Then he released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed him over to be crucified.
A devotion for January 28th through February 3rd
In Sabbath School, we always have a good discussion. Sometimes someone will say something that makes an impression. This happened again this past Sabbath. One young man in class said something that has been going through my mind. I don’t remember word for word what he said but I do remember the basics of what he said. This is what I have been thinking a lot about since that class.
In the Bible it speaks about everything leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. There was a great deal of brutality leading up to the crucifixion that sometimes is not thought about as much as the actual crucifixion. Prior to Jesus being nailed to the cross He was brutally beaten and whipped, also called scourged. Scourging someone, also referred to as flogging, in Biblical times was very brutal. Per Jewish law, the maximum times someone should be flogged was 40, all depending on the level of “correction” someone needed. Flogging someone caused lashes across the skin as it was often done, especially to Jesus, with sharp items imbedded in the end of the whip.
Now think about this. Jesus died for our sins. Jesus took the punishment we deserve. Anytime we sin, that sin is reflected by one lash in Jesus’ flesh. When we sin, we are the reason for the lash, the torn flesh. Thinking about even one lash, just one, and the pain it inflicts, causes me to feel extremely sad. It’s hard to think about inflicting that kind of pain on anyone, much less Jesus. This thought alone drives me to want to turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus. I don’t want to be responsible for any more lashes, because even one is too many. It is beyond comprehension as to how many Jesus had. I’m sure His exceeded 40.
When faced with a choice between sin, no matter how small it seems, and following Him, choose Him. He has already taken our punishment, one lash at a time.