And Pilate said to them the third time: 'I find no cause of death in Him. I will chastise Him therefore, and let Him go.' But they cried out: 'Crucify Him, crucify Him.' Then, therefore, Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. And Barabbas (who was a murderer) he released, but Jesus he delivered up to be crucified. - Luke 23:22; John 19:1
In the sixteenth chapter of the book of Job we find words which admirably prefigure the awful scourging of our Lord: 'He hath gathered together his fury against me, and threatening he hath gnashed with his teeth upon me; my enemy hath beheld me with terrible eyes. They have opened their mouths upon me; and, reproaching, they have struck me on the cheek. They are filled with my pains.'
Having fallen into the hands of His enemies, having been judged and condemned, Jesus is delivered up to a troop of malefactors, the vilest and most cruel of whom act the part of executioners in the praetorian court. They seize their victim violently and bind Him fast to a pillar at which He is to be scourged. They arm themselves with rods and thongs, and strike Him with all their Strength without counting their blows. The sacred body of our Saviour shudders. In the midst of the hissing of the scourges His deep moans and sad, low cries are heard. The fierce butchers, already drunk with wine, are infuriated at the sight of His blood.
They yield to fatigue, but the awful work is not yet finished. Still more! Still more! is the cry that is heard. Some bring knotty brambles bristling with thorns, others bring iron-mounted thongs. These frightful cruelties last nearly an hour, a part of the people gloating over their victim, a part of them buried in stupor. Not to have expired under this treatment required the strength of God. Jesus can no longer stand erect. His body is one red, gushing wound. His eyes, almost closed with tears and blood, see only His executioners; yet so sweet and mild are they that they would soften a savage beast. But under control of the passion of hatred man is more savage that any beast. So much love on the part of our dear Saviour only irritated His enemies all the more. At last, when He had received five thousand strokes, as it has been revealed to His Saints, Jesus is untied from the pillar and falls covered with blood.
What hast Thou done, O sweet Lamb, to bring upon Thyself this fearful barbarity? Thou hast selected these people from among the gentile nations; Thou hast delivered them from the slavery of Egypt. Through a thousand dangers Thou hast brought them into the land of benediction. To them and to us all Thou hast promised the blessed liberty of the children of God. Is it for this Thy beneficent hands are torn and bruised? Is it for this Thou art tied, like a rebellious slave or a vile malefactor, to a pillar?
Thou hast consoled the just and holy men of Israel, 'the men of desires,' who, inclining their hearts and souls to the future, looked for the coming of God's envoy. Thou didst go about doing good, and Thou hast stretched out Thy loving hand to solace all human infirmities. Thou hast cured the paralytic and the lame; Thou hast given hearing to the deaf, sight to the blind, speech to the dumb, life to the dead. Is it for this Thy sacred body has been beaten until it became one bleeding wound? Thou hast brought down manna from heaven like the dew of the morning, and from the hard rock Thou hast brought pure water to relieve Thy people about to die of thirst in the desert. Thou hast multiplied a few loaves in another desert to feed the famished multitude that followed Thee. Thou hast allowed a torrent of heavenly doctrine to flow from Thy lips. Thou hast opened for our souls fountains of living water, the divine virtue of which will make it reach to the abodes of eternal life. Is it for this Thy flesh was torn and Thy blood shed?
O my dear Saviour! Thou didst merit nothing but our tender respect and loving gratitude; but I hear the prophet Isaias say (53): 'He was wounded for our iniquities; He was bruised for our sins.' And how truly has his word been realized in Thee!
Nothing could be more just than that our sinful flesh should be tied to a pillar and beaten to death; but, even if our blood were drawn drop by drop until no more remained, of what value would it be as long as it was impure and sinful? But there must needs be blood, for I hear the Apostle of the Gentiles say in his Epistle to the Hebrews: 'Almost all things, according to the law, are cleansed with blood; and without the shedding of blood there is no remission' (chapter 9).
Adorable Jesus, Thou hast fulfilled this austere law, and the lashes of Thy executioners, more effectual and more salutary than the rod of Moses, have opened, in Thy flesh, wounds through which the stream of salvation flows.
Flow on, flow on, O adorable stream of my Saviour's blood! I cast myself into this sacred fountain. Penetrate me and wash me, not only from all impurity and weakness of the flesh, but from all weakness and languor of soul. Go to the root of my imperfections and spiritual miseries. Wash away and bear far from me sin and the principles of sin.
- text taken from Jesus in the Rosary, by Father Jacques-Marie Louis Monsabre, O.P.