we understand the purpose of our Redeemers sufferings and death, we can never understand why he suffered and died, or what he accomplished by his sacrifice. The Lord Jesus Christ died in the room and stead of chosen sinners, that sinners loved by him from everlasting might be made the righteousness of God in him.

He bore our sins in his own body on the tree. He died the just for the unjust that he might bring us to God in perfect reconciliation and perfect righteousness. He was made sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The holy Lamb of God was made a curse for us, that he might redeem us from the curse of the law. He was once offered to bear the sins of his elect, that we might bear them no more. He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities, because the Lord God laid upon him all the sins of all his people (1Pe 2:24; 1Pe 3:18; 2Co 5:21; Gal 3:13; Heb 9:28; Isa 53:5-6).

As we read of his sufferings, let us follow our Savior through all his agony, viewing him as our sin-atoning Substitute and Surety, who voluntarily undertook from eternity the redemption of our souls. Was he scourged? It was that through his stripes we might be healed. Was he condemned, though innocent? It was that we might be acquitted, though guilty. Did he wear a crown of thorns? It was that we might wear the crown of glory. Was he stripped? It was that we might be clothed in his perfect righteousness. Was he mocked and reviled? It was that we might be honored and blessed. Was he reckoned a sinner and numbered among transgressors? It was that we might be reckoned righteous and numbered among the holy. Could he not save himself? It was that he might be able to save others to the uttermost. Did he die the painful, shameful, ignominious death of the cross? It was that we might have eternal life and be exalted to the highest glory.

Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift! Our sins are many and great. But our blessed Christ has put them all away forever by the sacrifice of himself. There is infinite merit and efficacy in his sufferings and death. He who suffered and died as our sin-atoning Substitute is God as well as man. It is written of him, He shall not failHe shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. Let this picture of Christ crucified, as it is set before us by God the Holy Spirit upon the pages of Inspiration, be stamped upon our hearts by that same Spirits almighty grace, compelling us to trust and love our great Savior!

Fuente: Discovering Christ In Selected Books of the Bible

released: Mar 15:15, Luk 23:25

scourged: This of itself was a severe punishment, the flesh being generally cut by the whips used for this purpose. Mat 20:19, Isa 50:6, Isa 53:5, Mar 10:34, Luk 18:32, Luk 18:33, Luk 23:16, Luk 23:24, Luk 23:25, Joh 19:1, Joh 19:16, 1Pe 2:24

Reciprocal: Deu 25:2 – General Hab 1:4 – for Joh 18:40 – General Act 16:22 – the magistrates Heb 11:36 – and scourgings

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

7:26

It was a custom with the Romans to scourge a prisoner who was to be executed. There were various methods of administering this punishment. Luk 23:22 reveals that Pilate proposed to chastice Jesus and let him go. That would have been a compromise with the hopes of pacifying the Jews and yet not being so harsh upon Jesus. But the mob would not accept it, so Pilate followed the cruel practice and scourged Jesus, after which he turned him over to the mob to have him crucified.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

[When he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.] Such was the custom of the Romans towards those that were to be crucified: Whom after he had beaten with whips, he crucified. And a little after, To be whipped before the judgment seat, and to be nailed to the cross.

Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels

Mat 27:26. And Jesus he scourged. The guilty one was released, and the innocent one entered upon his punishment. Scourging usually preceded crucifixion. As Pilate made further attempts to release Jesus (Joh 19:4-15), some have thought that this scourging was not the one which usually preceded crucifixion, but a distinct punishmentothers even think that our Lord suffered twice from the lash. Pilate probably ordered the usual scourging, hoping still to release Jesus. He then showed Him (Ecce Homo) to the people, but in vain, as he might have known, for he had (Luk 23:16; Luk 23:22) already twice proposed this punishment. Roman scourging was a fearful punishment. The entire body was bared, the lashes were given without number, thus differing from the Jewish mode. It could not be inflicted upon a Roman citizen (Act 22:25), but was for slaves. In this case it was inflicted by soldiers. So that the whips were thongs with lead or bones attached. The prisoner was usually bound in a stooping posture so that the skin of the back was stretched tightly; as their backs were flayed by the process, they frequently fainted, and sometimes died. The soldiers, who afterwards mocked Him, were not likely to be mild in this case. Yet the representative of civil justice proposed this as a milder punishment for One who was innocent.

And delivered up to be crucified. After the mocking, etc. The delivery was to the Roman soldiers who executed the sentence, and yet it was also to the will of the Sanhedrin (comp. Luk 23:25). Thus Pilate sacrificed his independent position as a representative of the Roman law, to the fanaticism of the Jewish hierarchy. The State became a tool in the hands of an apostate and bloodthirsty Church. Pilates conduct is an awful warning to rulers, who to gain popularity pander to religious fanaticism. His political fall was due to the accusation of these very people.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

As the death of the cross was a Roman punishment, so it was the manner of the Romans first to scourge and whip their malefactores, and then deliver them to be crucified. Now the manner of the Romans scourging is said to be thus; they stripped the condemned person, and bound him to a post; two strong men first scourged him with rods of thorns; then two others scourged him with whips full of knots; and lastly two more with whips of wire, and therewith tore off the very flesh and skin from the person’s back and sides.

That our Saviour was thus cruelly scourged, seems to some not improbable, from that of the psalmist, The ploughers ploughed upon my luck, and made long furrows. Psa 129:3 Which, if spoken prophetically of Christ, was literally fulfilled in the day of his scourging. But why was the precious body of our blessed Lord thus galled and torn with scourgings! Doubtless to fulfil that prophecy; I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair,-That by his stripes we might be healed.

And to learn us patience from his example: Why should we think it strange to be scourged either with the tongue or the hand, or with both, when we see our dear Redeemer bleeding by stripes and scourges before our eyes?

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Mat 27:26. And when he had scourged Jesus, &c. This was an ignominious and cruel punishment, usually, but most unreasonably inflicted by the Romans on such as were condemned to be crucified; as if the exquisite tortures of crucifixion were not a punishment sufficient of any crime, real or pretended, without adding to them those of the scourge. Matthew and Mark seem to signify, that the scourging of Jesus was performed on the pavement; for they tell us, that after it was over, the soldiers took him into the prtorium, and mocked him. We may, therefore, suppose, that the priests and multitude required the governor to scourge him openly in their sight; and that he, to pacify them, consented, contrary to his inclination, hoping, as some suppose, that this previous punishment would excite the pity of the Jews and prevent Christs crucifixion. That, however, was not the case. Nothing short of that ignominious and torturing death would satisfy them. Jesus being thus scourged, the Scriptures were fulfilled, I gave my back to the smiters, Isa 50:6. The ploughers ploughed on my back: they made long their furrows, Psa 129:3. By his stripes we are healed.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

JESUS SCOURGED AND MOCKED

Mar 15:19; Joh 19:1-3; Mat 27:26-30. And having scourged Jesus, he delivered Him up, that He may be crucified. As it was customary with the Romans to precede the crucifixion of condemned criminals by this awful and cruel scourging, Pilate now proceeds to have Jesus scourged, thus publicly demonstrating His condemnation, and afterward delivering Him up to be crucified pursuant to criminal law, at the same time congratulating himself on the presumed clemency of the Jews to permit His release. This was Pilates weakness. He here let go his grip, thinking to regain it, but failed.

Then the soldiers of the governor, taking Jesus into the judgment-hall, gathered round Him the whole band; and divesting Him, put on Him a scarlet robe; and plaiting a crown of thorns, placed it on His head, and a reed in His right hand, and bowing the knee before Him, continued to mock Him, saying, Hall, King of the Jews. Spitting upon Him, they repeatedly took the reed, and struck Him on the head. All this pomp, pageantry, and abuse, dressing Him up like a king, paying Him royal adoration, at the same time indulging in the vilest insult and abuse, was their way of humoring what they regarded as a ridiculous joke; i. e., His claim to be King. While Pilate, especially since the reception of his wifes warning letter, was awfully troubled with suspicion and apprehension that He might be superhuman, and even one of the Roman gods, as their poets had described their deities as coming down in human form and walking over the earth ever and anon, the soldiers looked upon Him as a regular oddity, fanatically dreaming that He was King of the Jews. Consequently they intensely enjoyed amusement at His expense, dressing Him up like a king, with a crown on His head and a scepter in His hand, and His loyal subjects round Him, bowing the knee and doing homage to His Majesty.

Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament

Under Mosaic Law the Jews could not scourge someone with more than 40 lashes (Deu 25:3; cf. 2Co 11:24). However here the Romans, not the Jews, were scourging Jesus. They had no limit on the number of lashes they could impose on a prisoner. They customarily used a leather whip with pieces of bone and or metal embedded in the thongs, a flagellum. Scourging with this whip often turned human flesh into pulp and exposed the bones and internal organs. [Note: Josephus, The Wars . . ., 2:21:5; 6:5:3.] People frequently died from this type of flogging. The Romans used it to weaken prisoners before crucifixion. After this beating, Pilate sent Jesus to die (cf. Isa 53:6; Isa 53:12). This scourging fulfilled Jesus’ words in Mat 20:19.

"Judas yielded to the devil in his great sin (Joh 13:2; Joh 13:27); Peter yielded to the flesh when he denied his Lord; but Pilate yielded to the world and listened to the crowd." [Note: Wiersbe, 1:101.]

Matthew’s account of the trial before Pilate makes Jesus’ innocence clear. [Note: See R. Larry Overstreet, "Roman Law and the Trial of Jesus," Bibliotheca Sacra JOH 135:540 (October-December 1978):323-32.] As in the religious trial, Jesus stood before an unjust judge whose personal prejudices guided him rather than justice. The self-sacrifice of the Suffering Servant also comes through in this trial. No one took Jesus’ life from Him as a martyr. He laid it down for others in self-sacrifice.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)