The warning Pilate’s wife gave him ran through his mind over and over: have nothing to do with the innocent man Jesus.
Pilate had wanted the Jews to take Jesus and deal with Him according to their own laws. But they wanted the man’s death. They all understood the Jews could not condemn anyone to death since Rome was in charge.
The Roman governor, Pilate, knew Jesus was innocent. The man didn’t deserve death, much less the cruel death of crucifixion. He’d tried to find a way to release Jesus, but the crowd screamed for crucifixion and was on the verge of rioting.
Then the leaders said the one thing Pilate could not ignore:
“If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself out to be a king opposes Caesar.”
That was it. Pilate would not take any chances that the Jewish leaders would accuse him of not supporting Caesar.
He sent Jesus to die by crucifixion. But as usual, but first the condemned would be scourged.
In Jewish law (Deuteronomy 25:3) a man sentenced to the punishment of beating could receive no more than 40 lashes. Rome had no such law.
The death squad took Jesus to be scourged. Prisoners condemned to crucifixion were to be beaten within an inch of their lives. They weren’t to beat them to death, but near death so they could be finished off on a cross. The Roman squad were professionals. They had scourged and crucified many, many people.
The Romans perfected the right weapon to achieve the most damage to the prisoner, a flagrum. It was a short whip made up of a handle that held several strips of leather. Along each leather strip they tied pieces of sharp bone and bits of metal. This way when they slashed the whip across the back of a prisoner, the pieces of bone and metal would embed into skin. Then when they jerked it off their back, pieces of skin and muscle would tear out.
No one knows how many times the Roman death squad beat Jesus with the flagrum. They beat him til his back was stripped off, but stopped before He could bleed to death. After all, the prisoner must carry His own cross to the place of crucifixion.
None of the events came as a surprise to Jesus. It had been prophesied long before, and Jesus had tried to prepare His followers for it.
This is why He came. He endured it for me, and for you.
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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:5-6
Carla Killough McClafferty