He Suffered
The Scourging of Christ
As the final day of Jesus dawns, He has already been betrayed and arrested, and is confronted with the denial of one of His closest friends while waiting for an unfair trial with a counsel burning with hatred for Him.
As is the case with other parts of the narrative, each Gospel records what happens before the trial with varying details, yet each of them give record of the suffering and torment he receives at the hand of his captors.
Because Jesus was known as a prophet, the temple guards decided to test his prophetic powers. Playing games with him, mocking and ridiculing Him. This humiliation is just the beginning….
The Unfair Trial
The counsel, also known as the Sanhedrin, basically an assembly of religious leaders, was hastily brought together. Their morning gathering was an attempt to make a decision quietly about the fate of Jesus. They were not interested in a fair trial, but instead were seeking any and every opportunity to condemn Him.
Matthew and Mark provide preliminary questioning that produces false testimony and witnesses that would not agree...But Luke jumps straight to the meat of the trial. The questions regarding the message of Jesus as the messiah.
This is the pivotal question, the answer to which everyone in the Sanhedrin wants to hear. You can almost feel the hush of the crowd as the question is asked in...
Their claim to desire a truthful answer to this question is flavored by their true desire to condemn and ultimately murder Jesus.
Jesus trial before the Jewish Sanhedrin led to a much more official trial before Roman Governor Pontius Pilate. Pilate recognizing Jesus' innocence decides that he will scourge Jesus for the disturbance He has caused, and then ultimately release Him. The crowd was not impressed and requested crucifixion. Pilate listens to the crowd and sentences Jesus to death on the cross.
He Suffered
Jesus is beaten and mocked by the Roman soldiers. He is given a crown of thorns and beaten again. The punishment promised by Pilate to placate the crowd was applied to the condemned prisoner. He then was ushered out of the governor's palace and marched to Golgotha. So brutal was the suffering of Christ, that He could not carry His own cross.
Once they reached Golgotha Jesus was nailed, hands and feet cross and lifted up for all to see. Gravity pulled His body down, putting pressure on His fresh nail wounds and making breathing difficult.
On the cross Jesus would experience intense pain, there his wounds were on full display, and their we see the suffering that we deserved.
