Here, too, Jesus received the crown of thorns. I imagine how painful the purple cloth must’ve been when the soldiers put it on His back to mock Him ( Mark 15:17). His energy drained as a result of the pain and loss of blood, it must’ve taken great effort to put one foot in front of the other. After the scourging, Jesus’ body was covered in open wounds. A cut on the foot is felt with every step a splinter in the hand is felt with every movement. Open wounds (if those could really be called wounds) are an inconvenience and can be felt in every movement. When I picture this particular element of the Passion, I think of how easily annoyed I get at a cut or splinter. The physical effects of the beating went far beyond the considerable pain it inflicted-with His flesh torn into on either side, He mus have lost a lot of blood before even getting near the cross. Anne Catherine Emmerich, another mystic author, the Roman soldiers first whipped Jesus’ back and then turned Him around. Of the scourging she writes, “ as each cut across the Master’s torn shoulders, small particles of His Sacred Flesh fell from the knotted leather whip-knots to the pavement, which was now covered with His Precious Blood”(p. After only a few lashes, the depths of the cuts would reach into muscle tissue. Servant of God Cora Evans, an American mystic whose cause for canonization is being considered writes, wrote out her mystical visions of the life of Christ in The Refugee from Heaven. The sheep bones were also made to deepen the lacerations into the skin. Sometimes, sharp sheep bones would be tied near the ends.” The metal weights served to cause serious bruising, or contusions, and the leather of the thongs cut into the skin. The Romans’ scourging whip “had iron balls tied a few inches from the end of each leather thong on the whip. The prisoner was tied to a pillar and flogged with sticks and a special whip. Ultimately, Pilate acquiesced to the wishes of the mob and condemned Jesus to death and ordered scourging first ( Mark 15:15). As the Jews didn’t have the legal authority to condemn someone to death, they needed Pilate to do so. The chief priests and leaders, along with the mob gathered at Pilate’s Praetorium, clamored for it. Pontius Pilate and Herod sent Jesus back and forth to one another the final decision on Jesus’ execution rested with Pilate. He lived through these things knowing everything that was to happen-including the death he was to endure on the cross (e.g. Do you ever find it difficult to relate to the Passion of Our Lord? Remember these trials of this first, preliminary stage of His Passion. It can be very difficult to continue with our daily responsibilities when dealing with some kind of suffering. And let’s remember, for many in prison, their loved ones suffer the absence as well. Awful days at work, not sleeping the night before, dealing with health problems, being hurt by a family member or friend, or the death of a loved one. We have all had to carry on after a bad day. This stage of the Passion is one we can reflect on more easily, I think. Regardless of the itinerary, Jesus began Good Friday having spent the night in prison and being mistreated by guards: all after a time of intense prayer, where He was “very sorrowful, even to death.” ( Mark 14:34) Part of Jesus’ sufferings that night was to watch as His closest friends abandoned Him. John ( 18:12) don’t mention any lag in time between Jesus’ arrest and trial.
Luke’s gospel is unique among the four gospels in that it has the trial before the Sanhedrin first thing on the following morning ( 22:66). It was there that Judas arranged to have Him arrested ( Luke 22:47-48). After the Last Supper, Jesus and the apostles went to the garden of Gethsemane ( Luke 22:39-46). Jesus endured tremendous physical suffering for us, and won our salvation at great price. Faustina that she should meditate frequently on His sufferings. Reflecting on the Passion of Our Lord isn’t just one among many possible devotions. It would help us understand the depths of His suffering, and by extension, the depth of His love for us. As we are confronted with Good Friday and Jesus’ Passion, it would help to look at the crucifixion more from the eyes of that first-century Roman than from the eyes of a 21st century person accustomed to crucifixes. Even more strange would be the artistic adornments on the crucifix- he would only see an instrument of capital punishment. If a first-century Roman walked into a Catholic parish today, he’d be shocked to see a crucifix on the wall.