True selected chapters cropped - Flipbook - Page 11
They condemned him as worthy of death. The issue here was not
about any unlawful deed that Jesus may have done. Jesus never did
anything that was unlawful or sinful. They sentenced him to death
because of who he claimed to be. He claimed to be the Son of God
and the Messiah.
Having passed sentence, they began to spit on him. They blindfolded
him and hit him with their fists, taunting him saying, ‘Guess who
hit you?’ The guards also took him and beat him up.
Very early the next morning the chief priests, with the elders, the
teachers of the law and the whole Sanhedrin, reached a decision.
They bound Jesus, led him away and handed him over to Pilate. He
was to be tried by the state now.
Jesus is sentenced to death
Pilate wanted to release Jesus because he knew that it was
out of envy that the chief priests had handed him over. But the
continued pressure from the religious leaders and the crowd
finally weakened Pilate’s resolve to free Jesus. He changed his
mind. Now he wanted to satisfy the crowd, and he ordered Jesus
to be flogged and then crucified.
Roman flogging was a terrible thing. Jesus was stripped naked
and tied to the scourging post. The whip had strips of leather
studded here and there with pieces of bone and sharpened pieces
of lead. The soldiers used this weapon on Christ. His chest, neck,
shoulders, back, hips and legs were slashed as if with knives; his
body streamed with blood and was covered with bruises. Even
his face was cut and disfigured by the lashes that came down
upon him. He was in such a state that he could scarcely have been
recognised, even by those who knew him well. Jesus now lay at
the foot of the post. A bucket of water mixed with salt was thrown
over him, the stinging brine being a routine way to revive a victim
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