Mark 15:15

Pilate had had problems in his relations with the Jewish people that he governed (cf. Luke 13:1-2). He saw the present situation as an opportunity to gain popular support. This overrode his sense of justice and his wife’s warning.

Evidently Pilate flogged Jesus in the presence of the crowd hoping that that punishment would satisfy them. John recorded that after the flogging Pilate tried again to persuade the people against crucifixion (John 19:1-7). Flogging was not a necessary preparation for crucifixion. [Note: Wessel, p. 775.] Probably two soldiers stripped Jesus and tied His hands above him to a post. Then they beat Him with a leather whip with pieces of bone and or metal embedded in the leather strips. Victims of Roman floggings seldom survived. [Note: Ibid.]

"The heavy whip is brought down with full force again and again across Jesus’ shoulders, back and legs. At first the heavy thongs cut through the skin only. Then, as the blows continue, they cut deeper into the subcutaneous tissues, producing first an oozing of blood from the capillaries and veins of the skin, and finally spurting arterial bleeding from vessels in the underlying muscles. . . . Finally the skin of the back is hanging in long ribbons and the entire area is an unrecognizable mass of torn, bleeding tissue." [Note: C. Truman Davis, "The Crucifixion of Jesus. The Passion of Christ from a Medical Point of View," Arizona Medicine 22:3 (March 1965):185.]

Mark’s use of the phrase "delivered Him over" (NASB) or "handed Him over" (NIV) may be an allusion to Isaiah 53:6; Isaiah 53:12 where the same expression occurs in the Septuagint translation. This reminder of Jesus’ position as the Suffering Servant is the emphasis in Mark’s account of this aspect of His trial.