Paid In Full: An In-depth Look at the Defining Moments of Christ's Passion (22 page)

Jesus’ broken body was the payment God demanded to guarantee our physical healing! Just as Jesus willfully took our sins and died on the Cross in our place, He also willfully took our sicknesses and pains on Himself when they tied Him to the scourging post and laid those lashes across His body. That horrific scourging paid for our healing!

If you need healing in your body, you have every right to go to God and ask for healing to come flooding into your system. It’s time for you to dig in your heels and hold fast to the promise of God’s Word, releasing your faith for the healing that belongs to you.

Jesus went through this agony for
you
, so don’t let the devil tell you that it’s God’s will for you to be sick or weakly. Considering the pain Jesus endured to bear your sicknesses that day, isn’t that enough evidence to convince you how much He wants you to be physically well?

The vicious, sadistic scourging Jesus experienced mutilated and disfigured His body beyond recognition. The awful price for our healing was paid by the scourging Jesus received.

Are you currently dealing with some form of sickness, infirmity, or disease in your body? Meditate on how Jesus’ body was scourged so your body could be healed. Consider how valuable you and your body must be to God that He would allow His Son to pay such a price.

The Roman whip ripped and gouged Jesus’ body until His blood gushed forth like water through an open hydrant and spilled upon the ground.

That blood was Jesus’ very life being poured out for
you
. Think about the kind of love that would compel Jesus to pour out His life’s blood so you could have mercy instead of judgment and your debt could be paid in full.

Jesus’ broken body was the payment required to pay for our physical healing.

Do you need healing? Think about the horrific scourging Jesus willfully endured so you could have every right to go before God and confidently expect to obtain your healing. Then honor the gift of Jesus’ life by gratefully receiving His healing provision for your physical body.

Chapter 23:
Tortured for You

After Jesus was scourged, Pilate delivered Him to the Roman soldiers so they could initiate the crucifixion process. However, first these soldiers dragged Jesus through the worst mockery and humiliation of all. Matthew 27:27-29 describes what Jesus went through at this stage of His ordeal: “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!”

Verse 27 says the soldiers “…took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.” The “common hall” was the open courtyard in Pilate’s palace. Since Pilate rotated between several official royal residences in Jerusalem, this could have been his palace at the Tower of Antonia (
see
Chapter 5). It also could have been his residence at the magnificent palace of Herod, located on the highest part of Mount Zion. All we know for sure is that the courtyard was so large, it was able to hold “the whole band of soldiers.” This phrase comes from the Greek word
spira,
referring to
a cohort
or
a group of 300 to 600 Roman soldiers.

Hundreds of soldiers filled the courtyard of Pilate’s residence to participate in the events that followed. Matthew 27:28 says, “And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.” First, the soldiers “stripped him.” The word “stripped” is the Greek word
ekduo
, which means
to totally unclothe
or
to fully undress.
Nakedness was viewed as a disgrace, a shame, and an embarrassment in the Jewish world. Public nakedness was associated with pagans — with their worship, their idols, and their statues.

As children of God, the Israelites honored the human body, made in the image of God. Thus, to publicly parade someone’s naked body was a great offense. We can know, then, that when Jesus was stripped naked in front of 300 to 600 soldiers, it went against the grain of His entire moral view regarding what was right and wrong.

Once Jesus stood naked before them, the soldiers then “…put on him a scarlet robe.” The Greek phrase is
chlamuda kokkinen
, from the word
chlamus
and
kokkinos.
The word
chlamus
is the Greek word for
a robe
or
a cloak.
It could refer to a soldier’s cloak, but the next word makes it more probable that this was one of Pilate’s old cloaks. You see, the word “scarlet” is the Greek word
kokkinos
, a word that describes
a robe that has been dyed a deep crimson or scarlet color,
which is suggestive of
the deeply colored crimson and scarlet robes worn by royalty or nobility
. Did this cohort of Roman soldiers who worked at Pilate’s residence pull an old royal robe from Pilate’s closet and bring it to the courtyard for the party? It seems that this is the case.

As Matthew continues the account, we find out what happened next: After the soldiers “…had
platted
a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head.…” The word “platted” is the Greek word
empleko.
Thorns grew everywhere, including in the imperial grounds of Pilate. These thorns were long and sharp like nails. The soldiers took vines that were loaded with sharp and dangerous thorns; then they carefully wove together those razor-sharp, prickly, jagged vines until they formed a tightly woven, dangerous circle that resembled the shape of a crown.

Afterward, the soldiers “…put it upon his head.…” Matthew uses the Greek word
epitithimi
, a word that implies they
violently pushed
or
forcefully shoved
this crown of thorns onto Jesus’ head. These thorns would have been extremely painful and caused blood to flow profusely from His brow. Because the thorns were so jagged, they would have created terrible wounds as they scraped across Jesus’ scalp and literally tore the flesh from His skull.

Matthew called it a “crown” of thorns. The word “crown” is from the Greek word
stephanos
, the word that described a coveted
victor’s crown.
These soldiers intended to use this mock crown to make fun of Jesus. Little did they know that Jesus was preparing to win the greatest victory in history!

After forcing the crown of thorns down onto Jesus’ brow, the soldiers put “…a
reed
in his right hand.…” There were many beautiful ponds and fountains in Pilate’s inner courtyard where long, tall, hard “reeds” grew. While Jesus sat there before them clothed in a royal robe and crown of thorns, one of the soldiers must have decided that the picture was not quite complete and pulled a “reed” from one of the ponds or fountains to put in Jesus’ hand.

This reed represented the ruler’s staff, as seen in the famous statue called “Ave Caesar,” which depicted Caesar holding a staff or scepter in his hand. The same image, also showing a scepter in the right hand of the emperor, appeared on coins that were minted in the emperor’s honor and in wide circulation.

Once the soldiers had draped a discarded royal robe about Jesus’ shoulders, set a crown of thorns so deeply into His head that blood drenched His face, and stuck a reed from Pilate’s ponds or fountains in Jesus’ right hand, they then “…bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!” (Matthew 27:29). The word “bowed” is the Greek word
gonupeteo
, meaning
to fall down upon one’s knees.
One by one, the cohort of soldiers passed before Jesus, dramatically and comically dropping to their knees in front of Him as they laughed at and mocked Him.

The word “mocked” is the Greek word
empaidzo,
the same word used to describe the mocking of Herod and his bodyguards (
see
Chapter 20). As Pilate’s soldiers mocked Jesus, they said to Him, “Hail, King of the Jews!” The word “hail” was an acknowledgment of honor used when saluting Caesar. Thus, the soldiers shouted out this mock salute to Jesus as they would to a king to whom honor was due.

Matthew 27:30 goes on to tell us, “And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.” The word “they” refers to the entire cohort of soldiers who were present in Pilate’s courtyard that night.

So as each soldier passed by Jesus, he would first mockingly bow before Him; then he’d lean forward to spit right in Jesus’ blood-drenched face. Next the soldier would grab the reed from Jesus’ hand and strike Him hard on His already wounded head. Finally, he would stick the reed back in Jesus’ hand to make Him ready for the next soldier to repeat the whole process.

The Greek clearly means that
the soldiers repeatedly struck Jesus again and again on the head.
Here was another beating that Jesus endured, but this time it was with the slapping action of a hard reed. This must have been excruciatingly painful for Jesus, since His body was already lacerated from the scourging and His head was deeply gashed by the cruel crown of thorns.

When all 300 to 600 soldiers were finished spitting and striking Jesus with the reed, Matthew 27:31 tells us that “…they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.” The robe wrapped around Jesus had no doubt meshed into His wounds, for it took a great amount of time for so many soldiers to parade before Him. Therefore, it must have been terrifically painful for Jesus when they jerked this robe off His back and the material ripped free from the dried blood that had coagulated on His open lacerations.

But this would be the last act of torture Jesus would endure in this stage of His ordeal. After putting His own clothes back on Him, the soldiers led Him from the palace to the place of execution.

As the soldiers mocked Jesus that day, hailing Him as king in derision and ridicule, they were unaware that they were actually bowing their knees to the One before whom they would one day stand and give an account for their actions.