Our forgiveness of sins was bought through the death of Jesus Christ. As God and the only perfect man, His death paid for our sin. He had to die for us. But why did He have to suffer so much before He died?
The Bible is fairly descriptive about Jesus' suffering. The abuse began in John 18 after He answered the high priest's question, pointing out that He did everything openly. One of the officers nearby struck Jesus for what he thought was a disrespectful answer. Pilate then interviewed Him. Finding nothing that he could charge against Jesus legally, he offered to the Jewish authorities to let Him go. They refused and insisted Jesus be crucified.
The soldiers were given free rein. They twisted a crown from a vine with very long, sharp thorns and put it on Jesus' head. They flogged Him viciously. They hit Him repeatedly. Jesus was then made to carry the heavy cross-beam of the cross to the hill of Golgotha where the soldiers nailed His hands and feet. For the next several hours, He experienced such pain that He died long before what was standard for crucifixion victims.
There is speculation as to how the suffering came about. Pilate didn't want to crucify Jesus. Jesus was innocent but Pilate had to make a show that he was following the will of the Jewish leadership or risk a rebellion. Some believe Pilate had Jesus tortured in hopes that it would satisfy the Jews and they would back down from their request to kill Jesus. It didn't happen, obviously, and there is nothing in the Bible that directly states this was Pilate's intent. But it did have one unexpected benefit; the loss of blood and general agony caused by the scourging left Jesus so weak that He died on the cross within hours, instead of either hanging there for days or forcing the guards to break His legs as they did the thieves'.
The Bible is fairly descriptive about Jesus' suffering. The abuse began in John 18 after He answered the high priest's question, pointing out that He did everything openly. One of the officers nearby struck Jesus for what he thought was a disrespectful answer. Pilate then interviewed Him. Finding nothing that he could charge against Jesus legally, he offered to the Jewish authorities to let Him go. They refused and insisted Jesus be crucified.
The soldiers were given free rein. They twisted a crown from a vine with very long, sharp thorns and put it on Jesus' head. They flogged Him viciously. They hit Him repeatedly. Jesus was then made to carry the heavy cross-beam of the cross to the hill of Golgotha where the soldiers nailed His hands and feet. For the next several hours, He experienced such pain that He died long before what was standard for crucifixion victims.
There is speculation as to how the suffering came about. Pilate didn't want to crucify Jesus. Jesus was innocent but Pilate had to make a show that he was following the will of the Jewish leadership or risk a rebellion. Some believe Pilate had Jesus tortured in hopes that it would satisfy the Jews and they would back down from their request to kill Jesus. It didn't happen, obviously, and there is nothing in the Bible that directly states this was Pilate's intent. But it did have one unexpected benefit; the loss of blood and general agony caused by the scourging left Jesus so weak that He died on the cross within hours, instead of either hanging there for days or forcing the guards to break His legs as they did the thieves'.
