The Church of Flagellation
John 19:1-3
1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him. 2 And the soldiers platted a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe, 3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands. It was here that Jesus was flogged after being convicted and sentenced to death. There is much to see inside and outside of this little church. On its outer walls and door there is much symbolism – pictures and symbols that depict what occurred there. These are some that stood out to me (on the western outer wall): · A whip · Hands washing in a basin · Crown of thorns post & whips · INRI cross · Chicken with three stars · Ladder, spears, dice · Whip · Spear, hammer, pliers · nails To the left is a depiction I drew in my journal of a door carving that symbolizes the Franciscan line of authority from Christ to Father Assissi, and the other a depiction of the cross on top of the church, which is the Greek Orthodox cross. Inside, the art and depictions reflect the events that took place in this location. On the dome, alter, and chandelier is a crown of thorns. There are amazing stained glass windows that depict Pilate washing His hands, Jesus being crowned with thorns, and Barabbas being released. I had a reverent feeling there and found it hard to comprehend what horrors took place there. There is no way I can imagine what it must have felt like to be whipped in that manner, to be mocked and spat upon, to be condemned to death. I cannot imagine what went on in Christ’s mind during this time. I cannot imagine how it must have felt to witness this event. I ask myself, “why?” Why did Christ willingly go through this? Why would his own people do this to Him? Well, I think this can be answered in many different ways. The Book of Mormon prophet Abinidi summarizes it well in Mosiah 15:5-8, 5.…the Son…suffereth temptation, and yieldeth not to the temptation, but suffereth himself to be mocked, and scourged, and cast out, and disowned by his people. 6 And after all this, after working many mighty miracles among the children of men, he shall be led, yea, even as Isaiah said, as a sheep before the shearer is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 7 Yea, even so he shall be led, crucified, and slain, the flesh becoming subject even unto death, the will of the Son being swallowed up in the will of the Father. 8 And thus God breaketh the bands of death, having gained the victory over death; giving the Son power to make intercession for the children of men-- |
Flagellation = the act of whipping the human bodyA description by Elder Yoshihiko Kikuchi of the Seventy:
Again Pilate could not find sound reasons to keep the Lord, but the people cried more loudly, “Let him be crucified” (Matthew 27:22). The soldiers treated Him roughly. Scourging was a legal preliminary to every Roman execution. The usual instrument was a short or long whip composed of several single or braided leather thongs in which small diamond-shaped pieces of iron, or shattered sheep bone, were tied at intervals. For scourging, the Savior was stripped of his upper clothing. It is presumed his hands were tied to an upright post and the back, buttocks, and legs were flogged. Usually the whipping was performed by two soldiers, or one alternating positions. This scourging was so severe that sometimes the victim came to a stage of collapse or death. According to the Jewish law, lashes were limited to 39–40, but we do not know how many our Lord had. Remember He not only endured scourging by leather thongs but had a crown of thorns on His head. A wooden staff as a scepter was placed in his right hand. The soldiers spat on our Lord and Savior and struck Him on the head with the wooden staff. The head is covered by many subtle, small blood tissues and a nervous system. Wearing that thorny crown with plaited thorns would cause blood to stream down from those tissues all over the face. Not only that though, the head would feel as though the brain were caught by a burning fire. It is so unbelievable the pain that would go through the entire head. (From a devotional address delivered at LDS Business College on October 14, 1998.) |