Matthew 27:15-31
Dear RTB’ers,
Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered Him to be crucified. (v. 26) These are only a few words, “having scourged Jesus”, but they leave me almost sick to my stomach every time I read them. The famous “forty lashes less one”… My Study Bible noted that it was not uncommon for prisoners to die from the scourging before they ever got to the crucifixion.
I’m sure that I have said this before, that if Jesus had to die for the sins of the whole world for all time, wouldn’t a simple beheading have been enough? Why did He have to go through all this suffering? I am not a theologian, so I’m certain that my comment, my question must sound trivial. But I do cringe at the suffering that Jesus endured. I can only make sense of it when I read something like Isaiah 53:5, But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed.
It’s troubling to me, all that Jesus suffered. Nothing brings me closer to Jesus than when I embrace His suffering, His scourging, His crucifixion. For us. For me. For you…
Blessings.
See also: June 17 (2021) / Matt. 27:27-44.
Well said.