“Christ’s crucifixion was on a hill, by a road, where everybody who passed by could not only see his pain, but also his shame. It was not done in a shadow, hidden away somewhere”
Scourging was an incredibly painful torture inflicted by a whip with multiple leather cords that would commonly have bits of sheep bone and sharp pieces of metal embedded throughout. This instrument were designed to inflict maximum pain and blood loss, as each lash would have ripped out large pieces of flesh, essentially exposing the skeletal muscles completely. With his hands tied to a post, Jesus endured this horrific pain at the hands of Roman soldiers as a crowd of onlookers watched. And like many other things on this day, Jesus had known this was coming and yet he went towards it.
After the flogging, Jesus has lost a massive amount of blood. His back has been literally ripped to shreds, and he would have been incredibly weak. At this point, Roman soldiers drag him away to the governor’s palace, where they commence a new level of mockery and humiliation. Twisting together a crown of thorns, they ram the symbol of the curse given to Adam down on to the head of the second Adam. With fresh blood now running down Jesus’ face, the soldiers begin to beat him over the head with a mock sceptre, driving the thorns even deeper into his temples and forehead. When the horrific ordeal was complete, they rip off the mock royal robe and lead him outside the city walls to Golgotha, the Hill of the Skull.
And now, already weakened and bloodied to a state barely recognisable, Jesus is to be crucified. “many were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind…” Jesus has truly been marred beyond resemblance. And now, for the crucifixion. Today, when you hear the word crucifixion, you probably instantly think of Jesus. But back then, this was a method of torture, humiliation, and execution that ancient Rome had used liberally on non-citizens, criminals who would threaten Roman rule. It was a death reserved for the absolute dregs of humanity.
The concept of substitution lies at the heart of both sin and salvation. For the essence of sin is man substituting himself for God, while the essence of salvation is God substituting himself for man.
“Christ has not only spoken to us by his life but has also spoken for us by his death”