The Scourging: Matthew 27:27-31
“27) Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. 28) They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29) And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30) They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31) After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.” Matthew 27:27-31
We now have reference of the scourging of Jesus by the Roman cohort. This was a form of torture. Up to this point they were charged with protecting Him under Roman law. As soon as He was handed over by Pilate to the cohort, laws no longer applied. There was no restrain.
In the text, because Jesus claimed to be the king of the Jews, the Roman soldiers mocked Him. They put a crown of thorns on His head and then beat His head with reeds. With each blow the thorns cut deeper into His scalp.
The crown of thorns was reminiscent of the ram caught by its horns in the thorn bush in Genesis 22 when Abraham offered up Isaac. In this case, “God was providing Himself as the lamb for the sacrifice.” The biblical imagery was being fulfilled.
The scourging also included whipping though it was not mentioned in this text. The prophecy of Isaiah 53 was fulfilled on Jesus during the scourging and crucifixion.
He was returned to Pilate as a beaten and bloody mess. He was beaten in the face multiple times. Both eyes were close to being swollen shut. A modern boxing referee would have stopped the fight. Isaiah indicates that He was disfigured.
With the scourging complete, He was led astray for crucifixion. He was already exhausted and dehydrated. He endured it all to redeem humanity from the curse of sin. He Himself was the victim of human depravity.
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ Global
