Matthew 27:26

SCOURGING BY PILATE AND DELIVERY FOR CRUCIFIXION, Matthew 27:26-31.

The purpose of this whole scene of course is to burlesque Jesus’s claim to royalty. A notable king forsooth is this, for whom the proper crown is a garland of thorns, the sceptre a reed, the robe an old cast off cloak. Mock homage, interspersed with insults and injuries, completes the wretched drama.

26. Scourged Jesus The Greek word here used is borrowed from the Roman flagellum, which was the scourge with which slaves were chastised before execution. It was composed of ox nerves, extremely sharp, interwoven with sheep bones, so as to lacerate the flesh.