A couple of years ago, I researched the physical things that happened to Jesus prior to and during his crucifixion. I’m going to try to describe to you the experiences that He endured. This week I will be covering the scourging of Jesus.
Pilate ordered that Jesus be scourged in an extreme manner in an attempt to appease the mob. The whip used in scourging consisted of three or more leather tails that had small metal balls or sheep bones at the end of each tail. As indicated on the Shroud of Turin, the whip used on Jesus had dumbbell-shaped devices at the end of each tail.
Jesus would have been stripped naked and shackled by His wrists to a low column so that He would be in a bent-over position. One or more soldiers would be assigned to deliver the blows from the whip. Standing beside the victim, he would strike in an arc-like fashion across the exposed back. The weight of the metal or bone objects at the ends of the leather thongs would carry them to the front of the body as well as to the back, shoulders, arms, and legs (down to and including the calves). The bits of metal would dig deep into the flesh, ripping small blood vessels, nerves, muscle, and skin.
The injuries sustained during scourging were extensive. Blows to the upper back and rib area caused rib fractures, severe bruising in the lungs, bleeding into the chest cavity and partial or complete pneumothorax (puncture wound to the lung causing it to collapse). As much as a pint of blood could be lost. The victim would periodically vomit, experience tremors and seizures, and have bouts of fainting. Each excruciating strike would elicit shrieks of pain. The victim would be profusely sweating and exhausted, his flesh mangled and ripped, and he would crave water because of the loss of fluid from bleeding.
Fractured ribs would make breathing painful and the victim would only be able to take short, shallow breaths. The dumbbell-shaped balls at the end of the leather strips would lacerate the liver and maybe the spleen.
Jesus’ condition after scourging was serious. The pain and brutality of the torture put Him in early traumatic or injury shock. He was also in early hypovolemic shock because of hemorrhaging from His wounds, vomiting, and diaphoresis.
After the scourging, the soldiers put a scarlet robe on Him, twisted together a crown of thorns, and set it on His head.
They put a staff in His right hand, knelt in front of Him, and mocked him. They spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head again and again. Jesus was then beaten by the Roman soldiers. In mockery, they dressed Him in what was probably the cloak of a Roman officer, colored dark purple or scarlet. He also wore the crown of thorns. Unlike the traditional crown which is depicted by an open ring, the actual crown of thorns may have covered the entire scalp. The thorns may have been 1 to 2 inches long. The gospels state that the Roman soldiers continued to beat Jesus on the head. The blows would drive the thorns into the scalp (one of the most vascular areas of the body) and forehead, causing severe bleeding.
When the soldiers tired or became bored with this “game,” they ripped the robe off of His back. Now imagine removing the bandage off a wound…the robe would have been stuck to the wounds on his back, shoulders, and arms. It was “ripped” from the wounds. This would not only have been painful; it would also re-open the wounds.
Isaiah 52:14 foreshadows, “Just as there were many who were appalled at him – his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.” He was beaten so severely that even those who knew Him didn’t recognize Him.
Jesus truly did love us to endure such atrocities. Do we love Him this much?
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